Hi people,
I posted this in the Headphone Amp section, but haven't received any replies, so I'm posting it here too. Sorry for the double post..
I've just recently received a pair of these used from eBay and I'm presently running them from either my Arcam Alpha 8 integrated amp or my Asus Xonar Essence STX soundcard. I'm mightily impressed with them up to now. Having read some glowing reviews about how these are a hidden gem in the headphone world, I couldn't resist when I saw a pair crop up on the bay. I think I may have paid a little over the odds for them (£72), but they are worth every penny and more and the build quality is second to none. I've been keen to try a pair of AKGs and these cute vintage cans are a very nice way to experience that.
The mids and highs are especially revealing and open, but in accordance with what everybody has said about them, they are lacking in the bass department. This is not a massive issue, especially if the recording has good bass to it, but I'm finding a lot of my orchestral LPs, running through my Arcam integrated really lacking downstairs and was wondering if I could improve on this with alternative amping? I should add that I'm wondering whether this Arcam is running them adequately at the moment. I have read and been advised that the old 70s receivers are a good starting point. The Arcam can drive them very loud, but I'm not sure if the output is matching to the cans' needs. I'm not technical enough to understand the specs, but the manual says the Arcam can drive headphones between 30 and 2000ohms. The Max output level into 600ohms is 10V rms and the output impedance is 330ohms. Can anyone make sense of these figures and do they compare to these 1970s receivers?
I have already done a fair bit of research, but it seems up-to-date info/feedback on these is hard to find. I understand that by nature, these are a bass light/neutral phone, but I've also read that they benefit more from tube amplification in terms of feeding them the voltage/current they need to sing?
I'm not familiar enough with this area of physics to be able to make good judgements about this, so could anyone recommend me some amp options? I don't want to spend mega money. I would possibly go up to $200/£150. I've noticed this amp that seems quite cheap and gets good reviews -
http://bravoaudio.com/Bravo%20Ocean.html
Would this be better than my present set-up, or do I need something more?
I would also like to mention - as very much a side note - that my other cans are HD598, Grado SR80 and some soon to arrive HifiMan HE-400s. If possible, it would be nice to think that any amp I did buy would be compatible with them too (though not a neccesity, as I realise they don't demand the juice that these AKGs do and I'm already getting great results with what I have), but I understand that finding an amp that runs both high and low impedance cans is pretty hard to come by? Driving the AKGs is my priority though.
Many thanks in advance!
Matt
I posted this in the Headphone Amp section, but haven't received any replies, so I'm posting it here too. Sorry for the double post..
I've just recently received a pair of these used from eBay and I'm presently running them from either my Arcam Alpha 8 integrated amp or my Asus Xonar Essence STX soundcard. I'm mightily impressed with them up to now. Having read some glowing reviews about how these are a hidden gem in the headphone world, I couldn't resist when I saw a pair crop up on the bay. I think I may have paid a little over the odds for them (£72), but they are worth every penny and more and the build quality is second to none. I've been keen to try a pair of AKGs and these cute vintage cans are a very nice way to experience that.
The mids and highs are especially revealing and open, but in accordance with what everybody has said about them, they are lacking in the bass department. This is not a massive issue, especially if the recording has good bass to it, but I'm finding a lot of my orchestral LPs, running through my Arcam integrated really lacking downstairs and was wondering if I could improve on this with alternative amping? I should add that I'm wondering whether this Arcam is running them adequately at the moment. I have read and been advised that the old 70s receivers are a good starting point. The Arcam can drive them very loud, but I'm not sure if the output is matching to the cans' needs. I'm not technical enough to understand the specs, but the manual says the Arcam can drive headphones between 30 and 2000ohms. The Max output level into 600ohms is 10V rms and the output impedance is 330ohms. Can anyone make sense of these figures and do they compare to these 1970s receivers?
I have already done a fair bit of research, but it seems up-to-date info/feedback on these is hard to find. I understand that by nature, these are a bass light/neutral phone, but I've also read that they benefit more from tube amplification in terms of feeding them the voltage/current they need to sing?
I'm not familiar enough with this area of physics to be able to make good judgements about this, so could anyone recommend me some amp options? I don't want to spend mega money. I would possibly go up to $200/£150. I've noticed this amp that seems quite cheap and gets good reviews -
http://bravoaudio.com/Bravo%20Ocean.html
Would this be better than my present set-up, or do I need something more?
I would also like to mention - as very much a side note - that my other cans are HD598, Grado SR80 and some soon to arrive HifiMan HE-400s. If possible, it would be nice to think that any amp I did buy would be compatible with them too (though not a neccesity, as I realise they don't demand the juice that these AKGs do and I'm already getting great results with what I have), but I understand that finding an amp that runs both high and low impedance cans is pretty hard to come by? Driving the AKGs is my priority though.
Many thanks in advance!
Matt