wualta
Orthodynamic Supremus
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2004
- Posts
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- 146
I believe in clarity for Head-Fi thread titles. Well, ya gotta admit it's better than "Help me" with sixteen exclamation marks.
All I wanted to report was that the folks who say "Get an old receiver or integrated amp from the late '70s/early '80s" (in lieu of a multihundred-dollar dedicated headphone amp) may have a point, at least if we're discussing the infamous amp sensitivity of the Sennheiser HD-600.
My 600s sounded perfectly okay out of my best 1/4" headphone jacks (my old Hafler DH-110 preamp and my JE-530 MiniDisc deck), but they really seemed to bloom when fed by my latest eBay plunge back into vintage audio, Radio Shack's (!) Realistic STA-2200 receiver with digital tuner (not the first but a very early one) and MOSFET output stages.
If I hadn't read about such transformations here on Head-Fi I wouldn't have believed it. I compare the difference between headphone outputs on my other gear and the STA-2200 to the difference to my speakers between a decent 60w/ch home-theater receiver and a serious 200w/ch power amp with power supply capacitors the size of beer cans. Much more lively.
Getting the old Shacker for $32 + shipping was a plus. Highly recommended if you can find one, but I'll bet there's some gold to be found among the old Kenwoods and Technics and Pioneers and Sansuis too.
Seems that the Sennheisers, like any reactive load, need an amp with high current capability, and a big old receiver with its 30-pound power supply certainly fills the bill.
Anyone out there using vintage amps for modern 'phones?
.
All I wanted to report was that the folks who say "Get an old receiver or integrated amp from the late '70s/early '80s" (in lieu of a multihundred-dollar dedicated headphone amp) may have a point, at least if we're discussing the infamous amp sensitivity of the Sennheiser HD-600.
My 600s sounded perfectly okay out of my best 1/4" headphone jacks (my old Hafler DH-110 preamp and my JE-530 MiniDisc deck), but they really seemed to bloom when fed by my latest eBay plunge back into vintage audio, Radio Shack's (!) Realistic STA-2200 receiver with digital tuner (not the first but a very early one) and MOSFET output stages.
If I hadn't read about such transformations here on Head-Fi I wouldn't have believed it. I compare the difference between headphone outputs on my other gear and the STA-2200 to the difference to my speakers between a decent 60w/ch home-theater receiver and a serious 200w/ch power amp with power supply capacitors the size of beer cans. Much more lively.
Getting the old Shacker for $32 + shipping was a plus. Highly recommended if you can find one, but I'll bet there's some gold to be found among the old Kenwoods and Technics and Pioneers and Sansuis too.
Seems that the Sennheisers, like any reactive load, need an amp with high current capability, and a big old receiver with its 30-pound power supply certainly fills the bill.
Anyone out there using vintage amps for modern 'phones?
.
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