Hi all .. I'm not new to HiFi, but I have recently been thinking of setting up a high-end headphone setup as part of my rig. I currently have a Rega Elex-R , Schiit Gumby, Auralic Aries Mini and KEF LS50s. I'm enjoying the sound of my HiFi setup, but would like to add a good pair of headphones/headphone amp to my setup. Any suggestions/recommendations? Since I've got the Rega Elex-R, I was thinking of looking at the Rega Ear 2. I've also seen some great reviews of the Beyerdynamics T1 V2. Not sure if those two will pair well .... Any suggestions??
Hi all .. I'm not new to HiFi, but I have recently been thinking of setting up a high-end headphone setup as part of my rig. I currently have a Rega Elex-R , Schiit Gumby, Auralic Aries Mini and KEF LS50s. I'm enjoying the sound of my HiFi setup, but would like to add a good pair of headphones/headphone amp to my setup. Any suggestions/recommendations? Since I've got the Rega Elex-R, I was thinking of looking at the Rega Ear 2. I've also seen some great reviews of the Beyerdynamics T1 V2. Not sure if those two will pair well .... Any suggestions??
You should give a bit more detail when asking for headphone recommendations as in your preferred sound signature, open or closed and most importantly budget. Some headphones are sometimes picky about amps the T1's are a fairly bright headphone with good detail and soundstage and some find them fatiguing after a while. It depends on what your after in sound. Haven't heard the Rega so can't comment on it.
Hi ... thanks. I guess I would be ok with an open style headphone, as I've read they sound a bit better. I would be listening in a separate room, so I'm not too concerned about the sound emintating from the headphones. I would prefer a warmer presentation and not a bright one. I'm willing to spend up to $1k or possibly less.
Hi ... thanks. I guess I would be ok with an open style headphone, as I've read they sound a bit better. I would be listening in a separate room, so I'm not too concerned about the sound emintating from the headphones. I would prefer a warmer presentation and not a bright one. I'm willing to spend up to $1k or possibly less.
I'm going to do something odd & recommend equipment I don't own & haven't heard--just based on abundant comments about these items here and elsewhere:
Sennheiser HD 650: An awful lot of people own this classic headphone design, either as the #1/best, or part of a stable of complimentary HP designs. They're open, said to scale up with good amplification, sound quite good with multiple music genres. Good bass weight, slight warmth overall. They won't razor your ears off w/excess treble, yet still convey plenty of musical nuance. These headphones frequently are mentioned as the baseline comparator in many headphone reviews. You can get a new pair for $375-$400.
iFi Micro-iCAN SE: I did own the earlier, non-SE version of this amp. It's a swiss-army knife amp: plenty of power for most situations, sounds competent & composed, bass is solid, even has a couple unique sound-shaping circuits, if that appeals. Use it straight up w/no sound enhancements, and it should give a very good picture of any headphone. It's an ideal 1st headphone amp. You can buy one for ~$300 on Amazon; it's also being packaged with the HD 650 on Adorama.com for $674, which strikes me as a decent value.
You might also look into and read about the HiFiMAN HE400i and HE400S (the latter does not require an amp, the former does). $449 and $299 on amazon today respectively. Worth a look.
Since I've got the Rega Elex-R, I was thinking of looking at the Rega Ear 2. I've also seen some great reviews of the Beyerdynamics T1 V2. Not sure if those two will pair well .... Any suggestions??
The one reason to get the Ear is to match other Rega components as well as easier integration into an existing speaker system (as it has a fixed bypass line output), but with a +26dB gain, that can be problematic. Loudness War recordings are just too hot on my 97dB HD600, and the T1's 600ohms will just be offset by its higher sensitivity (properly recorded albums are not a problem though).
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