VooX
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2008
- Posts
- 13
- Likes
- 0
Hey Head-fiers,
As a long-time reader of the forums and long time headphone fan, I registered last summer to do searches and lurk the forums. Some posters here have great ears and can separate hype from actual performance quite well (based on my own experiences with the gear they talk about). After much reading through threads, I need advice from the forums, and decided to finally post (please excuse the length).
I am looking for the best portable headphone amp for professional use.
I am an audio engineer who works on live events and has studio experience. Currently I am in need of a high quality portable amp to power several sets of headphones that I use.
My first major headphone rig was purchased over a decade ago, and is still my main headphone source. I use a Sennheiser HD600 with a Musical Fidelity X-Cans v2.0 tube amp as my reference rig. I also own a pair of Fostex T20RP mkII cans when I need a closed can for studio tracking or soloing inputs/outputs during live events. I hardly use the Fostex headphones as they are flat but not great sounding with limited range and detail. They do the job, and nothing more.
When I am on the road as a monitor engineer for live artists I currently use Westone ES-2 IEMs. Most of the time, I am using the ES-2s coming out of a wireless beltpack which is on the same frequency as the star so I know exactly what they are listening to, or otherwise directly out of the audio console's headphone output. I work on large enough events to have top quality consoles so their headphone amp output is never an issue.
Coming out of my 3G iPhone and second-gen Nano, the ES-2s sound fine as they require minimal drive, but the HD600s suffer with the clearly underpowered headphone amps.
I would like to buy a portable amp to use with both my HD600s and ES-2s on the road. For the HD600s, the amp would come out of my laptop when mixing projects in ProTools on the road; for the ES-2s I would like the amp for possible use coming out of the wireless beltpack into the the IEMs (for myself and the artist) as well as for recreational iPod/laptop use.
My future headphone purchases will likely be either an AKG K702 or a Sennheiser HD800 (I have to audition the HD800 to decide if I want it over the K702) and likely at some point an artist will require me to get Ultimate Ears UE-10/UE-11 IEMs for monitor engineering.
I would like an amp that would be versatile enough to handle the impedance of both the HD600 (or similar) while not overpowering the ES-2 (or similar), and yet have the audio quality to satisfy my very critical ears.
Currently the RSA SR-71A and P-51 interest me, but I am also open to other suggestions and recommendations. My budget will be under $600, which should cover most choices.
I like the compact size of the P-51 but am worried about the internal battery's performance over repeated cycles. During live events we can't chance a bad battery, so everything will be charged nightly as a precaution. On the other hand, the dual 9V battery supply of the SR-71A ensures dual-mono amp performance and the option to replace/charge the batteries daily (nothing taken for chance), however the substantial size increase means the artist will likely resist wearing it on their belt and not want to use it, and it is no longer pocket friendly for when I need an iPod amp on the go.
I am interested in your experiences with both of the amps I listed, as well as other suggestions you might have specific to my needs. I have read comparison threads and other threads on various portable amps and am looking for more feedback.
Thanks in advance for your advice and opinions. I look forward to hearing the suggestions of those who are headphone fanatics like myself.
As a long-time reader of the forums and long time headphone fan, I registered last summer to do searches and lurk the forums. Some posters here have great ears and can separate hype from actual performance quite well (based on my own experiences with the gear they talk about). After much reading through threads, I need advice from the forums, and decided to finally post (please excuse the length).
I am looking for the best portable headphone amp for professional use.
I am an audio engineer who works on live events and has studio experience. Currently I am in need of a high quality portable amp to power several sets of headphones that I use.
My first major headphone rig was purchased over a decade ago, and is still my main headphone source. I use a Sennheiser HD600 with a Musical Fidelity X-Cans v2.0 tube amp as my reference rig. I also own a pair of Fostex T20RP mkII cans when I need a closed can for studio tracking or soloing inputs/outputs during live events. I hardly use the Fostex headphones as they are flat but not great sounding with limited range and detail. They do the job, and nothing more.
When I am on the road as a monitor engineer for live artists I currently use Westone ES-2 IEMs. Most of the time, I am using the ES-2s coming out of a wireless beltpack which is on the same frequency as the star so I know exactly what they are listening to, or otherwise directly out of the audio console's headphone output. I work on large enough events to have top quality consoles so their headphone amp output is never an issue.
Coming out of my 3G iPhone and second-gen Nano, the ES-2s sound fine as they require minimal drive, but the HD600s suffer with the clearly underpowered headphone amps.
I would like to buy a portable amp to use with both my HD600s and ES-2s on the road. For the HD600s, the amp would come out of my laptop when mixing projects in ProTools on the road; for the ES-2s I would like the amp for possible use coming out of the wireless beltpack into the the IEMs (for myself and the artist) as well as for recreational iPod/laptop use.
My future headphone purchases will likely be either an AKG K702 or a Sennheiser HD800 (I have to audition the HD800 to decide if I want it over the K702) and likely at some point an artist will require me to get Ultimate Ears UE-10/UE-11 IEMs for monitor engineering.
I would like an amp that would be versatile enough to handle the impedance of both the HD600 (or similar) while not overpowering the ES-2 (or similar), and yet have the audio quality to satisfy my very critical ears.
Currently the RSA SR-71A and P-51 interest me, but I am also open to other suggestions and recommendations. My budget will be under $600, which should cover most choices.
I like the compact size of the P-51 but am worried about the internal battery's performance over repeated cycles. During live events we can't chance a bad battery, so everything will be charged nightly as a precaution. On the other hand, the dual 9V battery supply of the SR-71A ensures dual-mono amp performance and the option to replace/charge the batteries daily (nothing taken for chance), however the substantial size increase means the artist will likely resist wearing it on their belt and not want to use it, and it is no longer pocket friendly for when I need an iPod amp on the go.
I am interested in your experiences with both of the amps I listed, as well as other suggestions you might have specific to my needs. I have read comparison threads and other threads on various portable amps and am looking for more feedback.
Thanks in advance for your advice and opinions. I look forward to hearing the suggestions of those who are headphone fanatics like myself.