the Interceptor's general AUDIO thread

Well for what you want - a small, active computer speaker/near field monitor with a strong bass flavor for little money, the M-Audio AV40 sounds like an excellent choice. See if you can find a shop that allows you to have a two-week test period, so you can still send them back if you don't like them. Otherwise, you may proceed and buy. :)
 
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The Audioengine A2 seems to be another suggestion that keeps popping up.

My problem at the moment is that I can't seem to find anyone who stocks the AV40 in Australia...
 
I'd prefer to find a Melbourne seller, but thanks for the tip :)
 
nsx_23 said:
The Audioengine A2 seems to be another suggestion that keeps popping up.
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Sounds excellent as well, would be a good choice, too, probably even better. You can't really go wrong with these two.
 
Dear Interceptor, have you got any suggestions for a decent set of headphones?

I love music and am pretty sure getting good headphones, amp, and good soundcard would be cheaper then getting a good soundcard and speakers for my computer.

I don't have a tonne of cash to spend, but so far I have looked at Sennheiser HD 595, Grado SR60, some AKG's, Denons, and I hear Beyerdynamic is pretty good too.

I manly listen to classic rock, any suggestions on headphones around those prices and amps? I do plan on going to a dedicated audio store and listening to the headphones they have there in person first, but I need to be guided in the right direction first.
 
SR60 with Sennheiser HD414 pads are absolutely brilliant for rock. I had this combo for a while before selling it to fund other purchases. You could also pick up some bowl pads, but either way the stock SR60 pads are rubbish and you'll want to replace them ASAP to really bring out the Grado sound.

AKG will be too plain for rock, and the Beyerdynamic and HD595 would probably need an amp to sound good.

What do you have in mind for an amp?
 
nsx_23 said:
SR60 with Sennheiser HD414 pads are absolutely brilliant for rock. I had this combo for a while before selling it to fund other purchases. You could also pick up some bowl pads, but either way the stock SR60 pads are rubbish and you'll want to replace them ASAP to really bring out the Grado sound.

AKG will be too plain for rock, and the Beyerdynamic and HD595 would probably need an amp to sound good.

What do you have in mind for an amp?
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Absolutely no idea. I would preferably be able to you one for semi-portability (as in moving it around the house). The only amps I have looked at so far are from Headphone.com
 
Have you had a look on head-fi?

Ok, amp wise, what features are you after? I'm guessing you'll probably want to use whatever portable amp you buy with your laptop/desktop right? Then what you'll want is a headphone amp/DAC combo which can connect to your PC via USB. Doing so bypasses the (often crap) internal soundcard and gives a much better signal.

Several options you could look at depending on what you want to spend:

1) Practical Devices XM5 - http://www.practicaldevices.com/index.htm
2) Nuforce Icon Mobile - http://www.nuforce-icon.com/Product-Icon-Mobile.htm
3) iBasso P3 - http://www.ibasso.com/en/products/show.asp?ID=41
4) Meier Corda 3Move - http://www.meier-audio.homepage.t-online.de/

I have no idea how much you want to spend, so I just quickly noted a few which I think are well worth the money. I have a Meier Corda XXS, which is basically the Corda 3Move without the DAC section, and it sounds fantastic with the Grado SR60. The practical devices XM5 is another one of my favorite portable units. Its well made, has op-amp rolling and buffer chip slots so you can fine tune the sound to your liking later on and can be slightly adjusted to suit whatever source you have it hooked up to.

The iBasso comes with a ton of extra accessories and is very good value. I had the previous D2 Boa, and that impressed me with its performance for the price.

The Nuforce is the cheapest one there, but that doesn't mean its rubbish. It does definitely sound worse than the others from my own testing experience, but certainly not a bad performer for the money and it is the most portable of the 4 options.

The thing with the SR60 is that it doesn't need an amp to sound great since its quiet easy to drive from most MP3 players, but getting an amp now isn't a bad idea since it'll be handy as you progress on with your audio journey.

If you don't need the DAC functionality, then you're open to even more options.

For example, here's my mini3 amp that I built:

IMG_9546.jpg


It can be built for about $90USD if you're handy with a soldering iron.

If you decide you don't need a portable amplifier, however, I suggest this for home use: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ZERO-24-192-...ms=65:1|66:2|39:1|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:50

I have one at the moment, and it sounds very good for the money. Mine has a few tweaks done to it, and the performance/price ratio is spot on.

Here's an extensive review of the Zero from head-fi: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/review-zero-24-bit-192khz-dac-headphone-amp-pre-amp-269458/

This is now my favorite portable combination:

IMG_9510.jpg


Heavily tweaked iRiver H332, Meier Corda XXS amplifier and Sennheiser IE8 IEMs.
 
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Alright, I think I am going to go with the Grados.

You mentioned a usb amp instead of my soundcard (onboard). Will that give me as good quality as a soundcard itself (or at least close). Also are they portable at all?

Also I don't even know what DAC is, I am a complete nooby who just wants good headphones for my music.
 
A DAC is essentially a USB sound card. Yes they are quiet portable, and you can use it with your laptop wherever you are. Using a DAC bypasses the often crappy onboard soundcard, and you get much better quality sound out of it.

Have a look at the links I put up above. Those ones there are all portable amp/DAC combos, and so you can use them with your laptop via USB or your MP3 player via a 3.5mm input.
 
I was reading one of the other threads and BEYERDYNAMIC DT770 were said to be good also, do you have a specific preference to the Grados and those? They are both in with what I am willing to spend.
 
The thing with the DT770 is that you'll need a powerful amplifier to drive them properly whereas the Grados are very efficient and will be driven just fine from, say, an iPod.

I think the Grados will do nicer with rock music though. You might also want to look into the Alessandros, which are basically modified Grados.
 
Well I've been looking at the Alessandro MS1i as you said to, and found that on head-fi people were loving them, as they evidently have the SR125 drivers in them.

I also realized you linked me to the iBasso P3, which don't seem to be DAC. I found the iBasso D2 Boa which are cheaper :D and have the DAC functionality. Do you think these would be good fits?

I just don't want to spend this moeny and then be like "oh crap I hate all of this." or "This is not as amazing as I thought."
 
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Yep, I had the D2 boa for a little while, and its certainly not a bad choice.

If you can afford it, the D10 is well worth the stretch.
 
I edited after you posted, so I will re-edit and just place it here.

Also...I might be willing to go to about $300 USD for the headphones and maybe $200 max for the amp. That raises my options, but considering I am a newbie audiofile (as in I am not an audiofile yet) I don't know if I should wait and enjoy these Alessandros and the amp to use with my portable players and my PC to bypass the soundcard.
 
I was like you when I started this hobby, and I can tell you now from my experience you'd be much better off stretching your budget as much as possible now as I guarantee you will be hankering after an upgrade not too distant into the future.

If you're willing to stretch to that much then you have some very tasty options to look at.

But firstly, do you plan on using any of the stuff you buy on the go or will they stay home most of the time? I need to know your will use the equipment for before making recommendations :)
 
Sorry to double post in here and the other thread :( but I wanted to make sure it was posted in the correct thread

I was a creative ep-630 user for the past 2 years during which I had to change them four times...one side of the buds would give out after 6 months of use.

I mostly listen to stuff in the following fashion:

Audiobooks/Podcasts/Spoken Words :40%
Classic Rock:30%
Instrumental:20%
Other stuff:10%

RE2:

Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001B4E4WE/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller=

Reviews:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/pictorial-review-head-directs-re2-312513/
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Head-Direct/RE2


Altec Lansing UHP336

People say they are rebranded Ultimate Ears Super-Fi 3

Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Altec-Lansing-UHP336-Snugfit-Earphone/dp/B000Q7IA5E

Reviews:
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/665/1/
 
nsx_23 said:
I was like you when I started this hobby, and I can tell you now from my experience you'd be much better off stretching your budget as much as possible now as I guarantee you will be hankering after an upgrade not too distant into the future.

If you're willing to stretch to that much then you have some very tasty options to look at.

But firstly, do you plan on using any of the stuff you buy on the go or will they stay home most of the time? I need to know your will use the equipment for before making recommendations :)
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I think I can pony up around $500 for everything. As I love music immensly and will probably also end up using them to play rock band at night too (currently use Bose Tri-ports [got for $70 bucks 3 years ago when I listend to my father when he said Bose is good...]).

I will use mostly for like sitting at home, or in a car. But also I plan on bringing them to school with me so while inbetween classes I can use the in the lounge. I don't care if they are huge, as I will get a bag big enough. I do plan on sitting at the computer with them constantly on, as that is what I do, surf and music, or game and music.
 
I think the best way would be to get a pair of IEMs for on the go use, then a nice set of cans and a desktop amp for use when you're home and just chilling in front of the computer.

Have a look at the Zero I posted earlier. I have one, and its not a bad desktop unit for the money. Mine has a few tweaks, so it now sounds even better.

Headphone wise, are you willing to look second hand? $300USD will easily snap you something pretty top-shelve on the 2nd hand market (My Ultrasone Pro 900s were bought 2nd hand for about that).
 
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