[g_hause]

Im sure this has been done to death but I'm going to do it again.
I have an iRiver Ihp-120 (and love it) and Grado SR 60s, but I have the upgrade itch. I really feel the need to expand the soundstage, I'm tired of the "blobs in the head".
So, here is what I am thinking: Senn 580s with a good portable amp: Gilmore lite or Larocco Pocket reference.
I can only afford one upgrade at a time, and don't really want to go over $350 on an amp and sub $200 on the cans.
So here is the question: what do do first? Will my invisioned upgrades give me results that will expand the soundstage and outperfornm the Grados alone? Are the 580s (or 600s if you insist) really worth investing in if I am happy with my SR 60s?
Thanks for your suggestions.

 

[Hammerstein]

Just to clarify, the Gilmore Lite is portable, just totable. Requires a wall wart power suply by default.

Also, what kind of music do you listen to and do you enjoy the overall Grado sound and its slight aggressiveness? If so, a SR225 might be a better service.

 

[elnero]

Well if "blobs in your head" is a problem why not look at an amp with crossfeed? A new Porta Corda from Meier Audio would fit the bill and then you could get a deal on new HD600's from Meier which would still be significantly less then your overall budget. Alternatively you could look into a Meta or Pimeta with crossfeed from one of the DIY'ers like JMT.

EDIT: Sorry I just noticed you were also asking about which to do first. I would suggest going the amp route first. I highly doubt the HD580's straight out of the iRiver's would satisfy. This way if you went with something like a Porta Corda you would get to hear how it works with the SR-60's. If the amp with crossfeed doesn't solve the problem then something like HD580/600's will do the trick.

 

[g_hause]

Porta Corda looks like a nice solution, but the Meier Audio site lists it as discontinued. Do you know of other retailers that might have one? Is crossfeed the only way to expand the soundstage?
BTW, portability is not essential, portable amps just tend to be cheaper.
I am a bit leary of DIYers, I am willing to spend a bit more to get a warranty and a chassis a bit sturdier than a mint tin.
Thanks for the advise, maybe it's time to move this thread to the amps forum.

 

[elnero]

I'm not seeing the Porta Corda as being discontinued when I look at the website. The HA-1 is but I believe the Porta Corda was fairly recently updated to a Porta Corda II. I would drop Jan Meier an email, he's an incredibly nice and helpful guy.

If portability isn't truly an issue than you could also look into a used Corda HA-1 which should be in your price range as well. You could also check Headrooms amps as well.

As far as DIY'ers go I'm not familiar with them all but I can attest to JMT's work. It's about as professional as it gets and I don't think you would have any real warranty concerns with him but in the end that is your decision to do what you feel most comfortable with.

Crossfeed isn't the only way to combat the "blobs". Different headphones will offer different presentations. If this is one of your main concerns , the HD580/600's are probably one of the better choices as they tend to have a more speaker like presentation. I have not heard any Grado's personally but I've read that they typically have a much more "in your head" type of presentation. Personally I prefer an inbetween. I felt the HD580's tended to keep me at arms length from the music but my W100's angled drivers do a decent job of pushing things out enough that it seems like I've got crossfeed on without actually using it. The W1000's I had for a short time did not do nearly as good a job for whatever reason. My CD1700's don't either but I use software based crossfeed within foobar on my computer at work which I find really makes a big difference.

 

[bc1nurse]

Porta Corda looks like a nice solution, but the Meier Audio site lists it as discontinued

Actually, I believe that the HA-1 has been discontinued, not the Porta Corda.

 

[g_hause]

My bad. I didn't have the window maximized. The "discontinued" was in the wrong spot, showing up over the Porta.