Best Portable Set-up

[jazzjunkie]

For those of you that like to carry your music and enjoy using a portable headphone amp., I have found that Ray's XP7 fits perfectly in a Headroom Traveler Bag. This with your favorite CD/MP3 player or HD and a pair of Grados works great. The set up is light (lighter certainly than a Cosmic with 4 D cell bats), sounds great, and the bag offers the XP7 protection for those of us that are a little careless in our travels.

Although some reviews of the op-amps in the XP7 have been questioned, in comparison to those in the HR2, I would encourage you to try them (thanks Todd for the advice) before you decide to purchase additional op-amps and roll them. I have found the XP7 to be less laid back than the HR2 but the sound is crisp and clean. Also since CD players, with line-out, are becoming harder to find I have heard that the Asian version of the Panasonic SL-CT 710 has this feature.

 

[Thaddy]

Grado's for portable use? You need to get some UE-10's or Prophonic's! I'm currently velcroing my Supermini to my iHP's leather case and sticking the unit in a Crown Royal bag, which sits in the side pocket of my backpack. The remote gets clipped on my shoulder strap and they Ety's are in my ear. Portable goodness

 

[Ozniot]

I too tote XP-7 in a Headroom Traveler bag. In order to avoid strain on the interconnects I bag the amp upsidedown. Leaving the bottom zipper partly open gives easy access to the gain knob. Right angle plugs on portable headphones can bear weight of amp without problem. If you use full-size cans (ya, I too have been seen wearing Grados in public), you need a right-angle adaptor [Hosa GPR273] or at least a U-shape foam shim to prevent stain on the headphone cable projecting from the bottom. Headroom Traveler has space for both D-E905 (no skip) and D-311 (stationary listening). Either of the side pockets holds a PowerRunner battery for all day music (D-311 runs nonstop 23 hours on a single charge). XP-7 in Headroom Traveler works just fine.

 

[Edwood]

I believe Dr. Gilmore had a portable Stax setup before.

Oh sorry, you didn't specify budget or practicality.

-Ed

 

[K271 Guy]

The perfect saloon

 

[kugino]

i, too, must voice my bewilderment of including grados in a portable setup...

 

[Ozniot]

There was once a time when Grados were the only headphones I owned.

 

[jazzjunkie]

I find that the Straight Wire brand interconnects, sold at Headroom, for use with the Cosmic, work well for connecting your source to the XP7. Not sure about turning it up-side down. Also I would probably use ER4s for out in the streets but the grados work well for work around the house or yard.

 

[aaroncort]

One thing about the banality of wearing Grados in public is that if you live in a smaller town and not a larger city there isn't that much ambient noise to cancle out sound. When I was living in chicago there was not way I could listen to open cans like my senns or grados but now that I live in a city of about 50k there's no problem at all. now that i've thrown in my two worthless cents i'll sudup now.

 

[Ozniot]

PortaPros let in even more ambiant noise than Grados. Grados are sometimes a better compromise between isolation and still being able to hear the phone ring.