[markl]

Hi,
Try to audition a Sony CD3000, it's another great headphone you should try (roughly $400 new). You might also want to hunt down a Audio-Technica AT W2002 (roughly $800 these days).

For an amp, the Emmeline HR-2 is a good choice able to drive a wide variety of cans well, very transparent amp for folks with good sources like yours. Solid state done right, none of the nasties.

Mark

 

[grinch]

this is a great thread. finally, a person with a low-post count and a good mind on what's going on in the market and such. i'm impressed.

i find your posts interesting. not often do i see people listening to fairly high-end stuff and saying "is this it?" recently i have heard two setups that have changed my wants as far as a headphone system goes: 1) stax omega 2 and 2) maestrobator (a melos modded by carlo).

personally, if i was you, i'd buy a used melos gold and have carlo rock it to the extreme. the difference is really incredible and his full "maestrobated" amp is the best dynamic headphone amp i have ever heard, bar none. this is with a blockhead in the room, cary 300sei, etc. it's just that good, and if you can find a pair of grado hp-1000's.. you're really set.

however, the other route i would take is to e-mail koji at eifl and see what kind of price you could get for a Stax Omega 2 and Stax 717 amp set. that will probably be a little more than $2300, but i am not exactly sure and it wouldn't hurt to check.

my current system is a kevin gilmore solid-state electrostatic amp and stax omega 2's, with a maestrobator on the way for my grado hp-1's. this is as good as i have ever heard music sound from a playback system, and i think anybody else going a similar route would be very pleased.

 

[Wilson M.]

markl, how would you characterize the sound of the Sonys and the ATs? My reference points are the HD600s, the SR-225s (I recently listened to the RS-2s) and the ER-4S.

grinch, thanks. I tried to do a lot of research before I posted because there is no point if the thread becomes too nebulous. It is hard since I'm seeking opinions (and logical arguments in support) but I'd like to make the effort.

My sonic priorities are: immediacy (not to be confused with forward), low-level detail, tonality and rhythm. The best systems are the ones where you can pick out any instrument, follow it without a problem, hear extremely good detail but be able to listen to everything as a whole without instruments vying for attention. I find tubes generally do this better but well-executed solid state comes very close.

I didn't find the Stax or Sugden/HD600 to be musically involving. I want to be on the verge of tears if I'm listening to something sad. My home system can do that and I can't see why a headphone system can't.

I've been doing audio for a very long time. My dad weened me on a LP12 and Quad tube gear, nowhere near a neutral setup, but it spoiled me. When I was old enough, he and I custom built tube gear (pre-amp, phono stage, monoblock amps).

My current system is a shadow of past systems. Back when I wouldn't think twice about spending $2000 on a set of interconnects. (They didn't make $2000 power cords then.) It is the "I'm fed up with all of this crap, I just want to listen to music" system.

I've heard some of the best out there. I recently listened to the highly touted Halcro dm58 monoblocks and dm10 pre-amp and it was really nice but certainly not worth the $35,000 price. I much prefer the Nagra VPA tube monoblocks and PL-L tube pre-amp at half the price. I've listened to the SME 30/2 turntable. That's a $25,000 table. I haven't hear the Rockport and some of the higher end European tables but I would like to. I was set to buy the Simon Yorke before I got news we were losing our jobs (company acquisition).

I guess that I'm terminally jaded.

I haven't listened to the Omega IIs. A long time ago, I listened to the Orpheus and feel that electrostats aren't suitable for all kinds of music. I listen to everything and I mean EVERYTHING. So my thinking is that a dynamic setup will buy me the most coverage and using different headphones will allow me to tailor my listening experience. Some day I'll get the Omega IIs but this isn't the time.

I have to say that the Gilmore and Emmeline have the inside track at the moment. I don't need a pre-amp because I'm shooting for a Hovland HP-100 or the Nagra PL-L within a year or two. I will see if HeadAmp will make me a V2-SE without all of the extra inputs and source selector to simplify the circuit topology. I will see if I can get the Emmeline with a stepped attenuator.

The wildcard is the Grace because there is a local dealer in Seattle so I can at least listen to it before a purchase.

What would be the cost on a Gilmore electrostatic amp? Going Omega II earspeakers and that amp might be a viable option.

 

[SteeleBlayde]

Dont mean to butt in here since many people here have already posted great suggestions. I just want to add my support for the Grado RS-1 and the Emmeline HR-2, sounds like this is exactly the setup you're looking for. On another note, if you do get the RS-1, I would love to do an A/B comparison of it with my Alessandro Music Series Pro!

The MSPro is basically a tweaked RS-1 that is supposed to be more neutral. I've never listened to the RS-1 so I cant confirm or deny this.

 

[markl]

Hi Wilson M.,
Check out these threads/reviews from me from the permananet section:

HD600 vs. CD3000:
http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...=&threadid=429

CD3000 meta-review:
http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...=&threadid=844

ATH W2002 vs. Sony R10:
http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...&threadid=8302

That ought to keep ya busy!

These reviews come at various points from my headphone journey (now at my fourth serious year at it!). Long story short, there was no escape for me from the mighty Sony MDR R10 headphones. I no longer feel like I'm sacrificing by listening to cans, quite the contrary.

Anyway, here's my review of the R10s:
http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...&threadid=5008

Mark

 

[Wilson M.]

No need to apologize.

How do you like the CD3000's? How do they compare to the MSPros (since they are a reasonable facsimile to the RS-1s which I have auditioned in the past)?

Since you are in Seattle, is there anywhere that carries decent headphones (and has stock for evaluation)?

 

[markl]

Woops, left a couple links out of previous post. should all be there now.

 

[SteeleBlayde]

To put it succinctly, the CD3000 does everything okay with very few immediately noticeable flaws, but it doesn't have much of a "wow" factor. It does everything right, but thats all. Nothing too special about it other than that; nothing about it that really jumps out and catches your attention (good or bad

) like the Grados. the CD3000, all-in-all, is a very good, all-round, headphone for casual listening but not really suitable if you really want to get into the music. Some people will, of course, lunge at me for having said that, but some people also detest the RS-1 (markl comes to mind

). It all comes down to what makes your feet tap.

As for places to audition gear: I dropped by Definative Audio but they having nothing regarding headphones. I havent checked Magnolia Hi-Fi though, they may have something.

If you really want to hear stuff, a bunch of Seattleites, myself included, have been trying to arrange a meet soon. No success yet however, no one can seem to host it and we cant seem to agree on a time to meet.

Hows that for typical indecisiveness? You can check out the details in the Meetings & Get-Togethers forum here on Head-Fi if you're interested.

 

[radrd]

Magnolia Hi-Fi carried most of the Sennheiser line, DJ Sony line, and Grados (up to 225 IIRC) last time I was there. However, I was not impressed with either the condition of the headphones or the source that were driving them. Most of the Grados sounded blown or were dead. The HD600 was dented. The sound seemed to be very heavy on the bass.

I think Hawthorne Stereo might have the AKG line (no K1000 though).

Experience Audio had an RS1 IIRC.

To here some other headphones in decent conditions, another Seattle meet is probably your best option.

 

[bozebuttons]

If you like the Rs1s the amp that worked extreamly well with it was the singlepower mxp3. with vt231 tubes.
Looking at what your main system is
You are a tube guy just like me, I have a tube based main sysyem cj12s and hovland hp100 which by the way I have hooked up a pair of K1000s to with excelant results. The k1000s will not fit your lying down critera .
Based on your preferances dynamic phones would work best for you over electrostatics which I own also.
I Know you are only looking new but the melos meastrobator heavily modded by Carlo is the amp you are seeking, but will suck up most of you budget.
Other then that ,the singlepower amps would be on top of the charts
I have had SS amps sudgen ,gillmore v1and still have a grado hpa2 as good as they are Tubes just do it better for me.

 

[shafu]

Quote:

Originally posted by Wilson M. No need to apologize. How do you like the CD3000's? How do they compare to the MSPros (since they are a reasonable facsimile to the RS-1s which I have auditioned in the past)? Since you are in Seattle, is there anywhere that carries decent headphones (and has stock for evaluation)?

If you want headphones that you can listen to while lying down, the CD3000s aren't it. They slide off pretty easily. And if looks are important, they look pretty goofy on someone's head.

That said, I quite like the sound of it. Don't know if it's what you are looking for (other's have better reviews then what I could tell you now).

 

[Geek]

I listened for approximately 20 hours to a Meridian 507 with the HD600, cardas cable, and a Maxed Out Home Reference.

I heartily recommend:

1. Max with stepped attenuators: $1,887. www.headphone.com.

Perfect for the 507.

2. Maxed out Home + reference module upgrade + stepped attenuator: $1,410.00.

Basically its a max with just a hair less resolution but it doesn't look nearly as cool.

Both of those amps rock, have incredibly good crossfeed (toggleable), two headphone outputs 1/4", a three-step gain switch, and a three-step analog brightness filter.

There are dual-input and loop out versions for each if I do remember correctly. Both are top notch quality, made of machined aluminum, and you get great tech support and friendly people to deal with.

Cheers,
Geek

 

[HappymaN]

Just slipping in to say that the K1000's can be worn when laying down. I do it every night.

 

[Wilson M.]

I want to thank everyone for the input so far. It's been a very interesting (and frustrating) period.

I expected as much regarding the Seattle shops and headphones. Depending on the number of people, I might be able to hold a meet. It would probably have to be a dozen people or less. Of course, I have no real headphone things to showcase at the moment.

A few people have privately said the CD3K would be a decent choice if I find the RS-1s and HD600s too far to the extremes. A few suggested the DT-880s as a middle of the road option like the CD3K.

I have a few feelers out for some more "interesting" headphones but I'll have to see how they pan out before I proceed.

 

[TravelLite]

Quote:

Originally posted by Wilson M. I want to thank everyone for the input so far. It's been a very interesting (and frustrating) period.

Wilson M., in order to increase the confusion I'll have to briefly chime-in, LOL.

The Corda Cross-1 crossfeed processor + AudioValve RKV Mk II + Beyerdynamic DT990 have become my favorite conventional headphone system.

IMO, the RKV + DT990 combo is really nonpareil in terms of sheer raw power.

Yet IMO, the sound is sophisticated enough to appeal even to many dyed in the wool "pipe-and-slipper" audiophiles.

Best of luck in your quest.

TravelLite