[Walbaum]

After discovering for myself the beauty of early & classical music, I found my combo of laptop + Sansa Express + Senn HD201 unsatisfactory and decided to buy some proper audio equipment.

I want to stress at this point that my priorities are: as little hassle as possible, decent sound quality and - preferably - low prices. I'm not seeking an opportunity to commit my soul to an endless pursue for the Ultimate Audio Experience. I'd like to buy a set of devices that will be just good enough and then forget that there is any set of devices at all between me and my music.

I've made some initial research and came to conclusion that I'll (probably) stay happy with Marantz CD6002 and either Sennheiser HD580 or HD595 (this should give you some basic idea about my budget). And there comes my question: which of these (or any other, I'm not really fixed on that!) phones should I get, and will an amp be really necessary? I've read that built-in headphone amps in both CD5001 and CD6002 are of good quality. I would be also very grateful for any advice on this prospective amp, i.e. what particular features should I look after?

Please also keep in mind that I reside in Central Europe. CD6002 is available here (unlike in US

), but headphone amps are still very niche market. That makes it very hard to find any of the brands you'll be normally recommending, for example Little Dot; if I'll had to buy an amp, it will be probably a DIY one or some random imported stuff. Of course, I could always order from abroad, but it would be kind of contradictory with my first priority.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

 

[MaloS]

HD580 is a better choice, and actually, with your portrayal of the budget, is probably the best choice =].

I am not sure if using a computer is that problematic, you can still use it, but you would probably find an external dac/amp combo more satisfactory than stock out, but a CD-Player is not a bad choice to go with either, since it prompts you to buy more CDs to use with it (motivation to get more and more music). You might also look at Shanling PCD300a, which is another CD Player with headphone out, and has actually been modified by a few companies to improve its headphone out's performance.

There are other ways to do this, as you already figured - depends on the amount of money you want to put to it.

 

[seacard]

The most economical path is to buy the HD595 and use it directly out of your Marantz. The built-in amp in your Marantz will drive it just fine and you do not need a separate amp (regardless of what anybody else tells you). If you are willing to spend a little extra, consider the HD600 + amp. Just look for a good used HD600 and a nice, cheap DIY amp, and you should be able to get out of this having spent about $325 (half on headphones, half on amp) that will be not be just adequate but spectacular. Trust me, I've owned the R10, L3000, HE90, HE60, Omega II, and numerous others, and the HD600/HD650 are no worse, and even better, than a number of those headphones, esp. for classical.

 

[MaloS]

Dude...you know hd580 = hd600, and hd595 is not as competent for classical >.<
Plus a powerful mp3 player jack can get HD600 to beat HD595.

 

[seacard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaloS /img/forum/go_quote.gif Dude...you know hd580 = hd600, and hd595 is not as competent for classical >.< Plus a powerful mp3 player jack can get HD600 to beat HD595.

I disagree that the HD595 is not "as competent" for classical. Sure, it does it differently, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, after spending a couple years with the HD650, I've gotten a bit bored of them and have noticed that I fall asleep wearing these more often than with many other headphone. I am now looking for something a little brighter, a little more forward, a little more engaging (hence my triumphant return to headfi after a lengthy hiatus).

 

[MaloS]

Strange, cause I owned HD595 for two years and they just don't do the job for classical (just not getting piano tone right for example).

The HD650 is a substantially different story as far as relaxed listening goes.