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Headphones for sound control

I'll be moving to an up-scale life-care facility.  The apartments have concrete exterior walls, and I usually listen to small baroque and jazz trios at moderate sound level,   But I think headphones may be the way to go when I want to crank it up for large orchestrations like Aida or Mahler's 2nd.

 I've been impressed with the sound of my cousin's Sennheiser 800S with his McIntosh headphone amp.  I have an Ayer QX-5 Twenty with a headphone driver that Ayer tells me is very good.  I suppose the answer is to try the Ayer before buying the McIntosh.  I've downsized my rack of Ayer gear to a KEF LS60, but I really like the sound of Ayre electronics.  Advice sought.

dbphd

Showing 1 response by oster-sc-arkansas

oster-sc-arkansas
8 posts
 

Just wanted to jump in — I’ve had the chance to hear the HD800S with both the McIntosh MHA200 and MHA150, and it’s honestly one of the better pairings I’ve come across. Big soundstage stays intact, but the McIntosh adds this rich, smooth character that really fills things in — especially nice for more dynamic recordings like Mahler or large-scale jazz.

I’d definitely say try the Ayre first since you already have it, but the McIntosh headphone gear is no slouch. If you get the chance to hear it, it might surprise you in a good way.

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