Pulsar
Prominent Member
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2003
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- Location
- West Midlands - Stourbridge
Hello fellow head-fi enthusiasts.
I just wanted to share my recent experiences with headphone listening and how happy I am with what I have discovered.
The mainstay of my personal headphone listening for the last 7 or so years has been a pair a Sennheiser HD600 headphones with a variety of amplifiers including a Schiit Jotunehim 1 that served me for around the last 3 years (with the USB DAC board fitted). I always found this to be a perfectly satisfactory listening experience, using it mainly to keep me company whilst working (I have worked from home for the last 5 years or so now).
Last September I decided to splurge on a pair of Sennheiser HD 800 S headphones. I found them to be a nice step-up from the HD600 (as you would hope for the relative price of each) but I didn't find it to be a truly revelatory experience when using them with the Jotunheim 1. Having heard all of the positive views of the RME ADI-2 DAC, I purchased one for myself a few weeks ago and, when paired with the HD800S, it was a transformative experience.
Very soon after getting the RME, I was lucky enough to acquire a pair of Dan Clark Ether 2 headphones. These were purchased on the back of the positive reviews I had read / observed and a desire to try some planar magnetic 'phones. They certainly have a different character entirely to the HD800S and are also so damn comfortable to wear!
The final step (for now) in this journey is the recent acquisition of a Topping D90 / A90 DAC amplifier pair from the classifieds section on this very forum. I bought this primarily as I desire to have a 2nd headphone setup in the house in the lounge (with the 1st at my desk). I've been listening to both sets of 'phones on the Topping combo today and I am so very happy! I'm not able to draw conclusions to the RME (yet, if ever) but the Topping D90/A90 certainly sounds mightily impressive in its own right.
Ah, I said that the Topping was the final step, but actually I have the real final step on its way to me - a Monoprice Monolith Liquid Platinum headphone amplifier. This is intended to be used with the RME - I will share views on that in due course.
I have a decent pair of stereo speakers (Kii Three) and enjoy them very much so. It is difficult to compare the qualities of headphones vs. speakers but I can say without doubt that the experiences I have had with the HD800S and Ether 2 these last few weeks have been some of the best ever in terms of enjoying music.
So my conclusion is that headphone listening can be awesome, who knew?
I just wanted to share my recent experiences with headphone listening and how happy I am with what I have discovered.
The mainstay of my personal headphone listening for the last 7 or so years has been a pair a Sennheiser HD600 headphones with a variety of amplifiers including a Schiit Jotunehim 1 that served me for around the last 3 years (with the USB DAC board fitted). I always found this to be a perfectly satisfactory listening experience, using it mainly to keep me company whilst working (I have worked from home for the last 5 years or so now).
Last September I decided to splurge on a pair of Sennheiser HD 800 S headphones. I found them to be a nice step-up from the HD600 (as you would hope for the relative price of each) but I didn't find it to be a truly revelatory experience when using them with the Jotunheim 1. Having heard all of the positive views of the RME ADI-2 DAC, I purchased one for myself a few weeks ago and, when paired with the HD800S, it was a transformative experience.
Very soon after getting the RME, I was lucky enough to acquire a pair of Dan Clark Ether 2 headphones. These were purchased on the back of the positive reviews I had read / observed and a desire to try some planar magnetic 'phones. They certainly have a different character entirely to the HD800S and are also so damn comfortable to wear!
The final step (for now) in this journey is the recent acquisition of a Topping D90 / A90 DAC amplifier pair from the classifieds section on this very forum. I bought this primarily as I desire to have a 2nd headphone setup in the house in the lounge (with the 1st at my desk). I've been listening to both sets of 'phones on the Topping combo today and I am so very happy! I'm not able to draw conclusions to the RME (yet, if ever) but the Topping D90/A90 certainly sounds mightily impressive in its own right.
Ah, I said that the Topping was the final step, but actually I have the real final step on its way to me - a Monoprice Monolith Liquid Platinum headphone amplifier. This is intended to be used with the RME - I will share views on that in due course.
I have a decent pair of stereo speakers (Kii Three) and enjoy them very much so. It is difficult to compare the qualities of headphones vs. speakers but I can say without doubt that the experiences I have had with the HD800S and Ether 2 these last few weeks have been some of the best ever in terms of enjoying music.
So my conclusion is that headphone listening can be awesome, who knew?