[boneless3vil]

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!

 

[pbui44]

Considering that you already have some decent speakers and already want a tubey sound but don't know exactly what headphone get, then negotiate a lower price for this NOS-type-condition Sennheiser HD250 Linear 600 ohm that will work with most (at least) of the genres that you already listen to:

https://www.head-fi.org/classifieds/sennheiser-hd250-linear-1-600ohm.32543/

However, if you think that you are already prepared to have a very complex open-back sound, then you can try out this Sennheiser HD800S that is around you, just play it safe and show up at a nice and quiet place, like a Starbucks or something like that:

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/pho/7533953527.html

After getting the headphone of your choice, then you can try out this Ampsandsound Kenzie Ovation that retails for $4.2k that is around you, just play it safe and show up at a nice and quiet place, like a Starbucks or something like that:

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/ele/7528906115.html

If you do not already have a DAC and still need one, then this SMSL SU-9 DAC will work just fine with the Kenzie Ovation and its RCA inputs, just do not use the XLR outs to RCA inputs, as the XLR outs have no grounding and will potentially damage something:

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/ele/7534872001.html

I hope this helps in your search, so just take a friend or family member with you to help out with a deal and carry stuff and safely deal indoors only.

 

[GREQ]

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.

Put that at the very top of your to-do list.
Listen to as MANY as you can in a short time.
Not just for listening, but testing for comfort, and quality... this thing will live on your noggin' for years... it had better be comfortable.

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.

Try them all - then you also know which ones you dislike and WHY you dislike them compared to others.
Don't have any bias going in... you might absolutely fall in love with a headphone you thought you might hate, from the looks.

Ignore specs at all price ranges. They are utterly meaningless before musical enjoyment and comfort.

Solid-state or tube amplifier?

Doesn't matter - whichever you think looks and sounds best to YOUR ears.

DAC or should I get something integrated?

Separate DAC means that if amp or DAC break down, you at least have one working unit.
More things in one box means that theres more things that can break down.
BUT - integrated DAC/amps are cheaper.
So... it's swings and roundabouts - whatever suits your needs best.

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.

The cheapest 'headphone' I enjoy cost me 3 Euros.
The most expensive is my Hifiman HE-500.
Cost is also completely irrelevant to enjoyment, and getting the sound you want. Try everything you can.

Over-ear and open back will generally give you the best sound quality.

How important are cables?

About as much as the current social-political climate is to cows.
As long as they're just long enough and not heavy, and don't do that stupid 'twisting' thing.

Happy hunting

 

[Monsterzero]

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!

Although I no longer live there, I used to live in Manhattan Beach. There is a very fine shop close by in Torrance where you can go try a bunch of gear.

https://thesourceav.com/

Canjam SoCal was just held last weekend in Irvine. That is also a great event to try gear, but it only passes thru SoCal once a year.

My suggestion is to find a good headphone that you enjoy, and then build around it. A good OTL amp w/ NOS tubes will sound divine with high impedance headphones, like the ZMF Verite open or ZMF Atrium.

If you end up liking a planar magnetic headphone, like Audeze LCD 5 or Hifiman Susvara, a SET tube amp will work better for those. Unfortunately your expected budget will be much higher if you opt for those headphones.

The HD800 has a very spacious, detailed, bright sound and will work well for classical. Not so much for Rammstein though.

If you prefer warmth and detailed, I'd recommend the ZMF Atrium. You will not be able to hear it prior to buying though. ZMF only sells direct in the States, thus keeping prices lower than other TOTL headphones. The Atrium excels at every genre I've thrown at it, and use it with a custom tube OTL amp and a tube based DAC

Since you prefer a warm sound, I'd suggest looking around for a nice R2R DAC, which tend to have a warmer, more analog sound than delta/sigma DACs do.

Regarding cables:

There are two types of members on Head fi. Those that believe that cables make an audible difference, and those that think those in the first group are high.

In my experience, cables do make a difference, but not nearly to the extent that the headphones, amp, DAC, source, tubes and even ear pads can.
My suggestion is to get the rest of your system in a happy place first, and then fine tune with cable upgrades.

Considering that you already have some decent speakers and already want a tubey sound but don't know exactly what headphone get, then negotiate a lower price for this NOS-type-condition Sennheiser HD250 Linear 600 ohm that will work with most (at least) of the genres that you already listen to:

https://www.head-fi.org/classifieds/sennheiser-hd250-linear-1-600ohm.32543/

The HD250 is one of my favorite headphones ever, with absurd amounts of sub bass. However it is far from warm and although I love it, the HD250 cannot compete with more modern headphones when it comes to staging & imaging. It is a killer headphone though.

 

[boneless3vil]

Canjam SoCal

too bad I missed it. Sounds great!

https://thesourceav.com/

thanks for that reference! I'll definitely check them out.

Since you prefer a warm sound

to be honest, I had some warm sounding speakers, a British made set of bookshelves. They sounded amazing. I'm not sure how I would compare that to headphones. I guess I'm just assuming that's what I want. But I'm going to check out some good shops and see what I can find. I hate having to travel to LA, but oh well.

all in all, excellent suggestions!

 

[TheFrator]

Since you're in California, can you travel to Schiit audio? They're in Newhall and have lots of gear (DACs and amps) and headphones you can try out - https://www.schiit.com/contact.

Audeze is also based in Santa Ana, California. I know California is a gigantic state but no amount of reading impressions can match actually trying the gear for yourself.

 

[Sebastien Chiu]

too bad I missed it. Sounds great!

thanks for that reference! I'll definitely check them out.


to be honest, I had some warm sounding speakers, a British made set of bookshelves. They sounded amazing. I'm not sure how I would compare that to headphones. I guess I'm just assuming that's what I want. But I'm going to check out some good shops and see what I can find. I hate having to travel to LA, but oh well.

all in all, excellent suggestions!

Since you're in California, can you travel to Schiit audio? They're in Newhall and have lots of gear (DACs and amps) and headphones you can try out - https://www.schiit.com/contact.

Audeze is also based in Santa Ana, California. I know California is a gigantic state but no amount of reading impressions can match actually trying the gear for yourself.

Good points here.

Rosson Audio is based in Resada and we are having a meet out here on October 1st: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/pos...0-1-2022-head-fi-meet-by-rosson-audio.964964/

Check the thread out for more info!

Ampsandsound is also in California and I highly recommend checking out their tube amps.

 

[RobertSM]

Good points here.

Rosson Audio is based in Resada and we are having a meet out here on October 1st: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/pos...0-1-2022-head-fi-meet-by-rosson-audio.964964/

Check the thread out for more info!

Ampsandsound is also in California and I highly recommend checking out their tube amps.

This the Rosson hosted meet scheduled to be in Reseda? If so I'm definitely interested.

 

[Sebastien Chiu]

This the Rosson hosted meet scheduled to be in Reseda? If so I'm definitely interested.

That’s where the office is!

 

[Toad_of_Toad_Hall]

@boneless3vil

A fool and his money are soon parted. Start with $1,000 or less and try a Sennheiser HD600 or HD6XX (Sennheiser/Drop), a Schiit Jotunheim (or similar) with a DAC module and some well recorded music that you like. While you're bedding into this sound for six months to a year, do your research and listen to as much gear as you can. You'll then be a position to know what you like and appreciate it more.

Also, don't listen to people like me who want to spend your money for you

 

[helljudgement]

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.

I'd recommend trying the ZMF Atrium as your headphone. I mainly listen to rock general and have a certain fondness for NDH and the Atrium is absolute banger for these genres. From heavy riffs like Weisses Fleisch to slower songs like Los and everything in between, the Atrium just works with the Rammstein. It's timbre and the way it renders drums and strings instruments also lends itself well to jazz. It's currently my favorite amongst the sea of flagship I've owned and heard though I'm bias.

Prices for flagship headphones these days are bonkers and 5k will just get you a headphone. Not saying ZMFs are cheap or affordable but in a world where 5k flagships are becoming a norm it's great to see brands like ZMF still making flagship at comparatively reasonable prices.

Which leaves you with about 2500 for dac and amp. I've not heard very many dac/amp combo at this price to make a sound judgement so I'd refrain from making blind recommendation. I will say the DNA Starlett is a fantastic amp for the Atrium but since there's a huge waiting list for DNA amps it's not really a realistic.

Best of luck on your search.

 

[cantcacheme]

try a Sennheiser HD600

Yes, maybe OP is better off starting with a reference type headphone to see what he likes, for me HD600 was excellent for this purpose. As for dac/amp, there are plenty of budget options here, maybe something from Schiit, Topping, Fiio all good options in this segment ..

 

[b0lt 0ns]

as someone also relatively new i suggest finding place where you can listen to headphone gear yourself. i have found that recommendations and reviews are not necessarily a great thing base your purchases on. there are a lot of people around that apparently listen to headphones just to analyze what theyre hearing as opposed to actually just enjoying the music so its best to hear for yourself. if i could suggest something that is generally well regarded HD600/650 with an OTL amp is a great combo that ive never heard anyone say they dont like.

 

[boneless3vil]

Newhall

I'm in SoCal. Santa Ana is close, but Newhall is easily 7 hours

 

[Death_Block]

Don't hit the big guns straight off. Start middle ground, find a taste of sound you want and get familiar with some brands. Then hit the high stuff. Even then it's very hard to stick with one. All in all, it's ok to be happy with what you own. EQ can always fill a void which otherwise might tend for people to just buy another pair, spending even more money. Whatever keeps the little voice in you head quiet really