Heaphones + Amp belw me away!!!!!!

[Antman]

Hi Guys,

I have a decentish budget system at home:

NAD C315BEE Amp (the new one)
NAD C515 CDP (the new one)
Monitor Audio Bronze BR2's

I have had for sometime a pro-ject Head Box MKII and a pair of Sennheiser HD 595's connected to this system - just haven't used them at all.

I was retrenched at the end of January - so have spent quite a lot of time listening to music while trawling the online job sites, I started to find the music very tiring and some cases downright annoying, I have switched to my headphones and what a difference!!!!!!

Very smooth and detailed sound! I can (and have) listen to this for hours on end what a pleasure!

Even considering upgrading the cans and amp if I can improve this....

Any thoughts?

[gifs]

Funnily enough I also rediscovered my headphones last weekend and was taken aback how much better it sounded than my hifi setup.

Nothing quite as good as your setup, but still.

I just plugged my Sennheiser HD505s into my PC (with X-fi soundcard), compared to my Denon Home Theatre amp with Quad L-ite speakers.

I really think that headphones offer very good value for money.

[xenithon]

Try listening with some top tier cans an a Woo amp as below - it is mind blowing! 

[Timber_MG]

I am fairly happy with my Yamaha mixer. I just love the versatility of it for driving my different setups and for playing around...and if I decide that I just want to listen more often than not I have the headphones on already...so much so that I'll need to buy replacement ear-pads sometime.

[BigWoodenSpoon]

Very smooth and detailed sound! I can (and have) listen to this for hours on end what a pleasure!

THIS IS WHAT I'VE BEEN TRYING TO TELL YOU BONEHEADS FOR YEAAAAAARS !!!!!!

[Timber_MG]

One suggestion...a crossfeed filter for non-acoustically recorded music helps a lot.

[Viagara]

One suggestion...a crossfeed filter for non-acoustically recorded music helps a lot.

My pre-amp has crossfeed(whatever that means  ) on its headphone output and I have to admit that it does sound really good with apparently a lot more detail noticable due tolack of surrounding noises, only problem is that the HP jack is at the back of the unit which is a PITA.

BUT, I still prefer the slam you get from speakers

[Viagara]

THIS IS WHAT I'VE BEEN TRYING TO TELL YOU BONEHEADS FOR YEAAAAAARS !!!!!!

No, not for years  Unless KEF produced Q7 headphones

[BigWoodenSpoon]

No, not for years  Unless KEF produced Q7 headphones

  I see the Alzheimer's has gone into remission, you seem to remember well 

BTW, crossfeed wont give you more detail ( the headphones do that  ), it will just give you a more 'natural' sound with your cans.

Crossfeed basically 'crossfeeds' a small percentage of the LEFT into the RIGHT and vice versa. The logic behind this is that when you listen to music thru speakers, your left ear doen't only get info from the left speaker, it does get info from the right speaker but in smaller proportion and the same for the RIGHT channel.

  now you know 'whatever that means' 

[Viagara]

  I see the Alzheimer's has gone into remission, you seem to remember well 

I have selective memory

[BigWoodenSpoon]

I have selective memory

My wife says the same about me  along with my selective hearing 

[DRNB]

 Crossfeed basically 'crossfeeds' a small percentage of the LEFT into the RIGHT and vice versa. The logic behind this is that when you listen to music thru speakers, your left ear doen't only get info from the left speaker, it does get info from the right speaker but in smaller proportion and the same for the RIGHT channel.

  now you know 'whatever that means' 

Ahh, that makes sense, I've just learned something 

Just a question, my experiance with headphones is an "In your head" sound. Does better headpone's/headamps or perhaps the crossfeed overcome this?
 

[xenithon]

Both better headphones and better amps would help. But a lot depends on the type of heaphone (open/closed), the cup housing (e.g., wood) and the intended sonic signature. Some are designed to be close and intimate and between-the-ears; some for a large and open soundstage. I liked crossfeed with lower end kit but found that higher end headphones and amps removed the need for it.

[BigWoodenSpoon]

DITTO 

[Timber_MG]

My experience has been that crossfeed is beneficial on left-right pan recordings, but that the effect is minor on Blümlein or similar mics in front of orchestra/choir/etc type recordings.

I use the foobar2k crossfeed filter which is very mild and usually leave it on (except on those rare binaural recordings)