TaffyGuy
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2002
- Posts
- 262
- Likes
- 0
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...
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...