[TaffyGuy]

Alright everyone, i'll start with some introductions, considering this is my first post. I'm not exactly an audiophile, since I seem to still have concept of the almighty dollar bill, and I've finally got fed up with enough of this reading and spending and reading... cycle that I'm now going to join in the communication.

Now the business. First and formost I'm looking for advice, but I want you all to do me a favor and try to think practically about all of this before you give it. Last september I splurged and bought myself a pair of HD600's at the end of a huge spending spree that landed me a Marantz SR7200 receiver, a pair of Thiel CS1.5's and an infocus projector (modest dorm room av setup) celebrating my first summer of painstaking full time work. At this point my heafty spending was becoming somewhat regretable, but in the end my most satisfying purchase was the Senn's and I had myself wondering why the hell I'd spend 3 grand on (essentially) a tv that could have gotten me so much more headphone gear.

Well this is becoming quite a biography, but I'll continue for the sake of my own jollies. I started out powering the Senn's right out of my Marantz, which at first was more than satisfying (i almost wet myself the first time i put them on), but soon i noticed an irritating electronic hum independant of volume coming out of the marantz, so I switched over to my Mackie micro series mixer board. (I'm also somewhat of a musician, and have a small recording setup) The mackie, which I still listen out of today, puts out plenty of power, and is actually a vast improvement to the Marantz sonically and regarding humm/hiss.

So if for some reason you forgot to stop reading this, I want to hear the audiophile reaction. Yes thats right, i'm listening to music right now out of my computer, decoded from *gasp* an mp3 file, dac'ed on a lowly av receiver, and powered by a preamp mixer board. And worst of all, on the stock HD600 interconnect

I'm back at work and in the mood to spend, so try and think, where would my money actually go best to produce that pants wetting sound? Some things to keep in mind: the HD600's only cost me $200!!! (dealer in germany via ebay... maybe sketchy, but hey i've got warrentee'd senn's) So some things are out of the question. For instance, these are 120 ohm can's, right? so in comparison to a speaker setup whose impedance can go down to 2 ohms, i need about 60X less accuracy in the interconnect department. And I'm supposed to spend another $150 on a new cable? Does that really make sense??? wouldn't i have been better off with $350 phones? is anybody still sane in here?

Right now I'm dying for some phones to use at work, so i'm getting a little too interested in the ety 4s. i've had sealing earbuds before (by sony) and LOVED them, but then there was the realization on how incredibly crappy they were after my first experience with sennheiser. so for $269 is it worth it to get backups for the senn's? Having arguably the best open phone and the best sealed phone in my collection does sound mighty tempting.

Next is the power issue. I'd like to obtain a headphone amp but i'm not sure of the best way to go about it. I think it'd be a fun project to build one from design, but have been warned by my father (another EE) that it might be a better idea to go with a kit. Can I save money and still produce some good sound with a kit? (which?) or if not what do you all suggest?

Hmm... I probably should have been a bit more concise, and I probably should have run this by a spell checker, but if any of you all can feel my point of view... please add a post! all advice welcome, please let me know what an ignorant fool I am for not accepting the glory that is the cardas cable company, or whatever. But remember, I'm a student, so lets keep the sound:dollar ratio as high as possible.

And, gasping for air, the young and foolish TaffyGuy signs out...

 

[dohminator]

You need an amp, and I hear the equinox cables or the clou blue or red cables are good replacement cables that make it sound even better.

An amp is a neccesity though.

search the boards for more info on the amp you'll want.

 

[Ebonyks]

Headphones truly are bizzare items, as compared to speakers.

Yes, spending 150$ on a cable does make them sound better than anything else you can get for 350$ stock. The 200 dollar headphones sound truly amazing, and your money shouldn't be spent upgrading them. It should be spent upgrading everything else around them. As i said, headphones are truly bizzare things in that fassion. To get the most out of those headphones, you need to spend far, far more than they're worth.

Value and audiophile grade sound are almost complete opposites.

If you wanted value, i would have gotten the KSC-35's.

The question that you need to ask yourself is first of all, are your ears good enough to truly tell the difference between nice cans? and second of all, how much do you want to spend?

DIY in the headphone world has some great uses, building a META 42 is a great way to get an amazing amp for an affordable price. Meta 42's vary greatly in price and quality. You can spend as little as 60 bucks or so, and as much as ten fold that.

Ask other users for links on how to build them, where to buy stuff, etc. I don't have any right now. BTW, if you plan to build one, better be good with a soldering iron.

 

[joelongwood]

Quote:

Right now I'm dying for some phones to use at work, so i'm getting a little too interested in the ety 4s. i've had sealing earbuds before (by sony) and LOVED them, but then there was the realization on how incredibly crappy they were after my first experience with sennheiser. so for $269 is it worth it to get backups for the senn's?

Welcome to Head-Fi, TaffyGuy. You've asked quite a few questions in your first post, and I'm sure you'll get quite a few suggestions regarding each. I've chosen the above to answer:
Once you hear the Ety 4S, with the proper seal, you may not look as them as a back-up to the Senns..........it may be the other way around. They are THAT good!

 

[Audio-Me]

My suggestion is, unless you need that crap you bought, sell it. Then use that money to get yourself a good CD player and a bunch of CDs to listen to. Then, I recommend a META42 headphone amp. Next, get either the Equinox or Cardas replacement HD600 cable. You'll want some decent interconnects to hook up the CD player to the amp. I think Bolder Type 1 is good value, but there are other good cheap cables out there.

 

[Beagle]

Quote:

Originally posted by dohminator You need an amp An amp is a neccesity though.

No not really. You don't need an amp. All that will happen is you will hear the "sound" of the amp through the headphones masking the music, sure as beanz is beanz. Try and have as less in the chain as possible. Every time you add something it dilutes the sound quality, especially with tubes. It gets nice and euphonic but not accurate.

But it's up to you. Best to demonstrate some amps (if you choose to go that route) and decide what sounds best to your ears.

 

[Matthew-Spaltro]

Quote:

Originally posted by Beagle No not really. You don't need an amp. All that will happen is you will hear the "sound" of the amp through the headphones masking the music, sure as beanz is beanz. Try and have as less in the chain as possible. Every time you add something it dilutes the sound quality, especially with tubes. It gets nice and euphonic but not accurate. But it's up to you. Best to demonstrate some amps (if you choose to go that route) and decide what sounds best to your ears.

I agree wholeheartidely.

 

[CRESCENDOPOWER]

Quote:

Originally posted by Ebonyks To get the most out of those headphones, you need to spend far, far more than they're worth.

Absolutely! Good electronics usually costs more than good headphones.
And, yes. You do need an amp for the HD-600s, if you want to use them to their maximum potential. An amp may be another piece in the chain, and will change the sound, but almost always for the better. Especially, if you do some research, and find the amp that is right for you.
A good source, headphone cable, and interconnects wouldn't hurt either.

 

[TaffyGuy]

Alright its been all of 24 hours since I brought this up, but I worked 12 hours overtime this weekend, and to burn off steam, I'm going to blow some cash.

So as I continue to decide what system upgrades, like what kind of amp I should get/build... trying to look into this meta 42 thing people are tossing around... I'm going to treat myself to some ety4s, because I desparately want something portable, but they don't have to sound their best when I'm out and about so forget the 4p.

So I just checked headroom and they raised the price on the ety's, which irritates me, so I wonder if anyone knows where I can get the best deal on them. And on top of that, does anyone know about the custom earpiece dealie? I havn't had problems with ear canal headphones in the past, so it probably will not be an issue, but perhaps there is a dealer that gives a good deal on a package. I'm not sure exactly how that would work since I'd need to take a mold of my ear... but anyway I thought I'd throw that out there...

Also, don't worry guys, I'll remember the rest of the system as well, but the way I see it, i'm going to see more of an immediate difference by sticking ety's in my ears than by sticking my senn's in an amp. Especially at work where I currently have nothing but the tempting song of the sandman.

Thanks for all the response guys, its amazing how many replies are here after just one day...