[dd3mon]

My feet are officially wet.. my 600's are all broken in, and even with my crappy array of sources, I like 'em. But I know things can only get better from here. I've got a bad case of upgraditis and some Christmas cash burning a hole in my pocket

First off I'm happy with my 600's for the moment, I feel no need to go searching for new cans just yet.

I see three directions where upgrades are sorely needed: source, amp (believe it or not my boostaroo has weaknesses..), and a replacement for my 600's..

I think my first purchase should be an amp, because it would probably give me the biggest improvement without the other upgrades (feel free to disagree loudly). I've narrowed my amp choices to a Meta42 or a Corda HA-2. Based on the reviews of the prehead and Jan's comparison between the prehead and HA-2, I have no doubt that the HA-2 would be superior to (almost?) any Meta42.. The only problem is that if I bought an HA-2 I wouldn't have any money left to spend on a (small) source upgrade or replacement cable. (again feel free to disagree with my choices of amps very vocally).

As for a source from my point of view the ART DI/O looks like the bargain of the century. If I went for this I'd probably keep it around for a while in stock form (perhaps pulling the tube or upgrading the power supply, simple stuff like that), then eventually send it to be modded. (I would also eventually attempt to find a better transport than my computer/audigy).

So basically the question here is where to balance the resources. Should I get an HA-2, and keep using my crappy sources (audigy, pcdp, etc) and stock cable for a while? or should I get a Meta42 + an ART DI/O + possibly a Cardas/Equinox replacement? (I'd purchase both cables then sell/return the one I didn't like as much.. I do have more money to spend, just not willing.. yet..).

I'm not super strapped for cash, so spending more now in exchange for less upgrading in the future would be a definite plus. I wouldn't wanna buy something that would be immediately replaced or "outclassed" next time I upgrade anything. However if a meta+source & cable upgrades would sound lots better than an HA-2 w/o any source or cable upgrades, or if something like the HA-2 would outclass my sources/cables so much that it wouldn't be worth it, I would seriously consider going the meta route.

Any suggestions from those who have products mentioned here (or anything else in the price range or completely different) will be greatly appreciated!

BTW - for the basis of advice to me, just assume the prehead and HA-2 are sonically identical as Jan says, because to my knowledge no one other than Jan here at Head-Fi has heard an HA-2.

Thanks,

-dd3mon

EDIT: Read my latest post at the bottom of this thread, I now have $800 to spend!

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Wow, a blank check for us to spend. Let's see the logic: you have a crappy source and hard to drive cans. Basically any direction you go will be in the right direction. Anthing you upgrade will be a big help. I personally would do this:

1. Upgrade amp. Maxed out META.
2. Upgrade source. Don't own one, but the Art D/IO is hard to beat form what I've read.
3. Upgrade Senn stock cable to something else. Cardas should be coming out with their new version with the better connections on it soon, so I would go with that cable. (This one is really as money allows as this improvement will work best with the combo above done first.)

Great amp, great source, nice cables to round things off.

 

[kelly]

dd3mon

I think you're on the right track. If you have an HD600, you pretty much need an amp whether you know it or not--the META42 is my personal "entry level" favorite, though like you I'd assume the HA-2 sounds better if you can afford to spend it.

However, if I had to settle for a META in order to afford a source upgrade from PCDP or Audigy, I'd make the sacrifice.

What is your total budget available right now? The ART DI/O is a good option if you need something small or don't want to mod something but a modded DVD player may serve you as well as a modded ART DI/O from some of what I'm reading.

I'd skip the Equinox/Cardas for now if your budget is limited for the source an amp. The cables do matter--and a lot more than any of us thought they would... but the HD600 with stock cable is already very good and if I were in your shoes, I'd rather spend more on amp and cdp and do cable stuff later (last).

 

[elrod-tom]

I gather that the ART DI/O is an excellent product, based on everything that I've read here. I'm strongly considering getting one myself, and have done some research on it to that end. However, there are a couple of things to consider:

1) You will need to purchase special cables, which if you want to buy decent ones (unless you buy them at Radio Shack) appear to be fairly expensive. I've also heard (correct me if I'm wrong) that Boulder Cable - one of the better manufacturers of cables for the stock DI/O - is no longer manufacturing these cables.

2) I'm not the expert on all things electronic, but from reading on head-fi I've learned that there are potential problems re) the output of the unmodified ART DI/O. This product is intended for professional applications, and home electronics are wired and powered a lot differently. There is a lot more info re) this floating around, I just remember seeing some posts where the unmodded DI/O was not a good fit. Maybe you will have no problems, but maybe you will...just something to be aware of.

In my opinion (since I've got a blank check to spend your money), if you were going to get the ART DI/O, I'd pretty much plan on having the mods done right away after acquisition. Bolder installs standard RCA output jacks, which eliminates the need for special cables. It also ensures that the product that you're acquiring is optimized for home use right away. I suppose that you could buy some inexpensive cables and give it a shot unmodified, I don't know about you, but I hate buying something with the expectation of using it right away, only to ship it out for fixin' right away.

Good luck...let us know what you decide.

 

[darkclouds]

I'd go for the best amp you can afford now. That will prolong your upgrade urges. Then, when your wallet allows, you can upgrade to a better source. The cable can be upgraded after that.

 

[dd3mon]

Quote:

What is your total budget available right now? The ART DI/O is a good option if you need something small or don't want to mod something but a modded DVD player may serve you as well as a modded ART DI/O from some of what I'm reading.

My budget is $600ish.. So basically it'd be an HA-2 and that's it, or a Meta and some other goodies..

Which modded DVD players are you referring to? I've heard that alot of DVD players make excellent transports, but I've yet to hear about one that is an excellent player (I use only redbook cds) as well as transport..

In an ideal world I would buy a fairly inexpensive (<$400-500) and COMPACT cd player (my living quarters are tight in a dorm.. I could swing a full size player, but I would love a small footprint machine) that was a decent player (ie I would notice a big difference from my soundcard or pdcp) and an excellent transport for an upgrade to an outboard dac in the future. But this is just in a perfect world, I bet I'll have to make some sacrafices (at least for the money).

Also how much difference does a transport really make? I know that the digital out from my Audigy is sub-par (internally resampled to 16/48 and therefore screwed up), but if I bought something like the upcoming M-Audio Revolution (would not come out of my headphone budget, if this card lives up to it's specifications I will buy this just to spite Creative) would the coax out of that be very close to a decent transport?

Another question is where are transport problems occuring.. in the actual drive mechanism or in the system that sends the digital signal. If it were mainly the drive mechanism I could bypass this by playing EAC (Exact Audio Copy: ONLY program that is guaranteed to make perfect wavs from cds in win2k/xp) wav's instead of using the cd mechanism to play..

Thanks for all your comments,

-dd3mon

 

[gpalmer]

On the topic of modded DVD players, last I checked there were a couple Pioneer 525's up on Audiogon (I think they were asking about $350.00 for them). There was one modded by EVS that I've heard good feedback on and one from Dan Wright with unspecified mods. Dan W worked on my Pioneer 38a and the reults were impressive, but I gave him a blank check and told him to take it as far as he could. Still Dan offers a variety of mods and I would want to know what the guy had done before I laid down the green. These were a favorite of the modding set for a long time because the basic construction was good.

Greg

 

[dd3mon]

Well.. My birthday (21st

) has arrived and I've come into a little more cash along with a previous budget from my own stash.. Basically I have about $800 to spend on headphone related gear, which in my world is alot. I have a broken in set of Senn HD600's with stock cable, and some crappy sources (Audigy, pdcp).. What's the best thing I could do with $800?

-dd3mon

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Quote:

Originally posted by dd3mon What's the best thing I could do with $800? -dd3mon

[size=medium]Send it to me!! [/size]

Seriously, what are you looking for with that budget?? New amp/cans/cabling?

My reco:

1. META with some good upgraded parts in it. $300 or so.
2. Cardas replacement cable. $160 shipped.
3. Used CDP like THIS modified and upgraded CDP for a mere $179.
4. Outlaw PCA 1.2m cable $61


This should spend your entire budget and keep you in bliss for years to come. Enjoy!!

 

[kentamcolin]

Antique Sound Labs MG Head/OTL = $330
NOS Tubes = $60
Cardas Cable = $150
Adcom GDA700 (HDCD DAC @ Audiogon) = $260

Total = $800
Sound = simply awesome.

ASL amp is magic with HD600's. Later upgrade IC to outlaws ($50) or Homegrown silver ($150).

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Any idea on which direction you're gonna take dd3mon?? Let us know what your thinking is, and any other questions you might have on how we can spend your money for you.

 

[dd3mon]

At the moment I get the feeling that I want to stay away from tubes.. I love a very very clean sound with lots of detail, and I believe SS will give it to me better than any (low priced) tube amp. At the moment I'm still agnoizing over the choice between the corda HA-2 and Meta42..

At the moment I'm leaning towards HA-2 to get a crossfeed (I believe this will be come very important to me after I get one.. I've used a similar feature in a dsp once through headphones that really struck me as beneficial), I think the consensus is that the Meier crossfeed is the best. I've yet to hear much good or bad about the crossfeed add-on board for a Meta42 - information on this would be very helpful (especially in comparison to Meier crossfeed).

As for a source I'm waiting for some reports on the M-Audio Revolution.. I'd love to use my computer as a source, and I'd have no problems purchasing an external DAC, but I know my current Audigy isn't quite up to par (internal resampling w/ crappy dac). I have a huge mp3 collection, many encoded fairly well.. I could also archive my CD collection very easily (using EAC) to wav or another lossless format for listening, assuming the (digital) output on my soundcard was good. I think it's msjjr uses his computer mainly as a source (digital out to upsampling DAC) with his R10's!

I'd like to hear from someone (kelly I know could do the comparison, others as well) about how the digital out from a (non creative) soundcard into ART DI/O sounds vs. a good dedicated cd/dvd transport. I would even consider the purchase of something like the Monarchy DIP if it would bring my sound card digital out up to par.

If the sound card thing really doesn't pan out (ie: dedicated CD transport far superior to any soundcard digital out with or with DIP) then I'd be in the market for a solid transport with a small footprint (in my dorm there is very little space to work with.. a full size played would be.. interesting to place), digital coax out (for easy use of ART DI/O) and decent analog outs (for use until I purcahse a DAC).

Overall I'm really kind of stalling for some reviews of upcoming products.. The M-Audio Revolution.. Jude's digital source review.. Jude's prehead review (c'mon Jude!

).. More reviews of philips 963sa (looks promising, even with possibly difficult placement issues, since I'll be using any cdp I purchase for redbook only). Also some detailed comparisons for using a computer (with good soundcard & digital out with and without DIP) vs. a good cdp/dvd transport for the ART DI/O would be really nice

I'm very careful with my money and in another expensive hobby of mine (computer hardware) it's always paid off for me to do as much research as possible before purchasing something. I'm in no hurry, especially if I'll be happier in the long run by exploring all my options first. And I'm even enjoying the sound straight out of my Audigy at the moment (600's superior to any other phones I've used), but I know there is huge room for improvement

-dd3mon

 

[Audio-Me]

chych has an art dio which he uses out of an m-audio audiophile 2496 sound card, also has HD580, might be worth while to ask him questions.

I'd stay away from the revolution, I don't see why so many newbies are raving about it.

I highly suggest better source + meta42 option, you can always get good cables later.

 

[BDA_ABAT]

Since you're interested in SS, might want to consider an Antness built Kevin Gilmore ($500) + a decent DVD (Sony NS500) for ~ $140 + upgraded Cardas cable ($160). BTW: I don't believe crossfeed has made it's way (or will ever?) to the Gilmore.

The sound of the Senns plus the Gilmore was REALLY nice when demo'd at Hirsch's meet last Nov. See the notes in the Meetings section. NOTE: the source was different though so YMMV.

Bruce