Show us your headphones

I use stellia with Sony Z1 and Sp1000 DAPs as well with good results

My 272 vs creek trial was with Fostex 900s, HD800 and Sony Z7 back in time

My point was that even a basic headphone and is a better performer than 272

So i did not try Stellia with 272

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Hi Chris - I did use the Z1Rs with my 1Z player until I got the Mytek to make a more permanent bedroom system. They work very well with the 1Z via the balanced connection but do need a bit more drive than the SE846. Normal volume for me is around 50 on the 1Z for the SE846, and needing about 80 on the Z1R. My only complaint when I had the ZX2 was it lacked a bit of power compared to the 1Z, but it still made an excellent combination with the SE846. Good luck with your search.

James

+1 For Focal Elegia. I find them pretty capable for when speakers are not an option and as closed backs they reduce the leaked sound to a level that’s not annoying for my wife when she is watching the TV. Supplied cable is too short however, only really useful as a lead for connecting to a phone while on the go. Shame because the quality is great.

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Indeed, the ZX2/SE846 is a great combination, and I love the fact that it’s genuinely portable - as in pocket sized. I was hoping that moving to closed back headphones wouldn’t require a player upgrade, but I wonder if that’s unrealistic.

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Depend on the DAP. My R5 is more than capable of running all my phones very very well either via single ended and more so via balanced out. Its a surprisingly capable DAP for for the price and scales to using way more expensive headphones and is bit perfect across local and streaming. Sounds great with my Elears, Meze 99 Classics, SE425 and Meza Rai Solo.

Not necessarily - at least with the ZX2 you can take it with you and audition headphones and find what works best. Worth having a look on head-fi as there was a massive thread on the ZX2 there and there are some useful observations on suitable matches amongst all the noise…

Plus one for Focal Clears. But I’ve only listened to and enjoyed them via a violectric v281. They might be crap via a quarter inch outlet on an amp.

New Meze silver balanced cable added to the Solos, much smoother and a bit more punch with the R5 which continues to perform way past its meager price. Amazing DAP for the money.

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What’s people’s opinion on a top headphone system vs their hifi.
Having small ones in the house, I occasionally get the itch of selling my system and getting something like a DCS Bartok with some Focal Utopia headphones as I would be able to listen nicely in the evening.

Nice to have both options.

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I think they compliment each other.
The insight, feel and sheer musical enjoyment from a top headphone system is just simply incredible. It borders on true reality.
However it is not a social experience, it’s more an intimate one.
A speaker based system gives a certain feel to the sound in the way many are conditioned to listen to recorded music, and as such it feels natural. You can also enjoy your music with those that you wish, and the social / communal aspect of music appreciation shouldn’t be under estimated.

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I’ve got a reasonable system:
(52 / SNAXO242/ CB250s / SBLs)

Sources are a Gyrodec/SMEIV/Kontrapunkt H and an nDAC/XPS
The room is a little too small really (about 3m x 3.5m) and cluttered with filing cabinets, desk etc. (it’s my ‘study’).

Earlier this year I bought some Sennheiser HD800S 'phones which I used with a Headline 2 (powered by a CB HiCAP). I bought a Sennheiser HDVA600 amplifier a month or so ago which I’ve been using in ‘balanced’ mode with the headphones.

Frankly since I’ve bought the headphone amplifier I’ve hardly used the speakers. I’m tempted to power the supercap (for the 242) and CB250s off. I won’t sell them but do question how much I’ll use them.

Additionally tempted to feed the nDAC straight into the HDVA600 and power the NAC52 down also. Can’t see myself selling the system but can see it one day being ‘dust covered’ and rarely used. Enjoying the headphone experience that much (Roon’s DSP has helped).

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I find the presentation very different but also complementary. I thoroughly enjoy listening through headphones and if I had to, I could be very happy with headphones only. That said, given the choice it would be speakers every time. I love the additional air and space which feels more natural vs the more concentrated albeit possibly more “correct” presentation of headphones.

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I agree. I am guessing as I haven’t heard but I would imagine a DCS Bartok with Focal utopia setup which is arguably the best headphone setup you can get £17000. I reckon to get the sound quality that could reproduce on a Hifi would be mega mega money?

The Utopias were good, but not my cup of tea… something not right in the Utopias treble response and dynamics for my ears… it was a shame as I could have got a very good price…

For me the DAVE (with a Naim digital source) driving a pair of Empyreans is as perfect as I have heard short of real life… and I would recommend that to anyone at any price. To match or better with speakers I think you (or certainly I) might need to be in a Maida Vale recording studio. Also at this level the recording / master very much becomes the bottleneck.

In my youth I had an internship with the Beeb and spent some time at Maida Vale… a great introduction into true high end recorded music production and replay.

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Very much agree with this. I love listening to Empyrean with the TT2 & MScaler… incredible detail but I would miss the soundstage & imaging of a Near Field listening system that has plenty of air with the feel of sounds moving around you in space.

The presentation is more in front of you and you feel like you’re observing a performance whereas headphones you’re a lot closer to the performance and in amongst it more but it doesn’t quite have the same degree of holographic presentation as NFL.

I’ve now accepted that the idea is not to make the headphones replace the sound of speakers but rather to provide an alternative view of the performance… a different perspective if you like. As such, both compliment each other and sort of give you the chance to see and hear the performance from two different angles… sort of.

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The other thing with NFL is the pseudo spatial effect in the way the sound reaches both ears from each speaker… there is a cross over and it can create an artificial extended stereo field . You can simulate this if required using cross feed with headphones… and some cross feed systems are very configurable to simulate NFL to stereo when using headphones… which clearly otherwise don’t exhibit this effect.

This effect can be enhanced by increased high treble prominence as well.

I find with headphones they accurately portray the field as recorded mastered, but speakers can act as a cross feed system to enhance the field if not strong in the recording.
Listening to live stereo microphones recordings on headphones I find incredibly lifelike

@Simon-in-Suffolk When you had the TT2, did you use the cross feed settings and if so, which one. Initially it felt like I was losing a bit of detail when I had this on?!?

Hi, I no I didn’t use, I used the cross feed in Roon, which I preferred due to it being more configurable to suit. But I only use on certain tracks. Can’t say I noticed any real loss of detail though. However in this area there are lots of things going on with the brain decoding what and how it is hearing, so I guess anything could happen.

Cheers. I’d never even thought about trying Roon Cross Feed. Any particular settings you’d recommend?