[Ian Fan]

I'm going off to college in about a month and want a decent headphone setup. I bought some HD570's at futureshop but wanted something a little better; however, I can't find the 580's in stock anywhere near me. I also can't find any reputable online shops in Canada selling Sennheisers. I checked out Headroom but the customs will be insanely high since they are made in Germany. I can order it from a local shop but I'll have to wait about two to four weeks, which is too long for me. Also, what is, and where can I get, a good but cheap amp for these headphones?

Thanks

 

[sapphiremodena]

This is probably over your budget, but I'll suggest it anyways. About a month ago I went into Eatons in Vancouver, BC, Canada. On the 6th floor, they had HD-600's for $448 CDN on clearance. I'm not sure if you live near there or if they have them in stock anymore, or even if that's still too high a price, but I thought it would be worth suggesting.

 

[5th_Ghostbuster]

I live in Canada too, and got pretty frustrated trying to find some decent phones. Not much selection in Saskatoon, I'm afraid. So I decided to order a pair of Beyer DT 250-80s from Jan Meier. Check out http://www.meier-audio.com/ where he has the Senn HD580s for less than you're gonna pay pretty much anywhere. He's a very trustworthy fellow, and the transaction I had with him was very smooth. I recieved my phones in excellent time, too, considering they came overseas. Paying by PayPal speeds the deal up considerably.

 

[sapphiremodena]

I'd recommend Jan Meier too. Not from my own experience, as I've never ordered from him, but from all of the good feedback I've heard about him from lots of users on this board.

 

[fiddler]

I also highly recommend Meier-Audio. I ordered a pair of Sennheiser HD600 and a Corda HA-1 as a packaged deal. You probably won't find the HD580s for a better price. Jan's a great guy to deal with, and everything arrived in perfect shape. He uses regular mail so you won't have to deal with stupid brokerage fees. The international shipping costs are included in the price you see at his site. You'll have to pay GST and a provincial tax if it applies to you (it sure did for me in Ontario!), but it still comes out much cheaper than buying the Senns locally.

 

[Ian Fan]

The two main things that worries me about buying internationally are the custom fees and long shipping times. How long did it take for you guys to receive the headphones?

BTW, I live in Edmonton and the Eatons here closed down a couple years ago.

 

[fiddler]

My package arrived in about 3 weeks, but the average is around 2 from what I've heard.

 

[5th_Ghostbuster]

Like I say, you'll get your phones a whole lot faster if you pay by PayPal. As soon as he confirmed my payment, I had my headphones in about a week and a half. I live in Saskatoon, as I already stated. You can ask him to put 'gift' on the package, to cut down on extra fees you might incur by getting into Canada. The only extra thing you'll have to pay is taxes on the phones (F'n government...grr).

 

[Ian Fan]

Thanks for the replies. I think I'm probably going to go with the HD580/Corda HA-1 combo. However, I will also be using my soundcard (I know, I know) as one of my sources (the others being a receiver and a CD player). Will I lose a considerable amount of quality using a stereo-to-RCA adapter? I know, it won't mean much if it's coming from a soundcard, but if the quality loss is too much I'll have to get a DAC (the soundcard is an audigy platinum, so I'd use the coax output) I guess, which changes my budget...

 

[bifcake]

Why don't you get them on E-bay (US e-bay not canadian). This way, you won't have to contend with taxes or customs (NAFTA is a wonderful thing). You can get the 580's on e-bay for about $130US and you'll get it within about two weeks or so.

 

[andrzejpw]

also, consider getting them from headroom. . .

but meier's deal is pretty hard to pass up. . .

 

[DesBen]

bifcake, I might be wrong, but I think NAFTA applies only to goods manufactured in the USA, shipped directly from the factory. Anything else, you pay taxes on the declared value. Unless the seller is a criminal willing to write the phones as a "Gift worth $20", you'll have to pay taxes.

That's why Canucks buying V6 from the states have to pay taxes...

 

[fiddler]

I'd say go for that 580/HA-1 combo from Meier. One of the best deals you can get anywhere, even if you factor in the taxes and duties.

You won't have to worry about upgrading the amp and headphones for a while if you go this route. Now, let's talk about that source of yours....

(I know how you feel, my source is a Panasonic 570 PCDP.. Oh how I wish I had some money..)

 

[bifcake]

Quote:

Originally posted by DesBen bifcake, I might be wrong, but I think NAFTA applies only to goods manufactured in the USA, shipped directly from the factory. Anything else, you pay taxes on the declared value. Unless the seller is a criminal willing to write the phones as a "Gift worth $20", you'll have to pay taxes. That's why Canucks buying V6 from the states have to pay taxes...

I'm sure something like this can be arranged with a seller. You'd probably want to state it as a $50 gift in order not to raise any alarms.

 

[jlo mein]

ya even if you have to pay taxes on it from Jan Meier, it still works out a lot cheaper since his prices are so good