High End Cans

[Ross F]

Earlier this year we had a thread going on the mortgage-extension priced headphones such as the HD800s and the Ultrasone Edition 8. Nobody actually put their hand up to report a close encounter, and I wonder if there's been progress on that front. I might be persuaded to update my 1981 Stax SRXs (bought second hand) even though they still sound OK.

[Shane Hanify]

Gidday Ross,

 

I've had a very brief excursion with the HD800's and they do sound good - but they need a mortgage busting HP amp to really shine.

 

If you're happy with the Stax, then stay with them. No sense in changing for change's sake.

 

Cheers, Shane.

[nixon76]

Before I considered canning my whole 2ch system I considered going a whole hog headfi setup. Would have gone the Ultrasone (I wanted closedbacks). But the amp to make it shine gets pricey - esp when you want it tubed. A WooAudio it would have been, but which one.....

 

But there is the Audeze which is apparently getting rave reviews as well: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-20022220-47.html

 

But yes, it all gets rather expensive....

[kaka]

 

nixon76;139585 wrote:

But there is the Audeze which is apparently getting rave reviews as well:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-20022220-47.html

 

That's an odd review - hardly puts them up against the standard heavy hitters.

 

I absolutely agree that top notch phones warrant a very good amp.

 

Another very good valve phone amp is this, Nixon. It good some very good press after the 2009 Canjam.

 

What got you interested in Woo? I've always been intrigued by Eddie Current (great name)

[nixon76]

I think a saw a little piece on the top Woo/Stax combo and had a looksee at their site. I liked what I saw, and all seem to review well. The main guy at 6moons has one too so can't be horrible I guess. I like the 'look' (and the fact they have a range) and it sounds like it sounds good - for me a good combo I find some high end head amps a little too amateurish in the looks department*. They probably sound awesome, but it's not something I could ever compromise on

 

But all amps at this level seem to be hand made, so whatever I would have got, I would have requested they drop the 'preamp' part and turn it from an integrated into a pure amp. If you've got a DAC/Pre, no need for a extra volume control (and signal path) on the amp.....

 

Sorry - I seem to have taken this a little OT.

 

* Which is fair enough - it's a niche market and design is probably the last thing on the list to do....

[kaka]

Some extraordinarily useful advice (from HeadFi) for maximising your potential Audeze, Nixon

 

What I honestly think the LCD-2 really need though is purified audiophile air so that the sound waves can travel from the drivers to our ears better, quicker, and with less distortion. PRaT is increased like you wouldnt believe. Air is also highly transparent so for those who like a balanced signature this is key. I think it would sound much better than any of the cable geometries mentioned, and if you think about it, 500$ for a compressed air tank, plus some audiophile air (only the best air from the tip of Mount Everest, hand picked by Yeti of course) would probably only run you a few thousand dollars, and offer hundreds of hours of use.

 

One thing I suggest also is to sit on your cables, so you can squish the distortion out of them as they are on their way to your headphones.

 

If only we still had patrick82 to help us with further techniques, like burying equipment underground for a blacker noise floor.

[Ernie1553552694]

That is bigger than a retweet, Kaka. Do you think the truth might be somewhere in between the review and those er, trenchant layers of, um, air?

[Ross F]

For those of you who appreciate good "cans" have a dip into this

 

http://www.avguide.com/buyers-guide/the-playback-guide-full-size-headphones?src=Playback

[Shane Hanify]

Thanks Ross,

 

that's a very handy link.

 

Cheers, Shane.