[uraflit]

HOLY SHIET THAT'S A HUGE FIRST PURCHASE

just remember to keep your source good!

 

[hierself]

In my first month I purchased:

HD 580 love these, yet selling soon
and keep this quiet..I bought an almost brand new pair a few days ago..on the way....dont want my son to know
HD 600 on the way, these are 3 weeks old, will be here friday
SR125 need to sell..these are almost brand new
SR325 love these..but still may sell...hmm, may not
SR80 just arrived today..they have some mods so I wanted to check them out
I probably will sell these, but give it week or so
AKG 240S arrived today..wanted to get a feel for the AKG's

Amps
Sr71...way good,,way way
Portahile maxed...this is a great amp..really great

Cable
Cardas 15' headphone cable..on the way

Few cables from the fantastic CablePro, Ted is awesome and his cables rock.
I have not seen many posts about Ted and CablePro, his cables, etc are from all my research and listening is premier, and he is easy to get a hold of and willing to help, newbees get the best and not spend more than is needed.
He may be most expensive, but I think all that buy ALO, Audioquest etc, should try CablePro. He keeps a low profile, which brought me to his website.

I got phones, I got boxes, I got cables, etc all around me.
Sometimes I think, what was I doing before this frenzy consumed me.

I hope the HD600's. witth the Cardas and the. SR71 will do it for me.

6 headphones, 2 amps, cardas cable and various interconnects.
I guess one would say finding the Head Fi website has created from nothing head fi... to all this in about 30 days. $ $ $ $
The thing is, I feel pretty good about reselling anythng on this list and breakin even, losing a few and makin a few.
Otherwise, I would say I became a fiend, obsessed, and need to go to HEad FI annonymous, where there are those who lost their families, their houses, yet are surrounded with headphones and amps and cables and still look everyday for more more more...and, the crazy part is their happy

welcome to the party

 

[Bootleg]

Friends,

In the interest of science, I'd like to add more headphones to the shootout.

Which models from other brands would compete well with the (650, 701, 880, 325) set if the street price had to be below $350? (I acquired all of the others for $315 or less)

Ultrasone?

Audio Technica?

Sony?

Denon?

I'm a noob, what am I leaving out?

 

[Knockturne]

Denon - yes (D2K). Audio Technica - no. Sony - yes (SA5K).

 

[musicmind]

In the price range you mentioned, I would be curious about the Audio Technica ATH-AD1000/AD2000 and the Denon AH-D2000 compare with the cans you have.

Thanks for sharing your findings, looking forward to your impressions of your headphones and amps when they all arrive.

 

[Bootleg]

Headroom Total Bithead arrived! The Grado SR80's already sound markedly better in terms of clarity and bass "punchy-ness" as compared to my Dell's headphone out at work.

Any predictions as to how the AKG K 701's will play with the Total Bithead? I'll almost certainly need the High Gain setting...right?

 

[Chrysoberyl]

I guess that you are aware of the expectation that you created! Congratulations for all your purchases,and I'm definitely going to follow this thread...this is an invaluable second hand/ear experience for newbies like me!

 

[Bootleg]

I'll do my best to keep up the comments before this thread loses steam...the words of encouragement/guilt are a big help!

Even though I'm inclined to think it my be bogus, I'm going to give ample burn in time to each item before I do the real shootout...the AKG K 701's have been cooking for almost 100 hours now.

Got home around midnight last night and plugged the Total Bithead into the Dell at home. I fired up the AKG's and realized immediately that I'd need the high gain setting. So far, with zero burn in time on the Bithead, it is much better than the str8 Dell (of course) and at least slightly better than my NAD C350's headphone out--maybe much better, but haven't done A/B's yet.

Any thoughts as to how much the high gain setting on the Total Bithead degrades the sound?

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheStig /img/forum/go_quote.gif We need a smiley where the smiley is on his knees bowing because that's exactly what I'd be doing right now,

And some other cool ones:

And one of the funniest:

 

[brokensound]

Wow, I thought I was awful for using my zero interest college loan to buy audio equipment, you take it to a whole new level. I'm inspired!!!

 

[kwlinder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bootleg /img/forum/go_quote.gif It kind of surprises me that others have not gone on a similar binge. With resources like the head fi marketplace, ebay, and audiogon available, its beyond easy to buy and sell for nearly the same price. So long as you are buying quality goods that have somewhat loyal followings (like most of the stuff I bought, I hope) you shouldn't lose more than 10% on each deal (i pray). What's the difference between that 10% and a restocking charge? Couple all of this with the fact that Hawaii audio retailers are extremely backwards--having almost zero stock on hand, high prices (sometimes above list), and little to no true audio insight or personality--the choice seems clear: Buy a ton of crap at one time, demo it in you own home, and sell off everything but your favorites. All you lose is the aforementioned 10% and some credit card interest (assuming the whole process takes more than 30-60 days). Tell me that no one else has done this! It seems to me that the chink in my headphone armor thus far is amplification. The Benchmark DAC1 and the Big Four Cans (SR325i, HD650, K 701, & DT 880) seem to be at least somewhat beyond reproach. If my budget was $1,000, help me pick an amp. Here is the criteria: 1. Can be bought AND SHIPPED TO HAWAII (zip 96813) for $1,000.00 or less. 2. Can EASILY be resold on Head Fi for $900 or more (plus shipping back to the mainland). 3. Has a loyal following of supporters. 4. Has been reviewed by at least one mainstream audio magazine or MAJOR review website (I understand that this is not the end-all, but the amp should have at least planted its flag somewhere). 5. Has enough power to be able to say, without question, that it is driving each of the Big 4 with ease. 6. Has enough finesse to quiet the "its just a big ugly brute" crowd. If there is an amp out there that does all of this, I'll buy it immediately and add it to the shootout. Mahalo!

If you decide you like the sound of the DT880, I would recommend you buy an Opera. The synergy between the two is excellent. I think it would be a good match with the AKg's as well. It has a dac, but since you have the DAC1, you could save a few dollars by buying the analog only version or sell the DAC1, the dac in the Opera is not bad. If you think you want tubes, consider a SinglePower amp. There are a number to choose from, and I had a very hard time deciding between a maxed out SinglePower PPX3 6NS7 Slam and the Opera. I went with the Opera, and am very happy.

 

[Bootleg]

Thoughts on the Total Bithead and AKG K 701 combo:

After listening to both for 2 days now (say 15 hours total), it is clear that while the Total Bithead is not driving the K 701's to their highest potential, it is doing an admirable job nonetheless. If I didn't know that the AKG's are supposed to have so much more left in the tank (with proper amplification) I could be done and satisfied...very musical...very fun to listen to...a great way to play music off a PC.

 

[RasmusseN]

your insane you need to slow your roll at this pace you will be broke within a couple months

don't order anymore just wait until it arrives you have a good amount of different headphones now test them out and see what you like. than you will know with which headphones to pursue.

 

[Bootleg]

As to headphones, I'm done for a few weeks...but I need a reference quality amp and source to do my cans justice.

The Benchmark DAC1 should take care of the source (and maybe the amp), and the x-can will offer another insight...But I need to go big guns.

I've got it narrowed down to the following:

RSA Raptor - $1,175
Woo Audio 2 or 4 - $950/$1,150
Singlepower Extreme (14amp model) - $1,300

I'm very sure that each amp with drive the 701's, 650's, and 880's fine...but which will also play nice with the Grado's?

 

[QwertyAccess]

i just hope your dell has at the very least a creative sound card and not a motherboard onboard sound card, onboard sound cards sound like a tape-recorder in comparison. In my experience.