[shima]

I'm looking for phones to be driven by my NAD T773 Receiver for a broad range of music. I'm after detail accross the range. I want to experience the best of my jazz, acoustic and soul collection and still want to hear the bass present in the hip hop, blues and rock and electronica i listen to. I don't want anything harsh or aggressive and i want comfort. My budget is $400USD. Is this impossible? What do you suggest?

 

[facelvega]

You're going to want two things: good headphones and a dedicated headphone amp. Headphones directly out of the NAD is a bad idea, as it evidently has a really noisy headphone out. Look here for several owners complaining about it.

$400 is tight for a properly good home system, but it is doable. If it were me, knowing I needed headphone and amp and wanting to buy new, I'd get a Stax 2050II, $460 shipped from pricejapan. Others will suggest dynamic headphones, but I recommend against any advice telling you to get $400 headphones with no amp-- you won't be doing yourself any favors heading down that road IMO.

 

[kpeezy]

Well, how does his receiver's headphone jack sound? Maybe it's good... I have no idea though.

 

[shima]

yeah cheers
I have noticed the hiss with my ear close to the speaker grill, nothing noticeable from listening pos. I do fear there may be a problem plugging HP in. Damn
thanks for your advice