[Womaz]

I am looking for a little guidance.

I currently have a Devialet 200 as my amp and streamer in my main system and use this to feed a musical fidelity H1PAP headphone amp with AKGQ701 headphones.
I used to enjoy HP listening but now after hearing how good the Dev200 is with my PMC speakers they never get a look in. I now need to start using headphones more due to a change in circumstances.
They will be for home use only with my Dev200.
I am now prepared to spend a bit of cash to get a better sound from headphone use. I will replace both the headphone amp and the headphones.
Headphones - I have narrowed it down to HE1000 , or HD800. They are the two on the shortlist , would possibly also consider LCD3 and Oppo PM1. I have no chance to audition as time and where I am make this virtually impossible.

The amp I am considering is a Auralic Taurus mk2 but I am open to suggestions.

So if I say have a budget of £3k what would anyone suggest. So it's like asking you if you were starting from scratch and had £3k what would you go for. I could maybe afford a little more if I trade in my other stuff

Any help or suggestions would be great.

 

[Womaz]

Can no one help me here?

As the Dev200 has an excellent DAC I would presume should I just focus on a headphone amp without a DAC?

Would you buy HP first or the amp?

Help and siggestiosn welcome

 

[subtle]

Can no one help me here?

As the Dev200 has an excellent DAC I would presume should I just focus on a headphone amp without a DAC?

Would you buy HP first or the amp?

Help and siggestiosn welcome

I would think it's pretty obvious to buy the headphone before the headphone amp.  What would be the purpose of having an amp with nothing to plug in to it?

Also, it would help a great deal if you finalized your decision with regards to which headphone you plan to purchase as that would heavily influence recommendations.  An amplifier that would mate extremely well with the HE1000 will not do so with the HD800 and vice versa.

 

[Womaz]

I would think it's pretty obvious to buy the headphone before the headphone amp.  What would be the purpose of having an amp with nothing to plug in to it?


Also, it would help a great deal if you finalized your decision with regards to which headphone you plan to purchase as that would heavily influence recommendations.  An amplifier that would mate extremely well with the HE1000 will not do so with the HD800 and vice versa.

As I could use it with my existing headphones until I got new ones.
I do see your point about different Amps go well with different headphones , but as yet I am undecided on which headphones to go for, that's why I was sort of asking if anyone was starting again what would they go for.

Thanks for reply though

 

[icebear]

The HE1000 and HD800 have quite different character. I have only heard the HE1000 prototype but have a HD800 myself for 1.5 years. In short the HE1000 might be more pleasing but a little warm i.e. not all that accurate. The HD800 will tell you the bare truth which is not always nice when the recording is not up to it but glorious with good recordings esp. Jazz and classic.
 
So depending on your musical preference make choice of headphone. You can drive the HD800 with a balanced cable directly from the speaker tabs of your amp. You don't need a specific headphone amp if you like that set up. Devialet offers unprecedented adjustment options, maybe they can even recommend a setting of give you a software update to drive a high impedance headphone directly.
 
There is a thread about using speaker amps :
http://www.head-fi.org/t/649107/speaker-amps-for-headphones
 
I used a First Watt M2 to drive my HD800 (see avatar) before I got the GSX-Mk2 that I ordered long before.
If I didn't have the direct comparison, I would have been perfectly happy with the M2.
 
Interesting journey ... let us know how it turns out.

 

[Womaz]

The HE1000 and HD800 have quite different character. I have only heard the HE1000 prototype but have a HD800 myself for 1.5 years. In short the HE1000 might be more pleasing but a little warm i.e. not all that accurate. The HD800 will tell you the bare truth which is not always nice when the recording is not up to it but glorious with good recordings esp. Jazz and classic.

So depending on your musical preference make choice of headphone. You can drive the HD800 with a balanced cable directly from the speaker tabs of your amp. You don't need a specific headphone amp if you like that set up. Devialet offers unprecedented adjustment options, maybe they can even recommend a setting of give you a software update to drive a high impedance headphone directly.

There is a thread about using speaker amps :
http://www.head-fi.org/t/649107/speaker-amps-for-headphones

I used a First Watt M2 to drive my HD800 (see avatar) before I got the GSX-Mk2 that I ordered long before.
If I didn't have the direct comparison, I would have been perfectly happy with the M2.

Interesting journey ... let us know how it turns out.

Great reply so thanks for that. The two genres you mention are probably the only two types of music I never listen to.
Everything else does seem to get some play, rock, pop, dance hip hop folk all get a fair amount of time. I've been started listening to a lot of American country singers as the group First Aid Kit prompted me to seek out more music like this.
I am definite,t listening to more mellow stuff now as I get older but it really varies. As I type I have the new Foals album in my ears and that rocks for sure

The Devaliet can drive headphones and is pretty good at it too but not as good as my MFHIPAP so I decided to keep that in my set up. It is fed from the Dev using the pre outs.

In the UK the HD800 are £1100 and the HE1000 are £2200 so a it difference there too. However the price won't deter me I just want to get it right. It's very difficult to audition top end gear where I live

Steve

 

[Womaz]

Any other hep ......one question if my music is streamed through my Devialet 200 I assume I would.be using a its DAC. So do I really need a headphone amp with a DAC

Would I be better off focusing on a HP amplifier without a DAC?

 

[Womaz]

Ok as an update I have bought the Auralic Taurus Mk 2 headphone amp.........still pondering the headphone choice!

 

[conquerator2]

The HE1000 gets a strong recommendation from me too. Will pair nicely with the Taurus. I'll be getting a pair soon hopefully.
As for whether the pair one gets is up to standards? I hope so. I mean, I really like to think that there are only very few unlucky people, as are with other brands and headphones :]

 

[Womaz]

Yes the HE1000 are my first choice, I am trying to get a home demo sorted now.

 

[SpherE22]

Audition the ethers. If I didn't make the mistake of buying the HEK i would have gladly gotten them. Build quality is rubbish, the sound is good. Ive heard that it pairs quite well with the taurus. Get the HEKs if you can live with them constantly feeling like theyre made out of plastic.

 

[Womaz]

Audition the ethers. If I didn't make the mistake of buying the HEK i would have gladly gotten them. Build quality is rubbish, the sound is good. Ive heard that it pairs quite well with the taurus. Get the HEKs if you can live with them constantly feeling like theyre made out of plastic.

Difficult to audition anything to be honest. You make a valid point as the build does appear to be not as good as it should be given the price. But to me the SQ is the ultimate thing. If i look after them and dont throw them around then i am sure they will be fine.

 

[SpherE22]

Difficult to audition anything to be honest. You make a valid point as the build does appear to be not as good as it should be given the price. But to me the SQ is the ultimate thing. If i look after them and dont throw them around then i am sure they will be fine.

Its worse than that. Look up some threads about the he-1000's durability. But if youre looking for good SQ theyre the way to go. I personally have tested the hek vs 009 vs abyss(underamped so.....) vs hd800. Wouldnt go into detail here but I vastly prefer the hek. Hek>009>hd800>abyss. Both the abyss and 009 need different amps. And since you just bought the taurus...Try the hek, see what you think.

 

[Revogamer]

Honestly haven't seen any issues with the build on the HE-1000, have played with quite a few units myself and gone through a lot but no returns as of yet, if you have had multiple issues it is very strange!

 

[verber]

my preference would be hd800... but pretty much all the flagship headphones are good... it's going to come down to your personal taste.  The best thing you could do is addition them and decide which you like the best. They way I typically narrow things down is I read reviews of things I have heard, look for people who have similar observations to me (e.g. they have similar preferences to me) and then see what they like that and put those things on my short list.  There have been several good reviews comparing high end headphones.  I have some personal observations and links to some of the better survey reviews on my stereo/headphone webpage.