[Mister R]

Hi there.

I've been recommended some of these for listening in the house using it via a Cyrus DAC-XP and Musical Fidelity V90 HPA Headphone amp. I think the Momentums are great as a portable option when I'm travelling.

I got a Grado labs extension cable recently and weirdly enough plugging my standard momentum cable in to it, there is a slight hiss/background distortion...playing around with it and just plugging the Momentums in to the amp it's still there so there is nothing wrong with the grado extension cable. Through the iPad the Momentums sound perfect. Could it be that the momentum cable just doesn't like being plugged in via a very good dac/hifi?

So my question is do I spend £120 upgrading the standard sennheiser headphone cable with a good Toxic cable or... Go for an audiophile headphone like the Audeze or Grado SE325?

I'm also conscious my amp needs a look at too and like the look of the Graham Slee Solo or Lehman audio.

Thoughts as to what to do short term? Clearly I need to get this background hiss sorted out! ;0)

Thanks!
Iain

 

[briant8957]

I'd say the LCD-3 is a totally different type of headphone when comparing it to the Sennheiser Momentum...

 

[mrip541]

The Momentums are very sensitive (110db) and have very low impedance (18 ohms), so they will be susceptible to hiss. I don't think there's any way a new cable would change the hiss. They are basically not designed to be used with a desktop amp. The amp you have also has high output impedance (50 ohms) so the momentum may not be the best headphone for it. Word on the internet is you want your headphone to have an impedance 8x greater than the amp's output impedance to ensure an even response. As for upgrading to the LCD3, it will sound ridiculously good compared to the momentum, but you'll need a new amp because the the LCD likes at least 1 watt of power and the v90 only puts out 0.25w at 32ohms. The lcd3 is 100 ohms (I think), so the amp's power will be significantly lower than .25w into that load.
 
I'd say either get an amp with very low output impedance (and no reports of hiss) for your momentums, or get the LCD3 and a new amp that puts out 1w into 100ohms. The LCD experience will be unbelievably better but it's so much more expensive I don't think it's really worth comparing.

 

[Mister R]

What about the Grado S325 as a more economical home listening pair?

 

[Mister R]

Thinking about going for some Grado S325e....thoughts with a V90 HPA amp? Would look to upgrade to a graham slee solo or Lehman audio amp at some point.

Cheers!
Iain