Headphone amp help please.

[Hawklord]

After a bit of research and mulling over I'm very tempted to go for the GPS Solo MKIII headphone with the PSU1 power supply. Will this be a good match for the HD600's I received yesterday.
I must say I'm very impressed with the headphones just using normal headphone sockets on my audio equipment. How much of an improvement will there be with the solo over my current kits phono outs?
There also was a mention of a cable upgrade on the hd600's earlier in a previous thread can some one explain the benefits over the existing leads supplied and give some links to relevent products/retailers.
I'm still a bit confused as to what would be the best way to connect all my sources to the solo's inputs for best performance.
Would my denon be a better source for dvd playback over my dvd player whilst using headphones and how will this set up compare to listening to films/music conventionally?

Many thanks for any advice and pointers.

Hawklord

[NicolasB]

I use the earlier model - GSP Solo Mk II - with HD600s, and the result is very lovely indeed. I haven't, I must admit, personally auditioned any of the more expensive headphone amps for comparison. My "Solo" was bought a long while ago, while the business was still being built up, and when they were selling directly rather than via dealers, so at that time it was significantly cheaper than it is now, and comfortably outperformed everything else in its price bracket; now-price-comparable devices like the Earmax were then comparatively much more expensive.

The "Solo" has two sets of inputs, so you can connect two sources directly, or you can use some other device for switching - for example, hook the headphone amp up to the tape outputs of a pre-amplifier.

(I've found Graham Slee himself to be very approachable, btw, so if you have any significant issues, ask him).

If you're currently connecting your phones direct to a source's phono outputs, don't.

Whether you want to use your DVD player or your processor to produce a stereo signal is going to depend on the comparative quality of the two devices - it's not a clear-cut thing. For instance, I find my Bryston SP1.7 sounds as good as my Arcam DV27 for plain CDs, but for HDCDs the DV27 sounds better, because the SP1.7 dosn't understand HDCD and treats them as 16-bit only.

[Hawklord]

Thanks again NicolasB it looks as though I'm going to bite the bullet and order one.
I'm assuming it's best to go for the upgraded power supply PSU1 over the introductory model (according to reviews ) for the extra £90 or so?
It seems I'll just have to play around with different methods of connecting equipment to the two inputs to find the most suitable source for each format.
My Arcam A75+ integrated amp has a pre-amp out and a tape recording out what is the difference between these two (if any) and which would you suggest woud give the best signal?
Do headphones need running in time (as do speakers) and improve with use or are they as good staight out the box?
I did see a mention of cable upgrades for the HD600's have you any experience of these and could you give me some pointers for research purposes.

thanks again

[alexs2]

Hi there Hawklord.....I'm sure Nic knows what's coming from me here.....please also listen to the Earmax before buying any other headphone amp,and if possible have a look at the Headroom products also.
Both of these are superb,with the Headroom amps covering a very wide price range.
I've had an Earmax for a few yrs now and it's s superb amp....bags of depth,definition,and very good overall balance.

As for cable upgrades for the Sennheisers,see www.russandrews.com well worth the investment.

http://headroom.headphone.com/layout.php

[NicolasB]

Yeah, if you've not listened to an Earmax you probably should before you make up your mind.

It may or may not be appropriate to test out a Sugden Headmaster too, depending on situation and funds.

I'm assuming it's best to go for the upgraded power supply PSU1 over the introductory model (according to reviews ) for the extra £90 or so?

Yes.

My Arcam A75+ integrated amp has a pre-amp out and a tape recording out what is the difference between these two (if any) and which would you suggest woud give the best signal?

At a guess, I would say that the tape output is likely to be more or less a straight feed-through of the original source signal, while the pre-amp out will be scaled down by an amount that depends on the volume control setting of the integrated amp.

Which of these is the more useful is another thing you're probably going to have to experiment to determine. The "Solo" has quite high input sensitivity, so it is sometimes a little more comfortable dealing with a signal that is at pre-amp ouput level than one that it is at source level. However, you might find find that the tape output really is a direct feed-through, while the pre-amp output has acquired some additional distortion or interference by going through the pre-amp stage, and thus that things sound better using the tape output.

Depending on how many sources you have to switch between, you might also get the best results feeding the source directly into the "Solo". (It has a fairly high input impedance, and is probably still supplied with a couple of high-quality phono splitter plugs, so you can connect it in parallel with the integrated amp inputs). But of course that means you can't use the amp as a switching device.

Do headphones need running in time (as do speakers)

They can do.

I did see a mention of cable upgrades for the HD600's have you any experience of these

No.

and could you give me some pointers for research purposes.

Try http://www.headphone.com/layout.php?...&subTopicID=31 or http://www.headphone.com/layout.php?...tID=0020080600 for a list of some of the options available.

[The Beekeeper]

Cardas (from www.headphone.com) and RA do the cable upgrades

[sceptic]

Originally posted by alexs2
As for cable upgrades for the Sennheisers,see www.russandrews.com well worth the investment.

http://headroom.headphone.com/layout.php

£160 for 2 metres? There must be an enormous improvement to justify that.
They are also charging £250 for the HD600 when thay can be found elsewhere for under £150 .
That's £410 for a headphone without an amp.

[The Beekeeper]

I got my 600 for under £100 new . I am not justifying any cable change just pointing people to the 'options'. Jeff has just bought the Cardas to try.

sorry Alex2 missed your post!

[sceptic]

Originally posted by The Beekeeper
I got my 600 for under £100 new .

Just paid £139 for mine
It gives excellent results from a NAD350 amp. I have trouble justifying a headphone amp and £160 for a lead is not a serious consideration.

[Jeff]

My initial thoughts are that the cable does make a big difference, the Cardas cable has completely cleaned up the bottom end of the audio, bass is a lot more refined and controlled. The Sugden amp is also very good and makes for a much smoother sound with a bit more of everything if you like, it also makes a pretty good 2ch preamp so music performance without headphones has greatly improved for me.

[alexs2]

Originally posted by sceptic
£160 for 2 metres? There must be an enormous improvement to justify that.
They are also charging £250 for the HD600 when thay can be found elsewhere for under £150 .
That's £410 for a headphone without an amp.

I didn't suggest buying the headphones from RA,merely that the cable is a very worthwhile upgrade(IMHO anyway)compared to the usual wire that comes with headphones,and certainly if you're running them from a decent headphone amp.

[NicolasB]

Should have posted this over here first. Still, never mind....

If you're into classical music, then you simply must check out this recording. Headphone listening at its finest.

[Hawklord]

Thanks again people for all your informed advice and pointers I've certainly got a lot to think about.
I will hold off buying upgrade cables for the time being as I feel the £150 or so will be put to better use going towards upgrading my Arcam CD72t cdp to an 82t or even the 93t (I think you can upgrade to these from the cd72?).
I'll let you know what I go for and what I think when I'm in a position to do so.

regards

[NicolasB]

I feel the £150 or so will be put to better use going towards upgrading my Arcam CD72t cdp to an 82t or even the 93t

Good call. IMO, with HD600s and a Solo mk III or Earmax driving them, your CD player will be the weakest link in the chain by quite some way.

[avanzato]

Has anyone managed to compare the Sugden Headmaster to the Solo MkIII or even Creek SE amps. Obviously Audio Synergy said the Sugden sould be the best partner to my new Ergo Model 2 cans but then it costs 4 times as much. I can get a demo of the Creek and Sugden but not side by side as yet.