[random53]

Hi everybody, I am by no means an audiophile and I am trying to put together a headphone rig to listen to in my office. I love the information that I have been able to see in these forums but it really is a bit confusing at the end.

I already have a pair of Grado Rs1 on the way, and I am looking for three things to complement them: sound that comes as close to the Maggies I have at home, if it matters I listen mostly to Jazz, classical and new age. The second requirement is support for as many new formats as possible, I own almost no CDs and will be listening almost exclusively to sacd or dvd audio, hdcd etc.

The final (and less important) requirement is that the equipment has to look good so that it has wow visual impact on my coworkers *grin*.

I have been looking at some of the upsampling players like the philips 963SA, and sacd multi players like the sony SCD-C555ES but don't really know what would be a better choice. I also have not found any player that supports all formats. I assume that I would also need an amp, but have not even started looking into it yet.

Thanks for your help

 

[usc goose]

welcome to head-fi

, sorry about the wallet. (standard saying we got here)

got a budget we should be working in? i'm an rs-1 fan too but i've got a pretty modest setup behind mine that too needs work.

 

[random53]

Thanks for the welcome! and yes, I do feel sorry about my wallet.

As far as budget, I have not given much thought to this since I really don't know what most of this stuff costs. Like I mentioned I am not an audiophile, not even a wannabe, so I am not looking for perfect.

Let's say 2k for source and amp, willing to go higher for a good reason but would be very happy with a setup that meets the sounds ok / looks good criteria that costs much less.

Thanks

 

[MoLtoSoLo]

I had single power's MPX3 with RS1, it was great.
You can try to get a good condition Arcam FMJ CD23 or CD23T, they are the old model so you might can get a good price. Or the Creek 53, or you can mod the 555ES.

 

[random53]

It looks like the Arcam is a CD player only, I am much more interested in new formats like sacd, hdcd, dvd-a etc.

The things I like about the 555ES are that it looks good and plays more than one cd, on the other hand it supports only sacd right? I have heard about aftermarket mods for cd players but assumed they did not really help headphone setups, can you tell me more?

Thanks

 

[markl]

Hi,
I have a modified 555ES that is incredible. Do a search on "555ES Hot Rod" and you'll find my lengthy review. Player plus mods could run you $1200 which leaves you just enough left over to buy a Ray Samuels Emmeline HR-2 headamp ($875). Lots of people like its sound with the Grados. If you do a search you can also find my review of the the HR-2. The 555ES Hot Rod is very synergistic with the HR-2, its a great system.

Good luck and welcome!

 

[random53]

It took me a while to find any info on the mpx3, there is absolutelly nothing on the net. I finally found this review

http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...3&pagenumber=1

on this site, I have to say that this _definitelly_ has the look that I am going for

I love it. No real way to demo this is there? How would I go about contacting the manufacturer?


Markl, thanks for the info on the Hot rod 555es, as I expect you suspect there was way too much info. Bottom line seems to be that somebody goes and modifies the clock to avoid jitter and then bypasses as many stages as can be bypassed. Sounds like a good project and the price is right. I assume that you do not need the multychannel outputs that this destroys for headphones? Only problem I have with it is still lack of support for most of the newer formats aside from sacd.

Thanks, really appreciate all the replies.

 

[sacd lover]

Get a sony scd c-222es before they are gone and get it modded by sacdmods. Get some good interconnects like MIT, LAT International, Kimber etc. Choose between a Singlepower MPX3, Gilmore v2se or the Emmeline. The 222es I have is nearly as good as my sacdmods 555es on headphones for $750. I love the gilmore amps. The dact stepped attenuator on the v2 se removes an electronic character on the grados, and phones like the beyer dt 880's and sony cd3000's, that gives you both musicality and resolution. I have grado sr-225's, beyer dt 880's and cd3000's ( tomorrow) and these are all involving and not fatiguing with the sacdmods 222es and the gilmore v2se. I have owned the rs-1 and you may want to check out the beyers and sony's; unless you already own the grado's. If you have any money left look into a ps audio ultimate outlet for power protection and some upgrade power cords. Any of those combinations should give you a top notch system.

 

[random53]

I already own the Grados, or rather I will shortly. Was able to get them from a friend for a reasonable price and have been a longtime grado sr125 owner, love the sound and find them both cool looking and comfortable.

From what I have been able to read of reviews so far the mpx3 sounds like my best choice, it will definitelly be a conversation piece which is important for me and I have not seen anybody write that they did not like the sound.

As far as the source the c222es looks every bit as good as the 555es, and I like the fact that it is available (I did not realize how hard it was to find a 555es.) Still has same sacd only limitation though. I take it that there is no player that will play all of the new formats? What makes sacd better than hdcd or dvd-a for headphone listening? What about the philips 936a, I have heard raves about it and it seems to support more formats, does it fall far behind the modded players?

 

[Hirsch]

Quote:

Originally posted by random53 on this site, I have to say that this _definitelly_ has the look that I am going for I love it. No real way to demo this is there? How would I go about contacting the manufacturer?

To contact the manufacturer of the MPX-3 you can send a PM to Mikhail. These amps are about sound, first and foremost. Mikhail does not yet have a web presence.

Universal players are just starting to come out. Generally, they tend to be better at one format than another. My suspicion is that the next year or two is going to see some really dramatic improvements in the universal players at all price points. Right now feels like a good time to get a good player to tide you over until the universal players mature a bit.

 

[random53]

I have sent a pm to Mikhail, all I need to find now is a Source. I have heard the words "in the next year or two" before, it always means that I am jumping in too early. In these cases I have found that it usually pays to be cheap, that means that it will probably boil down to the modded 222es or the philips 936, any other recomendations?

As I mentioned before I am not really sure of what I am doing, what kind of connectors do I need between the source and the mpx3?

 

[sacd lover]

The sacdmods 222es is much better than the 963 sa playing sacd's or cd's. I bought a 963sa for my wife for dvd's. When I heard the 963sa for audio I wasnt very impressed. It is wonderful for video though; I dont regret I bought one. The 222es will sound better with cd's than you can imagine. I dont know what you mean by what makes sacd better than hdcd or dvd-a with headphones. HDCD is basically cd with some encoding that offers some small improvements over cd. DVD-A is not supported by the 963sa; it plays sacd's and cd's. With all the confusion in the formats, getting the best cd player you can will give you the best sound. There is vastly more music, its cheaper and you can copy cd's. A good cd player (here is another recommendation) like a music hall cd-25 will sound better than a cheap sacd player playing sacd's in my experience. Now a modded sacd/cd player like the sacdmods units give you the best playback for both. Dont get hung up on the new formats, my modded 222es through headphones sounds better playing cd's than the 963sa sounds on sacd's.

 

[random53]

Side by side comparison is good enough for me, and did not realize that the phillips does no better than the 222es in terms of formats supported.

Any recomendation for a good source of either the 222es or the 555es?

I am assuming that these sources will connect directly to the amp, I don't need to think about a pre-amp correct?

Thanks to everybody for the warm welcome and the quick and informative help, it sounds like I am well on my way to having a full setup!

 

[Welly Wu]

Have you considered the Denon DVD 2900 or the forthcoming Denon 5900? The 2900, which I just ordered today, plays DVD-Video & Audio, SACD, and CDs both in two and multi channels. It reads most any kind of disc with the exception of HDCD discs and perhaps DVD+R/RW (I have read somewhere that it will read those discs though). The reviews have been mostly more positive than negative for the 2900. Otherwise, I would say to check out the 5900.

 

[random53]

That is a nice price for a refurbished unit! looks really sharp too. Most of the reviews I have seen seem to agree that it is a nice unit. Supports all formats other than hdcd...

Thanks for the tip.