That is a very nice set of cans. Now you must dissect what they have the system does not; mostly involvement.
You can keep the Dancers, but the HK hits the road. That is a sterile amp my friend. Find some new life in a different integrated. Borrow something and find better than lifeless reproduction.
For SS the mid-range Rega will do nicely, for valve a Decware would cream that HK. Just free advice since that is why you posted here. |
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You just discovered the truth about audiophile setups. Look into active monitors, they are just so much better. |
Give yourself some time to see if you fatigue from the headphones. You're listening to the mix of a good sound engineer which is nothing like a real event. All of that detail just isn't in a live performance. It's addicting for sure but you just may tire of it. I did. I haven't used my headphones in over a year now and I used to love them.
All the best,
Nonoise |
You already figured it out. Your system just isn't up to snuff. When you upgrade your system it should blow headphones away. If it doesn't, you need a bigger upgrade. |
"09-13-15: Coli
You just discovered the truth about audiophile setups. Look into active monitors, they are just so much better."
That's a matter of opinion. I've tried many different powered speakers in all price ranges. You end up spending a lot more money for less sound quality. |
Someone's bound to read my last post and say there's no way that I could have heard every active speaker on the market. That would be a true statement. I haven't heard every speaker in production. |
Thanks for the feedback guys. I think I will take Nonoise's advise first (since it is free....LOL) and see if my love affair with the T1 Tesla is a fleeting thing. But, since my listening habits already include a lot of late night headphone use I'm inclined to believe that it isn't. A quality preamp in front of the HK power section sounds intriguing though. Can I get a good pre for $1200 to $1500? If so, what? |
Yupp....that is true for my system as well. I have a dedicated amp for my Sennheiser 650's which are much better than my big system. I think that a good earphone system is better than any speaker system. You don't have room resonances, easier to drive, etc. Earphones do have a shut in image, that speakers don't have...other than that.... |
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A lot cheaper that way too! Right Nonoise? Comparing the price of a state of the art headphone amp and maybe a DAC compared to a new set of Raidho C1.1s or Vivids and a good preamp, the former is a steal! Thanks again. |
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Just curious here: Are you using the room correction function on the HK? |
@Martykl
No. I ran it a couple of times, but I prefer to set my system up manually. I cross my Ushers over at 60hz to two SVS and an HSU sub. I do use the room correction functions in JRiver Media Center though. |
Yes, you can get a good pre - in fact a pretty amazing pre - with tubes, too -The Eastern Electric Avant. It really is a giant killer. Or else one of the earlier Conrad Johnsons. |
+1 for the EE Avant ,its not a gaint killer its THE giant
killer. Fantastic rhythm , instrumental tone and seperation. and wall to wall sounstage with great depth .
No weakness .
IMO tube pre w/o tube rectification is a waste of time .
Beat up on my rich buddies mega-buck Lamm and he admitted it .
How someover, I did not see it on sellers website , I seem
to remember reading 50 were allocated to USA and that was it. I paid 1700$ for mine and would not sell it for 5 k. |
Thanks guys. I can see a good preamp in my future. But, since I started this thread I have purchased an ifi Micro iDAC2 bundled with an iPurifier. Using this DAC and bypassing the DAC built into the HK990 has breathed new life into my system. If a good preamp can do what this little DAC has done, I am definitely interested. |
