Why doesn't anybody make one of these?

This product by Philips may suit (it was in an earlier link). It has the headphones attached by a cord so presumably you could use some other headphones if need be.

HERE
 
Yeah, but I'd still be paying extra for headphones and headphone amplification circuitry I don't want. :mad:

Anyone know if the Philips thing is actually available in this country?
 
Originally posted by NicolasB
Yeah, but I'd still be paying extra for headphones and headphone amplification circuitry I don't want. :mad:


Cheaper than buying an A1SR though! :rotfl:
 
I have Senheisser HD 600 on order together with a Sugden headmaster preamp. I post my thoughts after I've had a chance to play properly.
 
Ooh, Sugden Headmaster.

(drool)

I'd love to try one of them and see how it compares to my Graham Slee Projects "Solo" (mk II). But £600 is a lot of money. :(
 
I was sold on the fact that it can be used as a regular stereo preamp and has a remote control. The HD600's were a real bargain at under £150 incl VAT and delivery.
 
Oh, sure. If I needed a stereo pre-amp, I'd definitely be considering getting a Headmaster. But I doubt it will do quite as good a job as a pre-amp as my Bryston SP1.7 does....
 
I have 600 as well, great phone Jeff you will love them but they a good drive to get the best from them, I'm with Nic on this one, drool for the Sudgen. I have been promising myself one of these for ages, had another play today ;)
 
I'm getting a bonus of around £325 at Christmas and was thinking of getting a headphone amp. Is this enough to purchase one or would there be no benefit over a normal headphone socket with this limited budget.
I'm finding I'm listening more and more to movies via headphones (late at night and I live in a small flat) and would like to benefit from the best sound possible. I currently have some Beyerdynamic Galactic DT231 headphones that i'm using but was thinking I might benefit more just by investing in better headphones.

Could anyone give me some pointers or an idea of price one would have to invest to improve sound quality (music and movies) via headphones.

thanks and sorry if I've hijack your thread a little NicolasB:blush:
 
Hello Hawklord!

In my (admittedly rather limited) experience, high quality headphones benefit more from a good headphone amp than lower quality ones do.

I think that Sennheiser HD600s are really good headphones, and they're actually pretty good value too. You can buy a pair from ASK Eelectronics (click here) for £140 - you might get a better price if you shop around.

If that's a little too much, then you could try the almost-as-good Sennheiser HD580s. (Maybe give Harrow Audio a call on 0800 174 219 and see if they can quote you a good price).

Headphone amp-wise, I suggest you audition the Earmax (if you do buy Sennheiser 580s or 600s then a standard Earmax rather than Earmax Pro might be okay) and also the Graham Slee Projects "Solo" (which one reviewer reckoned outperformed a headphone amp costing £1800). The Sugden Headmaster is apparently very good, but at £600 is also pricey. As mentioned above, though, it doubles up as a very reasonable stereo pre-amp, so if you use a separate pre-amp anyway, it could be a good option.

Earmax and Solo are both somewhere around the £350-£400 mark, so perhaps a bit out of your budget range. If you want something a bit cheaper then there are various possibilities from the likes of Rega, Creek, Musical Fidelity, and so on.

If you can afford something like the Earmax or Solo or Headmaster I would get it - they're quite a step up from most cheaper models - but even a cheaper amp may sound much better than the output from many headphone sockets. You have to remember that manufacturers rarely devote any significant time or money to boosting the peformance of the headphone socket, because they think no one will use it - so any money they spend on it is money that their rivals can deduct from the price of competing products without affecting the performance most customers get out of it.

That said, there's still going to be a big gap in performance between the likes of your DT231s and the higher-end Sennheiser 'phones. (The DT231 Galactics are good value at around ~£40, but much better is available if you go up the price scale).

Another possibility you might consider is investing in a second hand system from Stax. At first glance Stax systems look very expensive, but when you compare the price of the system as a whole with the price of conventional 'phones plus headphone amp, it's not so bad.
 
although my creek amp isnt expensive (i paid about £170), i found it to be an enormous step from the socket on my marantz ki amp

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Info from Philips on the afore-mentioned SBCHP1500:

With regards to your query we can advise that the model SBCHP1500 is not yet available on the market and that it is scheduled for release in early 2004.
 
Many thanks for your recomendations. I have taken the plunge and ordered the HD 600's for the time being and will save a bit longer for a headphone amp. The extra time will allow me to do a bit more research and audition various amps with the HD600's before I make my choice. I'm sure the HD600's will give me an increased performance over my current pair anyhow and will tide me over till I find the most suitable amp.

thanks again Hawklord:smashin:
 
It doesn't end there, apparently if you swap the stock cable on the HD600 it's quite an upgrade. Expensive option though at around $150-200.
 
RA does a good cables, was there today :)

The other great option for the 600 is to look for a great old pre amp to drive them (or integrated) like and Audiolab 800a, this had a stunning headphone socket on it.
 
I ordered a Cardas cable for the HD600 today.

Bad, bad Jeff. Must stop reading audiophile forums.
 
Would be REALLY interested in what you think Jeff :)
 
Sorry to butt in again but I've a few basic questions regarding headphone amps.....:blush:

How many sources can you generally connect to a headphone amp? (I notice some only allow one).
If your limited to one connection and have many sources(av amp, integrated amp,DVDp,CDP,tv etc) how do you get around this. I thought it might be best to use the integrated amps pre outs but whilst using in av mode wouldn't you only get the front left and right channel and as a result not have any dialogue (centre channel).

I don't mind anyone teaching me to suck eggs by the way.....:D

any help would be appreciated.
 
my amp, for example, simply takes signal from a preout or from a tape loop

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most units are one input (occasionally more) an possible a tape output. If you drive from Tape outputs from you processor, that will do all the switching you will need, else look to the pre amp idea
 
Getting stereo output can be a problem. In my setup I can take stereo output direct from the DVD player, but it's more of a problem for Sky. I can take the output from my Sky+ box, but this is of poorer quality than what my SP1.7 produces from the same digital stream. But to use the SP1.7 output I have to switch off the amplifier, set the front speakers to large, and engage stereo down-mix mode. Some other processors (Lexicon MC12, for instance) are able to produce multi-channel sound at the main outputs and a stereo downmix at the tape outputs simultaneously, in which case it's not a problem.

(My "Solo" headphone amp has two sets of inputs).



Got some info from Lake Technology about their HSM6240 "TheaterPhone" device.

This is a stand-alone Dolby Headphone device, in the sense that it is not hard-wired into a specific pair of headphones. But it lacks any DD/DTS decoding ability. Instead it has 5.1 analogue inputs, does A/D conversion, and applies Dolby Headphone processing, before going back to Analogue again. It has two headphone jack sockets, and also a line-level output suitable for feeding to a headphone amp.

They are sold in the US, but not in the UK, except directly from Lake (an Australian company). Importing one from the US obviously produces mains voltage issues. The price of importing one from Australia is roughly £500. (Plus VAT and import duty, I assume).
 
like an Audiolab 800a, this had a stunning headphone socket on it.
Did you mean an 8000A, Beekeeper, or was there an older model called an 800A? And are you referring to a specific version (e.g. is there a mk I, mk II)?
 
Another possibility for someone bitten by the Dolby Headphone bug (over and above the products mentioned already) is a strange thing from Marantz, the PS-17. It sells for about £2K, and contains 5.1 channels of DD/DTS decoding and pre-amplification, but only two channels of power-amplification.
 
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 on in this 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:D
 

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