[Samius]

Hi everyone, earlier this year I bought myself some IE7's and I'm really enjoying them, however, I want something more suitable for home use now, I've been recommended the HD600's as I like IE7's. Is this a good choice? Also, I'm aware that the HD600 is usually recommended for use with an amp, which amp would work well with them?

Information which you may like to know:

I listen mostly to hip-hop from the late 80's to mid 90's. (Rakim, Nas, Big L etc)

If I do get some headphones which require amping, it needs to be able to be used with a PC, and a turntable as I'm looking into buying Vinyls.

Also, slightly off topic but could anyone recommend a decent turntable? As you may already have figured out I really have no idea what I'm looking for in terms of specification etc.

I am in the UK, so if you could mention places to buy your recommendations at a reasonable price within the UK, that would be great.

Many thanks, and Merry Christmas!

 

[lecky]

With budget in mind: If second hand is an option for you, you might consider some HD580s, they go for a fair bit less than HD600s and are very similar. Buying second hand you can expect that you may have to buy new pads which are more than forty quid, or re-stuff the old ones if you're super budget minded, or want to experiment.

In the UK you can pick up an old Cyrus One amp on ebay, check that it's one with the headphone jack, it'll power 580/600s well, probably as well as you could hope for for the money. you could pick up a used HD600 and Cyrus One second hand for the money you're looking at. The bonus is that the Cyrus has a killer phono stage for the turntable. The limitation is that it's a slightly clinical sounding amp which doesn't artificially exaggerate bass, although I enjoy the music of which you speak with my 580s and Cyrus.

 

[Acix]

Try some Ultrasones.

 

[captian73]

Well, I’ve recently fallen in love with Beyer, and now I’m in the process of ditching my Ultrasone's, so I’d look a hypocrite if I suggested Ultrasone.

BTW I had a Cyrus one amp many years ago. Brilliant little thing, although I don't remember much about the headphone jack.

 

[lecky]

The headphone jack I think uses a resistor network from the amp, so it has essentially the same lovely quality as from the speaker posts.

 

[Samius]

Thanks, very helpful

I can go for more than £200 on headphones + amp together, just trying to limit myself to about £200 on the actual headphones, got a bit off track in the OP, only meant to ask about actual headphones.

Edit: However, if there are a good pair of headphones that don't require amping I would go to more than £200

After a quick look on Ebay, there's a pair of HD600's new for £169, from a 100% feedback seller, unfortunately I can't find any HD580's, there's a single Cyrus One Amp new on there which is currently going for auction at £9, ends in 4 days, so I'll keep an eye on it.

Any ideas on a turntable?

Once again, Many thanks, as you can probably tell, I'm a bit lost in all this stuff, help is much appreciated.

 

[lecky]

580s aren't made now, and can go for £70ish up, the Cyrus goes for £70ish to over £100 depending on condition and the usual foibles of ebay. There's a company that sells them reconditioned for about £170 I think, but if money's not tight there are plenty of options for driving a HD600 - they do like a bit of power though.

You'll find quite a lot of HD600s nicely boxed on ebay, so I'd monitor the prices for a little while, but £169 doesn't seem unreasonable to me.

I have a rega planar 2, which I think are still made and are good, but I'm sure there are other decent options around - put a question up in the sources thread, that might get the best results.

 

[Samius]

There's a place near me which is selling HD580's and HD590's for £99. Good price? Also, what's the difference between the 580 and 590 models?

 

[Samius]

Right, sorry to up this again, but my topic in the dedicated source section has died a fair bit.

I'm planning on getting some HD580's instead of the HD600's for my Vinyl set up.

Will I just need a turntable and an amp to complete the set up or do i need something more?

I am looking to spend around £300 (exlcuding headphones)

Tempest Records is my nearest store that sells turntables etc, which products on there are suitable for my needs? If none, what would be more suitable?

Thanks.

 

[lecky]

If you get an amp which doesn't have a dedicated phono stage then you'll need to buy a phono stage to convert the signal from your record player to a normal line level. These can be had inexpensively or very expensively...

I can't speak for the quality of those turntables, but they're DJ gear and I guess not designed for optimum sound quality.

 

[Samius]

Thanks, you've been very helpful, going in to Birmingham to have a look to see if I can find anything decent tomorrow, hopefully there's something there