2. amps-preamps
  3. 1241205359

DAC, amp & headphones 1k

I would like to put together a small 2 channel tubed system
for my wife . At present it would use a cable box for the source using either a digital audio out or optical audio out connection . I would like the cable box to feed a DAC and then go to a headphone amp and a set of good headphones . I do not want to use any speakers at this time .

Of course I want the best sound that I can give to her but keep the cost down to $1,000 total . While the DAC and amp can be used I would prefer new headphones .

I have done some research and found Sennheiser HD650 and AKG 701 headphones to be the most recommended .

Amps and DACS seem to be seperates and also combined units . Either would be fine for now .

She prefers tubes to SS and was instrumental in choosing my first tube system consisting of a Cayin A88T integrated with Reference 3A Di Capo i speakers . She prefered these speakers to Von Schwiekert and Usher . I would like to get her something with good extension , dynamics , detail and musicality .

She has always prefered 60's , 70's and 80's pop . I would like to introduce her to blues , jazz and the standards as well .

I would like the amp to have at least two inputs so that I could add a CDP later should this take off for her . Right now it will be just the CD quality music channels from our cable service .

Any suggestions ?

Thank you .
saki70

Showing 2 responses by ironmine

ironmine
41 posts
 
I have Denon AH-2000, my friend has Senn HD650. We compared these headphones in the same system. The conclusion is that Denon D2000's famous bass cannot be beaten by Senn HD650. But, on the other side, Senn HD650's famous midrange cannot be beaten by Denon D2000... You choose, but models are real hi-end amount headphones.

If you choose HD650, I recommend a tube headphone amp WooAudio WA3. If you prefer D2000, take a look at WooAudio WA3+. Both combinations are real killers.

Be careful with AKG phones, they have a very specific sound which many will find not to their liking...
ironmine
41 posts
 
Saki70,

I don't know what is "U.P.". I live in Russia.

AKG sound is very airy and no bass, that's what many people say in head-fi.org. If you are in doubt which phones to choose, I recommend you to go to this website's forum, there are thousands of head-fiers from all over the world discussing every tiny nuance of headphones, headphone amps, etc. It's not daunting, you just need to use "search" function smartly. For example, type there "HD650 AKG" and choose "titles only" and specify that you want to search through forum "big headphones" only and you will find many discussions comparing HD650 sound to AKG models, etc.

Yes, senior Senn models do require a lot of hi-quality expensive amplification, otherwise they sound mediocre.

Always pay attention to the impedance match of headphones and headphone amps! For instance, cans with 25 ohm impedance and cans with 300 ohm impedance have absolutely different requirements in terms of amplification. That's one of the reasons I chose April Music Stello HP100 preamp/headphone amp, because it has low gain/hi gain switch, so I can use it for almost any phone out there. By the way, it has two inputs, just like you want, but it's SS.

By the way, Jack Woo from WooAudio can modify his amps to suit his clients' requests, if they want more inputs/outputs in their models.

If your wife likes deep bass, take a closer look at Denon D2000 or higher models. It's really like having a subwoofer in your headphones. I even performed the so called "Markl mod" to tame its bass little bit...
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