[McStuff]

So I've recently started collecting vinyl, and I've been using my dad's Technics SL-Q2 turntable with a Behringer PP400. But right now it's just hooked up to a set of computer speakers, so I'm looking to upgrade to something that sounds nicer. First off, I'm guessing I probably need a headphone amp as well? And for music, I listen to hardcore, punk, indie, and prog rock mainly. What sort of amp/headphone combo for under 250 would be suitable?

 

[Uncle Erik]

Maybe start out with a Grado SR-60. You don't have to spend your entire budget right away, and the Grados will be terrific with your music. They don't need much amplification, either. If your rig has a headphone jack, it should be fine. If not, even a cheap portable amp will be fine.

You'll have plenty to upgrade to later. Trust me.

Don't worry too much about going all in at first. You don't know what kinds of headphones you really like yet. No one ends up listening to their first pair, either. You'll have a lot of fun discovering new sounds and learning about headphones - I'd like to go through the excitement again.

 

[Ikelmonster]

Quote:

Maybe start out with a Grado SR-60. You don't have to spend your entire budget right away, and the Grados will be terrific with your music. They don't need much amplification, either. If your rig has a headphone jack, it should be fine. If not, even a cheap portable amp will be fine.

You'll have plenty to upgrade to later. Trust me.

Don't worry too much about going all in at first. You don't know what kinds of headphones you really like yet. No one ends up listening to their first pair, either. You'll have a lot of fun discovering new sounds and learning about headphones - I'd like to go through the excitement again.

Good advice. I'm new to this as well, and the SR60i's are treating me very nicely as my first set of quality headphones.
 

 

[McStuff]

My preamp has a 1/4" jack, so I've just been using a converter to use miniplug with it. Also, the preamp has no volume control, so I figured a headphone amp would help me out with that. And perhaps I should've clarified, I have a set of Sennheiser EH150s that I use with my computer right now. I figure I'd go for a few notches up on the next round. Also, I've been hearing quite a bit around here about the M50s, would they be a good choice?