It’s tough to find great sounding closed-back headphones with enough isolation to listen to them while the TV is on. 90% ish of over the ear headphones are open or semi-open, maybe more. Slim pickings. We could both hear the other’s audio. Quiet passages in Jazz and Classical especially so. Specs for isolation are generally unpublished.Figured I’d enter this in this thread as it pertains pretty well.
I’m new to the whole idea of headphone amps but after my recent experience I am a sold puppy.
Background first. I have a pretty nice everyday system but the problem is that wifey does not want to listen to music 24/7. She likes her tv programs in the evening. You obviously can’t blast SRV when the tube is in the same room as the stereo. So being the brilliant guy I am I thought why not add headphones and solve the problem. For research, besides the net, I have a friend that is, uh, how do I characterize him, fully committed to audio, that’ll work. I asked him about headphones and of course he turned me on to headphone amps. Went over to his house to check a couple systems out. He’s a Schiit freak (as I am becoming after listening and owning pretty much all their DACs not to mention they are very close) and has two systems, one is a little mini stack consisting of a Modi DAC, Loki pre and a Vali amp. Tried 3 different headphones and it sounded great. The other is simply a Lyr 3 with the DAC card. When I plugged into that the decision was made. If there’s one thing I’ve learned with Schiit, the bigger the box the better it sounds. Sold.
Now for the listening review. If there’s one album that gets a bad rap it’s the live Yes album, Yessongs. I love that album but if you don’t have a good system it’s a bit tough to hear everything. I’ve even heard some call it unlistenable. I heard that album a whole lot of times since I was a kid but listening to it through the Lyr 3 and some Audio-Technica headphones it’s like I heard it for the first time. You can hear all the instruments separately and well. Chris Squires bass came through loud and clear in places I’ve never heard him before. It was great.
I’m now in the process of figuring out what tube I like best or the ss tube that Schiit has.
So the upshot is I’m sold on headphones and headphone amps.
In keeping with the thread here’s the mini stack and my Lyr3.
Nice. The Sines's likely would have been my next stop had I not kept the Monolith's. Then again lately I've been thinking about selling off my surplus gear and go for the LCD-XC's.My name is Marc and I’m an addict.
Been listening to headphones for the past few hours today.
Ended up buying a set of Audeze Sine’s. For me they were the cleanest most uncolored, unmuddy pair I’ve heard that I felt like affording (450). They are crystal clear, comfy and light.
Also eliminate outside noise real well.
I’m listening to them as I write this and am liking them more and more.
Careful. That is a Dynaco ST-35 power amp. 17wpc. Nice sounding little tube amps. New driver boards are available using easier to find and better sounding small driver tubes along with much better metal film resistors. Those old carbon comp resistors can drift off spec. That amp is on my "want to build one" list.Recently switched to this after my other headphone amp went down. It's doing a pretty good job driving my Sennheiser HD650s; not sure how it'll perform with more demanding headphones like my AKG K240 Sextetts, but I think it'll be able to handle them.
As I mentioned in my other post, I use a 'headphone interface' between the tube amp and the headphones:Careful. That is a Dynaco ST-35 power amp. 17wpc. Nice sounding little tube amps. New driver boards are available using easier to find and better sounding small driver tubes along with much better metal film resistors. Those old carbon comp resistors can drift off spec. That amp is on my "want to build one" list.
Those little ST35's are nice sounding amps. I've been looking for one of the CD players like what I see at the left of the picture. Philip's or Magnavox branded?As I mentioned in my other post, I use a 'headphone interface' between the tube amp and the headphones:
The big 8 ohm resistors load the tube amp, and the 100 ohm resistors bring the output down for the 'phones, while the volume control moderates things further. I added a toggle switch to allow for going between headphones and speakers without having to disconnect and reconnect wires. The output of the amp never goes much above 1 watt according to my Realistic APM-100 wattmeters. Here's a picture of my computer desk system, with the headphone interface behind the CD player (and below the orange flip clock):
It's a Magnavox FD-1000, which is a rebranded Philips CD-100. Found it at a hamfest several years ago for all of $10. The CDM0 transport still works fairly well, though it can be balky with CD-Rs, and it sounds pretty good. Some of the markings are worn off around the buttons, but it's in decent shape otherwise.Those little ST35's are nice sounding amps. I've been looking for one of the CD players like what I see at the left of the picture. Philip's or Magnavox branded?