Jrock Gear - Help needed for Headphones, portable amp, cables etc
Jun 20, 2011 at 10:06 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 8
jcamui420

jcamui420

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Hi, i've been reading through this site for the past couple of since i stumbled upon it looking for better iPod alternatives, and i've got to say its awesome!
A few months ago i had a Archos 605 wifi but the screen cracked it didn't connect through usb. The main reason for buying the archos was the large storage capacity but now, ive been going through cheap 2Gb and 4gb mp3 players I found at home. 
 
Since looking better alternative I found this site and now I'm pretty much set on saving up for a Whipmod 120gb that can be rockboxed. The problem is though apart from the Whipmod I cant decide on the other gear to go with it since there are so many options looking through this site and a I live in the UK so this might make a difference.   
The other things i need help with is choosing a LOD cable, portable amp and headphones.
I'll go through more about each below.
 
Music
On my old Archos most of it was 320kpbs as it doesnt play FLAC. However, since finding this site ive found out about the genius of Whipmod and rockbox so I will have quite a bit of FLAC files. I had different genres on it, mainly rock, acoustic, metal, film soundtracks, game soundtracks, Jrock. However now I listen to JRock 90% of the time so i would like gear suited for it. 
For me, i the the sound requirements for JRock are different than for normal rock. For normal rock and metal, i'm more focused on the riffs and melodies and don't usually focus on the vocals. However for JRock, its a whole other game. Firstly, its way more broad of a genre and bands will sound so different from album to album to album, and even song to song. Also i find the vocals amazing, and some singers and quite large vocal ranges. I find myself with Jrock listening to the vocals more, especially as i thing the instruments complement the vocals and make sound more like a 'complete' song rather than a generic rock song where it now seems like songs based on the instruments and different instrument parts clumped together to form a song. 
For the equipment, I would really like it to make the epic songs that give me goosebumps to sound that much more awesome, aswell as show the emotion for the instrumental and more emotional pieces. Hopefully it will bring out the vocals and the instruments will support the song. That was a bad explanation but hopefully you understand.  Here are some examples of what i mean.
 
Epic/Awesome/Amazing songs that give me goosebumps
 
Gackt - Longing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzG24vGN_H0
Dir en Grey - The Final http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hk3unWRv7is
Miyavi - Senor Senora Senorita -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4Zt2-jTAXQ
Yui - Rolling Star http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgZGEB_m6tA
Abingdon Boys School - Lost Reason http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJ6XAP6BWvY
Gazette - Filth in the Beauty - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfJQJqRJLl4
Dir en Grey - Kasumi http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbDS1TG_Aoc
Gack - Lust for Blood http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvALdsgYCKU
Dir en Grey - Kodou http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj51y5xg0R0
Miyavi - Shelter http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9pP9eMmIAw
 
Instrumental/emotional songs
 
Dir en Grey -艶かしき安息、躊躇いに微笑み (Unplugged) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyhQq9hNioo
Yui - Tokyo live http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2BBro2IndQ
Gazette - Kare Uta http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcxR3gmfJhQ
Dir en Grey - Inconvinient Ideal unplugged http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsRxLG8uvsw
Ikimono Gakari - Sakura live http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRltjfp-H94
Gackt - Returner http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHWNqukBuRY
 
[size=1.8333em] Dir en Grey Namamekashiki Ansoku, Tamerai ni Hohoemi  [/size]

[size=1.8333em] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oabtTx0jfqA[/size]

 
Ikimono Gakari - Blue Bird http://stagevu.com/video/pdhlfywemjkq
 
Yes i do really that is a long list but i really want to get this right so i hope you understand what kind of sound i'm looking for. 
 
LOD Cable
Basically, since i'm looking to get a Whipmod i need a LOD cable but there are so many options to choose from like wire type, and if someone could explain and/or recommend one that would be great. 
These are the cables on the whiplash audio site
http://www.whiplashaudio.com/cables/ipod-cables/elite-whiplash-audio-line-out-dock-cable-lod.html
http://www.whiplashaudio.com/cables/ipod-cables/whiplash-elite-micro-line-out-dock-lod-right-exit.html
http://www.whiplashaudio.com/cables/ipod-cables/elite-reference-line-out-dock-lod.html
 
Portable Amp
I havent used a headphone amp before so i'm not too sure want i want out of it. I listen to music quite a lot throughout the day e.g. whilst travelling to college and city centre; whilst revising and studying (since its exam time i've been listening at least 5 hours in one sitting) etc. I don't want it to be too big as i'll probably carry it in my pocket. I live in England but as most prices on this site are USD, i probably wanna spend less than $100 on it. 
 
Headphones
I haven't had much experience with good, high quality, audiophile headphones except trying out some Sennheisers in store and my sisters' Bose headphones(although they're not that good). The headphones i currently use a the bottom of the range sony mdr-v150. The sound is alright as you can 'feel' the music, but i think the sounds like vocals, get sort of squished together and doesn't have much separation. I think size of them is good but i'm not sure if  i would get anything much larger. I usually listen to music in long stretches of a few hours at a time, plus throughout the day so i want it to be comfortable. I would also to like it too be portable so not a full size headphone. I will probably use it quite alot in the library when i start University after the summer holidays so I don't want it to leak and get me kicked out by librarians!  I'm also trying this language learning method called alljapaneseallthetime where you basically listen to Japanese all the time, so i would like it too sound good for voice as well. Again I will probably spend $100 on headphones but I might stretch it to $200 if its worth it or can find a good deal.
 
Sorry for the mega long post, i just want to get this right. Your help is greatly appreciated and all recommendations are welcome.  
 
 
Jul 13, 2011 at 7:24 PM Post #2 of 8
Anyone
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 ???
 
Jul 15, 2011 at 2:03 AM Post #5 of 8
I think you will be happy choosing a headphone from Audio Technica.  I have read positive things about the ATH-M50, although I do not use them myself (demoed them).  I mostly use the ATH-CK100 and used the ATH-A900 before.  The Audio Technica house sound is very well suited for JRock, especially since the AT focuses (colors?) the mids.  For a portable amp, I use the iBasso T3, which helps gives the CK100 a little bit more of a boost on the bass end. 
 
Jul 21, 2011 at 4:52 PM Post #6 of 8
The M50's look really good, and seem to be extremely popular on this forum!
Do the M50's work well with more emotional( cant think of better word) songs like the ones listed in the original post?  
 
This looks like the cheapest ones i have found but im not sure if its a scam http://www.6cheapest.com/audio-technica-athm50s-headphones-athm50-p-82.html
What is the difference between M50 and M50s ?
 
Also what amp would go well with these? Would the hippo box be sufficient for jrock?
Also is there a cheap amp the same size as a Headstage arrow because that looks really portable and high quality?
 
Sorry for so many questions :)
 
 
Jul 22, 2011 at 9:02 AM Post #7 of 8
From my experience I find they work well with more emotional music, however, they can sound artificial at times, which throws this off. Piano sounds a bit off to me as well. I find they do distorted guitars well. They give the guitars some power and energy behind them.
Basically, M50S is the same headphone but with a straight cable instead of a coiled one.
 
Amp wise, I've only been running them off my PC and my iPod so I can't give advice here. But what I have noticed is that they're not too picky on the quality of the file that you play. I cannot tell the difference between FLAC and 256kbps MP3s. With my GR07s which aren't amazingly detailed but are still very sufficient, they allow me to ABX the difference between FLAC and MP3.
 
 
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