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Headphone Listeners?

I'm at a bit of a crossroads in my system building, and I'm looking for input from anyone who spends a substantial amount of time listening to headphones--and anyone who can't stand them for particular reasons, too. My current system is modest, as are my means, and having gotten tired of "upgrading" in incremental half-measures I've decided that I want to start gradually building around better gear that's worth keeping. The problem is that I'll be saving a long time to get the gear I want, and in the meantime an excellent headphone rig--and the sound I'm going for--is much more in reach.

I auditioned a pair of Sennheiser HD600s with the Antique Sound Lab MG DT OTL mkIII and LOVED it. It's exactly the sound I want: rich midrange, SET magic, a full bottom end, and slightly laid back highs. The listening I did was a revelation, but unfortunately brief. I'd like to hear from anyone who's spent a satisfying length of time using headphones for most of their critical listening. Since I occasionally use a pair of AKG K501s through my amp's headphone jack and find them a bit too up-front and fatiguing, I worry about listening fatigue being higher with headphones in general. Through speakers or headphones, I listen at 60 to 80 dB max. In my short listen to the Senn/ASL combo I felt I could listen for hours. What are the down-sides?

For context: My current system is an NAD C325BEE with KEF Q15 speakers, fed by a Sony Playstation One, Marantz changer, and Technics/Shure combo through a Cambridge 540P. I've paid a lot of attention to setup and as much room treatment as my wife will go for. The sound is basically satisfying, and aside from an occasional "hardness" in its sound that might still be the room its sins are mostly of omission. If I do go the headphone route now, I'll set it up separately and probably live with the system as stands for another year or more before I begin to upgrade it piece by piece.

If it helps, I listen to about 60% small combo jazz, 20% classical (evenly split between small and large scale), and 20% rock (mostly indie). Thanks in advance for sharing your experience. Are headphones another half-measure or one path to the promised land?
ablang
dcstep
1,518 posts
 
Oppo is a very reasonable digital source for under $200.

Some of don't consider Senns and upgrade from AKGs. ;-)

Make sure you break in those AKGs for at least 100 more hours. I like the Senns ok, but think they're euphonically distorted and they hide details that pop with the 701s. Most of the AKGs DEMAND high quality amps, while the Senns are much more forgiving of the source and amp.

Dave
swampwalker's avatar
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swampwalker
5,132 posts
 
If you want to listen for hours and you like your sound a little laid back, the Senns are a very good choice. The MG is also a pretty decent HP amp. You can run it off the tape outs of your pre-amp and get all of your sources available to you. I've never heard the AKG 501s, but if they are very detailed you may start to hear the limitations of your source. You can get a lot of advice on headphone and hp amp combos at head-fi.org.
soulbrass
246 posts
 
The good news is that very good digital sources are much more common and affordable than in years past! I'd look for a well regarded player that is 2-4 years old (e.g., Arcam, Rega, Creek, Musical Fidelity, Rotel, Denon, Marantz, etc. ). Are you into hi-rez? Really nice universals from Denon and Marantz are available here on AGon for not alot of dough. Cambridge Audio and Music Hall both have nice sounding, entry-level CD players. You can always upgrade later using your choice to supply a digital signal to an outboard DAC.

A good position to be in if you're looking for digital playback... : )
dcstep
1,518 posts
 
Hey Soulbrass, do you play trumpet or 'bone in a soul/funk group? I did so for years in Dallas. I was lead trumpet with the funk/rock/soul group The PitPops. We had a blast. Alas, my move to Denver forced me out of that. I don't miss the late nights of tearing down, but the gigs were a trip.

Dave
ablang OP
165 posts
 
Thanks again to everyone here for responding. I was lucky enough just now to snag the ASL amp on a classified posted today, so it looks like that's my first step into more serious headphone listening--it does seem to be the place where my dollars will stretch the farthest to get true high-end sound. My plan is to start with my AKGs and the Playstation as a source with a switch to the Sennheiser HD600s and an upgraded source soon to come. The Oppo's looking attractive, with the option of a DAC at a later date. Soulbrass: that 2-4 year old range for something swankier is good thinking--I hadn't realized there'd be some Musical Fidelity players at reasonable cost. Since I'm on the speakers forum after all I'll wrap it up with this: the Totem Model One Signatures I fell in love with will just have to wait till my income swells--it's 'phones for now!
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