a900 togehter with Emmeline SR-71?

[tradefoxy]

Hi,

I am going to buy the following combination:

Audio-Technica ATH-A900

with

Emmeline SR-71 portable headphone amp.

Does anyone has excact the same combination and does it works well? I like the a900 very much and I am looking for a VERY PORTALBE amp (source will be an 20GB iPod 4G) and the SR-71 seems to be one of the smallest high quality amps.

So, is this a good combination? I hear all genres of music from vocals to Rock/Pop and Classic.

Thanks in advance for all responses,
tradefoxy

 

[john_jcb]

Welcome to Head-Fi

I am sure someone out there has the combination you are thinking about. I have not heard the a900's so it is not for me to say how they would sound. I, however, have tried all the headphones in my profile and a few more at meets and I have yet to hear one that did not pair well with the SR-71.

 

[gaboo]

I did listen to A900 out of SR-71 at the last MD meet. The combo sounds great. IMO for these cans the SR-71 is significantly better than any lower priced amp. So if you have the A900 already, like them, and have the dough for the SR-71, by all means treat yourself.

If you don't have the A900 already, there are probably other combos to consider for the price...

Beware that A900 are anything but portable.

 

[tradefoxy]

gaboo,

what other combo(s) do you think would be a better choice? I did not ordered either the A900 or the Sr-71 yet. I know the a900 and like the sound. Of course, a Hd650 is also a nice headphone. I have not tried the SR-71 yet...

So, what would be your choice? The amplifier should be as small as the SR-71 to fit perfectly with an iPod in one case. A closed headphone would be my first choice. Money is not a limitation, size of the headphone is also not a matter...

Let me say, that I did not like the CD3K because of the "harsh" highs...

tradefoxy

 

[lindrone]

I saw your post on the portable forum as well... I agree with what BlessingX said there (of course, the A900 he tested was mine.. heheh). A900 is easiest one of the best performing "unamped" closed headphone out there, and adding an additional amp improves it, but only by a very slight amount.

If you really want to improve the A900 by using an amp, be aware that even if you got the SR-71, you get a very slightly noticeable improvement; but if you spend any less than SR-71, you won't notice much improvement at all.

I don't think A900 is a headphone that really needs amping, except just to replace those ridiculously crappy headphone outputs from certain CD players (such as my CE775's headphone out) that completely lack soundstage and other characteristics of sound. In your case, combining it with an iPod, I just don't think the amp is much of a necessity at all.

 

[Annihilator]

would a Meier Audio HA-1 MkII be a good amp for a a900? im looking for a ~$500 amp to go with mine for home use and don't really know my options(good options that is)

 

[skullguise]

I have this combo, used it at work for a bit, then brought the Corda home (I work in a cube, not a closed office, and didn't want to keep packing and unpacking it).

It was a very nice combo, musical and slightly up front in character. The Corda kept pretty good control on what can sometimes be fatter bass with the a900 (or maybe with the crossfeed on, there was a slight lessening of the bass impact, which had the same effect).

Anyways, I agree also with another statement that the a900's increase in performance is marginal with many amps, it gets its character right from my computer headphone output almost as well.

That said, if you want portability, get the SR-71

 

[Natsuiro]

I thought the a900s benefited significantly with a ppa. Everything just seemed better.. and the bass was very very strong.

 

[gaboo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tradefoxy gaboo, what other combo(s) do you think would be a better choice? I did not ordered either the A900 or the Sr-71 yet. I know the a900 and like the sound. Of course, a Hd650 is also a nice headphone. I have not tried the SR-71 yet...

First, let me say that I don't understand your system limitations: small and portable amp, but don't care about the size of the cans. What is your environment?

I'm surprised that you like the A900 if your main music is rock. Maybe you should listen to more cans before jumping in... I'm not sure what exactly you like about the stock A900. Because an amp that will improve it, will actually change the way it sounds.

For rock, I like tight bass and a fast, bright can. The A900 is neither fast nor tight in bass, and percussion instruments plain suck w/o an amp. I have the A900 because I need some isolation from 15Krpm SCSI drives, computer fans, and well, and some human sounds where I work.

I don't want to deal with canal phones, and none of the better closed cans I know of seems to have any significant isolation.

If you're willing to go open, there are far better choices. For rock and unamped, HD-555 is a better value to me than A900! Unfortunately, there was no HD-5x5 at the last meet, so I don't know first hand what amp is the best match. HD-650 is much better IMO.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tradefoxy So, what would be your choice? The amplifier should be as small as the SR-71 to fit perfectly with an iPod in one case. A closed headphone would be my first choice. Money is not a limitation, size of the headphone is also not a matter...

I think you amplifier choice is right (given your size constraint). I assume the SR-71 will do well with almost any can, since it handled well all cans I've tried it with: PS-1, HD-6x0, R10 etc.

IMO, if you need isolation and quality better than A900 at the same time, canal phones are the only way to go. You'd also gain full portability for your rig. Btw, I don't have a portable rig, so don't ask.

 

[gaboo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Natsuiro I thought the a900s benefited significantly with a ppa. Everything just seemed better.. and the bass was very very strong.

Strong, yes. But tight?

 

[gaboo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lindrone I saw your post on the portable forum as well... I agree with what BlessingX said there (of course, the A900 he tested was mine.. heheh). A900 is easiest one of the best performing "unamped" closed headphone out there, and adding an additional amp improves it, but only by a very slight amount. If you really want to improve the A900 by using an amp, be aware that even if you got the SR-71, you get a very slightly noticeable improvement; but if you spend any less than SR-71, you won't notice much improvement at all. I don't think A900 is a headphone that really needs amping, except just to replace those ridiculously crappy headphone outputs from certain CD players (such as my CE775's headphone out) that completely lack soundstage and other characteristics of sound. In your case, combining it with an iPod, I just don't think the amp is much of a necessity at all.

A900 is weird can. It has deficiencies that are hard to cure. I suspect it needs lots of current. The current entry level amp for it is SR-71. IMHO, a maxed out (stevio's) PPX3-6SN7 is a considerable improvement. But wait, this costs way more than the A900! I'm curious how the Mcubed performs with it...

 

[lindrone]

LOL.. here's where a matter of perspective makes all the difference, isn't it?

Given my personal preference, I don't see any particular "weakness" or "weirdness" in the A900 that needs curing given its particular price class, of course there are higher classed cans that sounds better, but they need their own proper amping and subsequent other investment to make them sound the way they're supposed to sound as well.

Quote:

I'm surprised that you like the A900 if your main music is rock.....If you're willing to go open, there are far better choices. For rock and unamped, HD-555 is a better value to me than A900! Unfortunately, there was no HD-5x5 at the last meet, so I don't know first hand what amp is the best match. HD-650 is much better IMO.

I've seen more than a few people who tried the HD5x5 series and did not like them as much as the A900. Particularly mentioning the graininess issue that seems to run across all of the HD5x5 series, some people didn't like the way the soundstage is portrayed either. I haven't tried them myself, but there are enough people with differ opinions to warrant that HD5x5 isn't necessarily superior.

Not only that, if you gave me rock music and told me to pick between A900 and properly amped HD650, heck, give it a Zu Mobius and hook it up to a Headroom Max; I will still take the A900 over it instead. Matter of sound signature, soundstage, frontal imaging and speed, with all the above, I would prefer the A900 over the HD650. Technically HD650 does have more detail, but I still feel that HD650 is suited more towards jazz and classical more than anything else.

Matter of perspective.

 

[gaboo]

See tradefoxy? Asking other people's opinion will only get you this far. You really need to listen to stuff yourself. Buy what sounds good to you. I gave my best shot on this.

@lindrone: I agree that soundstage on A900 is amazing (for a can of course). I does make the 555 sound tiny by comparison. Strange since both use angle drivers. Probably the A900 has better phase reproduction.

 

[john_jcb]

Tradefoxy where abouts do you live? There are meets and other opportunities to hear some of this stuff before you buy.

 

[tradefoxy]

First, thanks to all replys so far.

I have heard the HD650 (with stock cable) as well as the A900 and several BeyerDynamics, AKGs and Sonys several times. I like the 650 for some tracks but overall I prefer the sound of the A900 (and the CD3K, but these are a bit bright for me). I know the full Stax-range, the Orpheus (owned one for about a year) and the AKG1000 (horribe in my opinion). I heard once the R10 but this was years ago a I cant really remember the sound.

That being said, I will run for the A900. My initial was if the SR-71 is a good combination with the A900. Gaboo gave me the answer already.

I own the ER-6i, sound is OK but I did not feel comfortable with canal phones.

Regarding the portability: when listening to music I do this at several places at my home: in the garden, on the sofa, in my home office chair or, or or... therefore I prefer a small source/amp-combination. The size of the phone does not really matter for this reason.

john_jcb: I live in berlin, germany