[realmassy]

My first post, and I'm an absolute beginner here...so, please be patient! I've just moved to a new apartment and also find out that my wife is pregnant, so it's time to build a new headphone system, child proof. At the moment I have a decent hi-fi equipment: Roksan K2 Cd player, K2 amplifier and Epos m16i, plus a V-Dac, an Airport Express and a pair of ATH-AD700. I listen primarily jazz (90%) and some prog rock, and I haven't used much the headphone output of my Roksan. The Epos are now on the market, and I'd appreciate some hints for my new system: I'd like to sell the Roksan stuff, buy a good headphone amplifier and use the laptop as source, and maybe (?) upgrade my headphones. The budget is about £1200. Any help is appreciated.
Massimiliano

 

[John Willett]

Quote:

Originally Posted by realmassy /img/forum/go_quote.gif My first post, and I'm an absolute beginner here...so, please be patient! I've just moved to a new apartment and also find out that my wife is pregnant, so it's time to build a new headphone system, child proof. At the moment I have a decent hi-fi equipment: Roksan K2 Cd player, K2 amplifier and Epos m16i, plus a V-Dac, an Airport Express and a pair of ATH-AD700. I listen primarily jazz (90%) and some prog rock, and I haven't used much the headphone output of my Roksan. The Epos are now on the market, and I'd appreciate some hints for my new system: I'd like to sell the Roksan stuff, buy a good headphone amplifier and use the laptop as source, and maybe (?) upgrade my headphones. The budget is about £1200. Any help is appreciate. Massimiliano

Welcome - but *nothing* is child-proof, and even less is teenager proof.

 

[realmassy]

Thank you John, I'll try my best! But, any one willing to help me? Maybe I've posted in the wrong forum?

 

[AmanGeorge]

With that sort of budget you have a lot of options available. One thing I would recommend is using the laptop as a transport instead of as the source and outputting to an external DAC. The downside is that your purchase then becomes three pieces - external DAC, HP amp, and headphones, but for 1200 pounds you certainly won't be short of options.

I love the AKG K701 for jazz, but probably not the best match for prog. rock. Others can probably chime in with recommendations that will cover both those genres well, and, I'm sure, will have some amp recommendations as well.

If you do decide to go the external DAC route as I mentioned above, this is a place where you'd do well to do a great deal of focused research, especially if you're planning on outputting via USB (rather than coax or optical), as there are many DACs which are excellent via coax or optical but not as good via USB.

 

[realmassy]

Hi AmanGeorge, thanks for your reply. The laptop is definitely my first choice as source, and this allows me to sell the cd player. After some search and reading on the forum this is the equipment that I've in mind: NAS for music storage, Asus n10j netbook connected through the optical output to my MF V-DAC to Graham Slee Solo and a pair of headphones. I've never listened to the Graham but the reviews are good. Will the AKG a good headphone with this amplifier? Any other recommendation for the amplifier and the source? Thanks

 

[AmanGeorge]

I've never heard the Graham w/ the AKG, but IIRC mrarroyo has heard this combo and may be able to give you his thoughts.

 

[Currawong]

Childproof? My baby daughter thought that the silver shiny button would be good to press and turned off my DAC while I was listening yesterday.

Anyway... I really liked Grado HF-1's for jazz and rock when I tried them on a friend's system. You've unfortunately just missed out on the special HF-2's, but keep an eye out for them in the For Sale forums in case anyone is selling. There is also a waiting list for them. You can buy them, if they become available again, from ttvj.com. The amp my friend has is the Yamamoto HA-02, which is reputedly good with low impedance headphones.

 

[realmassy]

Hi Currawong, nice post and nice daughter!! Thanks for your reply, I'll have a look at ttvj.com and grab some ideas: the HF-2 looks good, but I need some more post here in the forum to place an order!

 

[realmassy]

So.. as recap:
Source --> laptop. Anyone using a Sonos o Squeezebox? If use a laptop what's the best way to connect it to the DAC? USB, optical, Airport Express?
DAC --> I have a V-DAC: good enough? I've read that someone has upgraded the PSU: does it worth it?
Headphone amp: Graham Slee Solo, Yamamoto HA-02... any other?
Headphone: AKG-701, Grado HF
Sorry for the basic question I have but I'm quite new to the Head-fi world as I've always listened always using cd, pre, power and speakers

 

[rodentdog]

V-dac, plenty good enough. Upgrading the psu will yield only incremental gain. Buy more music! I have grado HF-1, my favorite for now, only available used.
Grado SR-225 used would be good place to start. If you don't like the grado sound you can resell them for what you paid for them.

 

[aristos_achaion]

There's an HF-1 on the FS forum last I checked...and for a semi-rational price, too (must be the HF-2's influence). Maybe that's a notion. I like Grados for jazz...then again, I also like them for classical. Maybe I'm just nuts.

Incidentally...I absolutely adore my Yamaha YH-1 orthos for jazz...but those've been out of production for about 30-odd years, and definitely only available used. Maybe not part of your "must-have" rig, but with the amount of jazz you seem to listen to, maybe you should have them on your radar. I've never met phones with sound so crazily warm.

 

[aristos_achaion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rodentdog /img/forum/go_quote.gif Grado SR-225

Keep in mind he seems to be from Europe, where Grados are crazy expensive. Maybe a used pair off the for-sale forum, or Alessandro phones.

 

[realmassy]

Hi Aristos, thanks for your hints. I still have some problem trying to understand what the word "warm" means related with the sound of an amplifier. As I've always listened to speaker systems in my life, I usually associate this word with the sound of Arcam or some tube amps, for example...and this is not the sound I like. I prefer a more airy and detailed sound, maybe someone could defined that as harsh, but is more natural to me (the sound of Coltrane's sax is not that warm!!). But, as I said, this is the first time I have to listen through headphones, and I can change my mind. I can find the Grado SR225 for £149 here in the UK, that is a good price. I never tried Grado headphones: how you compare them againt my Audio Technica ATH AD700? Are they comfortable to use for long sessions (3-4 hours)? Thanks
Massimiliano

 

[AmanGeorge]

It doesn't get much more "airy and detailed" than the K701 - if you find yourself liking sound that isn't too warm that some people find slightly harsh, this headphone sounds like it could be right up your alley.

 

[aristos_achaion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by realmassy /img/forum/go_quote.gif I never tried Grado headphones: how you compare them againt my Audio Technica ATH AD700? Are they comfortable to use for long sessions (3-4 hours)? Thanks Massimiliano

Honestly, I've never tried Audio Technica headphones (can anyone more experienced help him here?). As for long listening sessions, Grados' comfort is kind of debatable. Some people (including me) think their pads are quite comfy, others think they're horribly uncomfortable. Guess it depends on your head. At least they're not heavy. Some people think the treble is harsh and hard to listen to for a long time; I tend to think it's exciting and part of the appeal. You might want to search the forums or find somewhere to demo one to figure out what you might think.

Also, check out the Alessandro Music Series line...they're made by Grado, people seem to think they're awesome deals, and they don't do the huge-European-markup thing Grado does. FWIR, they're more "laid back" than Grados (not hard to do), which might be better for long sessions.