Blimey, this takes me back and brings fond memories. My first phones were also Sansui, but I cant remember the model number. They were smaller than yours being an “on ear” type so didnt weigh the same as a battleship! I bought them in the very early 70’s and replaced them circa 1980 with a pair of Sony ECR500 electrostatics.
True… they feel similar to the HD800s cables… can’t be much difference to them in terms of feel.
Thanks Simon. True these leads dont tangle but I find myself “straightning” them out before every listening session - although I must say I am a bit OCD!!
You wear your headphones 7+ hours a day? Blimey…
Yeah… blame the better half for that!
Until Covid-19, I had the run of the house when working from home. Now, she’s also working from home and my speaker volume has been slashed to very low volumes so as not to interfere with Zoom meetings etc that seem to go on forever
I still get an hour or so in the evening with my speakers though…and subject to mood may be accompanied by beer/wine/whisky in hand.
So, I had just £1,000 to play with (cans and amp) so a lot of the lovely-looking 'phones on this thread were out for me. Fortunately I did rather fall for some kit that was well within my budget and which I was hugely impressed by - the Beyerdynamic Amiron Home (a consumer version of the company’s famous pro and studio 'phones) cans and Beyerdynamic A20 amp. I got both with £260 off the RRP of £938 – so I can spend the spare cash on either getting the trusty old NAP250 serviced OR splurging it on more music – result!
The amp I was looking for would be simple (not looking for a DAC or other extras), small, well-built and simple; the cans would have to be super-comfortable, well-built and designed with good bass extension (but lean bass – I’m not a basshead), open, balanced sound, detailed and energetic but also relaxing enough to enjoy over long periods. I’m not interested in using them outisde of the home so portability was not an issue.
Both bits of kit ticked all the boxes – I audiotioned the Amirons by listening to some Goldfrapp, Andy Batt’s fabulous new stereo mix of Bobbie Gentry’s The Delta Sweete (which sounded amazing - it was as if Bobbie herself was singing softly into my ear) and Abbey Road. I was impressed by the detail, the spaciousness of the sound, the lack of fatigue and by the unbelievable comfort of the Amirons – you can hardly feel they’re on. And the 10ft cable means I can lie horizontal on the sofa while listening.
Am very much looking forward to breaking these two puppies in over the coming days ands weeks.
sounds like a great result…enjoy!
Any recommendations for closed back headphones? For when the HD800 cans annoy my partner.
The Sennheiser 820 are too expensive.
Very nice Kev! Enjoy…
But jeez, can ye not wash that head a bit?!
Or is part of the Unpolished Platter family?
The Termagant gave me that as a 21st birthday present back in 1983 - mostly it has been gathering dust in the spare room as I haven’t had a use for it.
But you’re right - it’s filthy and needs a shower!
My shortlist at the moment is HD820, Focal Stellia, Sony MDR-Z1R. In case you think this is a recommendation, I haven’t heard any of them apart from the Focals driven by a 272, which sounded disappointingly dull. The search continues.
I own stellia and Sony and tried the hd820
Stellia is the Best for everything, decent isolation as well for noisy enviorments
Sony is a different flavor but mellow and warm
Hd820 is no go
I used to own 272 and compared with a creek obh21
Creek was a far better choice, even my wife Said no to 272 headphone output after 20seconds
Utopia is my favorite but it needs total silence in the room
My comment about closed backs, is yes they are ideal for listening in noisy environments or where you do need to isolate your sound, but sonically they are challenged when compared to open backs, often in those all important mids, due to the cup pressure. Yes bass can be strong because of the closed enclosure, but not always as fast as open backs.
So yes if you have no choice then get the best closed backs you can, but if SQ is the most important than almost certainly you will get much more for your money with open backs.
I have yet to hear a close back genuinely realistic, but with the right amp and source is not so unusual with high end open backs.
Genuinely realistic, I am referring to what a few in the AES have referred to as true high definition, where real and replayed sounds seamlessly integrate. (Which can be quite spooky with voices)
I do find with many open backs like Focal Utopia and Meze Empyreans you don’t need total or significant silence in your room to enjoy… in fact unless there are loud background noises they work well… but they do spread sound… think mobile on very low level volume hands free.
Anyone heard the Dan Clark Audio (Mr Speakers) Aeon 2 closed backs? Or the Ether 2 closed backs? I will put them on my demo list.
I’ll be interested in what you end up with Chris. I still have the Z1R Sony ‘phones which still do the business for me 2 years on. I’m sure i’ll get the urge to explore some open backs sometime but the combination of sound quality, isolation and comfort works nicely at the moment.
This has been an interesting thread. As much as I enjoy my main system, a high quality headphone system brings a new perspective to familiar albums so it’s been useful to read of others experiences.
I’ve had my Amirons for 2 years and totally agree with your findings. They’re fantastic! I use mine with an Arcam rHead. I’ve also got the DT 1990s but the Amirons win on comfort level. Great choice👍🏻
Keeping it under the value of the HD820, I would recommend taking a look at the Focal Elegia… which can be had for £599 (reduced from £850) and take a listen to the Meze Classic 99 as well.
I have the Elegia and while they’re very different from open backs, they have great detail with a plenty of slam in the sub / low bass range. The high bass / low mids can be a little light but, they do EQ very well!
Thanks for the info, I might give the Stellias a second chance if the 272 was letting them down. Having said that, what I really want is something that can be driven by a small portable player that can take over from my trusty SE846 in-ears. Trying to figure out if a top flight closed back headphone is really able to perform without a decent separate headphone amp.
Hi James, I presume you’re running your Z1Rs from a portable player. I still use my trusty ZX2 with IEMs, trying to figure out if a portable is actually capable of driving headphones properly.
I would use headphones at home occasionally as Dave seems to do a pretty good job, but for me they are primarily for use away from home.
I use closed back headphones and when I was shopping for them it was a close fight between the Meze 99 and the Beyerdynamic Dt1770 Pro’s. They both sound fantastic and the Meze’s can be driven by pretty much anything.
I’m running my headphones through a Schiit valve headphone amp which better suits the Beyerdynamic 250 ohm impedance so that’s what I went with in the end (and they work well with my digital piano). Really happy with them and surprisingly, they also sound decent plugged into the ipad.
If you can, give them both a go!