thumbing thru many of the latest reviews on HPs, I saw Shure has come out with one high value moderately priced unit that has some very good press. About $350 new. You mean IEM's? I wasn't aware Shure made any (full size, over the ear) headphones. Perhaps you mean the SE530, which is a very respected IEM? I prefer full size cans, but do have a pair of UE TF.10's which are the UE version of a 3-driver IEM that are damn good in a pinch. You want to kick some serious IEM butt and actually compete with full-size cans (according to many reports I've read - I do not own a pair) - the almost universal answer is the UE-11 ($1150 + ear molds - I think the waiting period is about a month). I envy the freedom you have on one hand (man I'd love to be able to listen whenever I like), but I'll take the wife and dog any day. If I were solo, I'd save my money as I don't find headphones as a substitute for the big rig. But given the occasional limitation it can be very engaging! |
The Shure (?) headphones I refer to were accounted for in Playback Magazine Found it, thanks. I hadn't heard of them - just introduced; Shure SRH840. Good review too. |
If you look over on headfi you will see those cans have met with a response that places it in distinctly lesser offerings. There are a few threads on the SQ there, fwiw. I've learned to take all such input with more than a grain of salt, but certainly have found one can get a pretty accurate overall impression as feedback builds up. The Consonance amp I just sold (Cyber 20) is a damn good little amp for the money. I'm not sure I know what you mean by an "aftermarket tube hp amp". There are some nice tube hp amps coming out of Taiwan (DarkVoice), no experience there but plenty of 'followers'. I can tell you first and that Woo Audio stuff (made in Brooklyn) is top notch. One thing about the good HP amps, they seem to hold their value on the used market and are actually in demand. Check out the internals on this Woo...like I said, very nice stuff. I'm using a maxxed out Woo WA6SE and it pairs wonderfully with AT W5000 cans. The dual-volume request you had is going to be a difficult one to find. I haven't even seen HP amps with a balance knob on them. In fact, the trend is to include an optional filter switch that allows sending some of the right signal left and left to right to blend the channels to some extent. This is to try to compensate for the psycho-acoustic effects that happen when a very exagerated spacial recordings have when listened to on HP...something like the first cut on Sgt. Pepper, or much of Pink Floyd...those kind of spacial exagerations don't play well with your brain on headphones, and it sounds better to blend the two channels to some extent in those cases. Not all HP amps have that option. Meier-audio would be one that does. A mono option would be a nice feature too. Not many amps with that. I personally HATE dual-volume controls on preamps, and I have no doubt I'd hate'em on a head amp. They require too much attention to fiddle with every time you want to make a volume change. Two source inputs are fairly common. There are also some good headphone amps that double as conventional preamps (see Woo 2 and HeadAmp's GS-1 and GS-X, among others). Also, of course, some full on amps with great headphone stages (Woo 5, Portal Panache, Cary various, etc.). Here's some info from the Meier Audio site on crossfeed filters. I can't provide a direct link and it was a bit difficult to ferret out, so forgive the bandwidth and skip this part if HP listening isn't of interest: In normal daily life people use various mechanisms to locate sources of sound.
Firstly, the sound of a source to the right side of the listener (e.g. the right loudspeaker) not only reaches the right ear but, attenuated and delayed, is also heard by the left ear. The level of attenuation and the delay time of this crossfeed signal provide important directional information.
Secondly, the soundwaves are partly absorbed and partly reflected by the tissues of the head. Reflections at the oracles (pinnae) interfere with the soundwaves that directly enter the ear-channel and amplify or attenuate specific frequency components. Since these reflections depend on the direction of the soundwave the "color" of the sound changes with the direction of the source.
Thirdly, reflections of the soundwaves from the walls, ceiling and floor of our listening room produce reverberation that conveys an extra feeling of space.
The information obtained by these mechanisms is further refined by movements of the head. Changes in sound levels, delay times and sound color refine the sense of direction. For a demonstration, blindfold a friend and ask him to locate a ticking clock that you have hidden in the room. He will start turning his head although he can't see anything. With his head in a fixed position an exact localization is much more difficult.
Listening by headphones
All the mechanisms of directional listening are missing when we use headphones. The sound at the right ear will no longer reach the left ear and pinnae-reflections no longer interfere with the original soundwave. Moreover, the headphones are directly attached to our head, and so head movements no longer add information. Reverberation is also not present.
As a result, the sound heard by headphones seems to stick to the inside of our head and to our ears and an unnatural soundfield is created. The brain misses logical clues for direction and this subconsciously results in mental stress. Some people cannot tolerate this stress and are unable to use headphones.
The natural crossfeed filter
In principle, digital soundprocessors can simulate all the mechanisms for directional listening but the results are, thus far, not very satisfactory. In particular, pinnae-reflections are very complex and listener-specific and impossible to simulate accurately.
Fortunately, the mean directional information is provided by the time delay and level of attenuation of the sounds that reaches the opposite ear. The CORDA headphone amplifiers can electronically simulate this process and, with appropriate attenuation and delay, add some of the right audiosignal to the left channel and vice -versa. This considerably reduces the adverse symptoms of headphone listening.
A unique feature of the crossfeed circuitry of the CORDA headphone amplifiers is that it "recognizes" the virtual positions of the instruments and singers in a recording. The sound of an instrument in the middle of the soundstage will be equally present in both audio-channels and isn't given any crossfeed. A crossfeed signal is only generated for instruments that are not placed at the center. The more off-center the instrument is placed, the stronger the crossfeed and the longer its delay. This feature is called "natural crossfeed". |
Grant - Yes, I would think OTL would be the best of both worlds, but I've never heard them paired with Daedelus. Certainly Ralph's amps, for instance, occur to me as more versatile and sound great with all kinds of music...much more so than the various SET options I've heard. |
The thought on twin gain controls is due to the loss of sensitivity in my left ear by about 4db or so... and why I listen in the nearfield... with the volume moderately up. Ah, that makes sense now. I'm not aware of any HP amps that have that. I would choose a Balance knob over two volume controls simply for convenience of volume adjustment (supposedly set the balance knob once). The reason those things are not included on headphone amps, of course, is because you are not having to deal with room-generated imbalance since the speakers are right on/in your ears. The server project sounds like fun too. I use Squeezeserver and have three separate listening areas now. I'm very happy with it except for their crappy, slow interface. I've gotten used to it, but it could be a whole lot better. The actual gear that forms the system is pretty darn good for the money. With tweaks/mods, it is excellent. I have no experience with the other options (Sonos, Olive, etc.) to compare though. I do love having access to a central library of all my music though, and occasionally enjoy internet radio and Pandora as well. Have fun with that! |
I've been having to spend a lot of time with my back with my foot in the air lately - I'm recovering from a foot surgery so I have 6-8 weeks of this (I'm about 2/3 there at this point). I took the opportunity to get back into headphones since it's easy to have a little bedside system that is fed by a server. I started out with a Consonance Cyber 20 tube amp and could not believe the level of performance for the relatively small investment. It's prompted me, sick audiophile that I am, to look into upgrading. I'm learning that "diminishing returns" in the headphone world, don't sting nearly as much as those in the conventional audiophile world. I can tell you that I still prefer my big rig overall for the visceral impact it offers, but I've developed a whole new appreciation for headphones and have been enjoying the heck out of my little bedside rig. Oh, and no acoustical treatments are necessary! |
Regarding Daedalus speakers, the specs indicate they can be driven with lowish power amps, but a discussion I had with Lou Hinkley revealed that he believes more power is better with his speakers...at least as it applied to my room and preferences. Having heard Lou's speakers with both low powered SET amps as well as high-current, high-output solid state amps (Modwright), I can tell you my impression: they sound superb both ways, but definitely seem to have more drive and impact with the latter, while possibly creating a more holographic illusion with the former (I did NOT hear them one after the other, but at entirely different times and in entirely different spaces). One further observation - using the SET amps I did not get the feeling, as I often do with SET systems, that bass was severely handicapped. I sure wouldn't have kicked the SET combo out of bed though, but I believe that was with a pair of very expensive SET amps if I'm not mistaken. In neither case were those systems easy to get up and walk away from - both were highly engaging. His speakers are on my own short list of something to try at home. Unfortunately, I don't know if the space I have would gel with them though (I listen about 8 feet from my speakers), and I'm very happy with my Coincident speakers. The Coincidents are also highly sensitive (97db at nearly flat 10 ohms), and also, at least in the case of the Super Eclipse III's, very good with high-current, high-power SS. A recent review in TAS of his more current, larger speakers with radically different tweeters, stated the reviewer did not think they were as well suited for SS amps as were his earlier models (with silk dome tweets). Lou's speakers definitely swing both ways effortlessly. |
I mentioned to Lou that I often played metal and progressive rock at fairly loud volume levels, and perhaps this is why he recommended more rather than less power. This is why I was careful to qualify my earlier comment to apply to my room and preferences. Although I have enjoyed rock on my SET systems in the past (don't listen to much of it though), if given the choice I'd always pick a well assembled system with more headroom, and more ability to separate dense, layered music. Just my opinion...I always seem to get jumped on by at least one SET enthusiast who claims their rig can do that kind of music justice. I have yet to hear that done as well as the alternative, but to each their own. I don't know that I'd describe myself as a "careful listener", Grant. I think I go more from the gut and from the heart. What sounds real and what pulls me in and keeps me there. I feel like a fumble around all the technical descriptions and whys and wherefores. I don't have any real strong expertise in the technical aspects of why any of this stuff works the way it does. There are so many here who do and I completely respect that and value their contributions. My friend, Peter, is able to really pick things apart and analyze them in very scientific, and analytic observations. My observations may often reflect similar preferences (sometimes not though), but are more simplistic and from the gut more than anything else. I try to find words to describe it, but ultimately it simply comes down to which sounds more like real music and engages me to those emotions and responses that come with listening to live music. In doing comparisons of components, when there are significant and even subtle differences, I seem to have pretty consistent preferences. Anyway, thank you for the kind words, Grant. |
