buying two headphones and amps in the next few days..

[rainy]

Last chance for advice!

I was reading these forums and ended up deciding on a home headphone & amp and portable headphone & amp. Keep in mind I'm new to all this. The only decent headphones I had before were SR-60s which I used with NAD c-340 and NAD cd player c-523. Right now I have the 6k-worthy

scph-1001 for source. Music I listen is: mozart, albinoni, bach, pink floyd, dylan, eno, king crimson, old genesis, debussy, buddha bar, steely dan, bjork, saint etienne, jai uttal, manish vyas, ELP, dj tiesto, byrds, moody blues, yes, p. glass, louis prima, jethro tull, and other similar bands; also some trance like gt vs. project c, the orb, ... So, it's really all over the place. Don't like non-prog classical rock too much, never listen to rap or modern rock or metal or alternative. In terms of music where SQ is most important for me, that'd be classical and music like jai uttal or buddha bar-style fusion of electronica and traditional eastern.

Keeping that in mind, I was at first going to get HD-650, but later decided on this line up: US PL-2500, little dot mkIII, ety er4-p, ld mk1. It was hard to choose between HD-650 and PL-2500 because I like HD-650 for being more comfortable but I like the idea of s-logic and it seems like most people who compared them for a sufficient length of time and after required burn-in, either preferred PL-2500 or felt one headphone was better for some music and worse for other. I'm thinking of getting HD-650 in another half-year to compare them myself.

I will read a bit more about Beyer dynamic and AKG headphones, and I also thought about going some place in brooklyn or manhattan and listening to these headphones, but it seems to me that I won't be able to listen to PL-2500 properly since they ask for so long a burn-in to shine, and I'm also convinced a few hours of listening are not enough to make an informed choice anyway. I would rather prefer to buy and sell other headphones slowly over the time when good deals on used ones come up and compare them at leisure.

So, is there any problem with my choices for my preferred types of music? thx!

 

[TSi]

What might be your budget?

 

[Uncle Erik]

Yes, how much are you looking to spend?

For your musical tastes, I think a tube amp would serve you well. Don't limit yourself to the new ones, however. Please take a look at the For Sale Forums here and go through the used ones. Singlepower makes wonderful tube amps and you can pick one up at 50% of retail or less. Also, buying used helps out the members here.

I'm not familiar with the PL-2500, but the HD-650 makes a nice pairing with what you listen to. Did you consider the HD-600, as well? That might be a little more to your liking. Also, you can find used ones in the $200-$250 range, which might let you spend a little more on an amp.

Sorry I can't help much with the portable - I have one that I barely use - the home rig gets all of my attention.

 

[rainy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, how much are you looking to spend? For your musical tastes, I think a tube amp would serve you well. Don't limit yourself to the new ones, however. Please take a look at the For Sale Forums here and go through the used ones. Singlepower makes wonderful tube amps and you can pick one up at 50% of retail or less. Also, buying used helps out the members here. I'm not familiar with the PL-2500, but the HD-650 makes a nice pairing with what you listen to. Did you consider the HD-600, as well? That might be a little more to your liking. Also, you can find used ones in the $200-$250 range, which might let you spend a little more on an amp. Sorry I can't help much with the portable - I have one that I barely use - the home rig gets all of my attention.

About $750.. I want to get new equipment due to my lack of experience. If something is wrong with the used headphones or amp, I'd have no frame of reference, but in the near future I plan to start buying used stuff! I picked LD amp because it seems that it has a rep of a very affordable and decent newcomer, fits my budget, etc. Softer, more analog sound seems more appealing to me, although I never heard a tube amp. During childhood I always listened to LPs and always thought cd players are harsh-sounding, but the ps1 schp-1001 really does sound a lot like LPs - I want to explore this direction further with tube amp.. I thought about HD-600, too, but the best deal I found was $330 for HD-650 at J&R. Now that I think about it, J&R is in NY so I'd lose out on tax. But all new HD-600s I saw were pricier. Anyway since I'm leaning Ultrasone now it's not an issue.

 

[gp_hebert]

Like you said, since you're in New York, you should definitely go to a hi-fi store to audition headphones and find what you prefer. My music tastes share some similarities with yours and from all the cans I've tried, Stax are the ones I prefer. You can get the SRS-2050A system (headphones and amp) for 599$ on Audiocubes and a lot of audio dealers have them for demo purposes so there's a good chance you can try them in NYC.

 

[fdhfdy]

go to the shop and Keep trying PL-2500 for half a year. Will get the sound is expected for sure.

 

[rainy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gp_hebert /img/forum/go_quote.gif Like you said, since you're in New York, you should definitely go to a hi-fi store to audition headphones and find what you prefer. My music tastes share some similarities with yours and from all the cans I've tried, Stax are the ones I prefer. You can get the SRS-2050A system (headphones and amp) for 599$ on Audiocubes and a lot of audio dealers have them for demo purposes so there's a good chance you can try them in NYC.

Well, I'm looking at around $170+ for etys and ~$100 for portable amp, so that leaves SRS-2050A outside of my budget, ~750 is for combined portable and home setup.

In regard to visit to a hifi store, my concern is that my picks, PL-2500s, require a very long burn-in time and adjustment so I would not be able to compare them properly to some other headphones at a store. Another concern is that hifi stores are usually much more expensive than online prices. I feel that since I won't be able to compare properly vs. PL-2500, I can't justify higher price, and I would feel too bad to audition without intention to buy, but I guess that's not too bad if it's in a large store with a lot of space and no supervision, are there any of this type of chain stores in Manhattan that would carry Sennheisers, Ultrasones, Beyers, AKGs, Stax, etc?

 

[rainy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fdhfdy /img/forum/go_quote.gif go to the shop and Keep trying PL-2500 for half a year. Will get the sound is expected for sure.

The ultrasone thread is _very_ enthusiastic, I never felt brainwashed so quickly and effortlessly!

 

[YtseJamer]

Here's my recommendations for prog-rock music :

Phones : Ultrasone 750/2500/780 modified (look on the FS forum for the ALO-780, you can normally find them for $400-$450)

Amps : I have tried the following amps and they all worked very well with my Ultrasone headphones. (Little Dot MKIII, RSA Predator, Corda Headsix, Corda 2Move.)

With your budget, I'd get the Ultrasone 780 + Ety ER4P + the Corda Headsix + Little Dot MKIII. (You can purchase the 780 for $160 at Northernsound.net)

 

[rainy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pfillion /img/forum/go_quote.gif Here's my recommendations for prog-rock music : Phones : Ultrasone 750/2500/780 modified (look on the FS forum for the ALO-780, you can normally find them for $400-$450) Amps : I have tried the following amps and they all worked very well with my Ultrasone headphones. (Little Dot MKIII, RSA Predator, Corda Headsix, Corda 2Move.)

Thanks for advice, but $400-$450 is too much for my budget for just headphones

. I was looking at ~$250 for stock 2500s. I also prefer open sound rather than closed, and isolation is not an issue for my home setup..

 

[YtseJamer]

The Pro 2500 are available here for $250.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rainy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for advice, but $400-$450 is too much for my budget for just headphones . I was looking at ~$250 for stock 2500s. I also prefer open sound rather than closed, and isolation is not an issue for my home setup..

 

[rainy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pfillion /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Pro 2500 are available here for $250.

Yep, that's the best place for them that I found..

 

[jerryneyk]

You said you have the Grado SR-60. Have you looked at the Grado SR-225 or 325i? You like an open sound, there is a difference between the HD650 and Grados in terms of type of sound! Also, for the future if it's relevant, the Grados are Much easier to drive than the Senns in a portable setup.

I have the Little Dot Mark iii and it's great. Even my wife says what a nice difference having the tubes are, and she is usually 'whatever' about sound quality. And she loves the Grados, I can't get them off her head sometimes, she's Czech and always says 'nashledanou' (see you later) when I ask for them back!

 

[monolith]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rainy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, I'm looking at around $170+ for etys and ~$100 for portable amp, so that leaves SRS-2050A outside of my budget, ~750 is for combined portable and home setup.

Don't bother with a portable amp for the ER-4s. It's not really necessary, and $100 certainly won't buy you an improvement worth the money. Redirect that money into your home setup.

 

[bada bing]

Quote:

Originally Posted by monolith /img/forum/go_quote.gif Don't bother with a portable amp for the ER-4s. It's not really necessary, and $100 certainly won't buy you an improvement worth the money. Redirect that money into your home setup.

+1
Ety's don't need an amp IMO. It is best to avoid adding another stage of signal manipulation unless it is needed. With Ety's it definitely isn't. Simplier is better - and cheaper.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rainy /img/forum/go_quote.gif The ultrasone thread is _very_ enthusiastic, I never felt brainwashed so quickly and effortlessly!

There are differences of opinion about the ultrasone house sound and relative value. It is pretty easy to find very experienced head-fi'ers who are less than enthusiastic about ultrasones, but you won't find them posting much in ultrasone threads (rightly so). Point is, don't assume you'll appreciate ultrasones until you've personally heard them and contrasted them against other brands.