Are There Any Audio Enthusiasts on ASSEMbler?

I recently discovered the wonderful world of high quality headphones after listening to my friend's Grado SR-60s. They completely blew my Sennheiser EH150s away. The mids and highs were much more detailed. Same with the bass. While it didn't provide as much as my Senns, it was much tighter and punchy. Anyway, I'm considering picking up a pair of SR-60s/80s along with a PA2V2 pocket amp. I think that's a pretty good starter setup for my laptop and MP3 player. I'd love some input before I plunge $100+ into headphones and an amp.

Happy listening!

 

I wouldn't call myself an audio "Enthusiast" but I'm definitely interested in maybe getting one of these.

And is that pocket amp for making the actual headphones better sounding?

 

Yeah. They help bring out the mids, highs, and bass. The PA2V2 is pretty cheap as well.

 

Cool. I might pick one up. Do you know if SV60s or SV80s and that amp are sold in stores or not?

 

Not that I know of.

 

Hmmm I quite like my Sennheiser headphones, that I bought for a bit over 100 US dollars, and they are smashing too. So you can count me in as an enthusiast too.

 

I like Sennheisers too, but if you get the opportunity to purchase Grado then I certainly would be keen to compare the two closely. What you are saying makes sense as I don't think I've ever heard of anyone disappointed with Grado headphones - definately considered a high-end product.

 

I listen more music in my car than at home.

On my car i have a Pioneer CD / MP3 Player (don't remember which model right now), and a Bomber amp with a subwoofer. Nothing extreme, but it makes me happy.

At home i have an old Nakamichi system, that works great.

 

Nakamichi stuff is nice. The only time I had slight misgivings about them was when I opened up an old Akai DVD player we imported from South Afrika only to discover it was a Nakamichi rebranded. Made me wonder what else got rebadged and whether I could have ended up with a stereo under a different name with the same sort of quality.

I can only assume it was a one off. Also, if I am going to be honest I think there may have been a few differences, however the transport mechanism and control mechanisms remained exactly the same: Here is the £800 (in those days!) Nakamichi. http://www.homecinemachoice.com/reviews/hccreviews/DVDPlayers/Nakamichi/NakamichiDVD-10s.php

If I remember rightly the Akai version cost £150 lol

 

I've been thinking of purchasing quality headphones for a long time now, but never had the opportunity to compare and see which one I would actually go for. It looks like I may give the Grado SR-60s a try.

I seriously never knew such things as pocket amps existed! That's a must have for me then, instead of always tweaking presets & equalizer settings on my Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum card.

 

Hmmm I am fairly happy, with my Dali 7A speakers, I have to my sound system in my living room
And my Luxman amp, is great too.

 

my headphones of choice at the moment are some seinnheiser, also have a nice pair of panasonic for when im out and about, and still got a fantastic pair of tandy (radioshack) headphones that are about 20yrs old that do the job, and my main surround sound speakers are packard bell (rebadged bose) 5.1 with true dolby digital 5.1 and dts decoding, did have a nice set of missions until i my daugher put her finger through the main cone

 

From experience, you don't want to buy expensive headphones and amps if the unit you're plugging them into is cheap. iPods, most laptops, etc. have poor headphone jacks and a noisy signal. If you want the best sound, expect to pay top dollar for every part of the system. Also, don't bother if you're only using it to play MP3s :lol:

Check out the AKG K 701 if you like great headphones. They cost a bomb though, around $350-400. Your best option, if it is available, is to go to a specialist audio retailer and ask to demo their cans. Often, especially high end, much of your decision will be based on how the headphones feel and how your ears react to the sound. It is quite a personal thing if you really want to do it right, everyone has a different experience with headphones depending on their hearing. Don't underestimate the value of comfort either.

 

I'm actually just using a pair of £80 Sony DJ headphones that I have had kicking around since I had them in the studio. Call them multi-purpose. Much cheaper than most DJ headphones at the time, but my guess they'll be worth about £2 on eBay these days lol

The bit about not using on cheap sources and MP3 is one consideration, but then Taucias you hit the nail directly on the head "Don't underestimate the value of comfort..."

A nice pair of light weight, almost impossible to feel on your head cans are a god send no matter what you are listening too.

 

I've taken most of those things into account. My MP3 player is a Creative Zen Vision:M. I've heard good things about its headphone jack. Much better than an iPod's. Later on down the road, I could just buy an interconnect and use its line-in port. Oh, concerning MP3s. Most of my stuff is encoded at 320 VBR. So audio quality isn't a problem.

 

If you're ultra serious about audio then look into FLAC and the like. MP3 is fine until you get to that level.

 

...but you are using MP3s!!! How do you expect to get good quality out of lossy sampling? You understand the principles of MP3 sampling, right?

OK, I know someone who swears by Grado. Sennheiser do some very nice headphones, but to be honest, $100 is cheap. I tested some Sennheisers that were £189 (nearly $400) and they were amazing, both in the response and also the comfort! EH-150s are cheap - around $50 - so it is no wonder these outdo yours! Still, what you're talking about is comparable to spending thousands on a Rega turntable, and using it to play 70 year old 78s.... or to put it in a non-audio context, buying a Ferrari when you live in the Grand Canyon (or somewhere equally rocky / off-roadish)! You have something capable of truly amazing things, and yet you're not allowing it to reach even half its full potential!

 

Is there really that much of a difference between a lossy and lossless format?

 

Enough for one of them to be called "lossy" and the other "lossless"

I still prefer CDs to my iPod. They just sound cleaner to my ears, I guess. And let's not start the vinyl vs. CD debate, because I am definitely not spending any more money to re-acquire my collection.

Also, FLAC is a beautiful thing.

 

lol Taemos I like CDs alot, but I do like LPs alot And well, that is it from my side of town for now