Chipotle
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2007
- Posts
- 10
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I'm relatively new to headphones in general, although not entirely so; I've had a pair of Shure E2s for a while and more recently V-Mode Vibes (bought so they had a microphone for the iPhone). Last year I decided I wanted to have "real" headphones without breaking the bank, and settled on Grado SR80s. On what I'll admit was more whim than a decided necessity, I also got a prebuilt CMoy-style amp (using an OPA2227).
Lately I've started using the headphones more, bringing them into the office and hooking them up to my computer, a MacBook Pro. This is where I've started noticing the difference the headphone amp makes; for want of a less subjective description, the sound with the amp is notably cleaner than the sound with the headphones plugged directly into the laptop. (The amp does, however, seem to reduce some of the bass.)
So what I'm considering doing, later in the year, is upgrading the amp and/or the headphones. I'm aware these are really subjective questions, but assuming I kept these headphones, would a better amp improve the sound? Could I get a better amp with an eye toward getting a more advanced set of headphones down the road? I haven't auditioned any Sennheisers in quite some time, FWIW. (I came across a thread a bit earlier which compared Grado's sound to Monitor Audio's, which is amusing in that I've been wanting to get Monitor Silver RS6's as my main stereo speakers for a while now.)
I suspect my "ideal" amp in terms of form factor is a portable one that can still take AC power, given that I presume my office is going to remain my main listening environment. I am willing to spend a few hundred. (For the office, I'd prefer to not have something whose appearance screams "steal me," however.
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Lately I've started using the headphones more, bringing them into the office and hooking them up to my computer, a MacBook Pro. This is where I've started noticing the difference the headphone amp makes; for want of a less subjective description, the sound with the amp is notably cleaner than the sound with the headphones plugged directly into the laptop. (The amp does, however, seem to reduce some of the bass.)
So what I'm considering doing, later in the year, is upgrading the amp and/or the headphones. I'm aware these are really subjective questions, but assuming I kept these headphones, would a better amp improve the sound? Could I get a better amp with an eye toward getting a more advanced set of headphones down the road? I haven't auditioned any Sennheisers in quite some time, FWIW. (I came across a thread a bit earlier which compared Grado's sound to Monitor Audio's, which is amusing in that I've been wanting to get Monitor Silver RS6's as my main stereo speakers for a while now.)
I suspect my "ideal" amp in terms of form factor is a portable one that can still take AC power, given that I presume my office is going to remain my main listening environment. I am willing to spend a few hundred. (For the office, I'd prefer to not have something whose appearance screams "steal me," however.
