hardtimes
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2010
- Posts
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Let me start by saying thanks in advance for any help/suggestions...
I'm a fairly serious music listening who recently has been doing most of my listening on headphones. My stereo system is a Krell SACD, Cary tube pre-amp, Rotel amp, and a pair of b&w 801s from the early '00s. If I was buying now, I'd no longer be able to afford that quality equipment -- which is also why I can't use it as much anymore: I'm married and have a nine-month old child.
My tastes are pretty varied, and in terms of serious listening it pretty much runs the gamut, with opera and hip-hop being the most notable exceptions. I listen to a lot of acoustic music (mainly bluegrass), a lot of jazz (heavy on Blue Note era hard-bop), and everything from Elvis to the VU to Radiohead, etc etc.
When I listen to music when I'm on the move -- subway/plane/walk in the park -- I use Koss PortaPros, which I think may be the best value out there. I'm looking for suggestions for when I'm sitting at home (or on my porch) and doing nothing but listening to music.
Recently, I've been listening to a lot of 24/96 rips of audiophile vinyl rips on a Mac, either using iTunes or Play. (Some examples of things that have sounded really nice: the Analog Productions 45rpm remaster of Sam Cooke's "Night Beat"; a Japanese LP pressing of Paul Simon's "Graceland," a Speakers Corner 180g LP rip of Lou Reed's "Transformer," and an absolutely mind-blowing Classic Records 200g analog remaster of Zappa's "Hot Rats." For any Zappa fans, it sounds like a whole new album. There's not any jazz listed here b/c a lot of what I have in high-quality digital is MFSL remasters, and those tend to have very severe channel separation, which can make headphone listening a less-than spellbinding experience.) I've also been listening to a fair amount of those flac files converted to 24/48 for my iPod.
For all of the above, I'm currently using a pair of Grado SR80s. I've been using those for about 200 hours. I like them a lot, but I definitely notice the drawbacks -- although some of this might also be due to the absence of a DAC/headphone amp. The biggest thing is that they tend to strain to capture subtleties at either end of the sonic spectrum, which leaves my ears feeling tired after an hour or so. It also means I need more volume to get all the detail, and I'd much prefer listening to something at a softer level.
Finally, I go back and forth on this but I think my overall preference is for over-ear as opposed to on-ear, although that's really a 55-45 deal: When I'm listening to music I like to get as lost as possible, and the leakiness in both directions of on-ears mean that I can hear things on the "outside" and people can hear me.
I'm looking to spend somewhere between $500 and $800 for a DAC/amp and headphone upgrade -- $500 being what I should probably limit myself to, $800 being what I need to limit myself to without putting my marriage (and my mortgage) in jeopardy. I use a laptop, and would bet even money I'd buy something like the Hifiman 801 in the next 12-18 mos, so it probably makes the most sense for me to get something that's more as opposed to less portable.
After spending the better part of two weeks reading through reviews and forums, I'm leaning towards getting the CEntrance DACport because of its obvious portability and the bang for the buck. The issue then is whether my SR80s will do that justice. If not, will buying a pair of $200 headphones make an appreciable enough difference over my $100 Grados to be worth it?
To put an end to my rambling: Considering the above, does the DACport sound like a good choice? And if so, what headphone recommendations would people make?
Or...would something/some combination of what's below, which were the other things that I've spent the most time considering, make more sense?
DACs
(Outside of price issues on any one or the other of these, the main issue on all of them is the portability factor, esp inre: personal players.)
between $100-$250
Audinst HUD-MX1: Good/good value DAC/amp for under $200, which would leave me with enough money to invest some more money on phones
NuForce Icon uDac2: Ditto per the Audinst.
Edit: removed Schiit asgard b/c it's not a DAC.
between $400-$500
NuForce Icon HDP: Seems like it has the best value for the dollar at this price-range.
Emmeline Protector: I'm going to admit my ignorance here and admit that I'm not sure I totally understand why this is so great...but people seem to think it's pretty great.
Hifiman EF-5: In addition to it being a very good product for the money, it obviously works well with other Hifiman products, some of which I'm considering for down the line.
Headphones
Under $200
Senn HD 25-1s: If I get the DACport, this may offer a slight upgrade over the SR80s.
$300-$500
HifiMan HE-5s: If I get one of the less-than $200 DACs and decide to go all-in on phones, this seems to be the best value out there.
Senn HD-650s: another contender for best bang/buck.
Again -- any advice is much appreciated in advance. I know I just spit out a lot, but from what I've read thus far on the forums, it doesn't make sense to ask for advice unless you're specific about what you're looking for...
I'm a fairly serious music listening who recently has been doing most of my listening on headphones. My stereo system is a Krell SACD, Cary tube pre-amp, Rotel amp, and a pair of b&w 801s from the early '00s. If I was buying now, I'd no longer be able to afford that quality equipment -- which is also why I can't use it as much anymore: I'm married and have a nine-month old child.
My tastes are pretty varied, and in terms of serious listening it pretty much runs the gamut, with opera and hip-hop being the most notable exceptions. I listen to a lot of acoustic music (mainly bluegrass), a lot of jazz (heavy on Blue Note era hard-bop), and everything from Elvis to the VU to Radiohead, etc etc.
When I listen to music when I'm on the move -- subway/plane/walk in the park -- I use Koss PortaPros, which I think may be the best value out there. I'm looking for suggestions for when I'm sitting at home (or on my porch) and doing nothing but listening to music.
Recently, I've been listening to a lot of 24/96 rips of audiophile vinyl rips on a Mac, either using iTunes or Play. (Some examples of things that have sounded really nice: the Analog Productions 45rpm remaster of Sam Cooke's "Night Beat"; a Japanese LP pressing of Paul Simon's "Graceland," a Speakers Corner 180g LP rip of Lou Reed's "Transformer," and an absolutely mind-blowing Classic Records 200g analog remaster of Zappa's "Hot Rats." For any Zappa fans, it sounds like a whole new album. There's not any jazz listed here b/c a lot of what I have in high-quality digital is MFSL remasters, and those tend to have very severe channel separation, which can make headphone listening a less-than spellbinding experience.) I've also been listening to a fair amount of those flac files converted to 24/48 for my iPod.
For all of the above, I'm currently using a pair of Grado SR80s. I've been using those for about 200 hours. I like them a lot, but I definitely notice the drawbacks -- although some of this might also be due to the absence of a DAC/headphone amp. The biggest thing is that they tend to strain to capture subtleties at either end of the sonic spectrum, which leaves my ears feeling tired after an hour or so. It also means I need more volume to get all the detail, and I'd much prefer listening to something at a softer level.
Finally, I go back and forth on this but I think my overall preference is for over-ear as opposed to on-ear, although that's really a 55-45 deal: When I'm listening to music I like to get as lost as possible, and the leakiness in both directions of on-ears mean that I can hear things on the "outside" and people can hear me.
I'm looking to spend somewhere between $500 and $800 for a DAC/amp and headphone upgrade -- $500 being what I should probably limit myself to, $800 being what I need to limit myself to without putting my marriage (and my mortgage) in jeopardy. I use a laptop, and would bet even money I'd buy something like the Hifiman 801 in the next 12-18 mos, so it probably makes the most sense for me to get something that's more as opposed to less portable.
After spending the better part of two weeks reading through reviews and forums, I'm leaning towards getting the CEntrance DACport because of its obvious portability and the bang for the buck. The issue then is whether my SR80s will do that justice. If not, will buying a pair of $200 headphones make an appreciable enough difference over my $100 Grados to be worth it?
To put an end to my rambling: Considering the above, does the DACport sound like a good choice? And if so, what headphone recommendations would people make?
Or...would something/some combination of what's below, which were the other things that I've spent the most time considering, make more sense?
DACs
(Outside of price issues on any one or the other of these, the main issue on all of them is the portability factor, esp inre: personal players.)
between $100-$250
Audinst HUD-MX1: Good/good value DAC/amp for under $200, which would leave me with enough money to invest some more money on phones
NuForce Icon uDac2: Ditto per the Audinst.
Edit: removed Schiit asgard b/c it's not a DAC.
between $400-$500
NuForce Icon HDP: Seems like it has the best value for the dollar at this price-range.
Emmeline Protector: I'm going to admit my ignorance here and admit that I'm not sure I totally understand why this is so great...but people seem to think it's pretty great.
Hifiman EF-5: In addition to it being a very good product for the money, it obviously works well with other Hifiman products, some of which I'm considering for down the line.
Headphones
Under $200
Senn HD 25-1s: If I get the DACport, this may offer a slight upgrade over the SR80s.
$300-$500
HifiMan HE-5s: If I get one of the less-than $200 DACs and decide to go all-in on phones, this seems to be the best value out there.
Senn HD-650s: another contender for best bang/buck.
Again -- any advice is much appreciated in advance. I know I just spit out a lot, but from what I've read thus far on the forums, it doesn't make sense to ask for advice unless you're specific about what you're looking for...
