[SynJohn]

After lurking around for months looking for info and reading about many areas of discussions I have finished my can set-up.
 
My whole goal was a great sounding set-up for $1000 or less. I went over budget by $46.
My start was with an Aune T1 mk2 mated to a pair of Grado PS500 cans and a few tubes to roll. Grado's had the larger G-cush foams and were pretty good sounding. These were bought as demo's from a local Highend store for $350 to save some coin. This was a pretty decent sounding set-up but just lacked something.
 
Down the road we go of upgrading and reading and now have ended up with the following set-up.
 
Mac as my source which now feeds a Meridian Director dac picked up new from Amazon for $349 feeding into a Bottle Crack amp with the speedball upgrades which was a blast to build. Of course I could not leave it stock so had some oil caps from another project in the past and added those in as well as copper painting the plate to add some character, this is running my Sennheiser HD-650 picked up from Craigslist for $300.
 
What a great sounding system that already has about 80 hours on it and seems to get a little better with time.
 
Thanks all for the great source of info.

 

[Music Alchemist]

On behalf of Head-Fi: You're welcome, and sorry about your wallet!

 
The HD 650 is a great headphone. If you ever want to expand into other gear, feel free to PM me for advice.

 

[Fearless1]

 
The HD 650 is a great headphone. If you ever want to expand into other gear, feel free to PM me for advice.

He has the 650 fed by the crack fed by the director, he has "expanded".........

 

[Music Alchemist]

  He has the 650 fed by the crack fed by the director, he has "expanded".........

 
I said expand into other gear, as in beyond what he already has, especially in the context of more headphones.

 

[Fearless1]

   
I said expand into other gear, as in beyond what he already has, especially in the context of more headphones.

He doesn't need to, he has a great sounding set-up and has done his research  on how to amp them properly.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  He doesn't need to, he has a great sounding set-up and has done his research  on how to amp them properly.

 
That's his decision, and why I said "If you ever want to expand into other gear"...

 

[SynJohn]

Thanks for the offers to expand.
At my age and level of hearing damage over the years I have realized there is a very clear line in the sand of cost/improvements.
The main goal was to get a very good sounding system that was comfortable for long sessions of photo processing on my 5k iMac. As far as my wallet goes I am thinking of Craigslisting my Grado's and the Aune as a kit. I am still debating that as they are a very good sounding set-up as well. Both are very different but very enjoyable.

 

[cel4145]

Sounds like you have a great setup now

If you keep participating here, you can always sell your Grados and Aune DAC on the trade forums: http://www.head-fi.org/f/41/for-sale-trade-forums

You do have to have a minimum number of posts to sell items: http://www.head-fi.org/a/buy-sell-trade-rules. It is a good place to sell items.

 

[Japheel]

Sounds like you have a great setup now

If you keep participating here, you can always sell your Grados and Aune DAC on the trade forums: http://www.head-fi.org/f/41/for-sale-trade-forums

You do have to have a minimum number of posts to sell items: http://www.head-fi.org/a/buy-sell-trade-rules. It is a good place to sell items.

Yeah, the trade forum is a great way to fund future purchases and a better place to find future purchases

 

[Fearless1]

That's his decision, and why I said "If you ever want to expand into other gear"...

Maybe you can PM him for advice, he did his research, the 650 is phenominal with the crack. If I remember correctly you gave your impressions of them off the Fulla.....

 

[Music Alchemist]

Maybe you can PM him for advice, he did his research, the 650 is phenominal with the crack. If I remember correctly you gave your impressions of them off the Fulla.....

 
I was talking about if he wants to buy more headphones. That was obvious from the beginning.

 

[SynJohn]

I have decided to go ahead and sell the Grado's and the Aune. 
This is being done to add a pair of closed back cans  to my arsenal. My house can tend to be noisy and obnoxious on occasions and turning up the volume to 11 is not an option for me.
 
So now I would love some reccomendations for some great sounding closed cans in the $500 range used. These MUST be compatible to my crack with speedball and Meridian director combo as that is my only system that I will be running. My personal opinion is the HD-650 are slightly dark and recessed but still very relaxing to listen to and the Grado's PS500 sound is just so much fun but slightly claustrophobic if that makes sense, not really accurate but so enjoyable.
 
love to hear some suggestions within the gear I have to work with.
 
Thanks

 

[Music Alchemist]

  I have decided to go ahead and sell the Grado's and the Aune. 
This is being done to add a pair of closed back cans  to my arsenal. My house can tend to be noisy and obnoxious on occasions and turning up the volume to 11 is not an option for me.
 
So now I would love some reccomendations for some great sounding closed cans in the $500 range used. These MUST be compatible to my crack with speedball and Meridian director combo as that is my only system that I will be running. My personal opinion is the HD-650 are slightly dark and recessed but still very relaxing to listen to and the Grado's PS500 sound is just so much fun but slightly claustrophobic if that makes sense, not really accurate but so enjoyable.
 
love to hear some suggestions within the gear I have to work with.
 
Thanks

 
Here are some: http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/innerfidelitys-wall-fame-full-size-sealed
 
My personal favorite closed headphones are the Yamaha HPH-MT220, Focal Spirit Professional, and Bose QuietComfort 15.
 
You might be able to find an Audeze EL-8 Closed-Back for under $500 on the used market, but I haven't heard that one.
 
A Google search indicates that the output impedance of the Bottlehead Crack is 120 ohms. That is very high. You may have issues with most closed headphones out there on your system, because closed headphones tend to have low impedance. However, most closed headphones are also easy to drive and do not require an amp at all.

 

[cel4145]

Unfortunately, as pointed out, the Crack is not a good choice for a lot of closed headphones, which tend to have lower impedance. You'll want to learn about headphone amp low impedance output and dampening. The general rule is that the amp's low impedance output should be 1/8 (or less) than that of the headphones. So, for example, it was not a good match in that regard for your Grados.

 

[Fearless1]

There is a Bottlehead headphone designed to fill the need of a Crack owner who is looking for a closed-back.

I have not heard it, but it got Doc's approval !