[Nadim]

I'm looking to get a decent setup for headphone listening at work. I've got Ety ER-4Ps for when I really don't want to be disturbed, and will be picking up some beyers (either 250s or 770s, unless I change my mind again before clicking on "order") soon as well. And, I'll probably pick up some Senn 580s in the future if I end up in a location where open cans would be acceptable to those around me.

What's getting me now is what to plug the phones into. I did some checking, using high-quality sources and high-quality pre-amps / dedicated headphone amps, and I'm definitely not too happy with the somewhat noisy, undetailed sound coming from the portable CD player (a Sony D-F411) I've been using previously anymore.

So, given that I'm trying (like most of us here) to economize, and given that I have limited space at work (not enough for the footprint of full-size components), I'd be thrilled to get some opinions on the best bang for the buck as far as improving sound...

The options I've considered so far:

1) Stick with my current PCDP and get a reasonably priced headphone amp (Creek, Airhead, or build a DIY meta42).

2) Go to a decent small-footprint mini-system (say a Denon DM-30 on the low end, or a Linn Classik on the high end) and use its headphone jack.

3) Get a decent small-footprint mini-system and then a dedicated headphone amp on top of it.

I'll be doing more listening soon (once I remember to bring all the cables I need with me to the store so I can actually hook everything up...) to try and figure out for myself the relative contributions of D/A conversion versus amplification. Right now, based on what I've heard so far, I'm leaning towards the rather crappy PCDP being the limiting factor (garbage in, garbage out, so they say), but I'd be interested to hear others opinions on the subject. Again, the key here is relative performance....how good does the source have to be before an amp makes an appreciable difference? Given X dollars, would the best results be obtained by spending all/most on a good source with built-in headphone jack, on separate amplification, or somewhere in between?

Also, I'm not finding a lot of overall good quality mini-systems (aside from the Denon and Linn ones I mentioned). Are there other systems people have found that compete favorably with these, bearing in mind the small-size requirement? And what I have found on them doesn't indicate much, if anything, about the quality of their headphone sections. Anyone use the jacks on these systems?

Anyone solve the "small system for work" problem in a manner that I'm missing altogether?

Thanks!

-Nadim

 

[planar]

Have you checked out Cyrus CD player? It's smaller than most of other hi-fi CDPs. Together with a headroom cosmic, i think you'll have a small but nevertheless high-fi headphone set up. They are not THAT expensive too.

 

[kerelybonto]

Are you trying to get speakers in here, too? -- why exactly are you thinking of getting a minisystem? Most sources have about the same size footprint as minisystems but are much shorter, so you could stick a headamp on top. There are also a lot of sources that come with headphone jacks.

kerelybonto

 

[kelly]

nadim
It sounds like you and I have similar requirements for our work systems. I decided to start a seperate thread rather than polute yours but this is worth your reading and what I would suggest for you:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showth...396#post190396

 

[ian]

A thread I started a while ago on small footprint CD players is also relevent:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showth...threadid=15222

 

[x1lexure]

You wnow what sounds PERFECT for you IMO? The Sony D-25!

You wouldn't need an amp. It's about as big as 2-3 jewel cases stacked on each other and It sounds great!

Search it here. Should be alot. Plus there is a great review on it somewhere. You can set it up for a round $60-$75.

 

[MacDEF]

The best "minisystem" I've heard that's less than the Linn Klassik is the NAD Music System. It combines an NAD 500-series CD player, 300-series amp, and a great NAD FM tuner into one component. Plus you get PSB Alpha Minis and some decent speaker cable. The headphone jack is excellent. A really amazing system and very small.


Below that, your Denon DM-30 is a very nice system for the money, but the headphone jack isn't that great. So you'd probably want to add a headphone amp.

I'd personally go with the NAD system as a first choice, the DM-30 as #2.

 

[Nadim]

Thanks for the responses, everyone!

Kelly- Thanks for the great writeup of your work system. Very, very impressive. Unfortunately, I can't really rely on my computer at work as my source...I work in a rather secure area where they frown upon loading gigs of personal material onto company/customer property. On the plus side, however, in my area I don't really have to worry about stealing... So, although your system sounds very close to ideal (I like having the flexibility of a computer for your playlists and such...it's not a sound quality thing, but it lets you focus more on just enjoying the listening experience...), I think I'm gonna be forced down the physically separate from the computer route.

MacDEF- I've read a lot of good things about the NAD music system as well, although when I looked it up, it appeared rather large to me. Isn't it basically a full-width component? On the other hand, if it really is a good all in one solution, with a good self-contained headphone output, maybe I should just clear up my desk a little and find some room. It's a shame that the Denon's jack doesn't sound that good, that would have been a nice inexpensive route.

x1lexure - Hmmm....the Sony D-25? Isn't that just a 5-10 year old Sony PCDP, much like the one I have now? I'm sure it has more power than mine, but mine already has much more than enough juice to drive my Ety's (I don't need to go deaf just yet...), it was the quality of the sound, not the dBs, that's causing me to upgrade.

kerelybonto - As for the minisystem versus CD player, I'm totally open here. I couldn't find any good, small cd players in my curory search, although planar just pointed out a nice potential candidate in the Cyrus player. I'm really just trying to make sure I spend the money in the right place. It seems a shame to get good speakers, and then leave them at home, but if a CD player that's $300 less requires a $500 headphone amp to sound as good, well, then it doesn't make sense for me. I dunno, those were just sample numbers, not meant to imply that a minisystem is really better than a cd + amp combo. Just soliciting opinions on the best way to get better quality sound in a small footprint.

Thanks again for the suggestions all....time for more reading (and more tracking-down / listening sessions) for me now....

-Nadim

 

[kelly]

Nadim
In that case, replace the computer stuff in my rig with a cheap DVD player and the advice still holds.

 

[bootman]

Has anyone heard the Reference line from TEAC?

Size wise, they seem to fit the bill.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Kenwood RD-VH7 -- see Neruda's recent thread. Surprisingly good, and less than US$400 for source and amp, and (though I haven't tried it yet) contains a built in radio, external inputs, sub-out, good enough to drive the K100's. I can personally vouch for the quality of the amp, quite possibly one of the best solid state amps I have heard. Plus it can drive speakers. Listening to it right now with my AT A100Ti's (not only that, they kinda match).

It's gotta be the smallest footprint attainable, plus you can sit it up like a PC tower, or lay it down, like a CD player.

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

Originally posted by bootman Has anyone heard the Reference line from TEAC? Size wise, they seem to fit the bill.

I listened to one of those last week, side by side with the Denon DM-30. The TEAC was cheaper, but in this case, you get what you pay for. The Denon really was much better.

Quote:

Originally posted by Dusty Chalk Kenwood RD-VH7 -- see Neruda's recent thread. Surprisingly good, and less than US$400 for source and amp, and (though I haven't tried it yet) contains a built in radio, external inputs, sub-out, good enough to drive the K100's. I can personally vouch for the quality of the amp, quite possibly one of the best solid state amps I have heard. Plus it can drive speakers. Listening to it right now with my AT A100Ti's (not only that, they kinda match)

I've also listened to that system a number of times. I think the CD unit is good, as is the amp, but for some reason the system as a whole just never did anything for me; again, I like the Denon system better (and of course, the NAD was a major step up from both). What I'm wondering is if the speakers on the Kenwood system are just crappy. Has anyone heard the Kenwood system with a good pair? That might be a killer system.

 

[Nadim]

Hmmmmm....look at all those options. Clearly I haven't been doing enough homework (pesky job / new house / g/f always getting in the way

).

MacDEF - Thanks for the "ears on" reviews. Just to clarify, though, were you reviewing your impressions of the sound from these units coming from their hot terminals driving speakers, or from their headphone jacks? Since you stated in an earlier post that the headphone jack on the Denon wasn't all that great, and you prefer the Denon to the TEAC/Kenwood systems, that doesn't give me much hope for them, unless you were listening through the (hopefully inferior) speakers they were paired with.

Dusty Chalk - Similar question. When vouching for the RD-VH7's amp, do you mean the quality of its headphone output, speaker output, or both?

Thanks again guys for all the great suggestions...

- Nadim

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Quote:

Originally posted by MacDEF Has anyone heard the Kenwood system with a good pair? That might be a killer system.

Heh-heh -- do Spendor S3/5's count as "good"? I actually prefer tubes for the Spendors, but the Kenwood certainly held its own. I wasn't displeased, but not being a "speaker guy", I'm not really qualified to criticize.

Nadim -- I was speaking of the headphone jack, as I presumed that was what was being asked in the original question. The Kenwood shunts the entire power of its speaker amp to the headphone jack when you plug them in, and it's "Pure Class A" (says so).

As I have been a displaced person as of late, I've been listening to this rig a lot (easiest to move to a new location: just plug it in, and it works), and I am not complaining.

 

[mattbr]

another, although possibly more expensive possibility, may be audionote's zero series, which i believe haven't been suggested yet... and since you haven't defined the value of X for your equation yet...

you'll find more info and product shots here .