[jedispork]

Hello Everyone. I have some px 100 headphones for my ipod and I finally tried them out on my receiver. I was quite impressed. I watched a movie with them and I thought the sound quality was much better through the headphones and I felt like I was in the middle of the movie.

I have a 2.1 setup with a onkyo 606 receiver. I think the acoustics and limited speaker placement of the room are less than ideal which is another reason I'm looking into headphones.

I have already ordered some HD-555 headphones but still undecided how to power them. I thought the astro mixamp looked kind of neat with the 5.1. I see people claiming that it actually does a ok job of simulating surround sound. How well would this work for movies though? I think 5.1 can be kind of gimmicky in the first place so I'm not sure if I would be impressed with headphone surround sound. I mostly watch movies or play single player video games anyway.

How good will my onkyo 606 receiver be compared to a budget headphone amp? It just outputs plain stereo through the headphone jack. I have all my game systems and blu ray player hooked up through hdmi so would I still be getting the benefits of lossless audio?

So should I use my receiver? Try the astro mixamp for the 5.1? or buy a dedicated headphone amp?

thanks

 

[scootermafia]

Well, start out with some actually good headphones like HD650s or K701s. Then get a good amp.
The 555 are cheaper headphones, I'm sure amplification would help them plenty but if you have no plans to upgrade them then an expensive amp would not be a good idea.

 

[scootermafia]

As far as that audio being "lossless," decoding with a receiver DAC is rarely as good as a standalone setup, and the circuitry inside headphone jacks for receivers sometimes does not do good things to the sound. My Marantz receiver sounds decent, I suppose.

 

[dwong]

My 30 year old vintage Marantz 2230 receiver sounded a bit muffled and unclean, and overall not very impressive with my phones. It looks cool though

 

[mbd2884]

If your source is the iPod, I suppose getting a simple amp for 100 bucks might be good idea.
http://www.electric-avenues.com/amplifiers.html
- That amp has great reviews for a very reasonable price, 60 USD

If its the computer, why not just buy a new soundcard like the Asus Xonar D2 or an EMU?

Although if you were worried about an AMP, I would have gone with an AD700 or AD900 as they don't need an amp at all, whereas I have read plenty of reviews stating even the HD555 don't shine until amped, and from HD595 and up its recommended. AD900 sounds just great straight from the jack, I'm upgrading my source though, just because I want to go full out bit perfect skipping my soundcard.

 

[Suntory_Times]

with those headphones (if you don't plan on changine you're source) id just pick up a fiio ($6 to $20 depending on the model).

Honestly though, I think you're in need of a source and amp upgrade if you wish to upgrade any further (the HD555 will deffenatly benifit from it).

 

[jedispork]

Looks like I am still going with the astro mixamp for watching movies/gaming. I will do some comparisons with my receiver output and see if this simulated surround sound is as great as everyone says it is.

I think a nice sound card is a great idea for the computer. Would that be a better option than ipod with a pocket amp? I might miss the portability though. Also thinking about using one of the little dot amps.

I went with the hd-555 because they had good reviews and were fairly cheap compared to some of the other high end headphones. I want to save up for something really nice later on if I decide to stay with the hobby which I'm quite sure that I will.

Are most quality headphone setups better sounding than a average home audio system?

 

[ddoingwell]

......oooohhhhh...it's a slippery slope once you start down the road....perhaps no one told you the "sorry about your wallet" Head-fi disclaimer?

The HD555s like an amp. Mine did anyway. Have fun.

 

[Raylinds]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scootermafia /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, start out with some actually good headphones like HD650s or K701s. Then get a good amp. The 555 are cheaper headphones, I'm sure amplification would help them plenty but if you have no plans to upgrade them then an expensive amp would not be a good idea.

I agree with this advice- upgrade the phones first.

 

[intoart]

I was extremely happy with the headphone jack on my Cambridge integrated amp, until I got my Little Dot I+. Now I am a believer! You should definitely get a headphone amp. The difference is not subtle at all. (And the I+ is cheap, besides!)

 

[Headphony]

The HD555's are good headphones for the money, but you're unlikely to benefit much from a dedicated headphone set-up with them IMO. Your Onkyo receiver should be more than adequate, especially if you mostly watch movies and play video games with the headphones. Just wait until you get the headphones and try them with the receiver. If you like what you hear, then you like what you hear.

 

[Shoreman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by intoart /img/forum/go_quote.gif I was extremely happy with the headphone jack on my Cambridge integrated amp, until I got my Little Dot I+. Now I am a believer! You should definitely get a headphone amp. The difference is not subtle at all. (And the I+ is cheap, besides!)

Care to elaborate on "the difference is not subtle at all"? I'm kind of in the same boat--tiring of having to jack up the bass and treble on my vintage Hitachi receiver to get the most out of my 325i's. And then I still feel there is so much more to be heard that I'm not experiencing. Which is why I'm also in the process of researching dedicated headphone amps (I'm using the E-MU 0404's headamp in the interim). But I've never heard anyone actually describe the difference a good dedicated amp can provide, other than saying things like "properly drive" or "get the most out of" your xyz headphones. Hence, my question.

 

[intoart]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shoreman /img/forum/go_quote.gif Care to elaborate on "the difference is not subtle at all"? I'm kind of in the same boat--tiring of having to jack up the bass and treble on my vintage Hitachi receiver to get the most out of my 325i's. And then I still feel there is so much more to be heard that I'm not experiencing. Which is why I'm also in the process of researching dedicated headphone amps (I'm using the E-MU 0404's headamp in the interim). But I've never heard anyone actually describe the difference a good dedicated amp can provide, other than saying things like "properly drive" or "get the most out of" your xyz headphones. Hence, my question.

I gave a detailed description in the thread about the I+ amp (not sure how to link threads, though.

To summarize: Larger, more 3-dimensional, more detailed soundstage
More natural tone at all frequencies, bur especially in the bass
Extremely transparent sound- I hardly know the headphones are the source of what I am hearing!

 

[Shoreman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by intoart /img/forum/go_quote.gif I gave a detailed description in the thread about the I+ amp (not sure how to link threads, though.

Found it! Very informative. Descriptive--and well-written. Thanks for that.

Although I'm not at all a basshead--far from it in fact--I do appreciate, and need, a tight and thumpy bass response. As I alluded to in my previous post, I had to do a fair bit of bass adjustment when I used my receiver. Absent that, I would have had an extremely deficient bottom end. That's why I was so curious about the difference you experienced with your new LD I+. Especially considering the fact that you can't adjust, or EQ, an amp (like you would an integrated amp or receiver) to compensate for any such deficiencies that may exist in a particular setup.

 

[MorganC14]

I was originally using a Denon AVR-1709 with my HD-650s, and running my CD player through it via Optical in. I was really pleased with it, and when I ordered the headphone amp in my price range that I wanted (Little Dot Mk V), I was a little nervous about how much performance increase I would get for the money.

It is huge.

I'm relatively new to this (long time reader, recently started posting

), but from what I have experienced a good Receiver will be enjoyable to listen to, but I think you'll be surprised by what you're missing with an amp, even an entry level one. While I now run my CD player (A Denon DVD-2910) straight through to the amp via line out, instead of amplifying through the receiver, the bass doesn't need adjusting. It's just fantastic.

Through a receiver, I've had a good experience. Through an amp from source, I've had a fantastic experience.