Headphones

arsun said:
HD800s are fine with the stock cable IMHO. I think they have one of the best standard headphone cables on the market. There are many other parts in the signal chain to upgrade way before these cables, again IMHO of course :)...

I agree.  Upgrading the cables on mine is very, very low on the priority list.
 
Hey Jim,

The K501 us an open headphone. It was AKG's main audiophile phone for many years until it was updated to the 601. To my ears, it's a detailed but smooth sounding headphone. Like I said, it doesn't have the greatest bass impact with most amps but it's great with classical and jazz. Nice soundstage too. I consider all AKG's to be among the most comfortable headphones to wear for long periods of time too.
For you guys who are new to the headphone scene, don't discount that last bit about comfort. The last thing you want is to have to stop listening because of comfort issues. I do think that headphone manufacturers have made some real strides is this area lately but that isn't universal.
There are things you can do to make them more comfortable. Some of it depends on how you plan to listen to them. In other words, if you're planning to be active when you listen, they can't be so loose that they're going to fall off your head.
Here's a short list of comfort mods.

Reducing the HD600/650 head-clamp (applies to most headphones that squeeze your head till your eyes bug out).

First, extend the headband about and inch away from it's most extended position (as if you had an enormous head). Take some books and put the headphones on them and add another book or more so they're pretty tight. Leave it like that overnight.
The idea here is to train the inside end of the metal band inside of the headband so it's not so tight.
Check the fit. If it hasn't loosened at all, add more books and repeat.
Then, adjust the headband to your optimal size and follow the above procedure again.
If you have a pretty big head, you'll need to do this several times while adding books each time.

Some headphones have thin padding on the earpads. If your ears touch the driver at all, it'll hurt after a long listening session. There are a couple of different tactics you can try.
If the earpads have a flap on the driver side of the material covering the foam inside, you can cut some open cell foam (about 1/4-1/2" thick) and slip it under the flap.
Some folks swear by using rubber tubing rather than foam.
In cases where there's no flap, you may have to remove the earpads and insert the "spacer" inside or under the pads. Most pads are attached with some sort of adhesive but with some, you have to take the earcups apart to free the earpads.
Easy does it with this. You don't want to crease the headband metal at all or fatigue the metal.

* Be aware that the space between the driver and your ear is an integral part of the design, like your listening room, so changing the basic dimensions by adding too much foam will change the frequency response.
That and where you locate circumaural earpads/earcups in relation to your ear is somewhat like moving your listening chair back and forth in relative to your speakers. Many headphones sound better when the earcups are located a little closer to the front of your ears than exactly centered. It's always worth experimenting.
 
With regards to recabling headphones, I agree with CB.
I've listened to tons of upgraded cables and while the differences are usually audible, in many cases I have to strain my ears to hear it.
That said, that's kind of shoved to the back-back burner and I concentrate of the rest of the system or buy music.
I've always figured if a stock cable gets screwed up some way, I'll spring for a really nice set but so far, that's never happened.

The one exception is maybe the HD600. That's a pretty poor cable that comes with it. It is failure prone. There are tons of aftermarket cables for them but you can also just order a pair of HD650 cables directly from Sennhiesser for about $15+shipping.
 
Thanks Arsun, CB and Steve.  The 800s would be a long way off for me unless I can manage to land a part-time, off-the-books job to feed my habit :-).

The 501/601s sound interesting too -- going to have to keep an eye out for a pair of those.

All great info -- thanks guys.

-- Jim
 
Howdy all - as the original poster of this thread I thought I should write a follow up.  I built the Crack, made my own case for it using some beautiful Texas mesquite and am loving it.  I finally had to make a decision on headphones and decided to go with the Beyerdynamics 990s, 600 ohm version.  I don't have anything to compare them to, at least not while listening to the Crack but I can say they sound fantastic.  Very dynamic, fantastic bass, clean highs.  I'm still getting used to the whole headphone thing but this is a pretty good start for me.  Next step is upgrading the DAC - currently listening to a squeezbox as is.  Think I'll be buying a PS Audio Digital Link III next.  Bottom line, love the Beyerdynamics
 
Hi Guys.
Before I order my crack amp, I wanted to listen to some phones.
The only dealer in town, that still offers headphones in reality, had AKG K-702, Beyerdynamik T-1, Grado SR 325 and Senns HD 800.
To make a not too long story short: for the experienced listener, this is not a contest. The HD 800 wins hands down. The AKG is uncomfortable to my head, but nice sounding. The T-1 is certainly good bit not on par with the Senns. The Grado is a likeable headphone but too low impedanced to suit the Crack.
So here I am - wanting to spend 200-300 Euros and what do I have? 1000.-
The dealer said - good salesman - everybody who compared the 650 (no more 600) to the 800 wanted the 800. More than 3 times the money - 3 times better? Probably not.
Would anyone set a frame?
I was not able to compare them - so anyone who did, please let me know.
Thanks!
Chris
 
I agree that the HD800 is better sounding than the HD600 or HD650. I really like their sound. However, I don't have HD800s, and my HD600s sound awfully good with a Crack amp when there aren't any HD800s around to compare against. If budget is an issue (and it sure can be these days) I would suggest picking up a pair of used HD600s. With an upgraded cable like a Cardas they are very good.
 
You gotta love this. My wife used my Beyerdynamic 770's while on our summer vacation. She promptly asked it she could have them, and so being the gentleman that I am...I obliged her. Gave her the 770's and bought me a pair of HD 650's. I love them and am about a week from have my Speedball Crack up and running. The HD 800's are sweet, but a little bit out of my price range.
 
Doc and Yoder.
Thanks so much.
Comparing does almost always make you poorer :-)
I suspected that the 600 is good enough and I will get the cable.
But first thing tonight?
I
 
Yup, I'm listening. Thanks! We should have a long awaited batch of wood bases arriving soon, at which point we will be doing a massive packing and shipping of back ordered Crack kits.
 
I think most folks would be very happy with the HD600/650. There are tons of HD600's around on the used market and if you look and/or ask (in an "in search of" ISO) in the For Sale/Headphones section of Headfi, you should be able to get a nicely broken in, but not abused pair of either. I recently sold my HD600's for $125 (after getting HD800's) and while I will admit that it was a little on the cheap side, I just had them sitting around collecting dust and when I noticed someone was looking for a pair.

If you've listened to the HD650, the 600's are a little lighter in the bass. For music like classical/jazz, I find the 600's more balanced while the 650's have more slam for rock.

 
Doc - bought and paid.
Steve - great info. It is funny, that I am hard pressed to find and used 600s in Germany. And if for around 250 USD which makes no sense.
Honestly, if I had the money around at the moment, I would not wait a second to buy the 800 - it is really amazing.
But for now I will wait for the kit, build it and then there will be the phones.
Cheers
Chris
 
I have the AKG K400 and K500, both sound fantastic on the Crack.  The K500 has gobs of detail, big soundstage and a wonderful tone which works wonders with live recordings.  I am very interested in the Grado 325is but I know they are low impedance.  Does anyone know if you can buy adapters which you could connect to a headphone to raise its impedance? 
 
Sure, or you could make one yourself. It should be just a 1/4" male to 1/4" female cable with resistors in the signal path (not ground). You'll want to make sure to match the resistors to avoid much of a difference in left and right. I've seen people use anything up to 300 ohms.

While you're at it, you could add a right angle neutrik gold 1/4" TRS to the cable so you don't have your headphone cable sticking up in the air. I built a 1/4" right angle male to 1/4" locking female cable for that reason.
 
I just wanted to say how pleased I am with my new HD600 being driven by this amp!  I'm being smacked in the face by stingingly crisp bass and luscious vocals.  The crack has full control of these headphones and I can see why they are a recommended pair. 

Now if I could only get a right angled headphone cable for the senns.  Hmm, didn't bottlhead offer one in the past?
 
Thanks for the kind words! Try Kevin Haskins at DIYCable for the Cardas Sennheiser cable with right angle plug.
 
Hey Now,

Just finished up my Crack and was listening to it with my HD650s. Yep, just like everyone else says, it sounds terrific. I forgot I had another 300 ohm headphone, the MB Quart QP805HS. I plugged those in and woo-hoo, what a difference the Crack makes with this headphone. The bass is more pronounced, tighter and well defined, the mids are very nice and sweet. I listened to them for several hours last night.

I also tried some AKG601s (120 ohm) and it sounded nice, not as good as the HD650 or QP805s. I am gonna give the Crack a good listening too before I do the Speedball upgrade. I'm liking it very much so far.

I only had one cold solder joint on the right channel. Easy peasy re-solder fix. Thanks Bottlehead, love this amp.

--
Finest kind,
Chris
 
ccklone said:
Hey Now,

Just finished up my Crack and was listening to it with my HD650s. Yep, just like everyone else says, it sounds terrific. I forgot I had another 300 ohm headphone, the MB Quart QP805HS. I plugged those in and woo-hoo, what a difference the Crack makes with this headphone. The bass is more pronounced, tighter and well defined, the mids are very nice and sweet. I listened to them for several hours last night.

I also tried some AKG601s (120 ohm) and it sounded nice, not as good as the HD650 or QP805s. I am gonna give the Crack a good listening too before I do the Speedball upgrade. I'm liking it very much so far.

I only had one cold solder joint on the right channel. Easy peasy re-solder fix. Thanks Bottlehead, love this amp.

--
Finest kind,
Chris

I missed your post somehow.  My wife just bought me the QP805HS on closeout, for Fathers day.  Probably wont be here until end of the week or next week.  Glad to hear that they sound good on Crack.  Looking forward to receiving them and plugging them in.  Congrats on your successful build.  Great headphone amp and a steal at the price.
 
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