[Noesis]

Hi!
I'm new to all this, so bear with me.

I'm a young audiophile. At my home I have a system I have worked hard to make sound good, but I travel a lot. In the summers I work in a factory in Florida and somehow I always tend to be on the road! I was at a loss on how to satisfy my listening needs when away from home until my trusty Stereophile Magazine came this week and I read about you guys in the Letters section. So here I am!

I want to peice together a good headphone listening system for me to take on my travels... I travel in a truck and have ample room for gear (www.darktide.com/noesis/ram/) and can safetly store it. In the summers I'm down in Florida working at a factory, at nights I'm in an apartment hardly suitable for a system it would take to satisfy my crave for reproduction of my favorite recordings. Headphones seem to be the answer!

I tried the headphone amp on my receiver and it's terrible. You would think for what you pay for a good receiver they would put something decent in there. Heh.

I want to be able to hook up to wall outlets. While batteries have their advantages (less worry about the quality of power), I listen for long periods of times (sometimes I'll listen to three full CDs in one evening, I could care less about gear, I'm in it for the music!) and batteries always tend to die too soon for my tastes.

So, I want to peice together a budget system. Here are my notes:
-Closed headphone. I hate outside noise like airconditioners, people blathering and such when I'm listening. I heard Beyerdynamic was good?
-My musical tastes mostly consist of country (not pop-country, however), classic rock and the blues. That is in the order of how often I listen to each.

Here is what I need:
-Headphone (Closed, as noted above).
-Headphone Amp (At a loss. There are a lot of options and most are more then I want to spend.).
-Interconnect (CD player to Amp. I was thinking of the AudioQuest Sidewinder, only 31 bucks for half a meter.)

What I have:
-CD Player (I have a DVD player with a CD laser which plays beautifully for the money)
-Isolation stand (I have some Rancho gas shocks I'm going to attach to a platform. Just for kicks! Hey, if they supported my truck it can support my audio gear and nix some vibrations! Plus they're red and stylish

)

The Budget (*sigh*):
I want to keep this on a tight budget. Lately I have been binging like crazy on stuff for my truck. I think I put together a system I will be happy with at a low price.

My headphone budget is undetermined. I want it to be a very nicey priced closed headphone. I have a pair of Sony studio phones I use now. They are closed and sound ok, but nothing resembling outstanding. If I can't find a headphone of a decent price I will stick with my Sonys until I can find a good replacement or have the will to spend more.

Amp budget is cerca 125-175 dollars.

Items I will be getting not included in this budget: Cardas Caps to cover any RCA connectors not being used, a beefy industrial power cable (they sound great and don't cost a million dollars) and probably some RF noise killers. I'm in an apartment in the summer and I HATE that noise. For 6 bucks, I'm sold.

Anyways, any help is appreciated. Sorry for the long post!

Happy listening!
-Chad

 

[Ohoen]

Welcome Chad, I'll let others do the standard greeting...
The length of your post is great. We need all that information and more for a good recommendation.
My first suggestion for you is to comb through the archives here. There's tons of info and it will be easier to sift through once you get a few ideas from people.
For the cans... what Sonys are you using now and how do you find them to be lacking?
As for Beyers, I can't speak for the whole line but I would definitely stay away from the DT770s for your musical tastes. There's too much sibilance in the treble to really get the best out of that sort of music imo. The DT250s might be better but I haven't heard them. Also check out Audio-Technicas. I don't think you mentioned how much you want to spend on phones. Another thing is that with a lot of cans you don't really need an amp, or certainly not right away. Look into the Sony CD3000s or Beyer DT250-80s and (I know there are others, someone else will come up with them). This way you could dump your whole budget into great cans and then find an amp later when you can afford it to really get that last 10% out of them. Oh, but that won't work w/out a headphone out on your cdp... oops. In that case there are tons of options for amps but you have to figure out what cans you're going to be using first. At least that would be very helpful.
I like the iso-table idea, maybe add a lift kit if you're tall

Good luck and welcome. Prepare for your truck budget to deteriorate massively...

 

[Noesis]

Quote:

My first suggestion for you is to comb through the archives here. There's tons of info and it will be easier to sift through once you get a few ideas from people.

That's what I've been doing all morning actually. Lots of material! Good stuff.

Quote:

For the cans... what Sonys are you using now and how do you find them to be lacking?

Unfortunetly, I don't have them with me. I'm unsure. They where studio headphones I picked up a while back (cerca two years). Ran me about 100 bucks, if that helps. I didn't mean to come off like they are terrible, they are not, just not all that impressive. I might keep them for a while and just do the amp and interconnects while I look for a good headphone. I'm seriously considering the Creek OBH-11 for its price and my past experiance with Creek.

I did some pricing out through Audio Adviser with my 10% discount (Stereophile subscriber thing):

Creek OBH-11: 157.50
AudioQuest SideWinder pair: 28.35
Total: 185.85 before shipping, so lets figure 200.

If I stick with my current headphones, that's not too bad in price. Then I can get some headphones when money premits.

I'm looking on HeadRoom right now for other amp options. I like their website, its very helpful.

Quote:

I like the iso-table idea, maybe add a lift kit if you're tall

Haha, yeah, that will be fun. I'm going to make it so it can sit on a desk, so no lift kit in store, haha. They are long shocks though! I'm going to then weight it down, so if it gets bumped it won't move, with a power conditioner inbetween the two panels. I like stupid DIY projects like that.

Quote:

Good luck and welcome.

Thanks!

Quote:

Prepare for your truck budget to deteriorate massively...

Haha, nah, not this high-tech redneck! Just gotta work harder and make more money!

Thanks for the help!
-Chad

 

[markl]

Great, another one from Stereophile. Welcome!
Quote:

Here is what I need: -Headphone (Closed, as noted above). -Headphone Amp (At a loss. There are a lot of options and most are more then I want to spend.). -Interconnect (CD player to Amp. I was thinking of the AudioQuest Sidewinder, only 31 bucks for half a meter.)

Headphones: Sony CD3000 (~$400), Audio Technica W1000 (~$350) are your most likely choices in high-quality closed phones. There are other models you can get for much less, but doing so makes getting an amp for them even more questionable. Obviously, you need a good quality phone capable of revealing the improvement wrought by a good amp. And obviously again, no amp, not even a $10K amp can turn a $100 Radio Shack CDP into a $20K Linn machine. "Garbage in, garbage out". Buying an expensive amp for a cheap source will only result in a much clearer picture of the doo-doo coming in to the amp.

Amp: your budget is a bit small for a headphone amp. With an amp, you have to spend a lot to get a little. Please read this post for more details relevant to your case:http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...threadid=32302

Interconnects: Same problem as amps, you have to spend a lot to get a little. Unless you have a budget of $300 or so for an amp, maybe money on ICs could be better plowed back into a better amp.

Mark

 

[Noesis]

Thanks for the welcome!

Quote:

There are other models you can get for much less, but doing so makes getting an amp for them even more questionable.

My CD player isn't self amplified. I need an amp for that reason, as well as having decent sound for future upgrades.

Quote:

Interconnects: Same problem as amps, you have to spend a lot to get a little. Unless you have a budget of $300 or so for an amp, maybe money on ICs could be better plowed back into a better amp.

Well, I need something to transfer the sound from the CD player to the amp... so those well priced AQ cables sound good to me.

Quote:

Buying an expensive amp for a cheap source will only result in a much clearer picture of the doo-doo coming in to the amp.

It's a nice player. It's not junk.

Read my original post and Ohoen's reply for more information.

Thank you for your response,
-Chad

 

[markl]

Chad, not insulting your source as I don't know what it is (can you specify mak/model/year/price?). My point was to provide perspective on budgeting for your new system. We've had people here who have purchased $800 amps for portable CDPs and then get angry at us because they can't tell the diffrence between using the amp and plugging their cans into the PCDP. Obviously, you need a much better source to provide a good signal for the $800 amp to amplify if you are going to get much out of it. That's all.

Mark

 

[gerG]

Hello and welcome, Noesis!

High 5 to markl for spreading the word so effectively!

Quote:

I think I put together a system I will be happy with at a low price.

Congratulations, you are the 1000th person to use that phrase on this site

I heartily endorse the Beyer DT250-250 and the DT831. Those are my favorite closed cans to date.

How much isolation do you want? Etymotic ER4S sound fantastic, and offer unmatched isolation. How well do you tolerate earplugs?

btw I suspect that your Sonys are either V6 or 7506 (I base this guess on the "studio monitor" emblazoned across the headband on my V6).


gerG

 

[Noesis]

markl,
Unfortunetly I'm away from home and away from that source to check a model number. It's a Sony CD/DVD player, I think it was 2,500 back in 2001. Maybe a little more. That doesn't really tell you how it sounds, but, might give you an idea what range its in. It has a seperate CD laser and sounds pretty good for the money. I especially like the isolation steps they took, it's pretty quiet. Nothing amazing, but it will do the job for my needs.

Quote:

My point was to provide perspective on budgeting for your new system. We've had people here who have purchased $800 amps for portable CDPs and then get angry at us because they can't tell the diffrence between using the amp and plugging their cans into the PCDP. Obviously, you need a much better source to provide a good signal for the $800 amp to amplify if you are going to get much out of it. That's all.

I don't mean to come off like I was angured by your response. I wasn't. I understand what you are saying. But please also understand that I'm not your average moron. I wouldn't hook up a junk amp to a 5,000 CD player with 30,000 in speakers. I do, however, peice together systems and upgrade things as money permits. I have been a home audio enthusiest for a while now, I won't make any really stupid moves (like expect good sound by upgrading an amp when I have crap headphones, or crossing POWER CABLES WITH SINGAL CABLES AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!! The stupidity

).

Thanks for the warning though.


GerG,
Thanks for the welcome!

Quote:

Congratulations, you are the 1000th person to use that phrase on this site

Oh come on, all these members and only 1000 have said that?!

Quote:

I heartily endorse the Beyer DT250-250 and the DT831. Those are my favorite closed cans to date.

I'll check those out, thanks. Beyerdynamic DT 831 looks very tempting. It looks really comfortible too, which is always a must.

Quote:

How well do you tolerate earplugs?

Not at all. Heh. I clean my ears twice a day just to clean the fiberglass dust out from work.

I think my Sony's model number starts with MDR, actually. I'm not really sure which. It's not that impressive sounding, I doubt you would own them if you have been here a while. They work and are better then your normal headphone, but I'm sure I will upgrade them quickly. I might go for these Beyers the more that I look at 'em... look really comfortible. Hehe.

Thanks!
-Chad

 

[markl]

Quote:

I don't mean to come off like I was angured by your response.

he he. And I don't want to come off as patronizing, either!

Not saying you'd do something foolish at all, just pointing out that we've had some of that here before.

Sounds like you have an excellent source. If it's a $2500 source, there's a good chance you could get a LOT more out of a really good amp than a lot of folks here. It would be a shame to see you attach a $150 amp to that source. We have a used gear For Sale section here that is very active, and will help you stretch your budget to get something good at a discount.

BTW: if you are looking for a good power cable, check out the Virtual Dynamics line, a lot of folks like them here. For a Power 3 from VD you get best bang for your buck for your tweak money.

Mark

 

[Noesis]

Quote:

ounds like you have an excellent source. If it's a $2500 source, there's a good chance you could get a LOT more out of a really good amp than a lot of folks here. It would be a shame to see you attach a $150 amp to that source.

You and me both. Got it as a hand me down

, eventually I'll find a good headphone amp for it.

Quote:

We have a used gear For Sale section here that is very active, and will help you stretch your budget to get something good at a discount.

I'll check that out, thanks. Any amps in specific I should look out for?

Quote:

BTW: if you are looking for a good power cable, check out the Virtual Dynamics line, a lot of folks like them here. For a Power 3 from VD you get best bang for your buck for your tweak money.

I'll look into that, thanks. You would be surprised how good these industrial power cables sound, actually. They have a ton of isolation because they are made to withstand a lot of weight on them and they have big beefy stainless plugs! I want to go into the cable business, all that stuff is such a rip off. They get 5 buck cables made in China and sell them for 200. I love it. You can hear the difference, but the prices are nuts. I'll look into that power cable though, always looking for a good cable.

-Chad

 

[Noesis]

Is HeadRoom the cheapest place to get the Beyers? I went to Beyers website and they didn't list dealers, been searching with little luck other then HeadRoom. Are their any members here that are a dealer?

-Chad

 

[bangraman]

Alternative is to WTB in the Gear For Sale forums. I've got some good bargains that way.

 

[Rizumu]

Quote:

Originally posted by Noesis Is HeadRoom the cheapest place to get the Beyers? I went to Beyers website and they didn't list dealers, been searching with little luck other then HeadRoom. Are their any members here that are a dealer? -Chad

I believe that Meier Audio is significantly cheaper: http://home.t-online.de/home/meier-audio/

 

[Noesis]

I posted as WTB, thanks!

Wow, they are cheaper by far... $155 . Are they reliable though? Looks a little shady over there. I dislike doing business out of the country or in Britain. Any cheaper places in the USA or Britain?

-Chad

 

[soupy]

Quote:

Wow, they are cheaper by far... $155 . Are they reliable though? Looks a little shady over there. I dislike doing business out of the country or in Britain. Any cheaper places in the USA or Britain?

Dr. Meier is extremely reliable, as he's a frequent contributor to this forum and its community (and the sole-maker of the amazing Corda series amps). You should have no worries at all when ordering from him. I purchased a pair of DT880's and got it in about 10 days. There should be MANY people around here who can say the same about meier-audio.