 
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
|
|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
71.22.216.83
In Reply to: RE: I want to update/improve my headphone rig posted by Mike K on May 19, 2014 at 08:51:56
That's a pretty nice rig your've got, from the era when I was into headphones. Certainly it's possible (probably even likely) that you could find headphones more suited to your tastes, but it's going to be difficult (and probably expensive) to ascertain what without attending a head-fi meet.You can increase your chances by taking inventory of what you'd like improved about your current setup. If you want to change headphones, the HD600 are still great but not without flaws. They have a very good overall balance with a good head-stage and airiness. The flaws are that they're not as resolving as the state-of the art. The mids and especially highs are a bit grainy (what folks used to refer to as the Sennheiser veil) -- the HD650 made the highs a bit cleaner (though slightly subdued; the HD650 is a darker headphone) and mids a bit more forward, but there is still a touch of dryness and grain left in the mids (compared to the best headphones). The HD600 bass is good but could stand to be deeper, more powerful, and taut -- the HD650 improved on this significantly. Overall, though, they are sonic siblings. If you want what I've described of the HD650 but with mitigated darkness, the Zu Mobius cable w/ 650 works magic (and that same cable is just awful on the 600 -- with the 600 I preferred smooth warm copper, like the Cardas, which of course was awful on the 650).
As far as your amp, those Singlepowers had a sound quality all over the map, but most of them sound shockingly good when paired with the right headphone, despite their build and reputation. Yours sound like a rather early non-SLAM unit (SLAM used 5687 outputs and had lower output impedance i.e. much more drive); using lower impedance headphones may result in significant distortion.
The HD800 sounds totally different than the HD600 & 650 -- much more detailed/faster but very analytical and somewhat bright. So yeah...upgrading from a system that's nice is hard :(
Edits: 05/19/14 05/19/14Follow Ups:
HD800 also suffers from a "flat" treble. What it does deliver is reasonably good bass and wide, if artificially so, sound stage.
HD650 and, better yet, K-701s worked really well on my MPX3 model.
Observe, before you think. Think before you open your yap. Act on the basis of experience.
I'll give a nod to the 650s and 701s as well.
The biggest improvement I made to my cans was incorporating a Corda Crossfilter into the Bottlehead Crack amp, which drives HD800s. It doesn't help with everything - in fact, on some recordings it's awful, but on others it is invaluable. The crossfilter sends a small, variable amount of signal from left to right with a tiny delay, and vice-versa. It reduces the hole-in-the-middle or ping-pong effect of headphones in a very natural way. The down side is it reduces the perceived dynamics slightly. The circuit is completely passive.
Meier Audio published the schematic for the crossfilter on the web. If you know the input impedance of your headphone amp and the output impedance of your preamp/source, you can simplify it as you won't need the two rotary switches and associated resistors that adjust for this - just install the individual resistors you need for your gear.
WW
"A man need merely light the filaments of his receiving set and the world's greatest artists will perform for him." Alfred N. Goldsmith, RCA, 1922
Post a Followup:
| FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
Top of Page ]
[ Contact Us ]
[ Support/Wish List ]
[ Copyright © 2025, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
