Manresa Posted January 29, 2009 Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 I'm looking for some advice on a new headphone rig for work. I currently have a 2004 vintage Total Bithead, 10-year old Grado SR-80s (with new pads), and a pair of Etymotic ER-4Ss. Output is from a Mac via USB, CDs not ripped files. I recently purchased a Slim Devices Transporter and Onkyo 9555 for home, and the quality of those two combined bury the Bithead with the Etys. (The Bithead has actually had issues from day one: background his and a slight channel imbalance which I never quite believed until I had something to compare it with. I'm also pretty sure it just deosn't have enough power for the Etys. It's always sounded pretty good with the Grados.) I'm looking for a relatively compact, convenient, not too expensive, DAC and headphone amplifier. I'll probably buy a new pair of full-sized headphones to complement the Grados, since the Etys isolate so well I can't even hear my phone ring (I'm thinking AKG 701s at this point, but headphone selection is not what I'm asking about). I want to find out what my options are, and which manufacturers to avoid (there are at least three, it seems). Total budget is around 1K, but it's flexible, and if I don't have to spend that much I'd rather not (on the other hand, if someone offers to sell me a beta 22 I might bite). I'm intrigued by some of the Chinese/Taiwanese manufacturers (Yulong, Shanling, Audio GD, Keces, Firestone Audio) but worried about service if something goes wrong, and as far as I can tell there's no way to audition any of them. Of the domestic (US and Canadian) manufacturers there's Purity Audio, Headroom, Headamp (more?). Headroom gear seems a tad overpriced, especially the upgrades, and I'm not sold on the crossfeed circuit. If I could get one relatively quickly an M^3 sounds appealing. I don't want to deal with tubes at this point, and would prefer a smaller number of boxes. My listening is usually post-punk and electro-acoustic music (not dance) with the occasional classical and vintage jazz thrown in. Given all this, am I missing any options, and how the hell do I decide? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fungi Posted January 29, 2009 Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 The most convenient and compact is a Pico or (Apogee Duet if you have firewire). Also coming up soon is the Pico DAC, which is straight DAC without the amp. You could feed that to the M^3 for a mean and somewhat compact desktop system. And if I'm not mistaken, playing CDs directly from PC isn't too great because they make lousy transports. Look into a small CDP or rip everything onto something? Dunno what your priorities are, and there's a lot of stuff you could do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manresa Posted January 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 Ripping everything to an external drive isn't an option, sadly. My employer (a very large government agency) has recently gone completely loco over computer security and external devices are being banned (I'm not kidding). Firewire is on its way out for Macs, so I'm gonna stick with USB, S/PDIF, or optical. If I get a resampling DAC, won't that compensate for the iffy CD player in a Mac? On the other hand, maybe I'll just bring in my Rotel CD player, or buy an SACD player for work. At this point I'm trying to narrow down my options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morphsci Posted January 29, 2009 Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 I'm not sure I would say firewire is on its way out for Mac's as they appear to be using it for product differention purposes between their lines, and then primarily their laptops. AFAIK all current MAC desktops (including the mini) have firewire 400. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aardvark baguette Posted January 29, 2009 Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 Hell, USB is on its way out, for Super Speed USB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manresa Posted January 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 I checked out the Duet, and it seems like I'd be paying for a lot of functionality I wouldn't use (A/D conversion, software control). By "fewer boxes is better" I meant I'd prefer not to have separate DAC, amp, and a pair of power supplies, but I'm not wedded to a single box. Priorities would be: sound quality price convenience aesthetics does that help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fungi Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 http://www.head-case.org/forums/home-source-components/2760-apogee-duet-kicks-ass.html http://www.head-case.org/forums/home-source-components/4274-pico-v-duet.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peanutbutterjam Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 And if I'm not mistaken, playing CDs directly from PC isn't too great because they make lousy transports. Why is this so? Many people say this, but I never understood the reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manresa Posted January 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 With the Pico, what happens when the battery can't hold a charge anymore? Is it replaceable? Does it have enough power to drive difficult headphones? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oogabooga Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 I think the Pico has enough power to drive my HD600s, but my true love for it is with my IEMs at my desk at work. The combo sounds amazing with all the techno/electronica I listen to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaloS Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 It does fairly well with hard-to-drive headphones, but don't expect to be even close to say Gilmore Lite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penger Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 With the Pico, what happens when the battery can't hold a charge anymore? Is it replaceable? Does it have enough power to drive difficult headphones? HeadAmp Pico Portable Amp (w/ optional upsampling 24/96 USB DAC) Pre-Order Thread - Page 3 - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio Read that thread. It'll probably answer most if not all your questions about the Pico. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mulveling Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 I've always liked the HD650/600 with a cheap-ish dynalo for its performance-to-price ratio. Though, you could probably sub a good PPA or M^3 build and also get great sound for similar money. 600 if you need a slightly bright sound, 650 otherwise. By cheap dynalo I mean a V1/V2/Lite, or a good DIY build. I've personally had experience with the V2, though from the looks of it, I'm the only person who still likes this amp I just love the Senns - superb cans for the money. For source, that could be tricky. I can vouch for the awesomeness of the Apogee Duet if you've got a Mac+Firewire available. That would total ~$200-$250 + ~$200 + ~$400 = ~$800-$850 for the whole system, used prices. Other than the Duet I haven't heard any DACs in that price range I could seriously vouch for, though I did like the Pico DAC for the short time I had it. Perhaps the upcoming dedicated Pico DAC could be the ticket... I had a Total Airhead back in 2002, and that piece of crap sounded worse than my PCDP's headphone jack. Would toss that. I also would toss any of that Chinese garbage in the trash, but that's just me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manresa Posted January 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 If I went with the Pico w/DAC, would I be missing out on anything delivered by a non-portable system (in the same price range, give or take a few hundred bucks)? Any other alternatives I should be looking for? I wasn't thinking about a portable system but the Pico seems to have very few compromises. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.