Newbie help for portable & desk system at work.

[colleycol]

First post, month lurker here.

I consider myself to be pretty knowledgeable on home stereo equipment. I own some Magnepan 1.6 for my main Home Theater system at home. But I am caught in what to buy now that I want nice systems for the go and while at work when I want to listen to some jazz or r&b from my ipod touch (i may trade this for an Archos 5 120 GB depending on sound quality).

I have been searching and searching for this magical combination. I have came to the fact that I will need 2 amps ( portable and desk model) and probaly two headphones (maybe hd650 and Shure e530s) to get the best of both worlds.

Any hints on amps (prefer tube based as I want to try something new. I have a Rogue Perseus in route to integrate with my home system.) and a portable amp.

Are tubes a good choice with HD650 or shoud I go with DT990 or AKG 702?
Shures seem to be a safe bet???

My budget for the amps is 300-400 for both. Unrealistic?

Thanks for any help

 

[deadfolk]

Hi,

I'm nothing like an expert, and I certainly can't address the question of tubes, but in the world of SS portable amps, I can highly recommend both the RSA Predator and the Pico. I use them both with the Shure SE530 and love them both - especially for the DAC section when listening on a Mac/PC.

What iPod touch are you using? If it's the old one, you might want to consider audtioning a 2G...I've just got one, and the SQ is vastly improved in my opinion, and you might find that on the road it's not worth the hassle of carrying around a seperate amp. I find myself using mine less and less while mobile now, just saving them for when attached to a computer.

Hope that's some help to you.

 

[Tribalambient]

Quote:

Originally Posted by colleycol /img/forum/go_quote.gif First post, month lurker here. I consider myself to be pretty knowledgeable on home stereo equipment. I own some Magnepan 1.6 for my main Home Theater system at home. But I am caught in what to buy now that I want nice systems for the go and while at work when I want to listen to some jazz or r&b from my ipod touch (i may trade this for an Archos 5 120 GB depending on sound quality). I have been searching and searching for this magical combination. I have came to the fact that I will need 2 amps ( portable and desk model) and probaly two headphones (maybe hd650 and Shure e530s) to get the best of both worlds. Any hints on amps (prefer tube based as I want to try something new. I have a Rogue Perseus in route to integrate with my home system.) and a portable amp. Are tubes a good choice with HD650 or shoud I go with DT990 or AKG 702? Shures seem to be a safe bet??? My budget for the amps is 300-400 for both. Unrealistic? Thanks for any help

Welcome:

As a noob as well I really can't comment on much equipment. That said, I really think half the fun of this hobby for us noobs is reading the posts on head-fi from the many experienced headphone gurus, then making one purchase at a time...living with it for a while and seeing if it's our cup of tea or not. If it isn’t we can always sell our purchase here to someone who will probably love the choice that we didn’t.

As you know in the end it’s always our ears, music, preferences, budget, etc. no matter what people recommend. Sometimes for myself I have this strong desire to just try and get "there" when the pleasure is often the journey itself.

I personally would recommend looking at some Ultimate Ears TF-10's if you are considering SE530's. I was considering the Shures and read a lot about them and the TF-10's kept popping up in the posts as a must hear alternative, especially if you like something that “may” be a little more accurate in presentation (again from what I read since I have not heard the SE530's). They also use three armatures and you can pick up some TF-10 for about $320 so they are the same price point as the SE530’s. I finally pulled the plug and got the TF-10 over the SE530’s based on the numerous threads and just a gut feeling.

I use mine daily on the road, work and home and love them. I'm sure I'll pick up some additional cans someday soon for the fun of new experiences, variety, different comfort levels, etc, but it’s not like I'm not happy by any means, with my first purchase.

Then it was time to buy my first portable amp (Pico w/DAC) again which I also use on the road, work and home. This was another nice step up, very multi functional and the next logical progression in the “journey.” I too will look at desktop options someday, probably tubes for the fun it, because it will be different and just another exciting path to explore, again not because I’m not happy with “my first choice.

I guess my point is look at one path to start with and jump in with both feet. Perhaps you can spend a little more on one portable path that with serve you well, both on the road, in the office and at home for now? Just know you will probably (much like standard audio) get sucked into as many upgrade progressions as you want… as long as you are breathing and have a means to pay.

Have fun!

Cheers,

PS: I’m a Maggie fan too. I loved my Maggies (3.3R’s), but in the end the WAF (wife acceptance factor) won out due to placement issues and I returned to conventional looking Proac’s to keep the peace, and too simply fit in our space better. Sometimes audio compromises come in many forms.

 

[Tridacnid]

For lower-than-crazy-cost tube amps, look at the Darkvoice and Little Dot line up. I have owned both the DV 336i and the LD MKIII, and I preferred the LD out of the box, but with tube rolling, I prefer the DV.

A couple quick searches of these brands should bring up some reviews, which are always fun to read.