[Rockofeller]

So, potential headphones:
AT L3000
Stax Omega II
HD650 with various upgrades

Do these sound like top contenders for what I want?

 

[Uncle Erik]

Well, posting here was the right place to start.

But I'd advise against going out and spending $2500 on a headphone without really knowing what you want. Otherwise, you're setting yourself up for a very expensive disappointment. Almost all of the expensive ones are somewhat controversial. Even the Orpheus has its detractors.

Have you considered what kind of tube amp you're going to build? In my opinion, building one is a terrific choice, but which one? There are a lot of different circuits out there.

An electrostat has much different requirements than a dynamic headphone. I don't believe that any of Bottlehead's amps are designed for them. Stax offers a complimentary amp for their headphones and there are good DIY ones, like the Blue Hawaii available.

Anyhow, if you'd like a recommendation for $2500 or less, I'd buy the AKG K-1000. It's the best I've heard, but then again, I haven't heard them all and I'm a big fan of the AKG house sound. To my ear, AKG gets it right. The AKG K-1000 would run you about $600-$700. They're discontinued, but you can find good used ones. And if you want tubes, the Bottlehead Paramount 300B monoblocks ($1,199) per pair would suit them well. The 300B is (arguably) the best tube on the market. If you're thinking about solid state, take a look at the Dynamite. I'm in the process of building one. I think the total cost will be about $1,000, but I'm not done yet.

 

[Rockofeller]

I am going to the Atlanta head-fi meet this weekend, hopefully I will hear some of these headphones there. Thanks for the advice thus far. Could you link me to the blue hawaii amp? Thanks!

 

[digitalD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rockofeller I am going to the Atlanta head-fi meet this weekend, hopefully I will hear some of these headphones there. Thanks for the advice thus far. Could you link me to the blue hawaii amp? Thanks!

Blue Hawaii

"Stock" it is about your entire budget. Adding things on will obviously cost more. The KGSS is also quite good at driving electrostats. My favorite headphone of all time is the Stax Omega II, for nearly all genre's of music. If you get a good deal, you can get the pair for a bit over your budget. However, just so you know, the KGSS and BH take quite some time to build and ship so keep that in mind if you're an impatient person or just really want it now. The AKG K1000's are also a favorite of mine and I would highly recommend it with a budget like yours as it is a very fussy pair of earspeakers and requires some buy'n'try and/or research and/or auditioning to find the right rig for you, but once you do, boy does it sing. Try to get in some good/quality time with the equipment at the meet. Hope you find something you like.

 

[Rockofeller]

Hrm, I thought the blue hawaii could be done as a DIY?
I am quite patient - My goal is to have the amp completed by September.

edit: found bluehawaii plans: http://headwize.com/projects/showfil...lmore4_prj.htm

 

[pawlowski6132]

Quote:

Originally Posted by digitalD First of all, KGSS = Kevin Gilmore Solid State, a very popular design by an incredibly smart man. Blue Hawaii = Kevin Gilmore designed hybrid amp, also incredibly well designed. Second of all, these are "average" people. They work very hard coming up with a good design and then drop their ideas into the community to decide on how to better it. Some designs are modified from previous amps (professionally built - opened and observed for design schematics then tweeked, or previous, good builds where improvements could be easily made). They are considerable pieces of equipment that require a lot of knowledge and a whole lot of work. I suggest you not underestimate DIY equipment before you even listen to it.

You just proved my point...it takes a lot of work and a good design to get a good amp. These are NOT average people. Trust me, the average person couldn't build a good amp.

 

[digitalD]

Haha, the hell I miss that. Yeah I meant to type "aren't" there. My brain is racked from all the physics work, but yeah, they aren't average people doing these designs, but they are STILL DIY amps. And my point was that you shouldn't rule out DIY amps (esp if you haven't even heard of some of the better designs), which it seemed like you were doing. These are designed by smart people for the community to work with. Perhaps not an "average" person could build these amps, but if provided with the schematics and some instruction, they are buildable by slightly above average people (build, not design - but even then). I'm not entirely tech savvy but I do plan on building some amps soon enough. I was told (not sure if this is true), but Justin from HeadAmp built his first working Blue Hawaii at the young age of 15. That says something about both him and the buildability of these amps. So I didn't quite "prove" your point. It doesn't take a whole company, you can DIY and it'd be just as good, if not better.

 

[digitalD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rockofeller Hrm, I thought the blue hawaii could be done as a DIY? I am quite patient - My goal is to have the amp completed by September. edit: found bluehawaii plans: http://headwize.com/projects/showfil...lmore4_prj.htm

Heh, sorry about that. I should have shot you over to headwize, but yeah...I was preoccupied with some work. Good thing you found it yourself. Good luck on the build and if you find the time once you're done, post some pics and stuff in the DIY section. If you run into trouble, that'd be a good place to post it as well as there are many helpful people there. Have fun with it and hope you find your sound.

 

[BushGuy]

can't help myself - The good news is in : The new (expensive) Grado headphones have been approved by the prestigious Monty Python Bureau of Silly Headsphones (adjacent to the Bureau of Silly Walks). Instead of grabbing the wearer by his ears and shaking....ya simply grab him by his phones - that is the real reason for the novelty of the design.
Bad audio-invested dolt.

 

[Snake]

I was looking at the Bottlehead site that you linked to and thought, "Yeah, AKG 1000's". They were at the meet and quite nice - I also, surprisingly, found them to fit me no problem (contrary to other people). As long as you've got a silent listening area, and no one else to disturb, 1000's with the Bottlehead amps should sound awesome!

 

[sxr71]

Even the most expensive headphones in the world won't make a terrible source sound like it's worth more than $50.

 

[Nerull]

Quote:

Home: Laptop (FLAC Lossless) -> Creative Audigy2ZS PCMCIA -> Sennheiser HD595

Oh god! The source! Crap in, crap out as they say. And it couldn't hold truer anywhere else. That Audigy has to go. It's like putting your music in a blender and trying to recover the bits and pieces with the headphones and amp. And with high-end headphones like RS-1s or STAX or anything remotely in that range, it'll decimate that Audigy. This isn't an exaggeration, because I've tried this with my MS2is and it was a horrid experience, even if the music is lossless.

The best thing you could do is upgrade your source, and buy a good DAC or something. Just about anything will beat that Audigy into the ground. The headphones will only be as good as the music that's being put into them.

Of course this is just my opinion, but I think it'd be wiser if you spent money elsewhere in your audio chain.

G'luck!

~Tom

Bah! sxr71 beat me to it.

 

[robm321]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawlowski6132 $2,500 cans and DIY amp???? Doesn't make sense.

Yeah, isn't that like ordering a whopper with a diet coke

 

[Rockofeller]

Ok based on recommendations I am leaning towards my new setup being:
a good DAC +

AKG K1000 and paramour monoblock amp

or some Stax SR-007 with a home made blue hawaii

but I still want to hear a fully upgraded HD-650.

I will listen to these headphones and more before I make a big purchase. I am not in a rush, but I thought I would start collecting information now. I want to have a complete high end setup by September.

 

[003]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jagorev I am sure others will have high-end headphone recommendations, but I hope you're going to spend some of that on upgrading your source.

Agreed 100%