Sennheiser DSP PRO any good?

[wayne]

I just ordered a panasonic sl 570 which I plan on using with my hd-580 headphones. I have a dsp pro which I got for free with my headphones. Has anyone used this. Would it be any better than going straight from the cd player? I was thinking of getting an airhead. Is the airhead much better than the dsp pro?

thanks
Wayne

 

[Braver]

I don't believe the DSP is much of an amp. a gadget and a volume control maybe, but not an amp. I've seen reports of it introducing some amount of hiss as well. IMO sell it on ebay like everyone does unless you like using it wiht movies or something.

for an amp, the TA or the new Porta Corda should do much better.

 

[Russ Arcuri]

I'm using an Altoids amp with my HD580s. Sounds great, and less expensive than the porta corda or airhead.

Some home stereo components have headphone jacks capable of driving the HD580s well. Not many, but they exist. It wouldn't help for portable applications, but you should give your home rig a try, just to see.

Russ "The Peripatetic Audiophile"

 

[gaineso]

I've got a DSP360 which I use for TV -- Farscape, B5, Andromeda & other SciFi. I feed it into my TA and then to HD600's. It seems to work pretty well for Dolby Surround broadcast. Music? Not no, Hell No.

Source to TA to HD600's.

If you aren't using cans for TV, forget the DSP. Keep it around though. You might experiment with it on New Age/World Music or TV. Not serious music listening though.

Gaines

 

[fjhuerta]

Forget about the DSP as an amp. It's more like a toy. It lacks authoritative bass, introduces a layer of grunge, and adds too much hiss to be enjoyable. Plus, it might be as weak as a Walkman amp.

OTOH, movies are fine with it. Since your attention is focused on screen and not in the sound, the results are better. Plus, the virtualization circuit is quite good.

Not comparable to Dolby Headphone, though

 

[tangent]

The DSP Pro is capable of driving even inefficient phones to too-loud volumes, but even this deaf boy can tell the difference between the DSP Pro and a cmoy pocket amp. I'm keeping my DSPs around only for emergency use. I've already replaced the DSP Pro with a cmoy, and am about to replace my DSP 360 with another cmoy.

Just in case you're not up on the lingo yet, wayne, a cmoy is a do-it-yourself amp, and the "Altoids" amp people are mentioning here is either a straight cmoy or an improved variation on that basic theme. It'll cost you less than $50 to build one yourself, if you have all the tools (hookup wire, soldering iron, meter, etc.).