[bavinck]

I have a starlight, its a very nice sounding amp. I have heard dt990, dt880, hd600, x2, dt770, and akg k7xx. They all sound wonderful on the starlight (changes a bit depending on which tube you use). In fact, I will be selling my starlight very soon as I am getting garage 1217's newest amp this month. PM me if interested.

 

[Jean Corriveau]

geetarman49 which portable source do you use then?

 

[geetarman49]

sorry, i'm a luddite --- no portable sources, just the old fashioned silvery disc.  i use a cheapo pioneer dvd-a/sacd/cd  player as source into grace m920 whose output is split to my koss esp950 system and into either asl 'jade' or little bear p8 (currently, it's into the asl 'jade').  but at the moment my tube amps are not being used.  i'm also using the std headphone out on the grace to drive akg k7xx.
 
full disclosure:  many moons back i used to own a couple of daps including a zune 120 but i gave those away -- sonically, they weren't bad, but i could never get used to listening while walking, etc.

 

[Jean Corriveau]

Ok so if I may summarize your words. To the question "What gear would you buy if you had a budget of approximately $200 CAD or less?" the answers we got for the moment would be:
 
Headphones: Shure S215, Shure S315, Sennheiser PX100-II, Sennheiser Momentum (I'm personally not sure about these though as I wasn't impressed when I tried them), Sennheiser HD598, Sennheiser HD25-1-II, Audio Technica M50, Beyerdynamics DT770, Fostex T50RP, Sony MDR-7506, Sony MDR-V6
 
Headphones (If you have mod skills): SennGrado
 
DAP: Fiio X1, Sansa Clip+
 
DAC: JDS Labs ObjectiveDAC
 
Amp: Cayin C5, Little Bear P8 (seems pretty hard to get in Canada though), JDS Labs Objective2, garage 1217 Project Starlight
 
Well this list is generous and thank you guys for participating to it. If you have any other ideas to add to the list of must have gear, I'll add them to the list

 

[Armaegis]

I'd skip the Shure 315... the 215 is the best bang for the buck; after that you might as well jump into the 400 or 500 range.
 
The former "big three" were the Senn HD600/650, AKG K701, and Beyer DT880. They can be had for $200-300 USD, but Canadian prices are stupid. Still, they should be staples in a shop. Of course, now there's a million AKG variants and the newfangled K7xx is probably the one fo shoot for. The Beyers have different impedance models and both pro and premium versions, but for some reason the pro versions can be harder to find (in Canada especially).
 
The Momentums over-ears are better than the on-ears. I'd go so far to say that the over-ears version is one of the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn.
 
Koss has a bunch of nice low-cost offerings. The main ones are the KSC75 and PortaPros which are both <$50. They have a decent DJ one in there too but the name escapes me at the moment.

 

[Jean Corriveau]

  I'd skip the Shure 315... the 215 is the best bang for the buck; after that you might as well jump into the 400 or 500 range.
 
The former "big three" were the Senn HD600/650, AKG K701, and Beyer DT880. They can be had for $200-300 USD, but Canadian prices are stupid. Still, they should be staples in a shop. Of course, now there's a million AKG variants and the newfangled K7xx is probably the one fo shoot for. The Beyers have different impedance models and both pro and premium versions, but for some reason the pro versions can be harder to find (in Canada especially).
 
The Momentums over-ears are better than the on-ears. I'd go so far to say that the over-ears version is one of the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn.
 
Koss has a bunch of nice low-cost offerings. The main ones are the KSC75 and PortaPros which are both <$50. They have a decent DJ one in there too but the name escapes me at the moment.

 
I have only tried the On-Ear version of the Momentum. Comfort is one of my biggest concern when rating headphones. Still, would Over-Ear headphones appeal to the audiophile croud?
 
Are KSC75 only nice when used in custom mods like the StratoKOSSters @7keys brought to the thread? I mean, I know they are great for the price (at least that's what I can read in many reviews) but are they really satisfying? (I haven't tried them and that's the reason I ask)

 

[Armaegis]

The cup size of the the over-ears momentum is on the small size, so it would probably not be comfortable for those with large ears. It sounds so much better though. The on-ear version really isn't worth considering based on sound quality.
 
The KSC75 are good in stock form, especially for the price. and cheap enough to be disposable. Koss warranty is also valuable. There aren't really that many options in the price range to contend with. The Stratokosster is really outside the realm of most people for DIY. The Kramer mods are much more doable.

 

[Jean Corriveau]

 The Stratokosster is really outside the realm of most people for DIY. The Kramer mods are much more doable.

 
Yes, that's what I thought. I got interested about the mod after @7keys showed us his picture of them and it seemed to me like it wasn't the mod to start learning with... And if 7keys is right, SennGrados would sound better (still not an easy mod it appears like). 

 

[7keys]

  I bought the KSC75 from Computers Canada for $20 and was surprised at the sound quality. I would say it's as good as anything I've heard under $100. The problem with modding these is you have to make a leather covered L-Cush pad and nobody sells these......and then you need a closed tone-wood cup and I don't see anyone offering these either. For the SennGrado you put it in an open wood cup and you're good to go. 

 

[Armaegis]

But unless he's selling wooden cups, it's not really an option for a fledgling store to get into.

 

[Jean Corriveau]

I think it could be a great idea to make different a little bit and to have a modding section in the store eventually, don't you?

 

[7keys]

I think it could be a great idea to make different a little bit and to have a modding section in the store eventually, don't you?

Sure, why not? you could also have headfi meets there.
If you had online shopping you could offer all the things a modder might want to modders all across the country, on top of your other products. 
 
I bought my Fiio stuff from Headphone bar, have you looked at their site, you might get some ideas. 

 

[Armaegis]

Just figure out the scope of how much DIY stuff you want to offer. Will you do kits? wooden cups? (if so, who is the supplier), what about cabling DIY? will you sell pre-modded headphones? etc.

 

[Jean Corriveau]

  Just figure out the scope of how much DIY stuff you want to offer. Will you do kits? wooden cups? (if so, who is the supplier), what about cabling DIY? will you sell pre-modded headphones? etc.

 
I think it must be thought thoroughly but I really like to idea. It is so nice to see the result of something built from your hands. It would be nice to contribute to it.

 

[filbert96]

Hi guys! I'm new to Head-Fi  and to headphone listening but have been into two channel stereo for years.  I live just outside of Toronto in Kitchener.  It's been about a couple of months since I bought my first set of cans but I am really appreciating what they can do.  Originally I bought them to set up my turntable properly but have started listening to them more and more.   Great fun!