Copied for political correctness?

[Calsdad]

Hi, I recently posted this in the Headphone Forum, and it occurs to me now that the discussion regarding an amp belongs here (and that issue was probably quite rightly being given less attention in the other forum).

Please forgive me for repearing myself

Quote:

Originally Posted by Calsdad Hello from a new headphone convert in the UK. I have recently dusted off an old pair of Senn HD330s and have been gaining some enjoyment from them and my equally dusty Marantz CD-52 as source. (I also have a dusty pair of HD340s but the cabe is dodgey, and keeps needing a nudge to restore sound in the left channel) However, I'm dissatisfied with the sound quality of the HD330s and have decided to treat myself to a sizeable upgrade since it's my birthday in May. I've been listening to classical CDs, and I have found the the sound quality to be smooth, but too murky/muffled/lacking in detail/wooly/ too smoothed/ softened/ blurred/ muddy/ lacking treble - you get the idea I'm sure. IIRC I bought the headphones and CD player over 10 years ago, and to be fair I think I preferred the 'smoother/bassier' style rather than the 'detailed/airier' style then. But my taste has changed, and I also have a larger budget now. I don't know of anywhere near where I can audition headphones/amps so I've spent a little while lurking here, reading various threads on cans and amps and whetting my appetite, looking around some of the shops (mainly Meier and Headroom), and checked out headphonereviews.org, and one of two other sites I found in my googling. My current line of thinking is to treat myself to a pair of DT880s and Corda Aria, but that would really max out my budget at about $750, so I'd like to pick a few brains before I commit. NB one of the reasons for that combo is the fact that Meier are in the EU, so I won't be stung with import tax/dute etc. If it wasn't for that I'd probably favour K701s with either a Micro Amp or a Gilmore Lite. (The best EU price I've seen for K701s (on a website I can read) is about 50% more expensive than the 880s). NB I expect to do my listening via CD player, so the DAC on the Aria would not be a necessity. However, in my surfing I have also seen people mention that Marantz have good headphone sockets, so one though that has crossed my mind is whether I could save money and not buy an amp. Then again, I'm unsure how good the headphone amp in an aged 'budget' CD palyer would be. I even wonder sometimes how good a source the old CD player would be. (I also have a not-quite-as-old Sony CDP-XB920E which I would expect to be a better source, but has no headphone socket (so i would need to either buy a headamp or run the headphones through my [yet again old] Harmon Kardon receiver or Marantz amp. I expect the music I listen to on the new headphones will be 90% classical, 10% Jazz/easy listening (eg Sinatra, Cowboy Junkies, Stina Nordenstam), and I'm looking for a natural, detailed, airy sound, not 'veiled' or heavily coloured, and I've grown to like a bit of trebble, but want to avoid sibilance . The new cans won't be required to cope with my rock/pop stuff, but if they could it would be a bonus (though not one I'm prepared to pay heavily for). I'm toying with the idea of a pair of SR60s for that role some time in the future. Any good ideas? Maybe: - More expensive headphones, no amp/cheaper amp? (remember horrible import duties/ VAT/ shipping on something from the US could add maybe 30 to 50% to the price) - More expensive amp, cheaper cans? (I like the idea where I win the lottery and buy loads of top notch kit - but I think that's a dream rather than a sensible idea).