Headphones

I use my HD800's with my V1 and Hugo and both sound great. Although, with the V1 I use JRiver DSP to tailor the sound. Without the DSP the V1 is a bit dull.

glevethan posted:

I had a brief 15 minute session with the Stax 009 at Can Jam NY this past February.  Agreed - they made an indelible impression in my mind- I am still thinking about them to this day and most likely they will be my next acquisition. Right now the Utopias are happily tiding me over.

I am in need of a closed pair of headphones to use when I am in the same room as my wife. I am currently demoing the new Sony Z1R's. Which closed backs impressed you the most?

Would you consider IEMs?

I am starting to consider IEM's - any recommendations?  I had a pair of Etymotic's ER4P's for 10 years (until I lost them).  I now know that I do not want a pair of "deep insertion" ones.

I ordered a pair of the new 1more Quad drivers to play around with - a no brainer at $200.  I will see how they are.  I'm sure however that I will want something better as it will need to at least be able to play in the same league as the Utopias.  I do not, however, want to spend big money on them - already did that with the Utopias.  Maybe stay under $1k.  It is amazing some of the prices if IEM's today.

Re IEM:

I have had the Etymotic 4S, which I have always enjoyed, and moved up to the Shure 535 (bronze) a couple of years ago.  These sound great right out of my iPhone or iPad or computer.  They are not cheap but they are mobile and adequate for home use at my house.  

Bulky, high dollar, home headphone rigs fall into the "Why bother" category for me.   The rough and ready IEM's are the way forward at my house.   They are easy to use at home and great for travel.

glevethan posted:

I am starting to consider IEM's - any recommendations?  I had a pair of Etymotic's ER4P's for 10 years (until I lost them).  I now know that I do not want a pair of "deep insertion" ones.

I ordered a pair of the new 1more Quad drivers to play around with - a no brainer at $200.  I will see how they are.  I'm sure however that I will want something better as it will need to at least be able to play in the same league as the Utopias.  I do not, however, want to spend big money on them - already did that with the Utopias.  Maybe stay under $1k.  It is amazing some of the prices if IEM's today.

I have a pair of Shure SE846 which I use with my iphone (via apple's silly mini connector cable) and a Sony hi-def portable player.  They have a superb sound range and I suspect there is very little sound leakage to those in close proximity to you.  Must confess to not having introduced my Hugo to the chain to see what impact that would have on sound quality as I only ever use them on the go and I'm too lazy to experiment!  Shure's KSE1500 model has set a new level of cost for portable IEM's - I haven't heard them but presume they must sound fantastic.

I'm not sure what extension cables would be suitable for hooking up Shures to the home stereo system.  The thing I love about them is their portability.  It would be interesting to compare them to some of the over ear models mentioned so far in this thread.

Peter

Another +1 for Focal Elear. I got a pair back in December along with a new DAC V1, basically for a 'simple' desktop set up whilst I'm working in front of the Macs....

Pleased with them. Detail and clarity they deliver is great and incredibly 'clear'. To be honest, I didn't really search out anything else, let alone audition, and I went on dealer recommendation to my described 'preferences' and budget. I was aware the Focals were voiced with the V1 etc, so it seemed to make sense all round.....Judging from the Elear, the Utopias must be special I'd imagine – I didn't have the budget at the time and it seemed OTP, as well as a potential imbalance to what the V1 could deliver as a headphone amplifier...? 

A couple of thoughts:

– They really do leak sound. I was surprised just by how much, though to be honest these are my first experience of a 'higher-end' earphone set up and open back designs....In hindsight, I'd be interested in an equal quality level closed back design – but then, I do read of the potential drawbacks re longer session comfort and I do wonder just why the majority of high-end cans are open back designs. Those new Sony closed backs do seem tempting....but do I really need two pairs of earphones!?

– Although I love the detail, clarity and musicality, SOMETIMES I do feel they sound ever so slightly 'thin' towards the top and shouty on some recordings, particularly popular rock/pop/indie etc.....but I dare say it's more the recordings/source material. There's just been a few times after a few tracks, I've wanted to stop listening and it was all a bit 'aggressive'....OR, at other times, I find myself pressing the ear cups closer to my ears to get that bit closer and inside the music.....Perhaps I'm simply going deaf! I don't even know if it's the V1, the Elears, the recordings...or me! A touch more warmth in them would be my ideal.....but, I do really like them.

Kevin Richardson – I'd be interested how you use JRiver to 'tailor' you sound to the V1 and if it really does make a big difference..? I'm not familiar with Jriver. For my simple 'desktop setup' I'm simply using the V1 USB connected to a Mac via iTunes and the appropriate MIDI settings applied.

SC

The new Bowers Wilkins P9,has anybody listen to it ?

Yes however, imho, not better enough to justify the price difference vs. the P7 wireless- and - the P7's are wireless to boot.  For the price the P7's are an amazing set of headphones.

Lets wait and see how the upcoming P9 DAC sounds.

okey,they working on a new Dac,interesting....can you tell any more about it ?

It was announced at the same time as the headphones were announced.  It should have come out already however the typical "delays" have not seen it make an appearance yet.  According to B&W it literally should be making an appearance as we speak.

It is designated towards iOS iPhone users.  It is a replacement headphone cable with an inline DAC chip and lighting end which will plug directly into iPhones.  Any previous purchasers of the headphone will automatically receive one when it is released.

+1 for the Shure 535 IEM

'nother vote for the Shure SE 535's ................ they really are very good indeed.

Possibly surpassed by the subsequent SE 846's, but, since there's a price difference of around £450.00 between these two, I'd go for the 535's.

glevethan posted:

I had a brief 15 minute session with the Stax 009 at Can Jam NY this past February.  Agreed - they made an indelible impression in my mind- I am still thinking about them to this day and most likely they will be my next acquisition. Right now the Utopias are happily tiding me over.

I am in need of a closed pair of headphones to use when I am in the same room as my wife. I am currently demoing the new Sony Z1R's. Which closed backs impressed you the most?

Of the closed back phones I tried, it came down to Audeze LCD-4 and Fostex th900, I preferred the sound of the Fostex. The one that left me least impressed was the Audio Quest night owl, they sounded rather boxy.

I owned shares 535 many years ago, when 500$ was insane money for iems and hd650 was the king of the hill...

They are good but compare to Elear or hd800, they are not to compare actually

Good for traveling, good isolation, very lively presentation but you can do better at home

The headphone amp on the SN2 is ok but no more than that.  I have a set of Meze 99 classics which are excellent and the SN2 will drive them and do a job but it takes my Hugo to make them shine properly.  You may be better off buying slightly less expensive headphones and a headphone amp.

I think that you may be right, Dayjay.

I'm probably going to listen to a few HPs with the SN2, buy the best that I can afford and then aim to get a HP amp, maybe a Headline with a s/h NAPSC if I can find one. Will probably still listen mostly with speakers, but some sessions may be better with HPs so that I don't wind up my new neighbours!

Nigel

Nigel 66 posted:

I think that you may be right, Dayjay.

I'm probably going to listen to a few HPs with the SN2, buy the best that I can afford and then aim to get a HP amp, maybe a Headline with a s/h NAPSC if I can find one. Will probably still listen mostly with speakers, but some sessions may be better with HPs so that I don't wind up my new neighbours!

Nigel

I really can't recommend the HL/NAPSC & Focal Elear combo enough. There is significant synergy there. 

That said, I do think think the SN2 would be more than adequate with the Elear. I hope you are able to try some of these combinations before you buy.