pdennis
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2007
- Posts
- 433
- Likes
- 12
Hey there,
This is my first post here; I've browsed around a good bit and it seems like this is a great audio community! I'm hoping that I can bounce a few ideas off of you folks for getting set up for higher quality audio from my new Macbook Pro. I'm finding myself doing lots of listening through headphones these days, and needless to say my beat-up SR-60s aren't cutting the mustard for things like Messiaen's "St. Francis of Assisi" or Beethoven's string quartets. I do listen to many, many styles of music, but classical stuff is where I'm most concerned about getting "the sound". I'm thinking about setting up a simple rig, dedicated entirely to listening off the computer. Portability might be nice on occasion, but is definitely not required.
One option is a "traditional" setup, such as: MBP (usb) --> Corda Cantate --> Beyer DT880, which is an arrangement I'm considering simply based on the popularity of the individual components and the fact that the DT880 sounds like a great value, especially for classical phones. Definitely not a portable arrangement, but the build quality is reputedly excellent on both amp and cans. Comments on this rig? Any similarly priced alternatives that might work better for my intended use?
I'm also very tempted by the ATH-D1000, considering my laptop has a mini TOSLINK output. I've read some discouraging things about TOSLINK in regards to audio (though I've heard some about USB too!), but at the same time I haven't seen any reports from people who thought that these cans sucked. It's a very cool idea, it's potentially portable (even if the build quality would make me hesitate to leave the house with them), it's a bit cheaper and wouldn't take up nearly so much space. I guess I'm hoping that there's another person or two out there who has listened to orchestral or chamber music on these things and has something to say about them. Are sealed cans less viable for classical music than they are for other genres?
Thanks in advance for your help!
This is my first post here; I've browsed around a good bit and it seems like this is a great audio community! I'm hoping that I can bounce a few ideas off of you folks for getting set up for higher quality audio from my new Macbook Pro. I'm finding myself doing lots of listening through headphones these days, and needless to say my beat-up SR-60s aren't cutting the mustard for things like Messiaen's "St. Francis of Assisi" or Beethoven's string quartets. I do listen to many, many styles of music, but classical stuff is where I'm most concerned about getting "the sound". I'm thinking about setting up a simple rig, dedicated entirely to listening off the computer. Portability might be nice on occasion, but is definitely not required.
One option is a "traditional" setup, such as: MBP (usb) --> Corda Cantate --> Beyer DT880, which is an arrangement I'm considering simply based on the popularity of the individual components and the fact that the DT880 sounds like a great value, especially for classical phones. Definitely not a portable arrangement, but the build quality is reputedly excellent on both amp and cans. Comments on this rig? Any similarly priced alternatives that might work better for my intended use?
I'm also very tempted by the ATH-D1000, considering my laptop has a mini TOSLINK output. I've read some discouraging things about TOSLINK in regards to audio (though I've heard some about USB too!), but at the same time I haven't seen any reports from people who thought that these cans sucked. It's a very cool idea, it's potentially portable (even if the build quality would make me hesitate to leave the house with them), it's a bit cheaper and wouldn't take up nearly so much space. I guess I'm hoping that there's another person or two out there who has listened to orchestral or chamber music on these things and has something to say about them. Are sealed cans less viable for classical music than they are for other genres?
Thanks in advance for your help!
