boneless3vil
New Head-Fier
1st, a little back story. I've been in the home theaters forever. Fortunately, I've been able to spend little money on it since I'm close with the owner of Pacific Coast Audio & Video in Newport Beach, CA. But since I moved from my old home into my new one, I'm unable to play my home theater as loud as I prefer. That's not too much of a problem, though.
It did have me thinking, though, I would like to have a nice set of headphones, DAC and probably a tube amplifier or whatever type of set up that's best. I'm just getting to know the headphone market and know very little brands of which to choose from; I'm familiar with Sennheiser (HD 300 (?), Game Zero and the EPOS HD6PRO; also the GSX1000 and others). That's it. but I would like to see what else is out there that might prove better than all of that.
HEADPHONES: I've been eyeing Audeze Reference and Flagship headphones, though the flagship headphones seem awfully expensive. I've also looked at Sennheiser HD 800S and HD 820. NONE of these headphones have I actually listened to, yet. So, doing that somewhere close by me is on my to do list. But what other headphones should I look at? What would be the reason I would want one over another, given an initial look at the specs.
AMPS: I've looked at McIntosh, Woo, Moon Audio.
DAC: I have no clue what I'm doing here. I have a Sennheiser GSX 1000. That's the closest thing I have to converting digital audio from my computer – where this set up will be.
MY MUSIC TASTES: My list of music is diverse. For movie soundtracks, classical and acoustic, I like something with crystal clarity and warmth. For everything else, I'm really not sure: Rammstein (German heavy metal), Metric (alternative rock), Depeche Mode, the cure, classic 80s and I would like to delve into jazz.
So I would love recommendations and opinions:
Solid-state or tube amplifier?
DAC or should I get something integrated?
How much do you need to spend on a set of headphones to get the sound you want? Should it be open or closed? I like over the ear and open as far as I know.
How important are cables? (Give an example of good vs. what I might think is good)
Thanks!
It did have me thinking, though, I would like to have a nice set of headphones, DAC and probably a tube amplifier or whatever type of set up that's best. I'm just getting to know the headphone market and know very little brands of which to choose from; I'm familiar with Sennheiser (HD 300 (?), Game Zero and the EPOS HD6PRO; also the GSX1000 and others). That's it. but I would like to see what else is out there that might prove better than all of that.
HEADPHONES: I've been eyeing Audeze Reference and Flagship headphones, though the flagship headphones seem awfully expensive. I've also looked at Sennheiser HD 800S and HD 820. NONE of these headphones have I actually listened to, yet. So, doing that somewhere close by me is on my to do list. But what other headphones should I look at? What would be the reason I would want one over another, given an initial look at the specs.
AMPS: I've looked at McIntosh, Woo, Moon Audio.
DAC: I have no clue what I'm doing here. I have a Sennheiser GSX 1000. That's the closest thing I have to converting digital audio from my computer – where this set up will be.
MY MUSIC TASTES: My list of music is diverse. For movie soundtracks, classical and acoustic, I like something with crystal clarity and warmth. For everything else, I'm really not sure: Rammstein (German heavy metal), Metric (alternative rock), Depeche Mode, the cure, classic 80s and I would like to delve into jazz.
So I would love recommendations and opinions:
Solid-state or tube amplifier?
DAC or should I get something integrated?
How much do you need to spend on a set of headphones to get the sound you want? Should it be open or closed? I like over the ear and open as far as I know.
How important are cables? (Give an example of good vs. what I might think is good)
Thanks!