[ray4jc]

Hey everyone

How often do you:

A) start with a good source and then buy everything else

or

B)buy your heaphones, amps, IC's then spend money on the source

just wondering...i'm finding myself buying nice cans, amps ...etc..then not having a source..

ray

 

[Magic77]

Quote:

Originally posted by ray4jc Hey everyone How often do you: A) start with a good source and then buy everything else or B)buy your heaphones, amps, IC's then spend money on the source just wondering...i'm finding myself buying nice cans, amps ...etc..then not having a source.. ray

ray,

I have to say with my experience with headphones and amps over the past 4 years; I feel that the Amplifier is the most important component of all.

I know that everything; cables,source,amp,headphones etc..... can make a difference. But the most noticeable changes in my own experiments is that the Amplifier makes the biggest difference.

Based on all the sources,cables,amps,power conditioners that I personally have tried; I've pretty much come to the conclusion that it is better to have 1 great amp.

 

[Magic77]

Also, I wanted to say; It can take a long time to find the right combination for the best sound performance.

In my case;(and it is different for everyone), I know that if I have 1 great Amp, such as a HeadRoom Max or Maxed Out Home, I probably won't waste as much money as I have ove the last 4 years buying a lot of different low-mid priced components and never being quite satisfied.

But, like I said before, it's different for everyone.

 

[Voyager]

in my experience, I find that the headphones are the most important part of the audio chain. No matter how good an amp or source is, it isn't going to change a pair of cheapo headphones into an Orpheus. Next to the headphones, I find that the amp makes a big difference. I would go for a good source after I already have a good pair of phones and a good amp, and now that I have my HP-1s and maxed out home, i do find myself looking for a source in the same league as them.

 

[Magic77]

Quote:

Originally posted by Voyager in my experience, I find that the headphones are the most important part of the audio chain. No matter how good an amp or source is, it isn't going to change a pair of cheapo headphones into an Orpheus. Next to the headphones, I find that the amp makes a big difference. I would go for a good source after I already have a good pair of phones and a good amp, and now that I have my HP-1s and maxed out home, i do find myself looking for a source in the same league as them.

Voyager,

I agree that a great amp will not do justice for cheap headphones, but I also agree that the opposite is true as well. A cheap amp will not do justice to a great pair of headphones, which is what has happened in my own case.

You said you have the Maxed-Out Home. This is the Amp I'm looking at right now.

Would you say the Maxed-Out Home is a great amp and will do great justice to a variety of good quality Headphones?

 

[darkclouds]

I started out with nice headphones, then amps, and finally source. It's not that I"m recommending people to go this route, it's just something I did. Furthermore, getting a nice set of cans is cheaper than getting a nice sourse. Same goes for most amps.

Also, the differences between cans are so much more apparent than amps or source. But the good amp and source will help make those same set of cans shine with details.

 

[markl]

In my experience, there's way more variation in the performance and basic sound of different headphones than in different amps/sources. I think you have to get the headphone right first, then build the system around that. I'd rank them in the following way:

1. Phones
2. Source
3. Amp

Mark

 

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

I am doing b) right now. Not the best way to go, but I don't plan on getting a non-portable source until I am done university and have a place of my own...

Biggie.

 

[Voyager]

I love my Maxed out home. Sure, it isn't the newest model, but it's still a great amp. In my opinion, the sonic difference isn't that big between the 2001 series and the old ones. It has no trouble driving anything I throw at it, Senn HD580s/HD600s, Grado Sr-60s, and my HP-1s. If your looking at upper end solid state, you must consider the upper end headroom amps. The only thing that I'd also consider at that price (for solid state), is the sugden headmaster. The reason I didn't get one is the difficulty in obtaining them, but the Maxed Out Home is still very excellant.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Quote:

Originally posted by ray4jc How often do you: A) start with a good source and then buy everything else or B)buy your heaphones, amps, IC's then spend money on the source

or C) upgrade your speakers (Polk Audio's), then find your amp is deficient, so you go to a store, and hear even better speakers, so you buy a new amp and new speakers (Jolida JD102B & Spendor S3/5's), but now your source is lacking, so you try out a new CD player, don't like it, read about this DAC (MSB Tech Link DAC III), buy that, get a headphone amp (MF X-CANv2), get a new pair of headphones (Senn HD600), get another headphone amp (AudioValve RKV), upgrade your transport (Rega Planet)...

 

[RickG]

Quote:

Originally posted by ray4jc A) start with a good source and then buy everything else

IMO, yes. Your phones and amp will accentuate/magnify the glitches of your source. I've been learning this the hard way!

 

[Vertigo-1]

In general I would go with choosing a headphone/speaker first, followed by its partnering gear. It's just that the headphones/speakers make up pratically 75-80% of a system's signature sound. For the most part I've built systems around headphones, not the other way around. Except for the Omega IIs, which I made an exception for...I made sure I had a source worthy of them before I went for the Omega IIs, but even then I chose a source that I knew would compliment them well. So I always think of complimenting headphones with the source, cables, amp, etc...not the other way around.

 

[kelly]

Ray
I've read a lot of things in this forum that struck me as peculiar. I've seen people call the HD600 thin. I've seen people call the Stax 007 harsh. Sometimes it makes me sad.

Vertigo has come back to Stax. He previously had the Stax 3030 (Classic II) which itself is a rather nice headphone and amp. He listened to it using a computer soundcard. He ignored all advice about the source from even some very knowledgable people. For your own amusement, do some searches on HeadWize. It can be a lot of fun.

My advice would be to strike a balance. If you can't afford a good amp, then don't buy an expensive headphone. If you can't afford a good source, don't buy either an expensive amp or an expensive headphone. And finally, if you CAN afford all of them but not all at once (I understand this, believe me) then try your best not to judge anything too harshly if you know you've got something crappy upstream from it. In other words, don't condemn an HD600 just because it's plugged into a Creek amp. Don't condemn a Stax rig that's running off a soundcard.

One route some people have taken is to buy a portable system first. In other words, if you plan to eventually own both a portable system AND a home system, you could get a Cosmic, battery-powered META42 or PDAC to drive a headphone now while you save up for a better source. Then after you get a better source you can begin working toward the better amp. After you have the better amp, you still have a practical (portable only) use for your old amp and you didn't have to sell anything to get you there.

Of course, some people just like to try different equipment regardless and unfortunately, I'm one of those people.

 

[jude]

I agree that it generally comes down to a balance thing, based on budget, needs, etc. As NotoriousBIG_PJ stated earlier, he's not going to get a non-portable source until he's done with university, so I don't know that I'd do him any favors suggesting a Meridian as his source. As kelly stated, however, I don't know that I'd recommend he buy that much fancy gear to follow it either.

Having sold Linn gear as a college lad many years ago, and being a hi-fi enthusiast since before some of you were born, I guess you could say I still generally believe in the traditional "garbage in, garbage out" adage (older folks like me like to use old adages), so I'd be more inclined to acquire what's at least a moderately good source before I attempted to spend too much downline. Upon reading this thread, that exact same example (Vertigo and his first set of Stax headphones powered by MP3s/soundcard) came to mind.

At the hi-fi store I worked at, we did some interesting demonstrations for customers. In one we performed quite frequently, we'd hook up a Linn LP12 as source to a certain combination preamp/amp, and then to a pair of smaller, quite-inexpensive Paradigm "bookshelf" speakers on stands. Then we'd change two things -- switching the turntable to a Dual or even using a Philips CD player and switching the speakers to Vandersteen 3's or Linn Nexus or even higher-end speakers -- and ask the customer which they liked better. The better-sourced rig with the less expensive speakers would "win" more often than not. Of course, if you then left the Vandies in as the speakers, and put the LP12 back in as source, then that invariably topped the Paradigms by a healthy margin.

Of course, this could be argued either way, and it often is until the cows come home. And either position could be made valid by assuming absolute and total crap on either end of the stream. But I'll always stand by my belief that at least a moderately good source is needed before one can start evaluating the other stuff downline. And it's always best to go for a more balanced approach based on your budget and needs than it is to go balls-out on only one side of the stream.

 

[HappymaN]

Quote:

Originally posted by jude I agree that it generally comes down to a balance thing, based on budget, needs, etc. As NotoriousBIG_PJ stated earlier, he's not going to get a non-portable source until he's done with university, so I don't know that I'd do him any favors suggesting a Meridian as his source. As kelly stated, however, I don't know that I'd recommend he buy that much fancy gear to follow it either. Having sold Linn gear as a college lad many years ago, and being a hi-fi enthusiast since before some of you were born, I guess you could say I still generally believe in the traditional "garbage in, garbage out" adage (older folks like me like to use old adages), so I'd be more inclined to acquire what's at least a moderately good source before I attempted to spend too much downline. Upon reading this thread, that exact same example (Vertigo and his first set of Stax headphones powered by MP3s/soundcard) came to mind. At the hi-fi store I worked at, we did some interesting demonstrations for customers. In one we performed quite frequently, we'd hook up a Linn LP12 as source to a certain combination preamp/amp, and then to a pair of smaller, quite-inexpensive Paradigm "bookshelf" speakers on stands. Then we'd change two things -- switching the turntable to a Dual or even using a Philips CD player and switching the speakers to Vandersteen 3's or Linn Nexus or even higher-end speakers -- and ask the customer which they liked better. The better-sourced rig with the less expensive speakers would "win" more often than not. Of course, if you then left the Vandies in as the speakers, and put the LP12 back in as source, then that invariably topped the Paradigms by a healthy margin. Of course, this could be argued either way, and it often is until the cows come home. And either position could be made valid by assuming absolute and total crap on either end of the stream. But I'll always stand by my belief that at least a moderately good source is needed before one can start evaluating the other stuff downline. And it's always best to go for a more balanced approach based on your budget and needs than it is to go balls-out on only one side of the stream.

True, so very true.