[Altair49]

hello all you wonderful, helpfull people!

Quick history, I am a novice, graduated from bose two years ago to a Woo Audio WA7 and Sennheiser HD700, lovely upgrade that had me smiling for two years. I am now looking to invest some serious cash and get a top shelf headphone set up. I plan to listen to classical music and opera mostly.

My current choice is the Woo Audio W5LE with the Woo Audio DAC, currentely back and forth between the Sony MDR Z1R and the Focal Utopia. My concern with the sony is that it is not as convincing of a live session, and with the Focal the open back might be an issue since i always have an AC on.

Thoughts please? Which would be best for me? Also, is my choice of amp and dac a solid one?

 

[Thenewguy007]

Not considering the Sennheiser HD800? They're generally considered the best for Classical, Chamber & Opera music.

Also, does the Woo Audio even make DAC's?

 

[Guidostrunk]

+1 , for opera/classical. The HD800 or S, is a no brainer.

 

[nvfan]

If your ambient noise is an issue have you considered IEMs as an option? The KSE1500 are pretty mind blowingly good. While IEMs do tend to have a smaller soundstage, there is a device that rectifies that quite a bit--the BSG Technologies Reveel.

https://www.innerfidelity.com/conte...ies-reveel-signal-completion-stage-headphones

 

[Altair49]

thank you all for the advice. I appreciate it!

 

[JimL11]

You should do a little investigation before buying. I suggest attending a few head-fi meets to sample different headphones. There are three basic types, 1)dynamic, e.g. HD600/650, HD700, HD800, Grados, Focal, etc., 2) magnetic planar orthodynamic, e.g. Audeze LCD, HiFiMan, Ether, 3) electrostatic, predominantly Stax, although Ether is coming out with one and Kingsound makes a cheap one. So far, you have only heard advice about dynamics. You should sample some of each type as they are different ways of getting to the top, and you may find that you like one type better than another.

 

[Matez]

hello all you wonderful, helpfull people!

Quick history, I am a novice, graduated from bose two years ago to a Woo Audio WA7 and Sennheiser HD700, lovely upgrade that had me smiling for two years. I am now looking to invest some serious cash and get a top shelf headphone set up. I plan to listen to classical music and opera mostly.

My current choice is the Woo Audio W5LE with the Woo Audio DAC, currentely back and forth between the Sony MDR Z1R and the Focal Utopia. My concern with the sony is that it is not as convincing of a live session, and with the Focal the open back might be an issue since i always have an AC on.

Thoughts please? Which would be best for me? Also, is my choice of amp and dac a solid one?

This is what I'd do:

- I'd grab a DAC from a DAC oriented manufacture
- I'd grab an amp from an amplifier oriented manufacture
- I'd grab headphones from a company that is mainly all about headphones

I'd establish an upper limit on the whole setup. Is the sky your limit?

Headphones are actually the most affordable here and by far. To spend $20'000 on a DAC is not an issue at all these days and there are sources out there and of this pricey asking, that subjectively sing like a bunch of money indeed. There's Chord DAVE, Metrum Pavane or LampizatOr Golden Gate (which I use) or more affordable and slightly different Golden Gate Atlantic to name just several options worthy considering if one can afford a trip this pricey. No matter what your headphone/amp choice is, a great DAC is very important.

An amp from Woo Audio is a good idea and my pick would include one of Woo product for the sake of having tube option, WA33 was great in Munich this year. Still, Trilogy 933/Pass HPA-1 from discrete class A transistor group are much more affordable yet great as well.

And we haven't even touched the estats topic.

And headphones? Well, with setup made from elements above I wouldn't limit myself to just one pair. I'd easily pick Utopias as my main number one and probably Fostex TH-900, just for pure fun.

But this is merely my subjective view.

 

[axle_69]

It would be easier if you had a budget. In terms of DACs the Schiit Gungnir Multibit (1249 USD) and the Schiit Yggdrasil (2299 USD) are good price/performance choices, especially if you have a lot of 44.1 kHz material. If you would like to follow the electrostatic route a Stax SR-009 paired with the new Stax or a KGSSHC Carbon CC or a Blue Hawaii would be on the high-end but probably twice what you would like to spend. A L-500 paired with a SRM-353X and a Gungnir Multibit (2894 USD) or a L-700 with a 353X and a Yggdrasil (4649 USB or a bit more with a better amplifier) would be sensible combinations at a much lower price. And there are the planar, and the ... Better reduce to a few combinations on each type and try to listen and compare between them, preferably all with the same source (DAC).

 

[JimL11]

In terms of TOTL electrostatic headphones, I'd like to point out that a significant minority, myself included, prefers the Stat SR-007 with port mod to the SR-009, and t's half the price of the 009.

 

[mulveling]

You're not going to get a "mind-blowing" with an HD800 based system, no matter what you try. And probably not with any dynamic headphone, though a well-crafted dynamic system can certainly sound extremely nice. From what I briefly heard of the Sony Z1R, that's definitely not gonna do it, and from a similar brief listen to the Utopia, it was better than the Z1R but also unlikely to ever blow me away. Stock 007 Mk I didn't blow my mind either, but the 009 certainly did, and also the L700 (to a lesser degree) might be capable of similar. Not to mention my ears always end up getting irritated/fatigued by dynamics, but never by a Stax (Stax are like a great laid-back speaker in that aspect).