Headphone amp questions from a first timer :S

[bmxargh]

Just had a pair of Grado SR80i's for xmas after audition a fair few on the build up to the merry break. I know their not the top of the range but hey beggars can't be choosers but I am loving them to bits!

Using them mostly (time wise as time is limited) with my Cowon D2 (J3 in a few months I hope!!) for the dog walks (live rural so open back and noise isn't an issue in fields of nothing). But also using them with my dated HiFi system :S



Now hears the questions and excuse my newbie headphone numptyness



1.Would it be worth me buying a headphone amp I know there not top of their range headphones ?? ......System: Marantz CD63 signature/Arcam Alpha 6+/Heybrook Haystacks (told you its old, but it still sounds pretty good I reckon for the money/age and I bought new lol).......



2. Was considering the Musical Fidelity X Can V3 its valve and reckon would suit the Grado's, what you think?? Can get one 2nd hand for a reasonable price.



3. The Arcam Alpha 6+ is a bit of a pain in the bum (but still nice!) as the speaker 1 route is hard wired so the speakers stay on when headphones are plugged in. Now you can use the Speaker 2 option wiring and the bypass switch which I can and will do but not if I can avoid it.........

I know you can go CD - Intergrated amp(Arcam) - Headphone amp......... but could I go CD - Headphone amp - Intergrated amp(Arcam) instead and thus avoid the whole speaker issue without losing quality to my separates set up??

I am guessing not and this is the most stupid question I have asked :S



Any help and answers to questions massively appreciated and any recommendations of Headphone amps that would suit etc too.....



Thanks in advance "a loving his Grado's"
BmxArgH

[PinkFloyd]

With the Grado 'phones you would actually be better off with something like a Cmoy or a Neco portable. The X-CAN V3 (IMO) is more suited to higher impedance 'phones like the Sennheiser HD-600. The dedicated Grado amp (The RA1) is nothing more than a very simple circuit (some say "crap") but apparantly it drives Grado 'phones very well:

Inside the Grado RA1:



I would be inclined to go for something like this much better quality than the Grado RA1 and a LOT cheaper too!

[Deleted]

HA in general give improvements in SQ.
The Cowon WILL benefit from an amp, even a portable amp because of the construction of the HA output on this device.

Which amp to buy is a personal thing and dependent on musical taste, sonic preferences, audio religion, usage (portable/desktop), tube, Solid State or hybrid, secondhand/new, budget to name but a few.

[bmxargh]

I was thinking more of the worth of adding a headphone amp to my system and the benefits....... rather than a portable version though I had looked at the cmoy's and been tempted just to see at the price......the RA1 is out of my price range really for now.....Funnily enough I had looked at that very CMOY but know far to little about them to know if they were/are any good..

Are you both saying that it would be worth using the Cmoy with my HiFi system as well as with the Cowon and I would see a benefit there too??

Thanks chaps feeling a little stupid here but am trying to learn more to do with headphones and there amps as I am enjoying a more than extra enthusiasm with my music since the headphone purchase and it was big enough anyway!!!!

Keep the advice coming please

[Deleted]

for portable The Neco is recommended as are most other C'moy.s
For mains fed amps this is a very nice amp.:
cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320598410798
or this one:
cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320593272102 (better text on it)
they are the same internally and from the same seller.

It says portable, but it's not battery fed.
You can take it with you, that's the only portable thing about it.

[Deleted]

Bmxargh, i have the Neco portable with the 8610 op amp, works superbly with my Cowon D2 driving my Grado PS 1000`s. Its a very nice sounding well built little Amp, battery lasts for ages on a full charge, should suit your Grado`s just fine.

Mick.

[bmxargh]

This little Neco amp looks very tempting and I wasn't really looking for something to walk round with lol, dinky in size and a cool price too.
By the looks of it I'd need to purchase a cable to connect the Cowon to it as it doesn't come with one.......... would want a nice one but don't even know what you would call that cable to search....bit more help guys?? Quality one??


Only downside is it doesn't have the pre amp inputs to connect my cd player :S but then the other one suggested does.....but I can't walk round with that

Is there a small one of the same quality that does both?? I know I'm knew to this but there are few and far between reviews and I can't audition these little independant makes and now you have tempted me with a mobile one.......but if it was worth it sound quality wise that would be worth connecting to my integrated amp/cd player too.........

Dog walk soon and some tunes!!!a confused but happy
BmxArgh

[PinkFloyd]

I don't know anything about the Cowan D2 (maybe Helliharris can chip in here) but hooking it up would be something along the lines of this:



From the sounds of it a portable is not really what you are looking for.... for dog walking duty the headout of the cowan will be fine, you don't want to have to strap an amp onto yourself.... Dog + headphones + amp+ cowan is a lot going on at once , we don't want you or the dog getting hit by a passing bus

The X-CAN V3 is a lovely amp but I think an X-Can V2 may be a better match for the SR-80.... only thing with the V2 is the output coupling caps are 220uF (non polar) so the cutoff frequency with low Z 'phones will be about 20Hz.... better to replace them with 1000uF (non polar) which will take it down to 4.9Hz.....

May just be me but I have never been comfortable with Grado 'phones via the X-CAN V3... I find the sound too bright and grating.... the V2 is a more "rounded" sound and injects a bit of (much needed) warmth into the Grado 'phones.

I could sit here all night recommending amps but, at the end of the day, need to know your musical tastes / do you prefer warm or neutral.... blah blah blah, etc. etc. etc.

There is no "one size fits all" when it comes to headphone listening, our ears are as unique as our fingerprints.... one thing I will say though, if this is your first venture into the world of headphone amps then definitely buy secondhand.... there are some really good bargains to be had on ebay.... don't think that "new" means better, 9 times out of ten "new" means a stripped down version of the amp that went before it at a hiked up price

The amp that Frans pointed out gets VERY good feedback here from a few of our members, I haven't tried it myself but it sure does seem a great buy.... you wouldn't go far wrong buying one of them.

Mike.

[PinkFloyd]

This one cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320593272102 should be pretty good with the SR-80

[pjc68]

Kimber cables are the best i have heard.
www.russandrews.com/
paddy

[PinkFloyd]

Jan 13, 2011 21:14:44 GMT pjc68 said:

Kimber cables are the best i have heard.
www.russandrews.com/
paddy

Is that a wind up Paddy? That guy is a snake oil vendor par excellence

[joethearachnid]

Myself, I only use directional cables. I make cables, then put an arrow on the heatshrink in marker pen.

Just as directional as the 'pro' ones, anyway.

-JoetheArachnid

[PinkFloyd]

Jan 13, 2011 21:14:44 GMT pjc68 said:

Kimber cables are the best i have heard.

If you are listening to "cables" you have a problem

[Deleted]

Jan 13, 2011 22:00:55 GMT joethearachnid said:

Myself, I only use directional cables. I make cables, then put an arrow on the heatshrink in marker pen.

Just as directional as the 'pro' ones, anyway.

-JoetheArachnid

[gommer]

Actually, the cables that I make *are* directional for real (because shielding is only connected at the source side). No snake oil involved, pure physics.

[PinkFloyd]

Jan 13, 2011 22:07:27 GMT @sandyk said:

Jan 13, 2011 22:00:55 GMT joethearachnid said:

Myself, I only use directional cables. I make cables, then put an arrow on the heatshrink in marker pen.

Just as directional as the 'pro' ones, anyway.

-JoetheArachnid

You have great potential Joe

[PinkFloyd]

No snake oil involved, pure physics.

Pure "ass" more like

[Deleted]

Jan 13, 2011 22:13:05 GMT gommer said:

Actually, the cables that I make *are* directional for real (because shielding is only connected at the source side). No snake oil involved, pure physics.

Do you use a twisted pair plus a screen ?

[PinkFloyd]

Jan 13, 2011 22:51:48 GMT @sandyk said:

Jan 13, 2011 22:13:05 GMT gommer said:

Actually, the cables that I make *are* directional for real (because shielding is only connected at the source side). No snake oil involved, pure physics.

Do you use a twisted pair plus a screen ?

I use a twisted pair (a couple of nutters) and I screen them with an "invisible" OFC copper (6N purity) braided cage.... 5 foot in diameter, it's all down to the "thickness" of the copper! oh yeh

[clausdk]

Jan 13, 2011 22:03:37 GMT PinkFloyd said:

Jan 13, 2011 21:14:44 GMT pjc68 said:

Kimber cables are the best i have heard.

If you are listening to "cables" you have a problem

I have to agree with Paddy on this one Kimbercables are all that, but way to stiff for headphones, at least for normal people not nerds like me

It also looks very nice

[PinkFloyd]

Oh man.... I have just shielded myself in copper.... I sound so goooood.... oooooh, 6N copper sounds "sooo nice".... I was skeptical at first but, shit!, that's the best £4,789 I have ever spent..... copper really does make the highs higher and the lows deeper!

Team Copper

[Deleted]

Jan 13, 2011 23:03:19 GMT PinkFloyd said:

Oh man.... I have just shielded myself in copper.... I sound so goooood.... oooooh, 6N copper sounds "sooo nice".... I was skeptical at first but, shit!, that's the best £4,789 I have ever spent..... copper really does make the highs higher and the lows deeper!

Team Copper

I think you are one half of a twisted pair !

[clausdk]

I have about 15 headamps in my arsenal, but the one I use the most is my Yamaha rx-v457 and it is indeed an integrated amp..

I know it os not good latin to say that an integrated amp will do, but I still think it drives most of my phones very well and it costs less than a Xcan V8..

The only thing that really matters is, what make your clock tick..

[clausdk]

Jan 13, 2011 20:20:47 GMT bmxargh said:

This little Neco amp looks very tempting and I wasn't really looking for something to walk round with lol, dinky in size and a cool price too.
By the looks of it I'd need to purchase a cable to connect the Cowon to it as it doesn't come with one.......... would want a nice one but don't even know what you would call that cable to search....bit more help guys?? Quality one??


Only downside is it doesn't have the pre amp inputs to connect my cd player :S but then the other one suggested does.....but I can't walk round with that

Is there a small one of the same quality that does both?? I know I'm knew to this but there are few and far between reviews and I can't audition these little independant makes and now you have tempted me with a mobile one.......but if it was worth it sound quality wise that would be worth connecting to my integrated amp/cd player too.........

Dog walk soon and some tunes!!!a confused but happy
BmxArgh

If you got a Cowon D2 it will drive most phones OK, it is a very nice player that packs quite a kick (if you set it in nonEUmode)
The setup I use for the dogwalking is Dt880 and Cowon D2 nice combo..

[gommer]

Jan 13, 2011 22:51:48 GMT @sandyk said:

Do you use a twisted pair plus a screen ?

Kind of... Its Mogami Neglex Quad microphone cable (W2534). I don't know if it's absolutely necessary; but i bought it in bulk for car audio (where its does matter) and its' certainly not hurting for home use. Mogami and Canare or the best cables of the semi-cheap kind, combined with some Deltron phono's they make some fine interconnects.