[Nosgis]

I'm looking for my first set of good headphones! I will be ordering the Headamp Pico AMP/DAC soon, so the cans can't be too demanding or power hungry.

Musical preferences: Mostly electronica. Also female vocal and relaxing music. Some pop and rock, but not much.
Isolation: Some isolation would be nice, but not required.
Budget: $400 ballpark, can go a bit higher if needed.

I have heard good things about the Beyerdynamic DT880 for electronica. Can the Pico drive the 250 ohm version reasonably good?

Other recommendations?

 

[aamefford]

I have heard the following with the Pico amp/dac and a macbook pro:
Sennheiser HD580 - A nice sounding pairing, but I always felt that the senns sounded like a great headphone struggling to get out - I don't think the Pico drives them to potential.

Ultrasone Proline 750 - A nice pairing, but a bit on the analytical side for me.

Ultrasone HFI 780 - A good pairing, I still listen to this set up a lot.

Audio Technica ESW10jpn - This is my all time favorite at the moment. I love the ESW10's, and the Pico compliments them very well.

 

[GeoD]

The Pico ran my Denon D2000's quite nicely. Great synergy out of the combo and was recommended to me by a few head-fi'ers. I also enjoy listening to electronica, female vocal, relaxing music and don't think you'd be disappointed. I used this combo for quite a few months before I picked up a balanced amp and even when I switch back and forth, the Pico still impresses me with the Denon's.

Keep us posted what you end up going with, lots of good combos out there for your price range.

 

[atothex]

The Ultimate Ears Triple.fi 10 Pro sounds just about perfect for you.

If you really really want a full-sized, then I say Grado or Audio Technica are pretty safe choices.

 

[nnotis]

The Denon MD5000s I have work remarkably well with the Pico. The synergy is outstanding. Very little is gained when I plug them into my home equipment.

 

[Nosgis]

Do you mean the AH-D5000? They look perfect! I see they are recommended for electronica too, which is good. If the Pico runs them well, I'm sure I will go for the Denons.

I had initially ruled them out because of the price. Here in Norway they cost nearly $900. I see in US they can be found for around $400. So I will try to import them.
Can anyone recommend a good dealer who ships internationally, or should I go for eBay?

 

[Oggranak]

FWIR the D5000s are hard to drive. No?

 

[GeoD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nosgis /img/forum/go_quote.gif Do you mean the AH-D5000? They look perfect! I see they are recommended for electronica too, which is good. If the Pico runs them well, I'm sure I will go for the Denons. I had initially ruled them out because of the price. Here in Norway they cost nearly $900. I see in US they can be found for around $400. So I will try to import them. Can anyone recommend a good dealer who ships internationally, or should I go for eBay?

MD5000's are simply markl modded AH-D5000's. You'll be very happy with this combo.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oggranak /img/forum/go_quote.gif FWIR the D5000s are hard to drive. No?

They are low impedance phones which should make them pretty easy to drive actually. I was pretty impressed how my Denon's sounded from my iPhone LOD out using a Fiio E5 $24 portable amp.

Hope this helps.

 

[GeoD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nnotis /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Denon MD5000s I have work remarkably well with the Pico. The synergy is outstanding. Very little is gained when I plug them into my home equipment.

You don't hear much difference from your DA-10 / Beta 22 combo compared to your Pico? I'm pretty surprised, that was a setup I was considering going with to upgrade my Pico.

I hear a noticeable improvement from switching my Pico amp/DAC combo to using the Pico as my DAC feeding the NX-33. It's outputting balanced so maybe that's making most of the improvement?

 

[Nosgis]

AFAIK the Denon's are 32 ohm.

I think I will go for a pair of MD5000 directly from Mark. First I will get the Pico.

 

[tnmike1]

grado RS-1 and Pico user here. Bushguy suggested going with the Pico with the Grado and glad I did. Listen to lots of female jazz, Miles Davis electronitc-type jazz and light classical with them. I'm told big symphonies don't work too well with Grado, but I'm finding the sound still quite enjoyable. And if you don't need the DAC version, Justin makes the regualr Pico amp

 

[nnotis]

I don’t have a balanced cable for my MD5000s. If I got the Jena labs balanced cable that markl sells, I’d expect a considerable jump when driven by the Beta 22. And even when connected unbalanced, the whole sound is much bigger than with the Pico. The soundstage is larger and the bass is huge and impactful. But I don’t think that there’s any increase in detail retrieval. With the Pico, there’s just a marvelous tonal balance to the sound. The slight bump the headphones have at about 7 KHz seems less noticeable with the Pico.

But my comparisons are admittedly skewed. My Beta 22 normally has a pair of K1000s plugged in. And outside of bass extension, they’re really on another level. So when I plug in the MD5000s, it’s always after listening with the K1000s. I should compare the two amps without the K1000s messing with my head.

Also Nosgis, you should consider the MD2000s. They have the same drivers. Only the external cups are different. And markl sells his own wooden cups, which I bet are better than the stock D5000s ones anyway.

 

[dookiex]

No idea why you've chosen an amp before you've chosen a pair of phones.

 

[nnotis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dookiex /img/forum/go_quote.gif No idea why you've chosen an amp before you've chosen a pair of phones.

Perhaps because every part of the sound chain is of equal importance. Given the incredible quality and convenience of the Pico, I can't blame anyone who builds a system around one.