I very rarely listen to hi-fi though headphones (but have many headphones for recording etc). But here’s a picture of a little set up. The source is a Naim CD5i. The amplifiers are NAC 42-5 with NAP 90. The amplifer output goes to a Stax SRD6/SB unit. That unit can switch between an output to Stax Lambda electrostatics, and ‘loudspeaker’. The loudspeaker output feeds into a 40+ yr old device (“The Can Opener”), which was intended to allow headphone listening from a Naim amplifier. On the picture there are Sennheiser 800 s open backed headphones plugged into it. The whole thing thing sounds great (although I’m sure it’s improvable), and it’s interesting to quickly compare the same track between Stax electrostatics and the Sennheisers. I just wanted to share in case it’s of interest
I still have my Can Opener, bought from Neil Ramsden at The Den in Keighley via an ad in Hi-Fi Review around 1990. I haven’t used it in many years.
I have a HeadLine 2, powered by a HiCap, but I don’t listen to headphones that much. I may ditch it - the two boxes take up a full shelf - but I’ll always have the Can Opener should my listening habits change.
Thank you. I’ve never ‘met’ anyone else who owned one. I’d have bought mine around the same time as you I think (handwritten s/n 6219 on the base). I barely used it at the time also. It involved unplugging speakers, and inserting to the Can Opener. Really good if one listened predominantly on headphones, but uselessly inconvenient otherwise. I followed up then with the Stax Lambdas, which made switching easier. I’ve only recently dug the Can Opener out to use. It’s a lovely ‘cottage industry’ product, and sounds pretty good into high end headphones. love Stevie xx
Thank you. It would have looked even more 1980s if I’d kept the 42-5’s ‘biscuit control’ sister NAP 140, but I think I gave that to a friend decades ago. I’ve also got an older NAC 32-5 in use, but I love the simplicity of the 42-5, and its lack of inputs doesn’t matter in this little system, love Stevie xx
