[poorimpulsectrl]

Pertinent facts :

Cans : Grado SR80, Koss KSC-35, soon Beyerdynamic 250-80

Uses : electronic music (progressive, techno, downtempo), first person shooter games

Sources : PC (Turtle Beach Santa Cruz), Rio Volt SP250 mp3-cd player, Ipod 5GB (as you can see, 99% mp3 source)

Desired Price Range : willing to spend up to $200 USD, but if a great amp can be had for less I'm not beyond that.

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Diatribe :

Before I start yabbering, I'd like to say that as a good forum denizen I've used and abused the search function as best I can before bringing these questions forward.

I love the atmosphere and detail of my Grado's but they're a bit bright on the high end (I usually crank this down on my soundcard's EQ). I would like to pick up a pair of Beyer 250-80s, given that they are highly regarded for my uses and price range. The Grado SR325's were also a consideration, but I think I'd like to get a solid closed headphone to complement my SR80's.

I listen to a lot of music (progressive house, hard techno, downtempo/hip hop, ambient, trance, some industrial/hard rock and classical), sometimes 10-12 hours a day. I play a lot of first person shooter games as well (sof2 at the moment). Overall sound quality is obviously important, as is bass given my musical and atmospheric detail. More specifically with gaming, 'ooomph' & having sounds accurately placed is of great importance in first person shooters (as stated in several threads on this subject already). Also aforementioned in such threads is the fact that Grado's open nature isn't so hot for sound placement. My speakers (Klipsch Pro Media 2-400) leave me desiring nothing for these applications. Their particular coloring I like for the music I listen to and the games I play. I affectionately dub them "baby-phazons" for anyone familiar with Steve Dash's sound system.

What I am not so clear on after reading what I have is what amp I should get. I know that the Meta42 is generally regarded as an excellent amp and that it pairs well with the Beyer's and Grado's (please correct me if I'm wrong). I also know that it's a bit of a gray area as to whether or not the Grado's benefit from an amp, and that the Beyer 250-250's are better served by an amp than the 250-80's.

Tangent's page seems to be down so I'm not sure what options are available to me in configuration, if I were to get a Meta42. I've read that solid state amps are generally reccomended for electronic music, and that a dedicated rather than 9v power supply tends to produce better results. It would be nice if I could get a great amp that didn't cost more than $200 USD (I live in Canada, exchange is a b*tch), that is both not overkill for the headphones I have but won't be limiting in the future should I choose to worsen the addiction we all seem to have here.

Given my uses, what pertinent considerations would go into selecting an amp? For example, if the meta42, what components should I configure it with? If not the meta42, is there another amp that would be better suited to my given considerations? For the most part, I think my amp will stay connected to one of the jacks on my soundcard 24-7 and not be shuttled around on my portable units.

Thank you in advance for anyone kind enough to offer some advice. Looking forward to benefit from the experts it seems this forum is chock full of.

ps. Executive summary of questions for anyone who doesn't want to tread through all that crap :

1. What amp would go best with Grado SR80's / Beyer 250-80's for electronic music / FPS games?

2. What configuration would be reccomended if a meta42 amp is the answer to #1 ?

 

[poorimpulsectrl]

not worthy of a response?

 

[blankdisc]

check out www.headphone.com, you probably will find some useful suggestion. it's a good web site for hi-fi which is recommanded by a lot of people here

 

[poorimpulsectrl]

Already have, thank you for the response anyways.

 

[Sol_Zhen]

I have a JMT built CHA 47that works great with the Grado sr80s, costs less than a Meta or Total Airhead. I also have a Total Airhead amp that works great with the Grados.

I'm not sure about your other phones, though.

Do you care about portability? (only skimmed your post).

My next amp will likely be a Meta. But, only after I get a couple more phones.

 

[poorimpulsectrl]

No, I think for the most part the amp will stay put connected to the line out on my sound card.

 

[Jeff Guidry]

I have a META42 with OPA637 using a 24v Elpac wall wart and a CMOY with OPA2134pa using a single 9v battery. To be perfectly honest, I much prefer the sound of my Cmoy. In fact, after I have lived with the META42 for another few weeks, I intend to do a head to head review of them both. The META42 is simply too laidback and polite for my taste. The Cmoy has a much more lush, rich and upfront sound that I greatly enjoy with both my MDR-V6's and my HD580's. The only area that the META42 bests the Cmoy is in bass, the cmoy bass is much looser, whereas the META42 bass is much tighter and well controlled.

I feel this discrepancy may be mostly due to the OPA637. I have orderd a pair of the AD8610 opamps to replace the OPA637. The Analog Devices opamps are said to have a 'snappier, more aggressive' sound that may be more to my taste.

Since most people seem to be getting their META42's with the AD8620 or AD8610, this may explain why my opinion is vastly different that the majority of META42 owners.

However, I do urge you not to count out the Cmoy in your deliberations. The Cmoy will likely cost you half of what the META42 would, and is still one of the wonders of hi-fi.

That being said, the CHA47 is also a highly respected amp designed specifically for low impedance phones like the ones you are considering. It is supposedly especially good for the type of music you prefer, so consider it as well.

 

[poorimpulsectrl]

thank you very much jeff, i appreciate the advice/input.

 

[blankdisc]

someone can tell me how to get the JMT CHA42 Amp? and how much it is, thank you