[magnificat]

No, I'm not an audiophile per se. I've never dedicated significant amounts of money to the pursuit of ideal sound reproduction. Still, this seems like the best place to get advice on the situation before me.

Heretofore, my main listening station has been (I know, horror of horrors!) a computer, outfitted with the top 2-channel setup offered through Dell as of a year ago. This setup has served me more than acceptably for a while now (perhaps because I've never had sufficient exposure to anything better to become addicted!). However, I will be departing for college in approximately a year, and I doubt my dormitory neighbors will be happy to involuntarily partake of none-too-quiet replications of Shostakovich's 7^th. The clear conclusion is that I need a headphone setup. Having no experience in high- or even "mid"-end audio equipment, I ask for advice in choosing a set of headphones that will meet my needs, and in getting the signal from the discs to the headphones themselves.

The setup, incidentally, would be used mainly to play my collection of compact discs, fast-nearing 200 in number and consisting predominantly of classical, with some jazz and miscellany. FM radio ability would be nice but secondary, and computer aduio input would be nice but tertiary. I don't need to play cassettes or vinyl of any type and don't expect that to change.

As far as budget - well, I don't want to get something lousy that won't do justice to my CD investment. Still, price is a serious consideration. I'd say what I could justify spending for the entire setup would likely be measured in the hundreds of dollars (and by that I don't mean "almost a thousand!"). An exact price range would have to be solidified closer to the time of an actual purchase. Right now, I'm exploring my options in advance.

1. What should I look for and what should I avoid in the headphones themselves? Any specific recommendations/warnings?

2. What about the equipment into which I plug the headphones and with which I play the CD? What type of setup should I look at in this price range? I'd rather not just plug the phones into a computer output jack, as that could get inconvenient after a while (tying up the CD drive, which I will likely use more than I do now in the coming years), as well as posing some potential sound quality issues.

3. Suppose I chose to add external speakers for flexibility. What are my options here?

I heartily appreciate any time taken to help with these admittedly numerous and open-ended questions. Please remember that I can't consider setups in the "decent computer" or "automobile" price range; I am, after all, going to college. I simply want as much improvement over my current setup as I can get for the resources I expect to have available, and I'm feeling out the possibilities well in advance of an actual purchase.

[bob82274]

Ah.... dorm life.  I just got done with my first year so I know exactly the problems you face.  First of all you are right in taking the route of the headphones.  Given your musical tastes I would suggest the Sennheiser HD600s.  They are expensive running around $250 street ($400 MSRP) so you may find yourself looking at the 580s or 590s.  Both are good choices.  I have the 600s and absolutely love them.  And did I mention that they are really comfortable?

Now for the source.  For this I have a couple of suggestions.  You said that you have close to 200 CDs.  One of the things that I found difficult was finding storage for all of those jewel cases.  My first suggestion is going out and buying a 400 disk Mega-Changer.  Make sure it has digital out and you will be able to use it down the road with DAC or a receiver.  My other suggestion is buy a huge harddrive for your PC.  I would go with at least 180GB but bigger is always better.  Then I would transfer your disks over so that they are in the WAV format and not MP3.  Now if you have downloaded your music don't bother converting them because you have already lost the musical data that was there.  

Finally there is amplification.  Since what I have suggested is already running you close to $500+ (could be closer to $300 depending on what you actually buy) I would suggest a headphone amp.  If you want a challenge you can build your own and DIYCable.com (a manufacturer that is on Audio Circle) has a simple one that you can build pretty cheaply.  This is a great thing if you are looking at going into Electrical Engineering (i.e. me).  You could also buy one and I'm sure that there are guys here that know more about that than me.  I would suggest a receiver for you but the ones you see in Bestbuy are crap.  I made the mistake of buying a Sony early on and really started to hate it a year or two later.  If you can swing it I personally like Denon's receivers but Yamaha and Pioneer Elite make good ones as well.  

The trade offs for the headphone amp vs the reciever are these.  The headphone amp will most likely sound better but you can only use one source and only use your headphones.  The receiver won't sound as good but you can hook all sorts of stuff up to it and use speakers later on.  

If you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask.  Dorms can present all sorts of problems.

[Tonto Yoder]

http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/index.php?s=589f25b06fca8bc5cdd00dc5c3e11146

They focus on headphones. While you'll find some expensive set-ups, there should also be some budget solutions.  You might consider the Grado headphones like the SR-60's (around $70?) as an alternative to the Sennheisers; Grados aren't as comfortable as Senns, though, and have a different sound to them.

[zachslc]

I would encourage you to just go with the cans in your circumstance.  Don't bother buying any kind of cheap stereo receiver (i.e. stereo receiver in general).  When I first decided I liked audio my dad gave me an Onkyo receiver for my high school graduation.  Within two months it was rekegated to tuner duty.  However you go with the headphone amp, modding it (or building ino it from scratch) a multi-source selector is not difficult  if you can hold a soldering iron.

Check out the head-fi link above.

BTW, while I do not sedond the recommendation of a mega changer as a transport, if you do think that is a good idea make sure it has Coax digital out (as opposed to just toslink/optical).
For budget CD player I think used Marantz is often the best bet, then you can always add an external DAC.

Are your computer speakers those little Harmon/Kardon (naturally, not actually made by HK) jobbers with the subwoofer?  I have those with my Dell, and they are rather decent for background music while writing final papers at 4 am (as I was doing this morning).

[Tyson]

Sennheiser HD600's w/a headphone amp is the way to go.  I also like the Etymotics ear bud headphones.  They are great at locking out the outside world when you put them on.  They aren't "quite" as good as the HD600's, but they are close, and are a lot smaller and less conspicuous.

Then invest in a cheap CD changer and a good DAC, and you are set.

[DrRasta]

Try the aego 2 which can be plugged into the computer.  Great reviews from the high-end magazines and sells for about $299 or so.  Cambridge Soundworks Newton is another alternative, maybe a little cheaper.  I think this is the way to go for a dorm room given the space constraints.

[Rob Babcock]

I don't know if you've considered using MP3, but Witchdoctor has posted at length in the Squared Circle about his PC stereo rig (Music Match Jukebox, GWLabs upsampler & ART DI/O); he rips @ 320 kbps, and claims better-than-CD-results with the DFX plugin.  Now I can't confirm the veracity of his claim, but I think there are some other guys on this board that can vouce for the S/Q of his rig, so I don't doubt it's awesome.  One advantage, speaking from experience, that what you don't have in your dorm room can't get stolen.   I had quite a few CDs ripped off while I was in college, so ripping 'em onto the HD and leaving 'em home w/ the folks may not be a bad idea.

Then go with a nice soundcard, some good 'phones and a headphone amp.  I think a Creek or used Musical Fidelity could be had in your price range.

If you want to then add speakers I don't think you could do much better on a budget than a 3 piece Klipsch Promedia rig.  I'm no fan of Klipsch in general, but the Promedia flat out kills the Cambridge Soundworks speakers, and pretty much everything else I've ever heard that is designed as Multimedia.  You can pick up a set at BB for under $200, and it'd definately rock your dorm room pretty well.

Oddly enough, in my college years I listened to about 50% heavy metal and 50% classical; which half do you think I got more crap over?

[JackStraw]

There's tons of good info at http://headphone.com. Definitely pay attention to their recommendations about which headphones require amps to sound their best. If I were you, I'd look for cans that DON'T require an amp for starters.

After enjoying that for a while, you could look into running a digital output into an outboard DAC.

[Tonto Yoder]

I realize the Sennheiser HD600's are audiophile favorites, but wonder if the HD570 model would be more appropriate for a classically-oriented college student??  Don't know exactly what makes the 570 especially good for classical, but that's the Sennheiser claim.

Certainly the price ($150 MSRP) might be attractive.
http://www.sennheiserusa.com/pages/products/index.htm

[magnificat]

Thanks for the extremely helpful, specific, informative, and almost frighteningly consistent responses. This gives me a great idea of the directions in which I might want to start looking. The forum link promises to be helpful, as do the tips I've received here. From the unanimity of their recommendation, the Sennheiser HD600s look like the undisputed champions of the headphone realm for this application (If they're that good, I'm sure I'll find a way to afford them - somehow!), and I now have some idea of what it's going to take to get the sound from the disc to the headphones.

Responses to specific posts follow.

bob82274

A great set of suggestions. I'm inclined to take the jewel cases rather than pack everything in a mega changer. It wouldn't be too hard to build some sort of storage cabinet for them, and I'm sort of attached to them somehow. The basic setup of Sennheiser HD600s with a headphone amp sounds good, though. Incidentally, where did you go to college? I see you're in my home state of NC.

Tonto Yoder

The forum suggestion is much appreciated. It sounds like it's tailored more closely to my specific needs here - although this forum has been fantastically helpful! I also appreciate the alternate headphone suggestion. I guess it all depends on where I end up going to college. At this point, it'll probably be either Virginia Tech or MIT. I've not visited MIT yet, so I don't know which will end up being my preference when it comes to atmosphere, environment, all the things that make up "fit." If I go to VT, I'll probably get the Senns. If I go to MIT... it may be time to look at budget options. We'll see. I think I'm really starting to want those Sennheisers.

zachslc

Good information about the concept of a receiver. It's also nice to know that a source selector can be easily modded into a headphone amp. I wouldn't be qualified to do that now without step-by-step guidance, but I expect to be majoring in electrical and/or computer engineering (maybe with a double major in music), so I'd probably be able to do any kind of mods by the time I wanted to. And yes, my computer speakers are the small H/K branded ones, shaped vaguely like champagne flutes and having ring-shaped oval bases and a subwoofer. They're surprisingly decent for stock computer speakers.

Tyson

Ah, a seconding of the above recommendations - and an alternate headphone option if I need to consider it, though I've never been that big on earbuds. Muchas gracias.

DrRasta

I'll keep those recommendations in mind, but I think it's primarily a headphone setup that I need. Thanks, though.

Rob Babcock

It's a good point about the theft. Perhaps I could build the cabinet I mentioned above with a door and a place for a lock, and then if I find myself in a secure dorm with (a) trustworthy roommate(s?) then I can simply not use that feature. Fortunately, having a collection in which classical by far predominates would do much, I think, to keep honest non-classical-lovers honest. The MP3 or WAV storage on a computer is an interesting concept - but I'd really like to divorce my music from my computer completely. Besides, if I couldn't protect my CDs from theft, it wouldn't be the best place to have a set of high-end headphones. The speaker recommendation is noted, appreciated, and filed for the potential future. And congratulations on your musical tastes - I respect people who are willing to listen to diverse styles without succumbing to musical prejudice. There are too few of us!

JackStraw
Thanks for the link; it looks promising. Your other comments are noted.

Tonto Yoder (again)
Hmm. That's an interesting comment - and certainly a financially attractive one. I'll have to look into those as well. I really need to find myself a dealer in the area and try some of these things out.

[bob82274]

Magnificat,

I am in the Engineering College at NC State.  I noticed that you are looking at VT and MIT.  VT is a good school and it gets even better if you live in VA.  I looked at it myself.  And obviously MIT is the best no matter what (except maybe CalTech).  But if you still live in NC and are looking at Engineering you can't go wrong with State.  Plus you can use that money you saved while doing Undergrad work to have some fun (not just with audiophile stuff either as you might just get hooked).  I am curious what field are you looking at?

[magnificat]

bob82274, I've responded via email, as I assumed an extended OT post would be unwelcome. I'll post my response here only if requested.

[witchdoctor]

I do indeed get awesome sound from my PC in my home rig. Here is my portable rig which should:
A) Come in under $700.
B) Be totally appropriate for dorm,travel, etc.
C) Sound Awesome.

1) Sennheiser HD 600 cans. Try and get B stock from www.audioadvisor.com
2) Airhead headphone amp from  headroom.com or audiogon.com.
3) Creative Zen 30 gb MP3 player from online e-tailer.

Rip the Cd's on your PC, load them into the Zen and Voila , your whole CD collection in the palm of your hand. Headroom also sells bags that will carry the kit.
Bring it to class and offer the babes to check out your favorite tunes.
Always have some pop, some latin, some Sting, and at least one funny comedy bit.  After they get a taste offer to let them " Download your hard drive."
Have a great time, this will be an awesome way to meet the ladies.

[witchdoctor]

I just checked www.audiogon.com
Sennheiser HD 600- $175

then
Headroom - Total Airhead amp - $159
PC Nation - Zen Nomad 30 gb MP3 player- $268

I would pick up the haeadphones ASAP before they get snapped up and add the rest as budget allows.

[lonewolfny42]

A while back in NYC , at the Stereophile show , heard the Headroom amps with Sen. headphones using a cd walkman. I could not believe how GOOD this set-up sounded !! Must of listened for close to an hour ! Impressive stuff ! !