Headphones, an amp and a source

[motorhead]

Greetings!
I'm new to the hifi headphone area but four or five years old to the general hifi subculture. My problem arises as I approach college life, where I will not have the ability to bring my home system (Five dynaudio speakers - 350 watt per - and two Sunfire True subs - 2,700watt per - might not go well with the RA among the other problems such a storage, security and accustics) and would truely miss hifi. So, I read about the Musical Fidelity X-Can V2 and was sold. Perfect, compact and tubes! I have yet to hear it, but I have a feeling it will be spectacular when I get a chance to demo one. The 270 price tag is not great, but I have a while to save up and get it (I normally just stop eating for a while when I need to save up - without the cost of eating hifi products just roll right in!). If I'm not happy with the way that sounds I will look for something else.
I will also need headphones. Right now I have a Sony MDR-V600 in which I use when I'm on airplanes and such. They are good, but, I think I need something better when cost premits. Any suggestions in a decent price range?
Finally, I want a SACD/CD player that is compact and does not require a preamp. That might be the toughest to find (if possible at all).

I'm hoping to keep the budget low as college life is going to be expensive period (no, I'm not a huge partier) but I am willing to spend a decent amount of money.

So, any suggestions for headphones, amps and a source would be great! Thanks for your time in advance.

-motorhead

 

[fyrfytrhoges]

you need to be more specific about your budget, otherwise I suggest : sony ns500v cd/sacd/dvd player, mg head amp, sennheiser hd600 w/cardas smurf replacement cable. That would give you a cheap, but decent sacd player, an entry level, but outstanding performer for it's price amp, and arguably a pair of the best headphones out there. that's my recommendation!

 

[motorhead]

Where can you buy MG Head? I don't see a price for it anywhere?

As for a budget, I would like to say around 800. For an amp, I really enjoy tubes and don't want to go to solid state.

The SACD player I would really like to be compact. College desks are small and a full size player would be too big to put on a desk unless I really had to.

I think 350 might be a little too much for headphones right now for me. What about the Grado SR225s? Worth a listen?

Thanks,
-motorhead

 

[00940]

at least go for a closed pair of headphones. I've right now a pair of AKG K401s and the noise in the dorm is sometimes so high I cannot seriously listen to music. Buy directly something with a minimum of isolation. You will save money. Some DT250, DT831 or ultrasone perhaps ?

 

[wallijonn]

moto,

i don't think there is a compact SACD player out yet. I'm waiting for Teac to come out with one, though (not that they have any plans to do so). and many SACD players have to be connected to TVs to use or configure.

paging Mr. Kelly... paging Mr. Kelly...

as a Team Beyer member, I would like to listen to the Beyer DT931 and a nOrh SE-9 tube amp. but that's just me. i would expect that combo to sound smooth and clear.

 

[motorhead]

Eak! I edited the one post before this after changing my mind and didn't see you guys had replied. Whoops! I set it back to about what it was (plus or mines a few words).

Anyways,

I was looking and found the Beyerdynamic DT 831s and the Sennheiser HD250 IIs. Those are more my price range (249 and 269, list, but you guys know how audio stuff gets discounted).

Hopefully a smaller SACD player will come out before I leave.

Thanks for the help guys!

-motorhead

 

[wallijonn]

Motorhead,

Welcome to Head-Fi. Sorry about your wallet.

the dt831 is a 250 ohm headphone, i believe. (i don't worry about such things since my amps (crown and technics) drive anything). so you may need to drive them from an amp even if travelling. and the dt831 can be very bright with the wrong sources and many CDs.

hit the search button on the upper right hand (top) to search for reviews and opinions. www.meier-audio.com has some really good prices. and if you're in NYC, the dt531 can be found for $122.

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Motorhead,

since you're going to college, want portable and small, I would reco a couple of things for you:

Source: buy a decent portable CDP from Sony for about $100

Amp: META42 built by someone here on the site. Or a Super Mini v4 with a regular volume control. $110 right now thru the web site where they're sold. www.fixup.net

Headphones: I'm assuming small and portable would be helpful here, so blow the rest on a pair of Ety ER-4P. These should run about $269 or so. These fit into your ear canals, block outside noise by 23db, and are reported as sounding awesome by anyone who owns them. Since they do fit into your ears some find them uncomfortable, but if you like them, you'll never get rid of them.

This whole setup will be ultra portable, incredible sounding, and leave you some money after buying it all. You cna buy an SACD player in a full-sized unit later. This will allow you to pack everything up into a small fanny pack and go with you wherever you want.

 

[motorhead]

I didn't make myself clear. I want something that will just sit in my dorm room. I'm not looking for it to be ultra-easy to travel with. I just want it compact because I want it to fit on the desk easily.

I think I'm going to check out the DT831 and try and run it through the X-CAN v2. The reason the DT831s seem so appealing is I have read they sound nice and being that they are sealed it will be perfect for a dorm room. As it was said earlier by a college student, dorms can get loud.

What's a META24? And who builds them?

As far as a source, I might just have to get a portible CD player that can run on AC until I can find a decent, light SACD player.

-motorhead

 

[00940]

a meta42 is a DIY amplifier, some guys here can do it for you for a very reasonnable price. As it is non-commercial, the ratio quality of the parts/ price is high and this 200$ amp is often compared to far more expensive ones. Make a quick search and read the review by Kelly (in amplification, complete reviews).

 

[motorhead]

Who are some builders I could talk to about creating one for me? Is there someone in specific you or anyone else recommends that has made these before and could make me a nice one?

Also, these all seem to be powered by batteries. Is it possible to switch that to AC? I realize the downside of doing that, however I will be taking extra care in my selection of power cables as well as I will run it through a APC Line Regulator to keep the current constant. I do that for all my electronics.

I'm tired of getting ripped off. Markup in hifi is nuts. This is very tempting. Perhaps after I see one that is done I wil try and make one too and get into the DIY thing. I did make a passive subwoofer once with a friend.

-motorhead