[jpelg]

One word => "Etymotic"

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Quote:

So what do people think-can you acheive musical enjoyment with one headphone and one amp with all source material? From jazz to rock to hip-hop to classical? What are those "magic combinations" of equipment for people who listen to a full spectrum of music?

I personally think it is a great idea to run a single amp into a single pair of cans. I try to keep my system down to this goal at all times. I have only one amp and one set of home cans to use. For me, there are a couple of possibilities to achieve this goal:

1a. Grado HP-1000 headphones being run by Gilmore V2, V2 Max, or Balanced Premier.

1b. Grado HP-1000 run by RKV Mk II and Impedancer.


2a. Sony CD3000 run by Gilmore V2, V2 Max, or standard Gilmore Premier.

2b. Sony CD3000 run by RKV Mk II and Impedancer.


I own both of these wonderful headphones, and while they are not perfect, come very close. I also own or have owned the RKV, Melos, Sonic Adventure Reality, and the soon to be in my possession Gilmore V2 Max. There are other headphone and amp combos out there, but these are, to my experience and ears, what I would deem extremely adequate for a one only system.

 

[RVD]

Quote:

Yes, and if you read my post carefully you'll see that's what I said, too. The differences among brands tend to diminish as you approach perfection. The same is true with speakers or any other product.

Could you please show me this post? I did a quick re-read, but could not find it. Thanks

Also what do you mean by the brands comment? It doesn't seem to go with what was quoted or anything posted.

 

[Sovkiller]

All what I have heard on my CD3000 IMO sounds perfect to me, with the new Gilmore I hope a little better, I do not need any other setup, unless portability, or any other purpose outside the music or sound quality context, in mind....IMO what sounds good, has to sound good with all what you play on it....period.

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Hate to thread crap a little bit, but this reminds me of LoTR. One headphone to rule them all, one amp to power them all.

Sorry I couldn't resist

 

[AdamP88]

All of my headphone related purchases have basically been towards the goal of finding a setup where I only need one amp and one can to keep me happy (main rig - I'll leave portable and other applications out of this). I just couldn't imagine piling up 4 or 5 amps and 5-10 headphones and actually bothering to switch between them depending on what I'm listening to. What a chore! To me that's when the gear becomes more important than the music. We all know that it's not necessary to have the perfect system to enjoy music (or else none of us would ever sing along to the car stereo...

).

Find something that works for you and stick with it. If you find something better, replace the old with the new. If you have trouble deciding which is better, sell the one that'll bring in more money.

 

[lkmich]

Quote:

Originally posted by RVD lkmich, you read my mind, I was thinking of posting this exact question. I totally agree with your first post and those are my thoughts exactly.

Yes, I've been taking psychic lessons.

 

[Mike Scarpitti]

Quote:

Originally posted by RVD Could you please show me this post? I did a quick re-read, but could not find it. Thanks Also what do you mean by the brands comment? It doesn't seem to go with what was quoted or anything posted.

Differences between products intended to perform a certain task are caused by limitations of price and design decisions to optimize sales. If firms are marketing to the same people, their products will tend to resemble one another, wth just eough difference to distinguish themselves from the competition. Too much difference would result in an inferior product, too little difference and they make themselves redundant. (Aiwa, anyone?) As you go up the quality scale, the product can more closely approach the ideal, because of the money that can be lavished on them. The standard of perfection is more closely approached, and products tend therefore to have more similar performance.

Sennheiser could not stay in business selling $800 phones that were no better than Sony's $100 phones. Sennheiser's $800 phones had better be competitive with Sony's $800 phones, or they won't be around long. The Omega and Orpheus and R10 are obviously going to be closer to perfection (and thus closer to each other in performance) than Sony or Sennheiser's cheaper products.

 

[shivohum]

Quote:

Hate to thread crap a little bit, but this reminds me of LoTR. One headphone to rule them all, one amp to power them all.

Couldn't agree with you more

. Look up a little in the thread for my contribution

.

 

[Mike Scarpitti]

Quote:

Originally posted by shivohum Couldn't agree with you more . Look up a little in the thread for my contribution .

The idea is not necessarily a bad one, it's just that nothing is perfect, and no perfect headphones exist, though one imagines that most of us would be delighted with any of the 'big three': Orpheus, Omega II, or R10. Methinks that The Original Poster would be charmed by any of these, and mayhaps all three would he fain have!

 

[ServinginEcuador]

I will probably regret saying this, but I have never heard two headphones in the same price range that sounded alike. To say that as you spend more money the sound of headphones tend to blur and blend is kind of woefully shy of reality here. In reality there is a huge gap or deficit once you hit the $300-400 market with headphones since there is nothing beyond that point but the Sony R10s and Stax electrostatics. I'm talking street prices here, not list prices BTW. I have never heard two cans that were expensive, let's say AT-W2002 and W1000 even, that sounded alike. Even from the same manufacturer, cans in the same price range can sound incredibly different. The W100 and W1000 are completely different animals that sound very different. Sony's $400 cans sound completely different than Sennheiser's $400 cans, and that's due in part by their design decisions to go with open or closed designs. Every manufacturer has certain goals and trade-offs they take, arriving at a different place than their competitors.

Let's not even talk about personal preference here since that throws everything else off totally. Bose proves that expensive doesn't equal better, and headphones are no different. Some people listen to the Bose Tri-Ports and are blown away with their sound quality and won't change their mind that there is something better. Some merely prefer a certain sound characteristic over another, and will always buy the "inferior" sounding product. If you love bass there are options available to you for a hyped-up bass. If you like a lot of high-end, there are options available to you for a hyped-up treble. No two people hear music the same, therefore the different cans available will sell to different people. No two cans sound alike, no matter what the price point nor manufacturer. The gap between manufacturers' sound characteristics will never close since they all approach their goals differently, and make different trade-offs.

 

[Mike Scarpitti]

Quote:

Originally posted by ServinginEcuador In reality there is a huge gap or deficit once you hit the $300-400 market with headphones since there is nothing beyond that point but the Sony R10s and Stax electrostatics. (snip) The gap between manufacturers' sound characteristics will never close since they all approach their goals differently, and make different trade-offs.

I've heard the Sennheiser electrostatics and they seemed quite similar to Stax electrostatics. This supports the notion that electrostatics are closer to perfection than dynamic types, where indeed trade-offs rule.

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Quote:

Originally posted by Mike Scarpitti I've heard the Sennheiser electrostatics and they seemed quite similar to Stax electrostatics. This supports the notion that electrostatics are closer to perfection than dynamic types, where indeed trade-offs rule.

I agree with you there, but am curious about the differences in sound between the open and closed products that Stax makes. Does the closed back Stax sound different than their open designs?

 

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

This thread is just a bunch of people pimping there hp-1000's, r-10's and stax.

Lets talk about personal preferences. I like vocals coloured and up close, yet these same features hurt the presentation of classical music in my opinion. Basically what I am reading is that I am therefore "wrong" in my headphone tastes. I've heard every blinged headphone except orpheus and yet my ears are still telling me the same thing.

Now if I could only have 1 headphone and cost wasn't an object, that headphone would be omega II's because they sounded great with everything I threw at them and did not lack energy.

Biggie.

 

[Mike Scarpitti]

Quote:

Originally posted by ServinginEcuador I agree with you there, but am curious about the differences in sound between the open and closed products that Stax makes. Does the closed back Stax sound different than their open designs?

Don't know, but imagine that it would have some effect. It was added to the line for monitoring under non-studio conditions.