You’re most welcome to offer your take on grados. I’ve not heard the grado gs1000x but the larger grados are more comfortable for sure. I would actually love the 3000x but don’t know if I can bring myself to drop that kinda money on headphones right now
You should absolutely go for it. In my case, the HL2 I found in the last few months was one of the last ones the factory made, and had been sitting in a box at a dealer’s for several years. The gent I purchased it from had it for a few months and barely used it. Cost me a quarter on the dollar.
Regarding PSUs, this is where the real decision making comes in. I knew I didn’t want a noisy PSU - so no NAPSC. Plus I wanted a power switch to be able to easily turn it off. Finally, it needed to stack well with the CD5Xs and HL2, and look good while doing it.
Must say, the FCXS really does everything I wanted it to do, plus it powers the analog stage of the CD5XS. My head is probably no more than 4-5’ away from the stack, and there is zero audible hum. Past experience with both the NAPSC and HC suggests I couldn’t get that effect.
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If I’m not mistaken I believe I can power the headamp from my 552. I would just need to buy a headphone out cable (tape out) if I’m not mistaken.
You’re mistaken. If you want a Headline, you need a separate power supply. The 552 can power a phono stage but nothing else.
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Thanks for letting me know
Are you sure it’s Sheffield based? Can’t find it
Then I will!
I found them to be just awful. They were driven in my system by a Headline (olive) /Flatcap. It was many years ago now so can’t remember the model but it was just below the top of the range one at the time.
It was like having a pair of Linn Kans strapped to my head. And as much as I love the Kans, that wasn’t a pleasant experience. I found them forward, shouty, uncouth and tiring to listen to. They were however very fast, dynamic and exciting. But just too much for me. I ended up with a pair of Sennheisers around £200 or so which were more laid back and refined and just far more pleasant.
The best headphones I ever had were Stax electrostatics. Before the days of the Headline, so one of the few headphones that one could easily use with Naim amps - for obvious reasons.
I now have a pair of Beyers which I only very occaisonally use with my Moon amp, plugged into it’s onboard headphone output. I’m not, and never have been, much of a headphone guy.
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Me either. I only use them out of necessity.
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I’m also very much an occasional/on the go headphones user and it’s gratifying to see Sennheiser get some positive mentions in this thread.
Upgraded from original B&W PX’s to Sennheiser Momentum 4’s this year and found that where the old ‘phones always sounded better with cabling, despite being Bluetooth-enabled, the Mo’ 4’s sound superior without. Apart from retaining musicality and detail and all that good stuff, the sound staging is stunning. Left and right seem to go WAAAY beyond the actual earphones placement, whilst feeling at the same time, part of a homogenous whole. Good noise cancellation too. On aircraft, the engine noise is detectable until the music starts playing when it fades into the background.
Using the Aptx Adaptive codec, these are going to satisfy for quite awhile, going forward.
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Thank you
@MikeD imho that’s a perfect use of headphones as they’re meant to be portable.
Over the years I’ve spent so much money on headphone systems when in actual fact they don’t provide me with the satisfaction of a 2 channel system.
Initially I bought into the “headphones are the ultimate reference” quote that reviewers and headfi guys often state but even when I explored some killer head gear, it did not do as well as a speaker system.
This actually makes me wonder why I always buy an expensive amp when I buy headphones as the amplifier doesn’t make a huge difference. The difference between a £500 amp and a 4K amp was very small. I guess it’s the thrill of collecting gear.
But yes Grado was my pick from the bunch. The only Grado I found underwhelming was the ps500e. I can’t even remember why.
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Disregard the cheap shoe racks currently standing in for proper shelving. First thing’s first upon move in - get the stereo up and running. Gotta have music while unpacking.
Appears to sound so much better in this longer space. Even with a full wall of glass ~6m/ 20’ across room from the speakers + concrete floors.
Ovators now .5m / 21” from the rear wall.
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Sounds like the new position suits your listening preferences.
I assume when you change the racks you might also try changing the speaker cable from coils to concertina type laydown. 
.
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Nice vibe in your new room.
Looking forward to seeing how you relax into that space and use it…
Do share another photo, once you are unpacked and settled in…
And a great system too 
Happy listening
R
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I like the rug!
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It’s definitely worth (ok, it might be worth) a read of threads about cable coiling, reading this post and a few down is interesting!
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Every noise or radioi nterference issue I had was from using the zigzag arrangement and hiding the bundles near the rack.
I followed that “accepted” Naim wisdom for years but eventually came round to just a simple coil of slack behind each speaker after a particularly persistent problem.
Over the years I’ve come to question and re-evaluate a lot of the accepted wisdom. Some bears out. Some is nonsense. A lot is misunderstood, taken out of context, and comes out the other end as misguided advice.
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I’m not aware of any official advice from Naim such as product manuals regarding the coiling or zigzag arrangement. However, the forum FAQ written by our illustrious leader @Richard.Dane does recommend zigzag and not coiling. I presume this is based on practical experience rather than just hearsay:
“Spare speaker cable should not be coiled – excess cable may be tidied up in a way similar to that employed in the “Jumping Jack” firework. Use cable ties or similar at either end to hold in place. Additional: I would not recommend any particular length for the folds - you can make the folds suitable for hiding but use some sense. You are most likely to end up with one cable needing to be tidied - that to the nearest speaker - giving the distance between the speakers as the amount to be dealt with. Avoid having the doubled (tripled or whatever) too close to either the speaker or the amplifier end of the cable - to give as much flexibility as NACA5 allows for the final run at each end.“
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