I just thought I should post all of the gear I use for my home headphone setup and explain what it all does.

Here is my signature on head-fi:

Home: Chaintech AV710(Foobar2k!)--->Headroom Micro DAC--->Canare Mini to Mini--->RAY SAMUELS "THE HORNET"---> AKG K701 and Sennheiser HD580(modded)

I use a Chaintech AV710 sound card. They cost about 20 bucks but have a true digital optical out. This is good because my crappy sound card does NO decoding of the audio. The original signal of the MP3 is retained until it arrives in my Headroom MicroDAC(below).



The microdac is a portable DAC that runs on either 2 9 volt batteries or through a heavy duty wallwart. It decodes the digital signal into a listenable audio signal with astounding precision. I would recommend that anyone using their computer for their main stereo get a nice DAC. While I use it with an optical cable, it can also be plugged right into your computer via USB, eliminating the need for any sound card at all. From here, I use a Canare custom 90 degree interconnect. A head-fi member who's name escapes me made it for me, but it looks great and doesnt mess with the rest of my awesome sounding gear. The canare runs into my amp, which is the Ray Samuels Hornet (below)OHHH CHECK OUT THE POWER CAPACITOR ON THAT BABY!.



The Hornet provides all the power your headphones may need. For normal headphones an amp is generally not necessary, but these headphones have such low impedance that they need a lot of power to drive them. The Hornet provides the needed power. after that, they feed the sound into my headphones, which is where the audio nirvana happens. The headphones are at the top of the thread and the sound I get out of this rig is A++++++. The microDAC was $299, the Hornet was $299, the AKG 701s were $244, the interconnect was $10, the Sound Card was $20 and the Optical Cable was $22. All together that comes to $894. So yeah, be ready to spend if you want to experience audio ecstasy.

pittm,

i know we spoke about headphones earlier, but just wanted to confirm, the Ultimate Ears Super.fi 3 Studio Earphones are what you would recommend?

I had shure e3cs, but they were stolen and I don't really feel like spending ~200 on headphones anymore. I'd prefer IEM or buds because I'd like to work out in these headphones too. Basically, good bang for buck headphones with good quality that a non-audiophile would appreciate is what I'm looking for.

-nation

ps: also not interested in headphones that need amps or any stuff like that. i didn't read enough into it to see if they're necessary, but i just use them for poker and working out, as i said, I'm no audiophile.

for all the requirements you had, yes, i would say the super fi 3 works perfect.

on RJ's advice for X-mas I got a pair of the UE's (the Super.Fi5 EB's) and I love them. If I had to do over again I'd def get the pro's though as there are times where its "to much" bass when its in the ear however there are 100% awesome other wise. The great thing is the noise cancel you really can't hear a damn thing when you got them in and got music going even at a lower level.

Pitt,
I'll be stuck in supplemental housing in a dorm next year with about 5 other kids, and when playing poker want everything they say/listen to drowned out. Price isn't really a consideration (although spending 500+ seems unnecessary as I'm won't be producing music or anything.) It seems as though Bose makes the only noise cancellation headphones, but they have an absolutely god awful reputation. I also put in some long sessions ~8 hours, and canal head phones seem to get uncomfortable over those long periods. My question is basically will a Closed Circumaural get the job done or do I need the bose noise cancellation?

Here's my preliminary top 3

http://www.headphonereviews.org/headphone.php?action=view&headphoneId=1

http://www.headphonereviews.org/headphone.php?action=view&headphoneId=86

http://www.headphonereviews.org/headphone.php?action=view&headphoneId=41

Unless the noise cancellation is a must, these seem like solid choices. Also is an amp at all necessary if I solely plan on listen to mp3's through my computer, and occasionally iPod? Also thanks for your time.

The Sennheiser's you link to are open, not closed.

I have a pair of HD280 Pros. I can definitely confirm that you can't hear any outside noises if you're listening at a semi-decent listening leve.

Hi guys. I am a complete headphone noob and have always just put up with the stock ones that come with my audio equipment. After buying a decent mp3 player I'd like to actually hear my music something like it's meant to be heard.

I want to use them for things like freeskiing and gym training as well as general use, and I don't really want to be spending over $200.

I tried looking through some of the recommendations in this thread but got confused with people saying so many different things.

Would the ones nation is going for be suitable for my needs?


[edit] oh, and I listen to music with rich bass so would need something that is ok for that

heres the text of a superlong pm i just typed up for jablue's home stereo needs.

Like i said before, a lot of this depends on your willingness to go without surround sound. since i despise everything about surround sound, i will proceed as such.

As far as dormroom speakers go, some nice bookshelf ones are pretty much exactly what you need.

These are fantastic bookshelf speakers.

I really really love KEF. i think they make some of the best speakers on the planet, and the ones above are pretty impressive imo. If you end up making a large home theatre room or something down the road, you can still use the bookshelf speakers in your room to listen. But getting floorstanding speakers for a dorm room is beyond overkill.

In my mind, the system you would get would be something like this.

Music plays from computer or ipod. Then you can connect the computer/ipod through an rca to mini cord and plug the rca into your amplifier. From there, just hook the speakers to the amp and you have a super simple system.

The hardest thing to decide on will be a reciever/amplifier without a doubt. I would say buying an integrated amplifier beats a reciever in a few ways.

1) most modern receivers use way too much electronics and the signal has to travel through way too many filters and all that crap. the easiest way for me to think about electronics is to visualize the audio signal moving along the wires and circuit boards. the more components it has to move through, the more it degrades.
2) Integrated amplifiers are more powerful. and while youre not going to be blowing down the walls in a dorm room obviously, that extra power will give you a richer, less tinny sound even at lower volumes.
3) recievers have an eq, integrated amplifiers usually dont. This is because amplifiers are usually tuned correctly. and if you really want to use an eq and youre using a computer and ipod, they both have built in eq's anyways.



The amp is where you will be spending the money.

I mean, you could spend like 900 bucks and get a rega mira, which is like the best consumer level amp like ever. or you could go with something around 500, like a marantz PM7001. This is really up to you. I really wish i could recommend places to go listen, but there is a severe lack of them.

The only place that really comes to mind is century stereo in saratoga. Century is probably the craziest audio store i have ever been in. They specialize in home theater installations for the ultra rich(jerry rice and ronnie lott were mentioned to me as clients). But they also sell small 2 channel systems. I know they carry an amp that you should really check out. I believe its called the Integra ADM 2.1. I just called there and the clerk said it was $399. Which is a pretty sick price for it. I would say go down there, and ask them if they can hook it up to a couple different sets of speakers for you to listen to.

the other option is to find an electronics store that specializes in used stuff. This is how i built my system. there is a store in santa cruz that some guy runs out of his house. I went in and he had 5 marantz integrated amplifiers sitting in a stack. I bought a 1970's marantz 1060b. Which is a ridiculously powerful, awesomely old and bright sounding amplifier for like 200 bucks and i think i paid the same price for my speakers. To be honest, amplifiers were made just as well, if not better in the 70s as they are today. Too many companies now sue cheap japanese electronics that kind of underproduce in the power department.

If the system is good for music, it should work great for movies. I just never liked surround sound and i just remember watching star wars and trying to believe the tie fighters were flying past me and hearing the sound behind me, but it never really struck me as believable.

Okay, i think thats all i can type about audio.

hope that helped.

ursine, sorry, i didnt see your post before. Nation got the ultimate ears super.fi 3's. These would work fine. However, ultimate ears makes a bassier headphone. the super.fi 5eb(extra bass i believe). This might be worth looking at, although theyre listed at $199, while nations were listed at $99. These are retail prices and you could easily find cheaper ones. ie. on amazon.

anyway, i want to second, well, everything RJ said here. he's obviously really knowledgeable, but i did exactly what he's suggesting when i went away to school and don't regret a thing.

to add; if any of you are thinking of getting a nice 2-channel system and are anywhere near Audio Outlet, in Mt. Kisco, NY , they were fantastically helpful in letting me listen to stuff and make a decision about what to buy. though they tend to specialize in things way outside of a price range I was considering, they were nothing but fantastic and knowledgeable about things I could afford, and being able to sit in a real listening room and hear the really outrageous audio gear out there was definitely cool.

Thanks again for the advice a while back in that thread I think, I do remember it. Enjoying my e4cs by Shure, they are one of the best things I own.

I'm having some problems with my earphones and thought someone here might be able to help me or figure out what's going on. I have a pair of Shure e500s and about three weeks ago I experienced a sudden significant drop in volume in the left earbud. I realize this is common and is most often caused by wax buildup. I cleaned the hell out of the inside of the earbud but nothing changed. Several days earlier I had whacked my 'phones on a table and chipped off a piece of the outer casing on the left earbud. I assumed I had damaged the internal electronics and was looking into sending them to Sure for repair when yesterday they started working fine again--for about 15 minutes. After that time there was a sudden drop in volume in the right earbud--the left one now sounds as good as new. I'm sure this has nothing to do with my ipod because my other headphones sound fine (just not as good

Update--the loss of sound in the right earbud was caused by wax buildup and is fine now. I still have no idea why the left one would suddenly start working again though.

I've had 4 sets of earphones (different brands) where 1 earbud just stops working. Usually it starts off working intermittently and after a while completely stops producing sound.

Anybody know why?

I have the E2C's and initially they were very snug and comfortable inside my ear, but now as I use them more and more I feel a dull sore pain in my ear. Earlier in this thread I read to put them deep into your ear to achieve the best quality of sound, are in ear headphones just not for me?

Try switching to a different attachment. So if you're using the plastic ones, switch to the foam. Or vice versa. I think most people find the foam sleeves the most comfortable. If you've tried many attachment types and sizes and it's still not comfortable, then yea they probably are just not for you.

I've got a pair of Hd650s and a gilmore lite amp for using with my PC. I'm looking to get a new sound card - any suggestions? Also, anyone got any suggestions on a decent upgrade cable for the 650s?

I have the etymotic's and I love them. I believe a large portion of the complaints that come about with these headphones is that they are not worn properly.

When wearing these buds, you need to slide them deep into your ear, at first it seems uncomfortable but if you read the directions on how to put the headphones on it makes all the difference.

Link can be found here. http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er6i.aspx

Best sounds I have ever heard from a headphone and actually better for your ear because of the amazing noise cancelling. I could have these headphones on with no music playing and still not be able to hear anything around me. It's like earplugs with great sound.

I am using an M-Audio sound card. The E-MU 0404 seems
popular and the Chaintech AV-710 is a cheap option.
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_u...2496-main.html
http://www.emu.com/products/product.asp?category=505&subcategory=491&p roduct=10447
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829120103

I'm happy with the Cardas cable on my 650s.
http://www.headphone.com/products/cables...-hd650-10ft.php

There should be ample discussion about amplifiers.

Buy a microDAC and you can use it as a usb soundcard and it will be the best youve ever heard.

I didnt really like the cardas cable when i listened to it. I;ve heard good things about the Zu cable. Check that out.

1. i need a new pair of earbuds, i live in nyc and ride the subway so the noise cancelling earbuds sound perfect. my budget is $100, whats a good pair to get?

2. i need new basic speakers for my new apartment now that ive moved out of the dorms where I couldnt play loud music. Budget is 100-150, what should I get?

Thanks a lot, didnt really know where to start looking and I figured one of you would be able to tell me whats a good value pretty easily.

ok, i'm a total n00b, but here we go:

i'm looking into buying the sennheiser hd-555's b/c that is about how much i want to spend.

two questions:

will these sound good w/out an amp, and do they fit all the way around your ear. i find ones that don't uncomfortable.

i don't really want to buy an amp, but just the headphones. i'll be using them mostly for my zen mp3 player.

edit: i wouldn't mind an amp if i could get one for this cheap. it's only $20...will it make a significant difference?


web page

1. Here. Assuming that when you say "noise cancelling earbuds" you mean "canal phones"

2. Celestion F15. A quick google search found a price tag of $113. You really should be spending MUCH MUCH more for speakers, but yeah, these are pretty sweet. I actually bought new bookshelf speakers YESTERDAY, they are Usher S520($400) which are just absolutely ridiculously awesome speakers for the price. just a recommendation for anyone else interested.