[Bootleg]

I've been a wannabe audiophile for a few years now, listening almost exclusively to conventional home audio systems.

Then it happened: We had a baby.

No more late night listening sessions. No more mid-day listening sessions. No more listening sessions period. But a whole lot of "TURN THAT CRAP DOWN, THE BABY IS SLEEPING!" sessions to make up for it.

Then a buddy of mine steered me to headphones.

I had a pair of Grado SR80's laying around that I had never paid much attention to...I bought a 15 foot extension cord and found a new hobby.

Then I fired up the Visa card.

My headphone buddy, who is tight with the buck (but loose with the product purchase recommendations) made the following suggestions to upgrade from my SR80's:

1. Sennheiser HD650's
2. AKG K 701's
3. Beyerdynamic DT 880's

I bought them all.

Then, feeling the rush, I decided to round out the trio with a pair of (#4 on the list) Grado SR 325i's.

Because I live in Hawaii and chose extremely slow shipping options to economize, only one pair, the AKG's, has arrived so far.

I first plugged them into my Dell's sound card, I was not impressed.

Next, I tried them with my NAD C350 headphone jack...better, but still not glorious...Do they really need time to break in or does the NAD just blow?

I also have a McIntosh MA6900 integrated amp on the way (another story for another day)...wonder how that will sound.

So hearing my frustration with the Dell and the NAD, my friend starts suggesting headphone amps...I bought the following:

1. Benchmark DAC1 USB
2. Headroom Total Bithead
3. Musical Fidelity X-Can V3

None of these have arrived yet.

So far, I'd say that the Grado SR80's top the AKG K 701's in almost every area, especially clarity, but I suspect that this is largely to do with amplification...I will of course withhold final judgment until everything arrives.

I have little to no idea what I'm doing and actually may have a bit more money to blow on this whim (say another $1,000 to $1,500).

Suggestions, thoughts? Predictions as to which amp-headphone pairings will work the best? Advice on where to spend my next $1,500?

Most importantly, WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH ALL OF THIS STUFF ONCE IT ARRIVES? I understand that I should simply listen to it all, but what should I listen to? (I like jazz mostly) What strategies would you suggest to determine the winner(s)?

Mahalo in advance!

 

[nibiyabi]

Whoooa. You got hit hard.

Just spend a good deal of time with all the headphones and see which ones get little to no listening time. Sell those off.

 

[Bootleg]

Will probably eBay some of it!

 

[Kabeer]

*jaw drops* wow!! lol you really got bit hard!!

They all sound like decent kit, once you get the amps im sure youll find one of those headphones sounds pretty decent to you. If you keep them all after that ill think your insane (lol but maybe most people here wouldnt)

 

[microphage]

Wow.... that's all I have to say... WOW

 

[spraggih]

Prediction: at this rate you will have a $2000+ DAC, Supra amp and a pair of R-10s. You will become the highest poster on the for sale thread as within two weeks you would have sold 3-4 headphones, 2-3 DACs and 2 amps.

 

[Bootleg]

once it starts arriving, i'll post some pics...If I can figure out how to.

But seriously...any takes on which amps will sound best with what phones? Anybody use a McIntosh integrated?

 

[bunbut]

I though I spent way too much after I found this place. After read this post, I don't feel bad any more.

 

[Icarium]

DAC1 is a pretty good DAC should keep him satisfied for awhile. At least in comparison to the rest of his gear. Should move it from amp to DAC or source in your sig though duder.

 

[kramer5150]

Not what you want to hear, but it has to be said.....

If I were to pick the top 3 "Must use robust amplification" cans, it'd be the 3 you have there on your list. If I were to pick the top 3 "Don't really need robust amplification" cans, the SR80 would be one of them.

Amp them up before you judge too critically. IMHO your soundcard should sound best with either of the Grados.

 

[mdarnton]

I just did something moderately similar. I've got ER4Ps and SR-80s, and was getting the itch for something a lot better, so rather than do what you're doing and spending a bit here and a bit there, repeatedly, I just jumped to the end, after doing a lot of homework, and got a set of Ultrasone Ed9s, which just came today. Now I need a decent amp, and I think I'll be done, but the amp will have to wait a bit until my wallet recovers a bit, because I'm going to do the same drill I did with the phones. . .

 

[Knockturne]

You should get a balanced XLR cable for you HD650, so you can run it out of the DAC1's balanced XLR outs. There are high quality aftermarket cables for around $300, or you can just get a reterminated stock cable. This would probably sound quite a lot better than running them out of the X-can, and much better than out of the DAC1's headphone jack.

The HD650 has a removeable cable so it's very simple to do this. I wouldn't recommend doing this with your AKGs though, since they're low impedance and the cable is not removeable.

 

[Bootleg]

No love for the X Can? Did I blow it on that one?

 

[skudmunky]

once you decide which headphones you like, I'd bet you can easily resell the others on head-fi without taking to much of a loss.

good luck finding the headphone/amp combo you want!

 

[Sinwerm]

I think the reference about the X-Can V3 is just meant by the fact that you can run the 650s BALANCED from the DAC1 wich many here think of as ultra-highend and the best way to run phones (balanced). The X-can series are really great amps though IMHO. Also if you want to spend a little more money and custom mod it yourself checkeout http://rockgrotto.proboards39.com/index.cgi and http://www.rock-grotto.co.uk/xcanpropage.htm worlds of info there about the X-can. All in all though you made great choices in a short time but WoW what a pile of cash also let all this stuff burn in for awhile before you make any decisions.