Late Night Listening When Wife Wants Music OFF

I would secound Swampwalker with the ear canal type headphones. They work great and sound fantastic. Couple sites to look at are Headphone.com and Headfi.org. Headphone sells package deals and overall are great to work with. On headfi.com you will also find alot of DIY that make great stuff like portable amp etc.

Get a pair of Etymotic ER 4P's. I use these in bed next to my wife all the time...she can't hear a thing, and I hear only the music. I use my ER4P's with an iPod video, and the synergy is very good. I have experimented with using a portable amp, and even using my ER4P's from a high-end headphone amp (my SinglePower PPX3), and the sound from the ER4P's isn't improved that much. For me, they are different from other headphones in the sense that "lowly" amplification works just great for them.

The only way for your wife not to hear a thing is to use canalphones (Etymotic, Shure, Ultimate Ears).

Slight different angle: suggest her to use ear plugs to help lessen the "problem" plus your use of the recommended mentioned equipment. Could be better than the separate rooms options.....it's really up to your particular situation to choose the better solution.

I forgot I am talking to a bunch of engineers...very particular and precise.

O.K., let me try again. This set-up does not have to be absolutely silent, just sorta quiet. You know, like if I prop a pillow between us, I can probably get away with it. I'm talking Miles & Evans stuff - quiet, mellow.

So, starting with the headphones, then to what they plug into (amp?) then music source (IPod?).

Then I want to be able to cram all this stuff into a fanny pack and use it while I wax my car. Let's say the whole shooting match for $1000 or less. Possible?

Thanks again.

Sony Discman with Denon closed headphones, waaayyy less than a thousand. Haven't tried Dakiom's headphone stabilizers but I might.