[scott1]

Hello All-
 
Due to a recent move, I sold my beloved (but giant) KEF 104/2 speakers because I just really don't have the space to properly enjoy them anymore. I picked up my first pair of real headphones, (V-Moda M-80's) on eBay last week for a decent price just to see how happy I could be with headphones and I am very, very pleasantly surprised by them and look forward to joining this community.
 
Right now I am using my vintage Luxman R-1040 receiver's headphone jack as my amp and I can't believe how good this setup sounds. I'm curious if anyone out there has tried using 1970's era receivers as amps and how something like this would compare to a proper headphone amp. I primarily listen to metal as well as some downtempo electronic stuff.
 
Thanks,
 
-Scott

 

[SeaWo|f]

There are some who swear buy vintage amps like yours and stick with them. 

 

[scott1]

Thanks SeaWolf, from what I could read about the 70's receivers, the manufacturers spent a lot more time and money on the headphone amps than they did from the 80's on. I just have to figure out what I'm missing or not vs. some of the cool headphone amps I see all over this site.

 

[Monsterzero]

Welcome to Head-Fi...I own three vintage receivers(see my signature)that I use as headphone amps....

Youre welcome to join the fun over here,on one of the longest threads on this site!

http://www.head-fi.org/t/537704/calling-all-vintage-integrated-receiver-owners

 

[SeaWo|f]

Depending on where you are located you could demo things at shows(not idea) or maybe there are quality dealers in your area. But since you have been listening to speakers you probably know what you like, while i cant comment on the quality of your particular vintage amp it would probably be better to start by finding a headphone that really fits your listening before considering a new amp.

 

[scott1]

That's a great vintage thread that I'm going to have to spend some time on, thanks!
 
As far as headphones, I did just find a place located pretty nearby in Cambridge, MA that has what seems to be a good selection of demos, I'll have to drop by one day. I've been listening to my V-Modas for a couple hours a day since I go them and am really quite happy with the sound, my only complaint thus far is they get kinda uncomfortable after a while. They're kinda clampy for lack of a better word.

 

[Monsterzero]

The vintage gear was designed to drive 600 ohm beasts so using that receiver you can look into getting some decently hard to drive headphones and they will rock from your Luxman.

I use my Sansui to drive HE-500s,AKG K240 sextetts and K340s all not easy to drive headphones,with plenty of headroom.

 

[scott1]

Thanks MonsterZero-That makes a lot of sense about why the vintage receiver headphone outs sound so much better than say, my home theater receiver outs. I see you also own some nice headphone amps, do you prefer one over the other? In reading though that thread, you also have me very interested in the AKGs, it seems like we have similar musical taste.

 

[Monsterzero]

  Thanks MonsterZero-That makes a lot of sense about why the vintage receiver headphone outs sound so much better than say, my home theater receiver outs. I see you also own some nice headphone amps, do you prefer one over the other? In reading though that thread, you also have me very interested in the AKGs, it seems like we have similar musical taste.

What kind of music are you into,and which AKGs are you referring to? The sextetts or K340s?

I prefer the vintage receivers due to the versatility,the cost vs. performance vs. a dedicated amp....

TBH I was a bit skeptical of how good vintage gear would be when I first stumbled into that thread but after getting my first receiver for 110.00 I sold my 1200.00 WA2 and never looked back.

 

[scott1]

  What kind of music are you into,and which AKGs are you referring to? The sextetts or K340s?

I prefer the vintage receivers due to the versatility,the cost vs. performance vs. a dedicated amp....

TBH I was a bit skeptical of how good vintage gear would be when I first stumbled into that thread but after getting my first receiver for 110.00 I sold my 1200.00 WA2 and never looked back.

That's awesome to hear Monster, thanks for the info. I kinda fell in love with the Luxman back a few years ago when I bought it and it sounded amazing with my big KEF's but was a little worried I may be missing something by using it with headphones.
 
As far as music, I listen to metal primarily, Sabbath-influened kinda stuff. Black Label Society, Down (Phil Anselmo's band, not System of), Mastodon, etc but I also like some 80s stuff like the Cure, Depeche Mode, Smiths.
 
The reason why I kinda dig the V-Moda M-80s is that is that they have some bass-y punch without sounding fake or too dark. Listening to something like Paranoid on vinyl, that's the kind of sound that just sounds "right" to me for whatever reason. From what I've been reading, it kinda sounds like some of the Denon headphones may have a similar sound on a more refined level. You have any experience with them? You mentioned the sextette in the post I was referring to but any thoughts you may have would be much appreciated. Sounds like we have some of the same tastes in both vintage gear and music.

 

[Monsterzero]

 
That's awesome to hear Monster, thanks for the info. I kinda fell in love with the Luxman back a few years ago when I bought it and it sounded amazing with my big KEF's but was a little worried I may be missing something by using it with headphones.
 
As far as music, I listen to metal primarily, Sabbath-influened kinda stuff. Black Label Society, Down (Phil Anselmo's band, not System of), Mastodon, etc but I also like some 80s stuff like the Cure, Depeche Mode, Smiths.
 
The reason why I kinda dig the V-Moda M-80s is that is that they have some bass-y punch without sounding fake or too dark. Listening to something like Paranoid on vinyl, that's the kind of sound that just sounds "right" to me for whatever reason. From what I've been reading, it kinda sounds like some of the Denon headphones may have a similar sound on a more refined level. You have any experience with them? You mentioned the sextette in the post I was referring to but any thoughts you may have would be much appreciated. Sounds like we have some of the same tastes in both vintage gear and music.

VModas are low ohm high sensitivity headphones meant to be driven from a mobile phone.When you start plugging those types of headphones into a vintage receiver its kind of a dart throw in the dark as to what youre going to get.Sometimes the results are good,sometimes not so good....

Im not a tech guy but essentially the impedance difference can wreak havoc on certain frequencies and cause an irregular response....For example my Sansui 881 turned my AD2000s from a hollow sounding,lightning fast headphone into a mid bass beast,at the cost of some speed....then the same receiver absolutely destroyed the sound of my Alessandros making them very muddy....Both cases it seems the midbass region that was most affected.

RE: AKG K240 sextetts.

They bring guitars right up into your face,even more so than Grados or AD2000s.When im listening to Judas Priest "Unleashed in The East" Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing are literally standing right next to my ears,just smacking my skull around with the guitar work,while Halford is about 2-3 steps back...its a very musical,foot tapping(getting too old to headbang anymore)experience.

Theyre great for guitar oriented stuff like BLS and older NWOBHM stuff...there is also a very noticeable chunk they add to guitar sound.

For neu metal that uses a lot of down tuning,or extreme metal there are better options out there.

Im not much of a fan of Down,but I like some Pantera,which sounds pretty dang aggressive thru sextetts.Mastodon I sorta like,but older stuff and NWOTHM takes up more of my listening time.

You can read more about sextetts here.Tyll is a Head-Fi member and his opinion is highly regarded.

 http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/two-vintage-akg-headphones-k240-sextett-and-k340-electrostatic-dynamic#rZXs0480q2shbH18.97

The best part about sextetts is you can find them pretty cheaply (under 200.00)The worst part is being able to actually find a pair,knowing sextetts from the numerous other AKG K240s that arent sextetts,and finally knowing which version of the sextetts to get...theres 3,and I have them all

 

[scott1]

Thanks again man-
 
Funny thing about the V-Modas, I got them delivered to me at work so I immediately tried them in my iPod and they sounded awful, maybe slightly better than the Apple earbuds but not much. I was kinda bummed the rest of the day about it till I got home, plugged into the Luxman, and then got happy again.
 
I will continue to educate myself on some other options thanks for the links and have a very happy new year!

 

[Monsterzero]

As i said the results can be really enjoyable...if youre thrilled with what youre hearing then dont waste your cash chasing some imaginary audio nirvana that you most likely wont find thru a high dollar dedicated headphone amp..

I have a Schiit Magni 2 Uber(129.00usd) specifically for driving low impedance/high sensitivity headphones...everything else gets the 881 treatment!

If you decide to go after a pair of sextetts feel free to PM me and I will try to help you get the right one and avoid non-sextett K240s.