How to get to acoustic vinyl head-fi heaven?

[IanS]

I've become aware of 2 things recently:

1 - For logistical reasons I'm not spending much time with my 'main' system anymore ... the one that includes the turntable.

2 - In the evenings, I cannot crank the tunes in my home office the same way I do all day

So if I want to put a nice VPI turntable up near my desk, and use it to get a luscious, warm vinyl sound wafting through my brain - mostly acoustic music (vocals, acoustic guitar - tons of folk, blues, alt-acoustic-rock) - what should I be looking at in the way of amplification, and phones?

And if I decide to keep it all tubes, what output voltage level do I need out of my cartridge?

Thanks.

 

[IanS]

Gotta be vinyl lovers around here somewhere. Am I in the wrong forum?

 

[bln]

Hi Ian, I replied to your query at Audioasylum as well. Personally I like the Grado sound signature for acoustic music (and all other types, actually). Many people here have different tastes, of course.

If you're new to headphones, my advice is to buy several different models from a dealer that offers a 30-day return policy. Headphones are far easier to audition than speakers and you should try to decide what sound signature you like best in order to continue. There's headphone.com, audioadvisor.com, and toddthevinyljunkie.com. Good luck.

 

[sberger]

a great phono pre, especially if you're going to get a low outptut moving coil cart, is the dynavector p-75 . true giant killer. as for the headphone part, i'm using sennheiser hd650's with a single power ppx3. do a search, and check out the amp review, but it's a terrific tube hp amp that will blow you away, especially for the dough(about $500 stock, although upgrades are available). and the p-75 is about $600. if you keep an eye on audiogon, it can be had usually for less.

oh yeah, im using a vpi scout with a benz ref2 silver cart and the dynavector p75 phono, and im using the 650/ppx3 combo described above with a silver dragon replacement cable for the 650's. it's very sweet...

good luck!

 

[gundam91]

I also saw your post on Vinyl Asylum.

I've moved to a headphone based system since my son was born 5 months ago. You can see my main system listed below. My headphone system was basically downsized from my second system. That system was in our spare bedroom which got converted into the baby room.

By now you should have probably realized that there are as many products dedicated to headphones as with speaker-based systems. There are many headphones to choose from ranging from $60 to $5000(?). Grado, AKG, Sennheiser, Sony, Audio Technique, Stax, Beyers, etc. Grados and Sennheisers seemed to be the most popular ones. And did I mentioned there are also phones you stick inside your ears if you prefer.

As for amps, you also have your varieties of solid states & tubes. Most of the headphone amps are actually more like an "integrated" amp in that they have build-in volume control. Some of the Hi-End manufacturers, lik CEC, Lehman and PS Audio, have recently taken interest in headphone amps. So you will see more and more headphone amps becoming available. There are also some preamps with headphone jacks that are quite good.

Like everything else, it comes down to personal taste and system synergy. You will probably get 50 different answers, and I can tell you that non of them will be the right answer for you. You will have to decide which combination suits your personal taste and budget. Besides, you haven't mentioned which cartridge and phonostage you will be using. Yes, you will need a phonostage as all headphone amps require line-level signal. Best thing to do is to attend one of those Head-Fi meets in your area and audition as many combination as you can. I was lucky to have a chance to audition several SS and tube amps prior to purchasing my amp. But again, I purchased my amp based on a review, and I was just lucky that the outcome turns out to be great. Best way to start is to spend some time here and do some reading of people's experiences with various headphones/amps. You can find out if there's a meet in your area as well.

You can read about my headphone search journey in my review of my headphone amp Consonace Cyber 20. Several of my buddies have listened to my new headphone setup and commented on its "LP-like" qualities and amazed at the reproduction of female vocals. I've meant to hook it up to my main rig and listen to some LPs, but I've been so happy with the sound coming out of my CDs (I would never imagine in a million year that I would be saying that) that I could not unhook the amp from the system. Not even to unscrew the plates to take a picture of the inside so I can finalize the review and submit it to Head-Fi.

As for my $60K main rig. It has become my 5-month's old son's personal stereo, playing soundtracks of Totoro, a Japanese animation for kids, and classical music.

 

[patrickamory]

Hi there,

I also responded to your AA thread, but thought I'd go into more detail here. I mostly listen to classical, and at home I listen almost exclusively to vinyl. (I'm surrounded by CDs in my job.) I'd resign yourself to having a separate phono stage and headphone amp (it wasn't clear whether you were looking for a combo) for best quality.

If you're going tubes in any part of your chain, keep in mind that you will need exceptionally quiet equipment if you're listening to acoustic music on vinyl through headphones! I have an Aesthetix Io Signature which is completely silent in the phono stage.

I have SR-125s and Sennheiser HD-600s, and prefer the latter for classical (and actually for most music). With the Senns I've tried Creek, Antique Sound Labs, Audio Valve and Gilmore amps, and preferred the last by a long shot. I currently have a Gilmore V2-SE and I love it. Justin from Headamp will lend you an audition unit for a week - I actually auditioned the V2 and loved it, but ordered a V2-SE and customized it. The V2-SE is even better than the V2 - transparent, easy, powerful, dynamic. I recommend it highly.

J!

 

[marios_mar]

acoustic....?

STAX all they way.