[skhan007]

Hi Guys- I'm new to the forum and hope to make the next meet, here in the DC area. I'm just getting started on my quest to learn everything I can and make some purchase decisions. Nothing would be more helpful than connecting with some of you who really know equipment/headphones, which will guide my purchase decisions! I'm currently doing my research on a headphone amp (I'm leaning towards tube amps, as I'm guitar player with a love for tube guitar amps), a good DAC, and a nice set of headphones to complement. 

 

[TimeLord]

Hi Guys- I'm new to the forum and hope to make the next meet, here in the DC area. I'm just getting started on my quest to learn everything I can and make some purchase decisions. Nothing would be more helpful than connecting with some of you who really know equipment/headphones, which will guide my purchase decisions! I'm currently doing my research on a headphone amp (I'm leaning towards tube amps, as I'm guitar player with a love for tube guitar amps), a good DAC, and a nice set of headphones to complement. 

Welcome aboard! We'd love to have you join us at the next meet.

If you would like some advice before the meet, let us know what price point you're targeting, what headphones you've heard or would like to know about and we have plenty of folks that can offer suggestions and information.

 

[skhan007]

Welcome aboard! We'd love to have you join us at the next meet.

If you would like some advice before the meet, let us know what price point you're targeting, what headphones you've heard or would like to know about and we have plenty of folks that can offer suggestions and information.

Thank you so much! In my brief time at looking and reading reviews of headphone amps, I've really been intrigued by the Woo Audio WA7 Fireflies unit. This and Schiit tube amp products have my interest. I'm also going back and forth on whether to buy an external DAC like the Oppo HA-2se.
 
Regarding headphones, I think I'll likely have to go with closed-back, as open-back will be intrusive to others in my home. My first inclination is Sennhieser. Price-wise, I'm not sure where I should be on the headphones. I'd like to know if I can hear an audible difference between, for example, the HD series and the Momentum series. As a guitarist, I've justified all kinds of purchases if I've been sold on the differences that I could feel/hear when playing. I think headphones would be the same- If I can hear an appreciable difference, it won't take much to convince me!
 
Most of my music are AAC or ALAC music files (tons of CDs ripped to my iMac) and I have a pretty good collection of vinyl and an old (1970's) Technics turntable that works/sounds great. I think I'm envisioning a nice little headphone amp set up that will have good frequency response and dynamic range. 

 

[Psalmanazar]

  Thank you so much! In my brief time at looking and reading reviews of headphone amps, I've really been intrigued by the Woo Audio WA7 Fireflies unit. This and Schiit tube amp products have my interest. I'm also going back and forth on whether to buy an external DAC like the Oppo HA-2se.
 
Regarding headphones, I think I'll likely have to go with closed-back, as open-back will be intrusive to others in my home. My first inclination is Sennhieser. Price-wise, I'm not sure where I should be on the headphones. I'd like to know if I can hear an audible difference between, for example, the HD series and the Momentum series. As a guitarist, I've justified all kinds of purchases if I've been sold on the differences that I could feel/hear when playing. I think headphones would be the same- If I can hear an appreciable difference, it won't take much to convince me!
 
Most of my music are AAC or ALAC music files (tons of CDs ripped to my iMac) and I have a pretty good collection of vinyl and an old (1970's) Technics turntable that works/sounds great. I think I'm envisioning a nice little headphone amp set up that will have good frequency response and dynamic range. 

I highly recommend just open back. they don't leak that much unless you go full "earspeakers" like the he 1000. none of the gear you want to buy will really matter with how low fidelity most closed headphones really are compared to open. I would recommend checking out the HD 600 or 650 as good bang for buck pairs that are relatively neutral.
 
The Oppo stuff is just not worth buying. You'd be better off with a cheaper Schiit multibit DAC outputting to an amp of your choice than anything Oppo as all the Oppos are super dead inside sabres. It's hard to explain but all the Oppo gear just doesn't sound very musical or dynamic; just boring and dead and compressed.

 

[TimeLord]

Thank you so much! In my brief time at looking and reading reviews of headphone amps, I've really been intrigued by the Woo Audio WA7 Fireflies unit. This and Schiit tube amp products have my interest. I'm also going back and forth on whether to buy an external DAC like the Oppo HA-2se.

Regarding headphones, I think I'll likely have to go with closed-back, as open-back will be intrusive to others in my home. My first inclination is Sennhieser. Price-wise, I'm not sure where I should be on the headphones. I'd like to know if I can hear an audible difference between, for example, the HD series and the Momentum series. As a guitarist, I've justified all kinds of purchases if I've been sold on the differences that I could feel/hear when playing. I think headphones would be the same- If I can hear an appreciable difference, it won't take much to convince me!

Most of my music are AAC or ALAC music files (tons of CDs ripped to my iMac) and I have a pretty good collection of vinyl and an old (1970's) Technics turntable that works/sounds great. I think I'm envisioning a nice little headphone amp set up that will have good frequency response and dynamic range. 

You're in luck. I have the WA7 Fireflies with the tube power supply. I also have an Oppo HA-1, HA2, and HA-2 SE. So you can hear them for yourself and make an educated purchase if any of them are appealing to you.

Since you mentioned Schiit tube amplifiers, I do have the original Schiit Vali tube amplifier, but others on this thread are more of a Schiit authority and have more of their gear for you to sample at meets.

Psalmanazar makes a good point about open headphones. If at all possible, reconsider open headphones since most of the better headphones are open. If that really is not an option for your situation, then there are closed-back headphones at multiple price points depending on what you're looking for. With closed-back headphones, there are those that are truly closed and those that are closed but ported. The ported ones "leak" some sound out, but often have a larger soundstage because of it.

Besides Sennheiser, you may want to consider Beyerdynamic's lineup such as the DT770, T5p (ported), etc. Massdrop's THX-00 is popular, as well as the Fostex lineup. MrSpeakers also has a few closed-backs worth considering. As well as ZMF headphones. Lastly, Audeze makes a few closed-back headphones such as the EL-8, the Sine, and the LCD-XC.

So, there are plenty of options even if you decide open headphones are out for you.

 

[kendavis]

Welcome to the DC area Head-Fi community. I'm relatively new to this group myself but I've found the folks here to be friendly and well-informed. I've also managed to spend far more on gear that I ever thought possible. Be cautioned.
 
That said, I'd be remiss not to take this opportunity to let you know that I'm currently selling my Bimby (Schiit Bifrost Multibit) [http://www.head-fi.org/t/830007/schiit-bifrost-multibit-bimby] and will be listing my Schiit Lyr 2 shortly. Both are in excellent condition. If this piques your interest, let me know and we can set up a time for you to look and listen. I no longer have headphones to listen through but we might rendezvous at Urban Hi-Fi in Takoma Park where they have many headphones and all sorts of other great gear. @willsw is one of the folks there and he has been kind generous in making their space available for meets. I'd need a little lead time because the Schiit DACs like to be on continuously for a week or two for best sound so I'd have to get it plugged in and running on a UPS in advance of any audition.
 
Alternatively, I can bring them to the next meet... but I don't think there are any scheduled at the moment.
 
In any case... A local sale without shipping or PayPal fees will improve the price and a package deal with the both Bimby and Lyre 2 will improve it even more.
 
No push... just mentioning.
 
Cheers,
 
Ken

 

[skhan007]

@Psalmanazar - Thanks for the feedback. This is exactly the kind of info I want to gather. When researching Oppo and reading reviews, it seems like such a stellar product. When I dig a bit deeper into other reviews, I've heard some people call their DAC "polite" which I think means sterile or dead-sounding, as you put it. I definitely want my music to come to life. Honestly, I'm sure my ears would be impressed vs. my current listening set up, as I don't have any frame of reference now, as I'm just starting. I hope to hear the HA-1 and the HA-2SE at some point. Thank you for the headphone feedback!
 
@TimeLord  - Great! I'd be very interested in your opinions on the Fireflies set up in general and vs. the Oppo. I would be incredibly appreciative of any opportunity to hear these units in the future, when time/schedules permit. Thanks for the suggestions on the headphones. I'm going to see if my local hi-fi shop is open today and maybe swing in to try some various open-backs. 
 
@kendavis  - Sounds like a plan! Let's correspond and I'm definitely interested. The Bimby/Lyr2 set up sounds like it would be a great combo for my purposes. From what I'm reading, the Bimby DAC is world-class and highly regarded. A local sale is very much preferred for me, as well. I appreciate the willingness to set up a listen. 

 

[sheldaze]

The Schiit Scool of tubing:
 

1. You want a tube - get the Vali 2. It is literally a tube - just one!
2. You want an accurate tube, and have high impedance cans, get a Valhalla 2. You can run this with easy to drive, low impedance cans too. But one of the local guys bought a solid state amplifier for his Fostex. So umm...still not ideal.
3. You want a warmish tube, get a Lyr 2. Think, I've got HD800, but I'd still like a more relaxed sound than the Valhalla 2. But this one will also play through low impedance cans.
4. You want balanced (and a slightly warm sound), get a Mjolnir 2. This is the amplifier to use if you want enough power to use your headphones as speakers! Or you have one of those headphones (Abyss or HE-6) that is actually a speaker in disguise. Or as I already mentioned, you've just got to have balanced, because you have a balanced source, and your headphone came with balanced cables.

 
That just about sums up everything I know about Schiit tube amplifiers

 
 
Argh...too late! Oh well, see you at the meets...

 

[yage]

You'll hear a difference between the Momentum and the HD series for sure. The former are tuned for the Beats crowd who are getting into hi-fi and the latter are for those who want their music to sound good.

 

[skhan007]

You'll hear a difference between the Momentum and the HD series for sure. The former are tuned for the Beats crowd who are getting into hi-fi and the latter are for those who want their music to sound good.

You speak the truth, my friend! I went out today to my local Magnolia/Best Buy (one of the only places open today) and I tried out and ruled out the Momentums straight away. They felt and sounded no different than these old Bose headphones I have at home. Here's what else I tried out that got my interests piqued:
 
Audeze EL8 open backs: Tried these with the Audeze headphone amp and the salesman played some old Santana through his phone into the headphone amp. Sounded REALLY good. Without the headphone amp, the EL8's did not sound nearly as good. Clearly an example of headphones that will shine with an amp.
 
Sennhieser HD700: Great sounding and had a nice crisp high end. The salesman said these are discontinued now. 
 
I don't think my listening environment will be good for open back headphones, however. I need to block out some of the environmental noise in my home and also I don't think the leaking of sound from my headphones will be tolerated by the Mrs. if she's in the same room doing her own thing, like reading or watching TV. Unfortunate for me, I know. That being said:
 
Sennhieser HD630VB: Great sounding, as well. Nice gimmick to have a bass dial thingy. Seems to be a good compromise, as they were comfy, closed back, seemed decent at blocking environmental noise, and I thought they sounded good. Not nearly as good as the Audeze EL8's, however. 
 
Question for the guys reading this thread: Is it reasonable to want a set of cans that will sound good with a mobile device (ipod/iphone with lossless files) as well as with a tube amp set up? I think the Audeze Sine was developed for this exact purpose and I'd love to hear them at some point. Not sure what you guys think. 

 

[sheldaze]

 
Question for the guys reading this thread: Is it reasonable to want a set of cans that will sound good with a mobile device (ipod/iphone with lossless files) as well as with a tube amp set up? I think the Audeze Sine was developed for this exact purpose and I'd love to hear them at some point. Not sure what you guys think. 

I have found, per my taste, that most headphones extremely easy to drive are more picky with regards to tube amplifiers. I spoke of the Fostex earlier, and your EL8, are both headphones that I've not liked to listen on too many tube amplifiers. Meaning those amplifiers were a little more costly, the ones I did like. I'd suggest listening to the MicroZOTL2 from @kendavis or the DNA Sonett 2 from @yage as those were two options I liked. Also listen to the Woo Audio WA7 from @TimeLord, which can basically play anything, including an easy to drive headphone.

 

[doukhobar]

deleted.

 

[TimeLord]

Question for the guys reading this thread: Is it reasonable to want a set of cans that will sound good with a mobile device (ipod/iphone with lossless files) as well as with a tube amp set up? I think the Audeze Sine was developed for this exact purpose and I'd love to hear them at some point. Not sure what you guys think. 

Since you are focused on closed-back headphones and you liked the sound of the EL-8, check out the EL-8 closed version. If you are using an iPhone, you may want to consider the EL-8 Titanium which comes with the Cipher cable which has a DAC and amp built into the cable and plugs directly into the iPhone's lightning port. I have a pair of these, so you can try them out if your dealer does not have it.

As sheldaze stated, it does get interesting when you're trying to find an all around headphone because there are competing interests with mobility/convenience on one end and uncompromised sound quality at the other end. Because of this, many of us have multiple pairs to accommodate our needs (ok, this is only one reason we have multiple pairs, the other is that we have a problem ).

When you say for use with a mobile device, does this mean usage on the go or usage in the office or your home, but not at a desk? I ask because there are headphones like the MrSpeakers Alpha Prime that are closed-back and can be used with tube amps (they actually pair well with tubes) and can be used with mobile devices with a mobile amp/DAC, but would not be good to use on an airplane. Kind of large for that.

 

[skhan007]

Since you are focused on closed-back headphones and you liked the sound of the EL-8, check out the EL-8 closed version. If you are using an iPhone, you may want to consider the EL-8 Titanium which comes with the Cipher cable which has a DAC and amp built into the cable and plugs directly into the iPhone's lightning port. I have a pair of these, so you can try them out if your dealer does not have it.

As @sheldaze stated, it does get interesting when you're trying to find an all around headphone because there are competing interests with mobility/convenience on one end and uncompromised sound quality at the other end. Because of this, many of us have multiple pairs to accommodate our needs (ok, this is only one reason we have multiple pairs, the other is that we have a problem

).

When you say for use with a mobile device, does this mean usage on the go or usage in the office or your home, but not at a desk? I ask because there are headphones like the MrSpeakers Alpha Prime that are closed-back and can be used with tube amps (they actually pair well with tubes) and can be used with mobile devices with a mobile amp/DAC, but would not be good to use on an airplane. Kind of large for that.

Thanks again for this great info. I'm getting a fantastic education here and I'm learning a lot. Thank you so much for the offer to listen to the closed-back EL8's. I'll definitely let you know. OK, so here's where I'm at in terms of initial thoughts and observations:
 
It makes perfect sense to have a set up for mobile phone use and home/stationary use. As a musician, I have two dozen guitars and amps for different applications, so it would only make sense the same applies for hi-fi. For mobile use, it might make sense to have some dedicated headphones like the EL8 Titanium with the Cipher cable. If those can run on a tube amp, with a standard cable, and without impedance issues, that would be great. If not, perhaps a good set of IEM's for the iphone/ipod and cans for the home set up.
 
My use of the mobile device would be at home, not at a desk, and not on-the-go. Perhaps just sitting on the couch or bedroom. I'll look into the Alpha Prime. 
 
Back to the EL8's- I'm seriously considering the open backs, because they sounded so good! I know my home situation is pushing me to consider closed-back, but maybe I should try to make this work with open-backs, if possible. I'm guessing the Senn HD700's would've sounded even better if I listened to them through the same Audeze amp where I heard the EL8's. When I played the HD700's, they were plugged into a mobile device on display. I think those phones are 100 Ohms or so? I would imagine they need an amp to drive them to sound their best. Any way, I should head back to that shop and listen again. 
 
Regarding impedance and tube amps: I'll check manufacturer's sites are read more, but curious if there's a minimum impedance that's safe, for example, with the Schiit Fyr or Woo WA7 Fireflies. I realize that 20 Ohm headphones would not be a good match for OTL tube amps. 

 

[darmanastartes]

Hey all, DC area native, hoping to make it to the next meetup. My setup is more mid-fi than hifi, but I have a good vinyl collection if anyone is interested.