looking for new headphones

brooklyn · « **Reply #20 on:** 5 Feb 2013, 06:30 pm »

Thanks for the last two reply, the Dragonfly looks like a cool option when the Dac time comes to pass.

The Beyerdynamic 880 are high Ohm and I will need an amp right away.

I am leaning heavily towards the Grado's at this point but before I but down the long green. I have one more question.

I was thinking of going up the Grado line to the 225's or 325's, are they worth the extra cash or should I just stick with the 80's?

Regards,
Jerry

eclein · « **Reply #21 on:** 5 Feb 2013, 07:53 pm »

We have been able to modify Grado models like 60 and 80 to sound as good as 225's, Its a bit of work-not easy, I'd get 325's right off the bat. Ajzepp and I along with others I'm sure are the big Grado guys......I haven't used mine lately since the Amperiors came but they are awesome none the less.
Just my .02...

saisunil · « **Reply #22 on:** 5 Feb 2013, 09:27 pm »

Shure 940s are great all around headphones for me ...
http://www.amazon.com/Shure-SRH940-Professional-Reference-Headphones/dp/B004MTE7EK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360099319&sr=8-1&keywords=shure+940

Or go down a notch to Shure 840
They have 1/8" jack - they sound good unamped and scale up with better amp and source.

You are welcome to listen - if you are in Jersey or take care of shipping and listen to them in your own rig ...

Grados are love it hate it type - some find them comfortable and some can't stand them for more than a few minutes

AKG 701/2 need recabling and proper amp (and 200-300 hours of burn-in) for them to sound good

Good luck
Sunil

Douger · « **Reply #23 on:** 5 Feb 2013, 10:22 pm »

I am one of the big Grado guys! I have had 60's and 225's for 10-12 years. My 225's sound wonderful, nice balance but rough compared to the 325's. The 325's will get you into the magic bigtime, but probably need 60-100 hours to smooth out. If I had not discovered head-fi I could probably be quite happy with them alone...
The headbands are flexible and can be adjusted for most heads. They are worth working with...

brooklyn · « **Reply #24 on:** 13 Feb 2013, 06:45 am »

Hi everyone, I finally decided on and ordered the AKG Q701’s from amazon for $240.00 clams, while many people praise the Grado sound, I couldn’t bring myself to order them. I didn’t care to much for the retro look of the Grado’s and there was other little things like the rotating ear cups and the split wire going to each.

I do like the fit and finish of the AKG’s and own a pair of the older K240 and they feel great on my head so Q701’s should feel very similar. I also like the idea of the airy and broad soundstage they are supposed to be capable of.

Lastly, on a former post I started in December titled headphones and amps, ajzepp and hibuckhobby made the case for better headphones. I also sent an email to Schiit about pairing up an amp and dac to the SR80i. Jason Stoddard was nice enough to answer back with this reply.

“I'd consider upgrading headphones before spending money on an amp or DAC--not that the SR80s are bad at all, it's just that the biggest change will always come from the transducer. If you're totally happy with the SR80s, our best matches are Magni/Modi and Bifrost/Asgard.”

Well, that was the clincher for me so upgrade I did to the Q701’s.

Once I have a few hours on them I will decide which piece of Schiit I will be using with the headphone. LOL

Regards,
Jerry

Noseyears · « **Reply #25 on:** 13 Feb 2013, 08:34 pm »

Quote from: brooklyn on 13 Feb 2013, 06:45 am

Once I have a few hours on them I will decide which piece of Schiit I will be using with the headphone. LOL

Regards,
Jerry

The Magni/Modi seems like a good way to go, alternatively the M-stage (BCL clone)

enjoy your new cans!

ajzepp · « **Reply #26 on:** 14 Feb 2013, 01:30 am »

Jason from Schitt is a class act. When I bought my first pair of headphones (Sennheiser 518) in November of 2011, I actually had contacted him much like you did. To his credit, he provided me the same service that he provided you...and his response was much the same. He could have easily pushed an amp on me, but instead of gave me a free dose of honesty and integrity. I haven't become a Schitty customer yet, but at some point I will, and I have not forgotten the way he handled my situation. Kudos to Jason!

brooklyn · « **Reply #27 on:** 14 Feb 2013, 04:37 pm »

That wasn’t the response I was expecting but he is right on the money. I will be buying something from Schiit when the time comes. Yes, I agree, Jason is a class act.

eclein · « **Reply #28 on:** 14 Feb 2013, 09:48 pm »

I have an Asgard and once in awhile I think I should sell it because its not used that much. Then I listen to it and go "no way!!".....LOL.
The suckers get really hot though as they say, its definitely a top of the stack piece for ventilation.

adydula · « **Reply #29 on:** 15 Feb 2013, 12:44 am »

I am fortunate to have the Grado 325's and the 702's and the q701's...I had a Schiit Asgard and a Schiit Lyr...
sold them and have an O2 amp ...or Objective 2 amp....really, really good.

http://www.jdslabs.com/item.php?fetchitem=O2Full

All the best
Alex

Note: The designers site: http://nwavguy.blogspot.com/

cujobob · « **Reply #30 on:** 15 Feb 2013, 04:06 am »

O2 is worth buying? Does it compare well with more expensive units?

adydula · « **Reply #31 on:** 16 Feb 2013, 03:06 am »

The O2 compares very well against headphone amps costing much, much more....take the time to read the designers blog and take a look at the design goals, how they were determined and how this amp does against them.

I sold all my other amps after I built my first O2. I liked it so much i bought another.

I have compared it to many other amps, this amp is totally transparent, it does nothing to the signal except amplify it...many headphone people look for the amp that makes there cans sound good, its a game that is played by many of us, thousands of questions about what set of cans which what amp makes for audio nirvana.

With the O2 the amp is about as good as it gets with 98% of the headphones out there....I didnt believe it so I built one and compared it to my other amps....they cost more, they didnt sound any better, in fact they sound colored etc and they are now gone.

With the O2 you can buy a set of cans and heart what they sound like, and then get a different set of cans and see what they sound like, vs buying an amp to make a set of cans sound the way you want them to...its back to the what the transducers can do and what source material sounds like.

I highly recommend it.

For the low cost of it, you can go wrong, unlike paying $1,000+ for an amp then wishing you had not....the O2 you can sell and not loose your shirt if you for some reason do not like it.

Its not a mechanical giant in build terms, ie case, switches etc...but it works sonically very well...transparent and totally silent.

Hope this helps..
Alex

dB Cooper · « **Reply #32 on:** 16 Feb 2013, 02:36 pm »

Also, if you don't like the case the O2 is sold in, you can buy a bare (or stuffed) board and build it in an enclosure of your choice (I note adydula built his). For instance one mild annoyance with the O2 case design is the power entry on the front panel which crowds it. I don't know why it isn't on the back but there you have it.

I second everything adydula said about the O2's performance. I don't have one (yet) but had a borrowed one here for several weeks. Was VERY impressed. Holding off waiting for the ODA to come out but there hasn't been a peep on nwavguy's blog in nearly a year. May give up and get the O2 (don't know how much better the ODA could- or needs to- be) but I know that if I do, the ODA will come out a week later

eclein · « **Reply #33 on:** 16 Feb 2013, 04:21 pm »

db that's what will happen to me also, buy it, newer model the next day!!!
Are the 02's small enough to carry with an ipod as a portable setup??
Same with the dac/02 combo, is it too big to carry around or not??

adydula · « **Reply #34 on:** 16 Feb 2013, 09:13 pm »

The ODA, will not be much better sonically, but will is intended to be NOT portable at all, ie no batteries.

On the designers blog there is discussion about what it "could" be etc....

The mini 3.5 mm jacks are small and they are , well not the mechanical giants of the industry...and even though the MTBF or number of inserts is in the thousands, its kind of el cheopo etc....but sonically not an issue.

I use a 3.5 to 1/4 6 inch extension cable / adapter....and keep it plugged into the o2 amp and plug my cans into this cable...so there is no strain of the cable on the 3.5mm adapter or pulling on the amp at all.

http://www.amazon.com/Hosa-MHE100-5-Headphone-Adapter-Extension/dp/B000068O6B/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1361049048&sr=8-4&keywords=3.5mm+to+1+4+inch+adapter

You can easily make an ODA with a larger case and wire in RCA's, a 1/4 jack, mover the power to the rear etc....and there is a guy up in the northeast that does this, I could find the name etc...he has a site. may flower electronics i think....

JDS doesnt do this....part to the licensing deal with the O2 designer..

The ODAC which is designed buy the same person is a $99 USB Dac that is in the same league as the amp...and works very, very well as well..

All the best
Alex

cujobob · « **Reply #35 on:** 16 Feb 2013, 09:39 pm »

Now I want an ODA -_- lol

Thanks for the info guys...haven't had as much time to dive into head-fi and read up on all of these things. The only headphone amp I've had was the RSA Predator which I liked a lot, but sold off when in a financial pinch.

cujobob · « **Reply #36 on:** 16 Feb 2013, 09:43 pm »

The C5 (shown in a blog post today) looks to be quite interesting. Since it seems the designer of the O2 fell off the map, I don't know when any new ODA would come out. Hmm.... C5 or O2...

mucore · « **Reply #37 on:** 16 Feb 2013, 09:55 pm »

I would recmended Sennheiser's HD650 for I've got one and it sound nice to me and it just fit your budget.

eclein · « **Reply #38 on:** 17 Feb 2013, 10:55 am »

That new C5 is sharp looking....I like the Red myself.....man-0-man so many options out there.

adydula · « **Reply #39 on:** 17 Feb 2013, 06:08 pm »

The O2 is $144.

The new C5 is $189.

The O2 can run off of (2) batteries or a AC to AC adapter,
The C5 uses a 1200 ma LION battery that is re-charged via USB connection.

The O2 is the 'purist' amp built with emphasis on benchmark performance and low cost.
It has no bass boost. This would be against the design principles etc....
Its totally transparent...it doesnt have any sound of its own...

The C5 has a new all digital volume design that seems to eliminate channel imbalances at very low volumes
especially with very sensistive IEM's.

The C5 also has a bass boost feature, again something the designer of the O2 would not do IMO.

The O2 was an excercise in proving to the world that a great amp for headphones does not have to cost an arm and a leg, that the actual design layout is very, very important to the performance of the final product and less is more.

Even though he has disappeared from the 'visable" world...his blog is still intact, the circuit schematics and parts list are readily available. I even have one of my O2's in a "red" case!! LOL.

Take some time a read his design philosophy...what he determined as far as specs are that really do have an impact or affect on the signal etc....he upset some folks out in the community but if you can look by that there is a lot to learn on his blog.

There are also hundreds and hundreds of post on this amp at DIY Audio site....

I am sure the C5 I am sure will be an great amp as well....but I want to see the specs compared to the O2 and I will most likely get one to do a side by side comparison as well.....

The neat thing with headphone stuff is these amps dont cost thousands of dollars and you can more afford having more than one around to play with!!

ok now I have to go a replace some 6800uf 63V electrolytics in a "humming" sub-woofer!!

All the best
Alex