Quote:
Originally Posted by Astrophe
A good set of headphones and a quality headphone amplifier can sound astoundingly good, using either vinyl or digital as source. If you're into classical or jazz, try Sennheiser HD600 phones and a good headphone amp which might cost between $400-$800....believe me, money well spent. To match this combo using a loudspeaker setup, you would be looking at a system retailing for $10K or more....the sky's the limit with loudspeakers systems. I've heard systems costing $200K+.
https://addictedtoaudio.com.au/colle...reo-headphones |
+1
I got my HD600s when they were retail $900 (i was a reseller, the markup on Senns is huge) and I still love them today. I dont know if Senn manufacture them any differently these days to the same performance but they are so damn comfortable and so good at reproducing audio. Yep you have to spend a LOT to compete on the quality and still you'll only impress the person sitting in the optimal position. I use a Yamaha amp that has a decent phono input and am more than happy with this combo.
My Rega turntable I actually bought here from a fellow IceInSpacer (forget the name but many thanks!). Its an awesome turntable , though considered an entry level one, he'd installed a few upgrades and I added a couple more. Thats not to say they are necessary but they do make a difference to different aspects of owning and using a turntable. Unfortunately since my stroke, furniture has been pushed out of my way and now blocks access to it so its been unused for a few years (not selling, dont ask
but I'm slowly improving enough to start clearing a way to get to it and think I can use it one handed now without fear of damage to it or my vinyl.
I'm not an audiophile snob but I do enjoy the sound of vinyl and good music well played/recorded in any format. Its a bit like astrophotography, where you have imperfections and you can do things to reduce them, signal to noise basically. So the crackles give you something to tweak to try to reduce them, sibilance etc too. Mostly its not too complicated or technical to make adjustments and immediately test the results giving satisfaction. Plus just playing a record is a pleasant physical experience. Perhaps its because I'm before the generation of everything being magic software controlled where whining on forums and throwing stuff away rather than repairing is the norm.
Anyone considering getting into vinyl I highly recommend looking at a Rega turntable, even their "cheapest" if thats your budget. Just be aware you need a phono preamp, its not usb (last I looked) and you cant use a regular input on your amplifier. Turntables ALWAYS require a preamp to output a signal you can connect to any regular AV receiver or amplifier. Some models are available with this built in and can provide regular line level outputs or even usb or even record directly to a usb drive as mp3 etc. Try to avoid these types, they are poor performing devices. Get a "proper" turntable and even a second hand preamp but like a good scope mount is the ideal starting point for an AP setup, a decent real turntable is the ideal starting point.