How many prefer headphones to speakers?

I'm planning on upgrading TT and cart (either MM or MC) My budget is $1500-3000 any help is appreciated

I may be wrong in my logic, but getting phones at this time before upgrading some aspects of your intended system would not be appreciated..kind of like putting the horse before the cart. I think I alluded to this in a previous post.

That's why I'm going to upgrade first, then choose my calibre of HP.

Q2
 
I may be wrong in my logic, but getting phones at this time before upgrading some aspects of your intended system would not be appreciated..kind of like putting the horse before the cart. I think I alluded to this in a previous post.

That's why I'm going to upgrade first, then choose my calibre of HP.

Q2
My other sources are digital: For home OPPO BDP-105>Meier Daccord>Corda Classic HP amp and for portable Mac/Amarra>AQ DF> ALO Audio MKlllB+
The HP's I already own

I would like a better analog source, just looking for a little help
 
My other sources are digital: For home OPPO BDP-105>Meier Daccord>Corda Classic HP amp and for portable Mac/Amarra>AQ DF> ALO Audio MKlllB+
The HP's I already own

I would like a better analog source, just looking for a little help

Sorry, I misread your intent.

Q2
 
I'm planning on upgrading TT and cart (either MM or MC) My budget is $1500-3000 any help is appreciated

first thing to decide is, there are basically 2 styles of table

suspended, Lighter, more airy sound, Much harder to set up IMHO, as the plinth is always moving, Imagine trying to set tracking weight or vta on something moving, often need adjustments

solid bass tables or non suspended, better bottom end, Easier to set up, and typically set and forget

There are several good tables in either but since you have a project i will concentrate on the latter mentioned above

With some diligence on your part you will find one of these in your price range, they are all pretty comparable to each other and definite step ups from your current

I would watch for a

VPI used on audiogon, audio asylum and here of course

I wont recommend the scout but they have a very good reputation, I would however recommend either the VPI Aries (any version), or TNT version 3 and up. all of these should include a JMW tonearm (right now there is a scout on audio asylum)

The biggest gain will be cartridge, I would suggest MC they are simply better, if your pre offers mm or mc great if not You will need a step up, being new to this i would suggest staying away from SUT (step up transformers) and look for a well reviewed Phono pre that has mc option

as for cart a superb budget cart is the denon dl103, (my favorite cartridge maker was lyra, but pricey)

Looks like you have HD-800 & HD-650 ??

MY set up is computer to Schiit Uber Bifrost dac, to my ampsandsound SE84 amp, to my Senn Hd-650 I'm loving music all over again
 
first thing to decide is, there are basically 2 styles of table

suspended, Lighter, more airy sound, Much harder to set up IMHO, as the plinth is always moving, Imagine trying to set tracking weight or vta on something moving, often need adjustments

solid bass tables or non suspended, better bottom end, Easier to set up, and typically set and forget

There are several good tables in either but since you have a project i will concentrate on the latter mentioned above

With some diligence on your part you will find one of these in your price range, they are all pretty comparable to each other and definite step ups from your current

I would watch for a

VPI used on audiogon, audio asylum and here of course

I wont recommend the scout but they have a very good reputation, I would however recommend either the VPI Aries (any version), or TNT version 3 and up. all of these should include a JMW tonearm (right now there is a scout on audio asylum)

The biggest gain will be cartridge, I would suggest MC they are simply better, if your pre offers mm or mc great if not You will need a step up, being new to this i would suggest staying away from SUT (step up transformers) and look for a well reviewed Phono pre that has mc option

as for cart a superb budget cart is the denon dl103, (my favorite cartridge maker was lyra, but pricey)

Looks like you have HD-800 & HD-650 ??

MY set up is computer to Schiit Uber Bifrost dac, to my ampsandsound SE84 amp, to my Senn Hd-650 I'm loving music all over again

Thank you, the TT information is very helpful. I had a cheap Pioneer table when I was young so just now getting back into vinyl.
 
we are going opposite directions, I have simplified my life and music listening, sold some 30,000.00 in audio related gear, took 18 months off, now getting into headphones and my 49 year old ears are now showing me all i was missing on open air systems

It took me a while to get over the expansive soundstage loss, but detail retrieval is quickly making up for that. A good amp really wakes up the HD-650
 
I may be the only person on AK that is looking for a TT for my HP's.

1) I want a vinyl source that is as good as my digital sources.

2) I have vinyl that I would like into load into digital that will never be released in CD or are so expensive in CD ($250) they are not affordable in any other form other than vinyl ($15), for example John Stewart.
 
I totally understand, My life was kinda turned upside down, which forces one to look at priority's

If that had not happened i would still have a rather large vinyl collection of all Higher Quality recordings 180 graham or better, and my maplenoll ariadne air suspension table and arm. But we move on or quit !!!!!!!!!!

On the brighter side I'm setting here listening to the cranberries, and it's the absolute best I have ever heard this album
 
Just one more question re. the use of HP's.

Has anyone noticed a substantial difference using the wireless compared to the wired even especially with a better than average audio system?

Q2
 
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There's a noriceable difference on my Sony MDR-1RBT which can be used either way. Wired is better.

Sent from my SHV-E300S using Tapatalk
 
Both have their advantages. My house is small, and after the kids go to bed there is no chance of cranking tunes except on headphones. However for me, headphones can't give that sense of open space that a pair of speakers set 10 ft apart and 10 ft from my chair can.
 
Just one more question re. the use of HP's.

Has anyone noticed a substantial difference using the wireless compared to the wired even especially with a better than average audio system?

Q2

So far I can't say. I've decided not to expand my budget far enough yet to the cans trhee mentioned or others in the range. I've tried some from Denon and Jaybird and found the connecting cable aroumd the back of the neck too cumbersome for IEMs. I might try again come my birthday in July but I also need a new car in the latter part of the next 9-12 months. ;_;

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
 
So, I guess it's situation that probably determines more often than then preference in the choice of earphones.

Like some out there, I DO want to keep the peace, as I think, make that know that some music is meant to be felt with the ample amplitude to create the sonic waves that you more than feel more than hear when that first lick hits squeezes out of the amp.

And like others out there, I want to keep the peace and want to remain living here. Not all appreciate the rift of a Hendrix , the throaty scream of Pearl (either one) or the pounding theme of 1812 reverberating off the walls. I'm not alone, am I?
Q2


no, you're not alone. It seems there is no room for compromise either. I won't watch scandal, dancing with anything/anybody, glee, singing stars of the future-any format, and my wife won't listen with me in my man cave.

Headphones are an option to keep the peace, but for me, that's all they are.
 
no, you're not alone. It seems there is no room for compromise either. I won't watch scandal, dancing with anything/anybody, glee, singing stars of the future-any format, and my wife won't listen with me in my man cave.

Headphones are an option to keep the peace, but for me, that's all they are.


Man, I hear ya. No man is an island when it comes to wanting to play a certain type or music or passage that is MEANT to be felt, rather than just heard!

"Keep the peace"? At times I think many of us feel like... what was his name? Oh yes...Chamberlain. English he was. "Peace at any cost"

Q2
 
I have always had open air systems, and am a fan of the huge presence they portray, also I love a good 3d sound stage I built some systems I was proud to have people listen to. Ive spent in excess of some 25000 dollars with horns and set systems that i thought were very revealing

first time i put on headphones I HATED THEM, for the reasons stated above, They offer what i would call an Imaginary sound stage(which was very hard for me to accept) But time and circumstance forced me to use them and i have come to enjoy there strengths as much as i enjoy an open air system

I found a headphone rig is very similar to open air in regards to synergy, If you pair them with the proper gear they will sing, Headphones are more revealing than even the most high end of speakers. I hear more inner detail and nuance now than ever before

I will someday set up another open air system, but i will keep the phones as well
 
Well put.:thmbsp:

Again, it boils down to a world of sound that one prefers over the other...unless like you, the two can meld together.

Q2
 
no, you're not alone. It seems there is no room for compromise either. I won't watch scandal, dancing with anything/anybody, glee, singing stars of the future-any format, and my wife won't listen with me in my man cave.

Headphones are an option to keep the peace, but for me, that's all they are.


Check for a pm.


Q2
 
Go to a hifi store and try on the AKG-601s or AKG-702s- they don't touch your ear at all, they sit around the ear and many people describe them as essentially weightless. I love mine for the same reason, long listening sessions are easy, your ears don't get hot and bothered and they are in a reference class of their own.
I might be more into headphones if I could find some that are comfortable to wear. I guess I have sensitive ears, at least the cartilage.
 
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