Due to my partner's addiction to watching murder mysteries on the TV .. my nice naim stereo spends many hours silent every evening.

I tried buying her a TV to watch upstairs, but it didn't work!

So ... to maximise use of my lovely black and green toys, what would be a good pair of headphones to go with a CD5x / 122x preamp and sounding as much like a pair of neat speakers as possible?

Ideas please.

(NB: budget under £500, but I'll willing to dream)

For a little more than your planned budget, a Naim Headline headphones amp and NAPSC power supply would be my choice, even if you make it work with and inexpensive pair of headphones as a starter.

You'll obtain the same high quality music reproduction that you're familiar with, and also the WAF will surely be ok, as the Headline and NAPSC are matching the aesthetics of your actual kit. And we never know, she may offer you the headset you really like to match the Headline (Try the Grado RS-1 or RS-2).

Bye.

Hey nickarran,

I have the same player and Pre-amp, and am using a set of AKG 701's through a Rega Ear!
Very happy with the result and can recommend!
Cheers.

Headphones are an acquired taste so I'd suggest you beg borrow or steal temporarily before you commit a large amount of money.
Since my first son arrived nearly 20 years ago most of my serious listening has been done on Stax "earspeakers" and I love them. Nothing else compares IMHO but as usual there'll be plenty of other recommendations!

nickarran,

If you have to be in the same room with a tv watching wife, then what you need is a closed cans.

Unforutnatley, most of them are dire compared to open ones and worse, they still leak so depending on your wife's tolerance, they might not cut it either.

Out of the bunch I have tried, Audio Technica's W5000 was the best. Altho, I haven't tried a closed Stax.

AT W5k works well with a NAHA even with a NAPSC.

How about getting your wife to listen to the tv using closed back headphones, so you can use your speakers. No need for a headphone amp, and for tv quality sound the cost would be well under £500.

After you've suggested that, and she has refused, you may be able to guilt her into an increased budget in view of the fact that you are the one making the sacrifice.

I use Stax 2020, bought 2nd hand for about £200. They are by far the best cans I've ever used.
The main thing to be aware of is that they do bleed a bit of music out into the room, so if your beloved is in the same room watching tv, its likely to be a bit off putting for her. If the room is a fair size, & the volume is fairly low it may be OK, but if you are sitting close to each other, they may not be right for you.
Comfort os SO important with cans, & is highly individual. There is no point in getting a slightly better sound quality, if you can't use them for more than half an hour before they become uncomfortable.
Definitely try before you buy.
Matt.

Don't go mad with headphones with your source. I have Grado GS1000's that replaced SR80's and while they are better my cd5/fc2 will never get the best from them. I suggest you try SR80's as they work very well with the cd5/fc2 so would be perfect with your source.

They can get uncomfortable after a couple of hours but you would probably be getting up now and again and taking them off (drink, pee, etc ).

I too think that blowing 500 notes on some cans is way OTT. Try the Grados 80 or 125...for my preference the Senn sound is way too bass-boomy.

EDIT: Seeing as putting the wife upstairs didn't work, what about a cellar?

Hi Nick,

I've just got back into the headphone thing. I auditioned several models including the Stax 2020 package at £449, but preferred Grado SR80s on a Naim Headline.

The Stax electrostatics sounded great but their presentation was a little too laid back for me. As with loudspeakers, this is simply a matter of personal taste. The Grado phones seem to strike a really good balance for me by sounding smooth and spacious, but with great resolution, verve and PRaT.

The problem you have (as Kuma points out) is that open-backed phones generally sound better than closed-back types (and a lot more like loudspeakers) but are not ideal for either party with another person in the same room.

The Grado phones seem to have a great synergy with the Naim Headline. SR80s, a Headline and Naim i-Supply will cost you around £500. I've heard this combo (and loved it) but intend to try the better NAPSC power supply on the Headline soon.

Be prepared for some running-in. My SR80s have currently had about 45 hours use (mainly left running on a tuner) and the continuing improvement in sound quality is decidedly marked.

Good luck.

John.

Just to reiterate John's point, the Grado does lead a lot.

So much so that I can't no longer use the RS1 in my room. ( my mate hear the lead from another room! )

Something a little different - I use a pair of beyer dynamic Pro 770 closed cans upstairs on the 'other' system for monitoring logic/itunes/soft synths etc from the mac - and am well impressed with them.

Your pre-amp is better than most headphone amps. For the small added effort of unplugging the power-amp you save the whole cost of a headphone amp+power supply.I'd suggest driving your cans from the output stage of the pre-amp. Any reasonably sensitive headphones will do, but I'd go for the Sennheiser HD650.

Very different from the superb, but unsuitable Stax earspeakers, because you need them closed are the equally enjoyable Denon cans (AHD 5000)



with a NAHA/NAPSC - you'll be singing along (oh wait a minute - that might not be allowed )

So; thanks folks.

Pretty much everything points at Stax and Grados. And as the stax are a)pig ugly (bar the sr007s which are ludicrously expensive) and b) need an expensive stax energiser ... grados then.

Sounds RS1s or even 325is are over the top. Maybe worth getting some SR80s just to try it out then 2nd hand RS1s later maybe.

As for headphone amps - hmm. People already stare in astonishment when I tell them I paid £1700 for an amp and still had to buy a separate phono stage; when they learn I also had to buy a separate headphone output too!!!!!!

Anyway, short of replugging the CDP or "Record" o/p each time I want to use phones, attaching a headline (and NAPSC presumably) takes up the recording output doesn't it? So bye bye tape deck (not that it's used often) or possible future Sonos multi-room system (for relaying the CDP to the garage etc).

Might keep the (still-crap-but-rather-good-for-a-tape-deck) tape deck and use its headphone output. For starters anyway.

How much difference does a headline make? And is it really OK to just use the 122x's power amp output instead?

PS: yes singing along is definitely banned!

Nick,

The output from a pre-amp will not drive headphones. You could, as you say use the headphone output on your tape deck (connected to the amp tape loop) to feed 'phones from all sources in your system.

But if you're using good quality phones, it's a mullet system. A good headphone amp is essential to realise the performance potential of audiophile 'phones.

Look at my suggested package as a bargain. A £500 pair of speakers are not in the same sonic league.

If funds are tight, consider the Pro-ject Headbox II at £75, which is reckoned to work well with Grado 60s and 80s - or the Creek headphone amps which are well rated and reasonably priced.

John.

In a different direction, how about some Ear Canal headphones? My current favorite is the Shure SE530. Here is a brief description of what to expect:

These ear canal headphones/earphones [ECHs] are very small and inserted slightly into the ear canal, but they are nothing like lowly 'earbud' designs. They will provide the very best seal against outside sound of any headphone design, often well in excess of minus -20dB of noise blocking / attenuation. In addition to the superb ambient noise seal, the precise acoustic coupling to the eardrum of these miniaturized cutting-edge microdriver speakers actually lessens the listening level required to achieve ultra-clear musical detail resolution and full sonic impact since you're not forced to overcome ambient noise with sheer volume. In truth, high-end ECHs are amongst the world’s very best sounding headphones at the price.

Hi Jadip, yes I'd thought about quality in-ear phones ... especially the shure 530s.

But have you tried them against any quality over-ear phones?

How to they compare?

I also have a pair of Sennheiser HD650 (and a pair of Shure SE420. I could easily live with just the Shure SE 530 and would have if I had bought them first. I already had the Sennheisers but wanted something for travel, which the Shure's do nicely.

As was suggested earlier, why not start with a Rega Ear and some reasonably priced headphones - you may find out that headphones are not your bag. If you do like them (and still use them a few months after you bought them), you can always sell the Rega and upgrade.

As for headphones, I prefer AKGs.

Spend some time browsing around headphone dot com. Lots of good info and prices.