[SantinoTaffy]

Hello!
warning in advance, new to all of this! I have Monster turbine gold in ears which are great for using between classes and on my phone while walking etc... but am looking to take my listening sessions to the next level..
I am looking for a hifi listening setup for College/home... I listen to music 2-4 hours every day so I would really like that dream setup!
 
Budget take or give a few bucks = 600$.
 
As far as headphones: so far deciding between Akg-701/702s and the seinhesser HD600's although I have not listened to either. Strictly based on reviews iv'e read and am opened to be swayed toward other phones!
 
The sound I'm seeking:
I primarily listen to Jazz, but also listen to every other genre (Classical, Rnb, Soul, Pop) and am an upright bass player myself so I
I love tubes, fullness and warmth in my music sound. I am moderately sensitive to piercing highs and would prefer a more natural warm sound to a extreme clarity in the highs if that makes sense..... I like to think that the band is playing for me, intimate sound! don't want instruments to sound muddy obviously though. So Warmth, clarity, round, but also very clear - I'm sure you know what I mean better than I do! lol
 
Here's the thing.... I'm in college, I have my MacBook pro and the library has cd player systems of some sort... I can get access to CD's, but am also subscribed to streaming service Spotify which are my two primary methods of getting music. Is an amp and DAC my best option ?
 
For amp was considering the Vali Subminiature Hybrid Headphone Amplifier and a Modi DAC... are these two things compatible? Iv'e heard that the Modi doesn't work with newer MacBook pros.... if so what is another option budget DAC for 2013ish 11inch MacBook pro and tube amp?
 
ALSO

When I go home over the summer I also have a vinyl player and an old home stereo amp and some nice old bose Speakers so that's something to keep in mind and presents another question, does a set up for vinyl to headphone use make a great difference and would something like the Vali Hybrid headphone amp allow me to do that?
 
Sorry if I don't make too much sense, pretty new to this all!
Thanks so much!

 

[viralcow]

Since you say you prefer a warmer sound, the HD600/650 would be the better choice. The K702 is a wonderful sounding headphone if you don't mind the treble, but since it's so polarizing you should demo it first.
 
Or you could skip the classic mid-fi trio altogether and jump straight into ortho's, as your budget allows it. The HE-500 is at another level, but way heavier and less comfortable. Hifiman recently released the HE-400i/500i with a lighter frame, but I haven't tried these yet so I can't recommend them personally.
 
As for the dac/amp question, I'm one of those that stress value for the money- the diminishing returns on amp/dacs really turn me off. In my experience, I could not tell much of a difference on some headphones between no amp/dac, FiiO e10, O2, and the Matrix M-Stage. Just search this forum- I see complaints all the time here about how people can't tell a difference between their on-board soundcard and the schiit stack, or whatever. So I don't know what to tell you other than just start out with something cheap and upgrade if you need it.

 

[PurpleAngel]

For amp was considering the Vali Subminiature Hybrid Headphone Amplifier and a Modi DAC... are these two things compatible? Iv'e heard that the Modi doesn't work with newer MacBook pros.... if so what is another option budget DAC for 2013ish 11inch MacBook pro and tube amp?

 
I would say to contact Schiit and ask them about Modi (USB & optical) compatibility with newer Macs.

 

[Claritas]

The AKGs will give you clarity but not warmth; Senns are the opposite. If you have to choose between them, it seems you want warmth so go with Senns.

But since neither seems ideal, two different directions also come to mind:

HE400i with Modi+Magni or O2+ODAC or some mix of those components (it's warm enough that it doesn't need tubes). This is a better all round system for multiple genes; jazz sounds very good.

Used K501 with either ODAC or Modi + Vali. This is better if you listen only to classical and jazz--too bass light for some genes.

Best luck!

 

[SantinoTaffy]

Thanks for all the replies! Ok, it seems like the HE400i might be more up my alley... when it comes to the amps, does it matter what the amp is running through? I.e. a cd player, macbook, vinyl player. Will they all sound great as long as amp and headphones are working assuming cd mix is good?? In other words does the system spinning the disc matter a lot?

 

[SantinoTaffy]

Is it safe to say that the 400I is somewhere In between the akg and the hd600 as far as clarity vs warmth?

 

[CJG888]

I would suggest the HD600 for classical, combined with the Audio-gd NFB11.

This should give you warmth with clarity, plenty of power, and compatibility with almost any available format (via USB).

 

[sinnottj]

Another vote for the Sennheiser HD600 here!
 
Excellent sound that will be pPerfect for Jazz / Classical. Lightweight, comfortable, easy to replace pretty much every component. You can't go wrong, really!

 

[earthastronaut]

This is obvious but do make sure you want open back headphones or closed back. Open back will not isolate neither your music from the outside nor the outside/external noise from your ears. 
I'm also in college and had to buy a portable closed back set as the open back wouldn't be proper If I wanted to listen to music on a library or even on the bus.

If you do want an open back set, the Sennheiser HD600 are said to be great for classical!

 

[Claritas]

Is it safe to say that the 400i is somewhere In between the akg and the hd600 as far as clarity vs warmth?

Warmer than HD600 with better extension on both ends (certainly in the bass) and a little clearer. Almost certainly doesn't scale as well, but that won't matter in the short term. It's a more driven / aggressive sound compared with the softer HD600, but warm and mellow enough that it's not fatiguing. HD600 is a very fine choice too (and I would prefer it because it's somewhat cooler-toned in comparison). You can always ask on the HE400i thread for more comparisons with the Senn--actually, search the thread first. The times I've heard it were with Modi+Magni; others in that thread will know a little more about its synergies.

 

[CJG888]

In loudspeaker terms, the HD600 gets you close to the "BBC monitor" sound (think Harbeth, Spendor etc.). Not "exciting", but tonally accurate.

As you are looking at desktop DAC/amps, I presume you won't be taking the rig to the library.

At the end of the day, the best noise isolating cans are IEMs (or HD25s).

Also, if you really want tubes, the HD600s have an impedance of 300 ohms, and consequently work well with OTL designs (which are better value at the low cost end of the scale, as good output transformers are expensive).

In that case, you could go ODAC (or Modi, they are about equal in performance terms) -> Little Dot Mk. III -> HD600. Further gains can be achieved by upgrading the driver tubes to Voskhods or Mullards (according to taste). I used a Mk. III with my HD600s for over a year, and was happy with the result!

 

[Makiah S]

Warmer than HD600 with better extension on both ends (certainly in the bass) and a little clearer. Almost certainly doesn't scale as well, but that won't matter in the short term. It's a more driven / aggressive sound compared with the softer HD600, but warm and mellow enough that it's not fatiguing. HD600 is a very fine choice too (and I would prefer it because it's somewhat cooler-toned in comparison). You can always ask on the HE400i thread for more comparisons with the Senn--actually, search the thread first. The times I've heard it were with Modi+Magni; others in that thread will know a little more about its synergies.

I don't own the HE 400i, but rather the HE 4 which was Hifimans Earlier Single Magnet Planar offering, there for I'm going to stand behind the recommendation for the 400i
 
As a company I like hifiman,
 
Although Another Completely different route that you can go with a Schiit Vali, a Schiit biFrost and a Beyer Dyanmic DT 880 600 Ohm. I love my DT 880 with the Vali, the Vali is a nice little tube amp and gave the DT 880 a wonderfully balanced tone. 
 
But The 880 is more bright and clear, where as the 400i is going to be darker 

 

[superjawes]

Modi's Mac issues are probably 100% on Apple's side. The problem, as I understand it, is that USB ports aren't always designed (or allowed) to deliver proper power to a USB DAC. You can contact Schiit for help, but they wouldn't be able to fix Apple's problem without selling you a powered USB decrapifier (Wyrd).

Now while a DAC might be nice, I don't think you need one...at least not yet. Focus on the headphones first. At $600, you are definitely looking at models that will sound better with an amp, but you'll choose the amp to go with your headphones. I love my HD600, which has a higher impedance than other models. Because of this, it pairs better with my Valhalla (a tube OTL amp) than my Magni (a higher power SS amp). HiFiman's HE-400 and 400I have planar magnetic drivers that are less efficient than other models, so they will pair better with a solid state amp with a lot of power output (like Mangni).

I will also add that I have not tried Vali with my HD600, and while I prefer my Valhalla, Magni still does an excellent job driving them. It can occasionally be a little harsh to my ears, but not too bad.

 

[Makiah S]

Modi's Mac issues are probably 100% on Apple's side. The problem, as I understand it, is that USB ports aren't always designed (or allowed) to deliver proper power to a USB DAC. You can contact Schiit for help, but they wouldn't be able to fix Apple's problem without selling you a powered USB decrapifier (Wyrd).

Now while a DAC might be nice, I don't think you need one...at least not yet. Focus on the headphones first. At $600, you are definitely looking at models that will sound better with an amp, but you'll choose the amp to go with your headphones. I love my HD600, which has a higher impedance than other models. Because of this, it pairs better with my Valhalla (a tube OTL amp) than my Magni (a higher power SS amp). HiFiman's HE-400 and 400I have planar magnetic drivers that are less efficient than other models, so they will pair better with a solid state amp with a lot of power output (like Mangni).

I will also add that I have not tried Vali with my HD600, and while I prefer my Valhalla, Magni still does an excellent job driving them. It can occasionally be a little harsh to my ears, but not too bad.

I do disagree a tad! My first set up was a oDac a Matrix M Stage and my Beyer Dynamic Dt 880 250 Ohm, all of which cost me like $600, I got teh oDac last and I felt it was a great addition to the set up. Think of it this way, crap in crap out
 
so let's assume you have a GLORIOUS pair of Headphones, if your feeding them with a sub Par dac, which is most likely whats in your PC your headphones are going to be some what under whelming. When you feed a GLORIOUS headphone with a GLORIOUS source, then you get magic! 
 
That said, I think even an inexpensive dac like the Beringher UAC 202 [$30 don't know if it works with a mac though] will benifit you by giving you  just a cleaner and better sounding signal with which to amp. An even if you feel a dac won't yeild any improvements in "sonics" the dac will above all else give you a eclectrically cleaner signal to amp, if you use the headphone out on your PC you will be double amping that signal, which will lead to distortion.
 
So a super expensive dac might not be nessicary, but a Dac will very much improve the sound of your system as a whole. 

 

[SantinoTaffy]

Thanks guys! so far leaning towards the hifiman 400i 02+odac combo.... Was able to call and check that it would be compatible with my macbook and said should be completely fine plus 2 year warranty... Thoughts??