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Heed CanAmp
Dec 23, 2009 at 11:14 PM Post #2,611 of 2,784
dreamweapon, it depends on how is your CD player cabled to your amp. If you're using optical to your amp, use the analog rca out from the CD player to the input of the Canamp. Plug in the phones and enjoy.

If you're using the analog out from your CD player to your amp, then just run through the Canamp first. CD analog rca out to input on the Canamp, rca out from the Canamp to your amp. Plug in your phones and enjoy.

Hope that helps!
 
Dec 24, 2009 at 1:08 AM Post #2,612 of 2,784
thanks UncleFestive. i got my cd player connected to my receiver by optical. ill just go with the first suggestion. now im just waiting for both to arrive at my home
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can't wait
 
Dec 24, 2009 at 9:25 AM Post #2,613 of 2,784
dreamweapon, I don't know what type of CD player you're using, but if it's a consumer grade player, your music would benefit greatly from an external Digital to Analog Converter (DAC).

Most CD players and amps contain DAC sections that are built to a price point and will probably not provide you with the best possible sound.

When you're listening to your amp you're actually listening to the product of your amp's DAC converting the digital signal from your CD player. Plugging your Heed into the CD analog out utilizes the built in DAC in the CD player to create your music.

An external DAC bypasses both of these, and instead provides you with another component, a device expressly designed to provide you with the best possible reproduction of an analog signal converted from your digital source.

The great thing is, if you connect the digital out from your CD player to an external DAC and then analog to your Heed, you can then connect the analog out from the Heed to your home amp, and you'll get better sound from both components.

Ask around on here in the appropriate section and you'll get plenty of recommendations on which DAC to use.

If you get started down this road be careful, it can become like an addiction!
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Try to remember it's about the music not the gear.
 
Dec 29, 2009 at 8:41 PM Post #2,615 of 2,784
Dreamweapon,

The source is a pretty important piece of the signal chain. Most experienced listeners would tell you it doesn't make sense to that a great pair of cans and a great amp would perform their best when fed a poor quality signal from a cheap source. Using optical out from your CD player to an external DAC would improve the sound, but then you're still using the Sony as a transport (a transport is a CD player without a DAC or being used without a DAC, so it is sending digital signal instead of analog).

A decent CD player can cost from $1,000 to $5,000, and there are lots of brands to choose from. But if you're like me and don't have the money, a computer can actually function as a very high quality CD transport. Not only that, but if your music is ripped right using a loss-less or uncompressed format, your bit-perfect copy of your CDs will never get scratched and will technically play more accurately that a CD player could due to the physical variations of having moving parts. Also, you have the ease of a media player that lets you make play lists, count your plays, and rate your songs. Personally, I think this is a step up from playing five discs at a time, or as most hi-fi CD players are, one disc at a time.

Don't expect good sound plugging your cans into the headphone out of your built-in soundcard. But if you keep your music lossless and use a digital out to an external DAC before your headphone amp, your source will sound top-notch.

If the others don't mind the stray from CanAmp discussion, you can ask questions about sources and DACs here. =)
 
Dec 30, 2009 at 2:03 AM Post #2,616 of 2,784
so using my laptop with a dac would make more sense then using my sony? i have a good amount of FLAC files already. lol im kinda broke at the moment from the headphones and amp, what is a decent DAC that goes well with my set up?
 
Jan 4, 2010 at 10:59 AM Post #2,617 of 2,784
Got my Canamp today. Been listening to a couple hours now and the first impression is quite positive. The sound changed so much I can hardly believe I'm listening to the same pair of AKG K701's anymore. And I thought I'd have to listen back-to-back in several tracks to spot the difference.

I was using the Asus Xonar Essence STX soundcard's amplified headphone out before and was quite worried if there's any real difference. The Canamp sounds a whole lot warmer in comparison. The sibilant highs I've complained about before are much smoother now and the sound is very uniform. It's much easier on the ears to listen at high volumes than before. The Canamp also added a sense of space between the ears and the headphones.

It'll take some getting used to to the "heavier" tone of the sound though. My music sounds so epically huge now, it's quite another level of involvement.

All in all, I haven't been as happy to pay a bill in a long time as with this baby.
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Jan 4, 2010 at 11:31 AM Post #2,618 of 2,784
Yes, the some of the differences between the STX and the Canamp were immediately evident. However through further listening I was able to trip up my little STX with complex sections of my music whereas my Canamp kept up. The thing is the Canamp isn't a fast amp so really, just how much am I missing? Anyways, it's a bit laid back which goes well with psybient.
 
Jan 9, 2010 at 6:13 AM Post #2,619 of 2,784
finally received both canamp and akg 702's. im pretty happy so far even though they have less then 15hours of burn in. i brought them over to my brother in laws place so he could compare them to his grado 325's. i know this isn't exactly fair since his grado's have a ton more burn in time then my akg's. the grado's are definitely more detailed and have a warmness to the music, where as the akg's sound a little bright at the moment. do the akg's develope that warmness sound after a proper burn in?
 
Jan 9, 2010 at 1:54 PM Post #2,621 of 2,784
The Canamp is said by the designers to sound best with headphones of 64 ohms upwards. So Grado's probably aren't necessarily best served by this amp. But I've tried it with my Denons and it sounded pretty good to me.

The K701/K702 should be a very good match, I like my pairing. The consenus is that up to 300 hours burn-in can be required (try some pink noise if you can). The Grado 325 iirc correctly is bright which on short comparison can give the impression of more detail but over a long period will grate. It also lacks the soundstaging of the AKG.

Also remember interconnects and source can influence the overall sound balance.

cheers.
 
Jan 9, 2010 at 10:21 PM Post #2,623 of 2,784
You shouldn't bother with cables until you've done everything else. No cable is going to alter the sound significantly, unless it's crap in which case the sound will also be crap.
 
Jan 10, 2010 at 2:26 AM Post #2,624 of 2,784
Having read through a few pages in this thread, I get the impression that the HD600 isn't regarded as a good match for the Canamp, is that so?

Because I have a demo Canamp at my place currently, and I can't see what people are complaining about. It seems to drive both my HD600 and HF-2 with authority.
 
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