Advice on new headphones - don't like DT770's with new set-up

[pevsfreedom]

Didn't see mention of the Heresy above, so I assumed you were just using the headphone jack on the Yamaha amp to drive the 80-ohm DT-770's.

Yeah I don't think I mentioned that. Tried that into the S501 as well. I heard the output jack on the S501 isn't that great. I was considering returning the Schitt Heresy as I bought that before I thought of this kind of new system, but I also read it might be nice to keep around to use in tandem.

 

[helloh3adfi]

Never used those as I don't know what they are. I just saw the 250 was a bit more U shaped than V.

You might try a software equalizer, but then you need a PC.

 

[ADUHF]

Yeah I don't think I mentioned that. Tried that into the S501 as well. I heard the output jack on the S501 isn't that great. I was considering returning the Schitt Heresy as I bought that before I thought of this kind of new system, but I also read it might be nice to keep around to use in tandem.

The Heresy is a sub-ohm amp, so it should have low enough impedance to deliver decent sound quality to the 80-ohm DT-770.

I'd try it with the low gain setting though first, because you shouldn't need much power to drive the 80-ohm DT-770. And it might give you a lower noise floor. There should be a switch on the back for this. You can see it below, between the two sets of RCA jacks...

If you can't get enough volume with the lower gain setting, then switch back to the higher gain setting.

The Heresy probably needs a standard -10 dBV consumer line level input btw. If you're using it directly with a TT, then you may need a separate phono preamp to get that, if your TT doesn't have one built in.

 

[pevsfreedom]

Yup I tried the low and hi. I was using the hi at about 35-50%. I was using the laptop > focusrite solo > schitt, or the turntable > 501 > schitt. I'll do some more testing tomorrow with some other headphones.

 

[ADUHF]

If one of your TT's has its own built-in phono preamp, then why not try running its line level out directly into the Heresy amp? And try it with the lower gain setting on the Heresy. I think that would probably deliver the best sound quality to your current 80 ohm DT-770's.

You may need to use the Heresy's higher gain setting for the higher impedance 250 ohm Beyers. But you could try the low gain setting with those HPs as well.

 

[pevsfreedom]

If one of your TT's has it's own built-in phono preamp, then why not try running its line level out directly into the Heresy amp? And try it with the lower gain setting on the Heresy. I think that would probably deliver the best sound quality to your current 80 ohm DT-770's.

You may need to use the higher gain setting for the higher impedance 250 ohm Beyers. But you could try the low setting with those as well.

It doesn't. I have a Pluto U-turn pre-amp I was trying to upgrade with the S501.

 

[ADUHF]

It doesn't. I have a Pluto U-turn pre-amp I was trying to upgrade with the S501.

Understood. Have you tried using just the TT & Pluto preamp with the Heresy and DT 770? Or is the preamp no longer working?

And how were you connecting the Yamaha S501 to the Heresy headphone amp?

 

[pevsfreedom]

I have not. The Pluto is on its last legs I think. My old set-up was "grossly inefficient" as many people said. It was 10 years old and cheap. I've not tried my classic set-up with the new headphones.

I'm using the headphone out on the S501 via a 1/4" to a dual RCA cable into the Heresy. Seems to work. Not sure if that's proper? Doing same thing with my focusrite solo into the Heresy.

 

[ADUHF]

I'm using the headphone out on the S501 via a 1/4" to a dual RCA cable into the Heresy. Seems to work. Not sure if that's proper? Doing same thing with my focusrite solo into the Heresy.

I wouldn't use the headphone output to go into another headphone amp. It may work. But I think you'd get better results a different way.

Since I have not tried a setup exactly like this, I'm not sure of the best configuration. I think a fixed -10 dBV line level output would probably work the best though. And you might be able to get that from the S501's tape output, if it has one. I would have to spend some time looking at the amp's docs though to be more certain. Because there could be a better way than either of the above options.

Others here may know more about the best way to connect the two.

 

[pevsfreedom]

I'm wondering if it's even necessary. I think the S501 will power headphones fine, I've just heard some people mention it's "not a headphone amp output" so it's not ideal, but who knows. I was thinking of getting some RCA to open wire cable and plugging into the speaker B in the back to use the Heresy and headphones instead, if it matters.

All this equipment is new to me and I will have several days of fun messing around with it all I am sure

 

[ADUHF]

Connecting the 80 ohm DT-770 headphones directly to the S501's headphone output will work.

The sound quality probably won't be as good as the Heresy though, because the S501's headphone output is probably designed for headphones with a higher impedance and lower sensitivity than the 80 ohm DT-770. Headphones like the 300 ohm Senn HD 600, and 250 ohm Beyers would likely be a better fit there.

Give it a try though.

You need to figure out the correct way of connecting your S501 to the Heresy though, to really assess the difference in sound quality between the two.

 

[pevsfreedom]

Gotcha. For now I'm definitely gonna try and figure out which headphone I like first of the few I bought (HD600, Beyer DT880 250, SD25, and DT770 250ohm to try). Thanks for some food for thought! I figure I should test them out through the laptop > Heresy set-up to rule out anything weird potentially going on with the turntable.

 

[ADUHF]

As mentioned above, the higher impedance headphones, like the HD 600, and 250 ohm Beyers will probably sound a little better plugged directly into the S501's headphone jack than the 80 ohm DT-770.

You should be able to use either type of headphone with the Heresy. Lower impedance headphones will probably work best in the Heresy's low gain mode. You can try the high impedance headphones with both gain settings though. And use whichever you feel gives you the best control over volume.

This is probably another dumb question, but how are you connecting your laptop to the Heresy?

 

[ADUHF]

There may also be some other potentially good headphones within your $300 price range. Someone else already mentioned the Sennheiser HD 560S. And the Drop/Senn HD 6XX is another popular open dynamic model in the same price range. I've never used either (maybe an old HD 650 back in the day?). But Resolve did some comparisons of these two in his HD 560S review...

 

[ADUHF]

I don't know if you have any interest in planar magnetics. They are generally heavier and less comfortable than open dynamic headphones. And may have a few more QC issues. There are some planar magnetics available for less than $200 though now, such as the HFM 400SE and Drop/HFM X4 discussed here...