[KPeter]

Hi

I'm being very whimsical at the moment, and am about to spend £500-800 on recording equipment. I am dreading this, but hopefully for you fear Head-Fi'ers spending this sort of money is merely the result of an affliction you don't talk about other than on these pages, and you will forgive my imprudent spending.

But for this and for my convenience I am looking for two things, a second pair of headphones, and an amp which may not be commerically avaliable.

I have a pair of MS-1s already. I also listen to jazz and classical, and so would like a second pair with a good soundstage. But I suspect for the most part they would be connected to my new digital recorder (or see below). I have no real budget, but given how much I am spending already I may as well go the entire way. I don't want something half hearted, so up the price if need be. I was thinking £80-120? Must be avaliable in the UK.

The second thing (and I do realise this isn't quite the right forum, but I don't think it is avaliable anyway) is as follows:

I want some kind of amp that will accept two inputs, one from my digital recorder, one from my computer. I then want to plug both sets of headphones into this amp, and be able to switch between the inputs, with the signal going through to one or both pairs of phones. Oh, and if it has the option of cross(feed?)(bleed?) that would also be a bonus; I have poor hearing.

Alternatively if such a thing is avaliable I may just stick with my MS-1s, and have the two input switch. But this is less likely, and depends on my finances.

Any help would be fantastic.


Peter

 

[MaloS]

Alot of amps have dual inputs so that should not be hard to cover (does Gilmore Lite have 2?)

My friend that works in Capitol records when I was talking to him about 2 years back, when I asked him for a decent headphone to use as reference for amateur/intermediate said hd595 works great, even though its by far not the favorite listening headphone around here.

 

[KPeter]

How about the AD700s? Although perhaps the closed equivalant to stop a click track/backing escaping would be better? I was also thinking, perhaps wireless to keep my hands free of cables, but I'm worried about their quality...
Some Sennheiser and AKG wireless here:
http://www.iheadphones.co.uk/sennhei...Headphones.htm

Although I do rather like the 555s, so perhaps the 595s would be good, just throwing a few ideas around. And unfortunately that amp only has one input, one output, but I'll write in the amp forum once I've this sorted

.

 

[F107plus5]

On the question of headphones; what works well for me anyway is a complementary set of MS2i and HD600. I use the MS2i(or MS-1)for everything from rock through light classical, and the HD600 for the bigger classical stuff.

....alternately I guess you could say I use the HD600 for everything from big classical through classical rock!

At any rate, the MS-1 and HD580 or HD600 could pretty well fill in all the blanks!

 

[StealthR6]

HD595 is a great headphone, look at the appreciation thread for it. Some just don't like it for whatever reason and prefer the veiled 580/600/650. Then again the HD580 would be another good choice. The 580 would require an amp though. If you like the 555s, you'll love the 595s.

Avoid wireless.

AD700 is a good can but a completely different sound signature. It does have excellent soundstage but the detail is no where near what the 595 has. Hmm perhaps something like a AKG K501 would also be ideal? That is truly an amazing headphone, very neutral, amazing mids, soundstange, detailed, non veiled, yummy, does need a big f#$kin amp though and its kinda hard to find now.

 

[Aman]

The HD595s may have good sound stage, but that's kind of irrelevant when it's incapable of correctly imaging that sound stage. My experience with the HD595s are the following:

1. Their bass is far too heavy.
2. The sound stage is great, but
3. The imaging map of these headphones is confusing and inaccurate. These are not good headphones for accurate positioning at all.
4. They are driven very well without the need for an amp.
5. They're cheaply built!
6. Though, at the end of the day, they have a phenomenally clear presentation, sonic-wise.

These are expensive headphones so keep these qualities in mind when you're considering them. You have to really be a fan of bass and a fan of ridiculously good sound stage (regardless of their imaging faults). As a recording headphone, I'd recommend a more neutral set. I personally went with the AKG K271S for the purposes of recording and studio production. It offers 23db of sound isolation (they're closed headphones) and a much more neutral sound presentation. The sound stage isn't as wide or broad, but imaging is SIGNIFICANTLY better. And the sound is overall more balanced.

 

[judas391]

You would think that the "not MS-1s" title would keep F107plus5 out of this thread. I guess not

 

[MaloS]

In reality it should k240m or rp-21, jeez =] ... actually, also Ultrasones come to mind, as alot of them are used in Studios.

 

[KPeter]

Thanks for all the helpful posts!

Stealth, that K501 does sound excellent, although I have not been able to find it on ebay nor google. And thanks for advice on the detail of the AD700.

Aman, thanks for the critique on the 595. The positioning is one thing that is important recording wise, even if I would prefer something a little more interesting than a very neutral studio pair.

After a bit of reading around I think I'll go for the HD600s. Consi dered them a few years ago, but finances weren't too good then. And they seem suitable enough. Although my googling suggests it's rather hard to still find them at a reasonable price (in the UK!). Hmm :s.

Where do you UK'ers usually buy from?

Anyway, greatly appreciate your help!

 

[undo]

bump.

which one would you recommend: senn hd25-1, at ath-m50, or akg k271?

 

[Kevin Sinnott]

Another vote for the AKG 240M. The k501 is a great phone, but the 240M (make sure it's the M or monitor model) isolates better and is kind of an industry standard.