[Jodles]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acix /img/forum/go_quote.gif Eventually you'll need a DAC (digital to analog converter) to connect to the amp. You can try to find a store that have them both the Duet and the One, and you can check them out for yourself. To get a sweet start...I think you'll be happy with any of the Apogee's. BTW you can get some used Duet's on FS forum or on ebay for around $350.

Pardon my ignorance, but isn't the Apogee One/Duet both a DAC and amp in itself?

Or do you mean I should go MacBook -> One/Duet -> Amp -> HD600 ?

I just realized I'm lacking some fundamental knowledge

It's true that Duet is a little better, I also dislike the plastic housing of the One. However, I have a late 2008 MacBook without FW (Apple put it back on the next revision); thus if I were to get the Duet I would need a new MacBook as well... Maybe I should do that,, I'll probably need FW at some point in any case... My wallet is getting nervous!

@kool bubba ice: How do you feel about the K701/702 compared to the HD600?

 

[Graphicism]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jodles /img/forum/go_quote.gif @Graphicism: I agree that classical needs more pizazz! But since I'm studying recording, the most important to me is that it sounds most closely to how it was recorded, i.e. I don't want the headphones to add to much to the sound. I know that's asking much sub $300, but which of the mentioned cans would be most "transparent" (is that the right word to use in this context?)?

By pizzaz I was referring to the energy or speed of the headphone, the lively high from a violin front and center stage. The HD600 might be neutral but isn't exactly fast and forward, it seems this is corrected in the HD800, which is way over budget. A few folks around here seem to like classical on their HD650 but I can't understand why, they are veiled with bass. The Sony SA5000 are fast, detailed and transparent but they are open, which means they will let sound in and out. ~ On sale for $309.77 however they will need an amp, nothing extravagant but still another $100 at least.

 

[Acix]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jodles /img/forum/go_quote.gif Pardon my ignorance, but isn't the Apogee One/Duet both a DAC and amp in itself? Or do you mean I should go MacBook -> One/Duet -> Amp -> HD600 ? I just realized I'm lacking some fundamental knowledge It's true that Duet is a little better, I also dislike the plastic housing of the One. However, I have a late 2008 MacBook without FW (Apple put it back on the next revision); thus if I were to get the Duet I would need a new MacBook as well... Maybe I should do that,, I'll probably need FW at some point in any case... My wallet is getting nervous! @kool bubba ice: How do you feel about the K701/702 compared to the HD600?

I highly recommend on, Duet -> K-702 recabled. Amp you can add in the future. Most of the sound cards have some headphones amp, Pro hps amps can add 30% and up to the sound quality.

 

[Thermionic]

Some years ago when I visited the Decca Recording Centre in London they were using HD600s in their classical music editing suites. While they used B&W 800’s for monitoring during the editing process (a surprising amount of editing is done to classical recordings) for absolute quality checking of each edit they used the HD600’s with the B&W’s muted.

The HD650’s hadn’t been released at the time (I think) so they may have used those if available, but as Decca had (has?) a very good reputation for their classical recording SQ, the HD600 series must be a serious option I feel.

By the way congratulations on the course and I am pleased to hear that it is still running after all these years, Guildford is a nice town.

 

[Jodles]

Thank you all again for your replies!

I think I will decide upon the HD600s for now. I understand that in this price range, - or any price range - , there will be weaknesses with any headphones, and I just have to begin some place. In addition it is near impossible to find some place to listen to any of the headphones mentioned here in Oslo Norway, except the respective top-models in each series... I guess that could give me an idea of the differences between the brands and series... Field-excursion tomorrow!

Next then is DAC/amp. I initially considered the Apogee One DAC, but then I'll have no $$ left for an amp at the moment. Is there any good products that combine DAC and amp in one sub $3-400 for the HD600s?

Would the iBasso D2 Boa fit the HD600s?

Thermionic: Thank you! I'm very excited to begin at Surrey. To my knowledge, the Tonmeister course at Surrey and the Sound Recording course at LIPA are still the only courses in England that have any merit.

 

[violeta88]

The Apogee One will power the HD600 well until you can get a better amplifier.  I own a pair of 580's that I have made into HD600's through new drivers and the HD600 grilles and they sound fantastic together.  An amp will take the combo further, but they sound very nice even without one.  Unfortunately I can't do any listening for details now, as my Apogee is on its way to the repair shop (I stupidly decided to open it up to see what parts are in it, and a capacitor broke off).  I did find out though that the DAC section of the Codec in the ONE is identical to the Duet, with the Analog to Digital section being slightly inferior to the Duet.  And the output opamp in the ONE is of better quality than the Duet.  The ONE uses a national semiconductor LME49725, versus the LM833 (an older, higher distortion opamp than the LME49725) in the Duet for the output.

 

[Jodles]

violeta88: Thank you for your post! Actually I just bought the Apogee One a few days ago, and as you say, the HD600 sounds great straight out of it. I have also tried Apogee One -> NAD C320BEE -> HD600. The NAD amplifier, while not being primarily a headphone amplifier, do add some musicality to the very neutral sound from the One. So for the time being I find this to be an excellent combination!
 
In some time I want to get the RSA Protector. But I'm enjoying this setup a lot already, so I'll wait a little. After I've been accustomed to this setup, the the next upgrade will sound even better!