General Headphone Audio

Right folks don't know where to put this and or make another thread.

But i bought this yesterday for £594.95 online including next day postage and came today, which is the Marantz HD- DAC1 .

IMG-20200814-134018716.jpg


man.jpg




I like the way this sounds, all i have to say it sounds much better than my laptop audio output, much better.

I say this when compared to laptop sound, it is like watching a film in hd when compared to standard definition but with audio.

Depending on music track and how it is recorded, it sounds more expressively blissful and i like this.

I know i am feeling glad i bought this , but for the price it does sound what it is worth here, i think it is designed by music lovers for music lovers but i can't give a detailed explanation because i am not literate enough to explain.

Dan.
 
Last edited:
lltfdaniel said:
Right folks don't know where to put this and or make another thread.

But i bought this yesterday for £594.95 online including next day postage and came today, which is the Marantz HD- DAC1 .

IMG-20200814-134018716.jpg


man.jpg




I like the way this sounds, all i have to say it sounds much better than my laptop audio output, much better.

I say this when compared to laptop sound, it is like watching a film in hd when compared to standard definition but with audio.

Depending on music track and how it is recorded, it sounds more expressively blissful and i like this.

I know i am feeling glad i bought this , but for the price it does sound what it is worth here, i think it is designed by music lovers for music lovers but i can't give a detailed explanation because i am not literate enough to explain.

Dan.
Click to expand...

Looks great I've heard good things about this box :)
 
lltfdaniel said:
Right folks don't know where to put this and or make another thread.

But i bought this yesterday for £594.95 online including next day postage and came today, which is the Marantz HD- DAC1 .
Click to expand...

I've owned this box for a few years now. It is a beast in terms of amplification, it powers anything with ease. Currently using it with some Sennheiser HD660s on medium gain and it is a wonderful combination.

It is a little susceptible to EMI though, I have it running off a separate plug socket to the rest of my gear, also keeping the mains power lead away from the USB lead and have also set the display to turn off.
 
Sounds very nice with my sound magic hp 151 as well on low gain.

I am addicted to the sound, best purchase i have done by buying this.

Dan.
 
Last edited:
Grabbed these off Ryanr1987, (LCD-2f late 2017 model) bit of a gamble really as from what I read about them I wasn't too sure I'd like them, truth be told I grabbed them to match my headphone amp, I've had them a couple of weeks now and I've easily put around 80 hours on them already!

They are a bigger upgrade in SQ from my K712 Pro's than I was expecting, and also less warm than I was expecting too which was a good thing as that was one of my main concerns when reading about these, yes they have warmth but not at the cost of detail loss which is what I find strange about these, lots of little micro details can be heard especially on live music recordings.

The biggest thing I noticed when I started playing a song on these was the exceptionally low distortion, very refined, female vocals sound phenomenal, very natural and intimate, sound stage wasn't as large as the K712's, these are more ear to ear, but it isn't just three blobs, left, right, middle, the sound stage stretches right across your head, it is more intimate, like you're listening to the band in a room rather than a concert, which I don't mind, it's probably why they work so well with live jazz lounge recordings, you really feel like you are there with all the little sounds like a chair creaking, glasses being collected around you etc.

These are heavy, there's no denying that, I think I might be getting use to it, either that or my neck muscles are getting bigger!, not the most comfortable headphone I've worn, my stupid sticky pointy out ears touch the fazors which is a little annoying but that being said I'm really enjoying them.

I'm on the hunt for some HD800's now (for the right price!), I think that will be a good headphone to experience that will give me a very different sound signature and help me decide what type of sound I ultimately prefer, I think this is what it so addicting about headphones, there is just so many different flavours out there to try!



G6wk0dW.jpg
 
Last edited:
Things change I've changed said:
Grabbed these off Ryanr1987, (LCD-2f late 2017 model) bit of a gamble really as from what I read about them I wasn't too sure I'd , truth be told I grabbed them to match my headphone amp, I've had them a couple of weeks now and I've easily put around 80 hours on them already!

They are a bigger upgrade in SQ from my K712 Pro's than I was expecting, and also less warm too which was a good thing as that was one of my main concerns when reading about these, yes they have warmth but not at the cost of detail which is what I find strange about these, lots of little micro details can be heard especially on live music recordings.

The biggest thing I noticed when I started playing a song on these was the exceptionally low distortion, female vocals sound phenomenal, very natural and intimate, sound stages wasn't as large as the K712's, they are more ear to ear, but it isn't just three blobs, left, right, middle, the sound stage stretches right across your head, it is more intimate, like you're listening to the band in a room rather than a concert, which I don't mind, it's probably why they work so well live live jazz lounge recordings, you really feel like you are there with all the little sounds like a chair creaking, glasses being collected around you etc.

These are heavy, there's no denying that, I think I might be getting use to it, either that or my neck muscles are getting bigger!, not the most comfortable headphone I've worn, my stupid sticky pointy out ears touch the fazors which is a little annoying but that being said I'm really enjoying them.

I'm on the hunt for some HD800's now (for the right price!), I think that will be a good headphone to experience that will give me a very different sound signature and help me decide what type of sound I ultimately prefer, I think this is what it so addicting about headphones, there is just so many different flavours out there to try!



G6wk0dW.jpg
Click to expand...

I agree with the comment in bold in the above quote.

For me i have tried a lot of headphones and because i am a diffy, i realised i prefer closed headphones over open because i want that bass.

Because of my amp dac, i really want to re test those headphones i thought were meh, likely to be a meh amp dac i was using in the past but this hd dac 1 sounds great.

Anyways i have never owned a flagship headphone so i want to buy and try the Beyerdynamic t1 2nd or 3rd gen, to test it on this hd dac 1 also i feel these hp 151 are somewhat in the way of the hd dac 1 which is another reason why i want to get a flagship headphone.

Also i am interested in this > https://danclarkaudio.com/headphones-22/ether/ether-c-flow.html maybe the daddy of all closed back headphones.

Out of many many headphones i have tested and tried here is my top 3,

1. sound magic hp 151 ( a sensible sub bass and well rounded sound and this a is a headphone that is designed for sound quality and detail which it does, sensible fun headphone to my tastes because i judge it from the dt 48 which is ranked 2nd because of the fun factor if not then the dt48 will be 1st here - reason is, is the bass really - the bass goes deep indeed as well as a liquid sound quality and detail) - according to sound magic this headphone is designed for hi fi listening.

2. beyerdynamic dt 48 - out of production ( a headphone that is designed to be honest and adds no musical colour to the sound and is mid centric) also the dt 48 was part of the nagra recording systems so dt 48 fits in well with nagra specification.

3. fostex t50rp (it sounds like the dt 48 in someway with no colour added to the sound but sounds different) - also the t50rp is a modders paradise as well, by modding them to what sound you want treble or bass whichever

edit

I have found my beyer t90's and have them paired with the dac 1, it sounds great this amp is giving a very clean/sq/detail to them and sounds better than my hp 151 for once and does not sound meh but great.

I can hear the dac 1 traits in this t 90 headphone very well here.

I know i am an idiot but we all started as idiots until we research whatever audio gear, but after hearing what the t90s sounded like well i will eventually take the plunge and get the beyer t1's.

The amp/dac/source is critical component to your headphones, make sure you get the right setup for your tastes because you will be hearing the amp/dac/source as well as your headphones own signature.

Dan.
 
Last edited:
DT1990

I’m quite a Shure Freak, SE215/425/535(Red)/846; SRH440/840/1540/1840, what I’ve always used professionally (Musician/DJ/Dance music artist) and struggle to trust anything else. Although Shure’s build-quality, especially of their IEMs, is woefully bad - I’ve required surgery to remove a flanged tip from my eardrum in the past.

Semn 660 S.

Oppo PM-1/2/3

Several made by very small producers, but not hugely available.
 
Last edited:
Things change I've changed said:
Grabbed these off Ryanr1987, (LCD-2f late 2017 model) bit of a gamble really as from what I read about them I wasn't too sure I'd like them, truth be told I grabbed them to match my headphone amp, I've had them a couple of weeks now and I've easily put around 80 hours on them already!

They are a bigger upgrade in SQ from my K712 Pro's than I was expecting, and also less warm too which was a good thing as that was one of my main concerns when reading about these, yes they have warmth but not at the cost of detail loss which is what I find strange about these, lots of little micro details can be heard especially on live music recordings.

The biggest thing I noticed when I started playing a song on these was the exceptionally low distortion, female vocals sound phenomenal, very natural and intimate, sound stage wasn't as large as the K712's, they are more ear to ear, but it isn't just three blobs, left, right, middle, the sound stage stretches right across your head, it is more intimate, like you're listening to the band in a room rather than a concert, which I don't mind, it's probably why they work so well live live jazz lounge recordings, you really feel like you are there with all the little sounds like a chair creaking, glasses being collected around you etc.

These are heavy, there's no denying that, I think I might be getting use to it, either that or my neck muscles are getting bigger!, not the most comfortable headphone I've worn, my stupid sticky pointy out ears touch the fazors which is a little annoying but that being said I'm really enjoying them.

I'm on the hunt for some HD800's now (for the right price!), I think that will be a good headphone to experience that will give me a very different sound signature and help me decide what type of sound I ultimately prefer, I think this is what it so addicting about headphones, there is just so many different flavours out there to try!



G6wk0dW.jpg
Click to expand...

It escalates quickly. I rapidly went from headphones in the few hundreds range to the Focal Utopia and Stellia lol.
 
XeNoNF50 said:
It escalates quickly. I rapidly went from headphones in the few hundreds range to the Focal Utopia and Stellia lol.
Click to expand...

Same here but i have not bought flagship headphones, so still with headphones costing a few hundred.

Anyways i have owned a few headphone amps and they all sound rather boring, but this hd dac 1 is like liquid gold i am not the only one who thinks they sound great as in how it is ment to sound really,

The amp will play a big part of how the headphones will sound and that is fine with me, they sound very clean, sound quality detail and everything else sounds lovely regarding hd dac 1, that means whatever headphone i use, it has my sound preference because it basically fills whatever headphone with the dac 1 traits very nicely.

When i say very nicely, it carries the soul of the dac 1 to the headphones to sound as the soul even when the headphones are not designed to sound as the soul, my boring amps did not do this so it sounded boring but not with the dac 1.

This may put you off as musical colour but anyone after a amp dac setup and has a price range of like 0-£1000 really should give these a listen before buying it or not as well as other amp dacs, but this one if your after a clean sound that sounds detailed.

Even with the coloured sound, it sounds properly professionally pulled off to be honest, even though true audiophiles prefer no colour.

It sounds proper like what professionals are after as well as me but am no pro but it is verrry easy to just enjoy the music with the hd dac 1, i always wanted this kind of enjoyable sound.

Just ranting because i am happy with this dac 1 and i do recommend for anybody to listen to what the dac 1 delivers, proper clean musical sound!


Dan.
 
Last edited:
Things change I've changed said:
Grabbed these off Ryanr1987, (LCD-2f late 2017 model) bit of a gamble really as from what I read about them I wasn't too sure I'd like them, truth be told I grabbed them to match my headphone amp, I've had them a couple of weeks now and I've easily put around 80 hours on them already!

They are a bigger upgrade in SQ from my K712 Pro's than I was expecting, and also less warm than I was expecting too which was a good thing as that was one of my main concerns when reading about these, yes they have warmth but not at the cost of detail loss which is what I find strange about these, lots of little micro details can be heard especially on live music recordings.

The biggest thing I noticed when I started playing a song on these was the exceptionally low distortion, very refined, female vocals sound phenomenal, very natural and intimate, sound stage wasn't as large as the K712's, these are more ear to ear, but it isn't just three blobs, left, right, middle, the sound stage stretches right across your head, it is more intimate, like you're listening to the band in a room rather than a concert, which I don't mind, it's probably why they work so well with live jazz lounge recordings, you really feel like you are there with all the little sounds like a chair creaking, glasses being collected around you etc.

These are heavy, there's no denying that, I think I might be getting use to it, either that or my neck muscles are getting bigger!, not the most comfortable headphone I've worn, my stupid sticky pointy out ears touch the fazors which is a little annoying but that being said I'm really enjoying them.

I'm on the hunt for some HD800's now (for the right price!), I think that will be a good headphone to experience that will give me a very different sound signature and help me decide what type of sound I ultimately prefer, I think this is what it so addicting about headphones, there is just so many different flavours out there to try!



G6wk0dW.jpg
Click to expand...


Instead of the HD800 grab yourself a set of Hifiman Anandas, they're only £649 at the moment, they sound super spacious, more forward than the LCD-2 in the upperm id but sounds like they're 2 feet away form you it's really jarring, I think between the Ananda and LCD-2 there isn't much else to do i the headphone game unless you want to go TOTL which means spending 3k on a set of Utopias or LCD-4's. The Ananda sound more out of head than the HD800 in my opinion. The HD800 are only worth it if you mod them, they're suepr recessed in the upper mids and the 6k peak is horrible, timbre is messed up.
 
lltfdaniel said:
Same here but i have not bought flagship headphones, so still with headphones costing a few hundred.

Anyways i have owned a few headphone amps and they all sound rather boring, but this hd dac 1 is like liquid gold i am not the only one who thinks they sound great as in how it is ment to sound really,

The amp will play a big part of how the headphones will sound and that is fine with me, they sound very clean, sound quality detail and everything else sounds lovely regarding hd dac 1, that means whatever headphone i use, it has my sound preference because it basically fills whatever headphone with the dac 1 traits very nicely.

When i say very nicely, it carries the soul of the dac 1 to the headphones to sound as the soul even when the headphones are not designed to sound as the soul, my boring amps did not do this so it sounded boring but not with the dac 1.

This may put you off as musical colour but anyone after a amp dac setup and has a price range of like 0-£1000 really should give these a listen before buying it or not as well as other amp dacs, but this one if your after a clean sound that sounds detailed.

Even with the coloured sound, it sounds properly professionally pulled off to be honest, even though true audiophiles prefer no colour.

It sounds proper like what professionals are after as well as me but am no pro but it is verrry easy to just enjoy the music with the hd dac 1, i always wanted this kind of enjoyable sound.

Just ranting because i am happy with this dac 1 and i do recommend for anybody to listen to what the dac 1 delivers, proper clean musical sound!


Dan.
Click to expand...

Coloured or not it's just about the perfect pairing you know. Sounds like you've found it for your set up which is great!
 
XeNoNF50 said:
Coloured or not it's just about the perfect pairing you know. Sounds like you've found it for your set up which is great!
Click to expand...

Yep, anyways i am going to upgrade my headphones to a denon ah d7200 after a lot of research on reviews etc, apparently the bass can rumble slam punch as well as thunder as well as sub bass so i will buy that eventually and will be my first denon as well as the most expensive headphone i have ever purchased, but the correct mixture of mids and highs not just bass makes the headphone more exciting for me, plus they are balanced and make my hairs stand on end or goosebumps, if i found my ideal headphone that is.

I hate shimmery audio, where treble affects the tonality of the sound, does not sound right, as well as crispy audio or frequency peaks, the highs affecting the mid range as well as the lows, i don't poetically like bass presence where you can hear the bass presence on any music track or any sound put through the headphone so better audio fidelity that can reproduce tonality as being neutral and as a chameleon.

Shimmery audio well i am looking at the ultra sone hfi 580 as a good example but that headphone is not in production but the bass was nice though but did not sound right apart from bass i did not enjoy it, it has to have real mids and highs or close enough and if close enough i don't mind and forgive the headphone.

Anyways just speaking my mind, the reason why i want the denon is to see what it is like, also the soundmagic hp 151 which i think is nice for £100-150 and as an entry audiophile headphone i would recommend the bass mids and high blend in nice enough the bass presence of these is like between full and none at all like neutral so when the track needs bass it gives it and it is and also i know i am missing some details with the hp 151 so i know from other headphones i tested but still enjoyable to listen, and because of detail i want more because it is holding back the overall sound connected to my amp dac.

The hp 151 is a good match for my dac 1, because the headphone alone gives a sound quality type sound which is clean and thus matches the dac 1 which also gives a clean sound, so any headphone maker who claims their product gives a clean sound i know it will be a match for my dac 1.

Being honest i have the initial wow factor going on here so someday i won't have that due to mental burn in but as you know regarding how expensive the gear is, the better the sound which is mostly true, but not all of the time due to the competition as you know because there are amp dacs that cost less but would be near to products costing 2-5 times that for example regarding how good the gear is.

Dan.
 
Last edited:
Right just reporting in,

My denon d7200 has arrived today and have listened to them so here is my early impression.

The sound is very refined like a liquid life like sound to them, much better than my hp 151 (as what i expected from a headphone costing this much) also the bass on these is very good, it has rumble to them and these vibrate very much on my head when the bass slams.

Nice build quality and comfortable enough for me.

Sounds great indeed, drums sounds excellent imo thanks to the bass.

regarding sound delivery the audio terminology is dry sound.

Dan.
 
Last edited:
One of the things i like about the denon d7200 is the sound delivery, better definition when it sounds pfft it sounds exactly like pfft, but with headphones costing less it does not fully do it like that, pfft sounds exactly like psshtf.

I know due to the comparison of the sound of the d7200 vs headphones costing £100-300 which i also heard, much better definition of the sound on the d7200, headphone costing less it ultimately does not sound like that fully that is all like when compared to the more expensive d7200.

You guys who have owned headphones costing a bomb will know what i am on about, like hd 800 etc, i hope because i am wowed by the direct sound delivery on the d 7200 because this is the best headphone i heard to date, so i don't know what hd 800 sound like ;-).

It is like being used to a budget headphone costing £30, then you buy a headphone costing £200-300 and being wowed by the sound which is understood, then it will be the same with flagship headphones costing something like 500-1500 when compared to 200-300 headphones regarding the wow factor.

Dan.
 
Last edited:
Had Hifiman HE-500 and HE-4XX delivered the other day, i will be keeping the 500's.
The 4xx for the price are outstanding headphones however compared to the 500's they have a mid bass hump with slightly recesed mids and a shriller top end, they also have more distorted and slghtly dropped off bass. Overall the he-500's just sound cleaner.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom