[SoliloCey]

Ok Im a complete noobie at this I have some stupid questions, along with some ok questions i guess.

Im looking into getting Vinyl this 2009. Im a student so I'm not Mr. Moneybags. Ive been told your amp and source are important as your cans for sound quality, all Im concerned is getting a good amp to drive the amplified cans, and hook it up to the Sherwood turntable I intend getting later on.

The cans im not sure yet which ones i want yet. maybe some HD600's K702, or something else, I was thinking some STAXs SR404's or something similar... Though I might not get the amped cans, which leaves me asking. If I get a Sherwood PM9805.

So here are my questions:-

1/ can I hook the intended turntable to my Hifi system(JVC MX-KC68: 400W) or will I need a receiver or amp?
2/ Can my specific HiFi system drive any of those cans? (i doubt it)
3/ can 500W receivers drive amped cans?

I was thinking of the following to purchase, will any of these be good?

receivers
1/ Sherwood rd-6513
2/ Sony St-rgd520

Amps
Creek OBH-21
Creek OBH-21SE
Meier Audio Corda Cantate

I like the tube ones they're pretty but wonder if they're $$$$

any help will be appreciated thanks.

 

[SoliloCey]

Um... can anyone help?

 

[socrates63]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoliloCey /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...all Im concerned is getting a good amp to drive the amplified cans...

An amp to drive amplified cans? I don't quite understand the statement. I think you mean a good amp to drive the cans. The headphone amp is what amplifies the signal to the headphone, and "driving" is another way of saying amplifying the signal to the headphone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoliloCey /img/forum/go_quote.gif 1/ can I hook the intended turntable to my Hifi system(JVC MX-KC68: 400W) or will I need a receiver or amp?

Since the JVC MX-KC68 does not have a built-in phono preamp, you cannot directly connect a turntable to the MX-KC68. However, there is a line input on the JVC, so if you have the turntable connected to a phono preamp, then you can connect the phono preamp to the MX-KC68's line input.

You need a receiver which has a phono preamp built-in, or you need to buy a standalone phono preamp which you can connect to your stereo system.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoliloCey /img/forum/go_quote.gif 2/ Can my specific HiFi system drive any of those cans? (i doubt it)

I doubt it, too. I have a compact Denon compact component stereo system that I paid nearly $1000 for ten years ago, and its headphone out is not that good. Among other things, it exhibits clipping. However, since money is an issue for you, the JVC may get you by.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoliloCey /img/forum/go_quote.gif 3/ can 500W receivers drive amped cans?

The wattage of a receiver and the quality of its headphone output have nothing to do with one another. I have only tried connecting my headhpones to two receivers, the aforementioned Denon and a vintage Sansui receiver (8080). I would not in any way consider the headphone outputs on either receiver to be audiophile grade.

 

[Spareribs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoliloCey /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ok Im a complete noobie at this I have some stupid questions, along with some ok questions i guess. Im looking into getting Vinyl this 2009. Im a student so I'm not Mr. Moneybags. Ive been told your amp and source are important as your cans for sound quality, all Im concerned is getting a good amp to drive the amplified cans, and hook it up to the Sherwood turntable I intend getting later on. The cans im not sure yet which ones i want yet. maybe some HD600's K702, or something else, I was thinking some STAXs SR404's or something similar... Though I might not get the amped cans, which leaves me asking. If I get a Sherwood PM9805. So here are my questions:- 1/ can I hook the intended turntable to my Hifi system(JVC MX-KC68: 400W) or will I need a receiver or amp? 2/ Can my specific HiFi system drive any of those cans? (i doubt it) 3/ can 500W receivers drive amped cans? .

1/ Hook your turntable to an older reciever that has a turntable input. This is called a PHONO INPUT. New recievers don't have this usually

2/ Yes your reciever will drive the cans but not compatible to the Stax.

3/ It doesn't really matter if your amp is 500w reciever. Most average recievers can drive cans. Not Stax though.

Good luck brotha

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoliloCey /img/forum/go_quote.gif I like the tube ones they're pretty but wonder if they're $$$$

Tube amps aren't necessarily expensive. There are several budget models that offer a lot of performance at a reasonable price. However, I wouldn't choose one until you decide which headphones you want. After you figure that out, pull threads on your headphone where people talk about amps for it. You'll find out what other owners are using and can start searching for the right one for you.

But give tubes some consideration. They sound wonderful, look great and are easy to live with.

 

[SoliloCey]

thanks for all the comments guys ^.^ really appreciate it.

 

[scootermafia]

I would start with HD650s or K702s, I think Stax may be way outside your budget, electrostatics tend to be that way, and they require a special amplifier that is totally different from what normal headphones use. Right now Compuplus has a sale on K701s, I scored my dad a pair for $220, they're nearly the same headphone as the brand new K702s.

I wouldn't recommend using a home stereo receiver to drive headphones, it doesn't matter how powerful it is, they have the same sort of circuitry for their headphone ports and it is not a purpose built component for driving headphones. You will probably not be happy with your purchase until you have a dedicated headphone amp.

Once we figure out what sort of sound you're looking for, and your budget, we can help you pick out an amp for your new headphones. If you don't mind shooting the Chinese a few emails and paypals, the audio-gd C2C is said to be a very good solid state amp. If you want an easy to get tube amp for about $500-600, the WooAudio 6 or the WooAudio 3 are possibilities, they're a reasonable size and are popular around here. For half the price you can get a Darkvoice 336SE like me, you take a risk ordering it from China but it's a fairly nice amp.

As recently bumped threads are saying, you may not get what you're looking for with a small, portable headphone amp with hard to drive headphones like the Senn HD650s. You say you're looking to listen to vinyl...I have a garden variety Sony turntable, it's fine for listening through my Klipsch 8" reference bookshelves but if I use headphones with it, the HD650s are far too revealing and it just sounds static-y, I would need to really spend on vinyl to get way better sound than digital. Vinyl is still fun, and of course it sounds best with tubes according to most vinyl people.