[Shatter]

I haven't ordered the phones yet, but i've pretty much decided i need some kind of amplifier , as i'm reluctant to running even 32 ohm/high SPL cans out of a soundcard headphone-out, let alone 80 or 250 ohm ones, and my speaker headphone out is full of hum, hiss and the such.

I'd be using the whole stuff mainly for rock, beginning with 60s pop (i.e. Beatles) and ending with heavy-metal, but also for some symphonic, acoustica,etc.. Still, the main thing that would go through the setup is rock, with its endless variations.

I'd like to know if the amplifier mentioned above is a good match for those cans, in your opinion and to your ears. I love detail... would this combo provide a decent amount of that, being fed signal from a, say, Chaintec AV710? If there's a better solution, i'd like to know about it, but, from what i've read...
What opamps should I use? Can Headsave's owner ( i get that he makes the amps) tune it further than that, in accordance to my prefferences?

Oh, and another thing ... It says on the headsave site that the power source is optional... Can i still use the amp without that 24V power source (does it have an integrated one?)

 

[Murdoch]

Dude if you decide to buy the dt250-250 make sure you buy it from a vendor that offers a 30 day money back guarantee. I did not like the dt250-250 despite the several threads here recommending them.

That said, the Classic will drive the dt250-250 very well. Its what I used to power mine.

 

[Shatter]

Hmm... are you sure the amp drove them fine? Maybe that's the reason for what you didn't like about them.

I think it was you that said it didn't have bass... maybe it was a positioning problem... i've had lots of those with cheapo phones

. I'm not hellbent on getting them, but a slightly dark sound with subdued highs would suit me just fine.

 

[Murdoch]

The dt250-80 has subdued highs, the dt 250-250 has fully extended highs. The two phones are VERY different. All I'm saying is cover yourself- if you get the dt250-250 make sure you can return them if you don't like them.

 

[Shatter]

Ohhkay... thanks for the warning and kind thoughts

K... if anyone else has an opinion, feel free to join in

 

[sleepkyng]

my opinion is that if you get the 250-250s and dont' like them, sell them to me!

gerG swears by those cans and dats good enough for me!

 

[pbirkett]

I have the Classic here with AD8620 opamps and the Beyer DT531's which are said by some to be the closest thing out there to an open DT250-250, with a supposedly similar sound, and judging by what I'm hearing, I think you would not be disappointed.

 

[scamper]

I am planning on picking up a new classic to power my DT440s and my Ultrasone Hifi 650s. It is good to hear that work so well with the Beyer phones.

 

[pikawel]

I don't know much about the headsave configurations but anything with 2 9V's does the trick. This isn't to say anything else won't work, I'm just verifying that my META42 can do it

Sorry if this was totally pointless!!

 

[Shatter]

Ohhkay... if pbirkett says that the HsC is a good match for the DT250-250s, i trust him

What about my other questions? Can the amp be tuned? What opamps should I use? Is a 710, together with said combo, good enough to get some decent detail out of my (85% 128kbps, 10% VBR ~170kbps, 5% 320kbps) mp3s?

What about the power supply?

 

[pbirkett]

If you can afford it, I'd try and stretch to an EMU 0404 to upgrade from your Chaintech. The difference between my last setup (Terratec EWX 2496 and Rega Ear) and this one (EMU 0404 and Classic) is very noticable and worthwhile

 

[pikawel]

You'll get all the detail you can out of 128Kbps mp3's. You may want to look into either some higher quality VBR or 192Kbps.

If you use soulseek, message [w]eL (that's me

- I'll tell you how I encode my files.

 

[sbulack]

I would recommend Headsave's new Classic design with AD8620/10 opamps and a 24v power supply. It is a superb-sounding amp and I actually prefer its sonic texture and timbre/tonal qualities to my PPA.

 

[Shatter]

Still, is the 24v power supply required? Can I power the amp by itself, or is it just more powerful than the standard one i'd like to think the amp has?

pbirkett: i don't even have a 710... i was asking for a full package, save for power conditioning... Y'know... source, amp and 'phones

 

[sbulack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shatter Still, is the 24v power supply required? Can I power the amp by itself...

The Classic has no built-in power supply. You need a DC power source to supply it with power. This can be a wall-wart, in which case I recommend a 24v supply, or a battery pack with a DC plug, in which case I recommend at least an 18v supply. The Classic can be run with a 12v power supply, but I don't recommend running the amp at that low a voltage because the amp sounds better the more input voltage is supplied.