My audiophile headphone rigs (updated March 2009)
In the past I've gotten really crazy with headphones, and I fully understand that's about as dorky as it gets. The climax of my nerding were my two rigs:
Not too long after those posts the work rig became impractical due to changes at work (and I've since moved to a new job as well). The home rig was nice, but I ultimately ended up not using it all that much, and it was a big, ugly eyesore in my place.
So, I consolidated.
All the source and amplification gear was sold off, and I purchased a much revered Headamp Pico. While tiny, this little $500 box is quite an amazing piece of gear.
Some excerpts from the designer's description of the Pico:
But the biggest attraction of the Pico may be the optional USB DAC which is unlike any portable DAC available. Still fitting in the same tiny chassis, the optional USB DAC converts USB straight to I2S and is then upsampled to 24/96 with an ASRC often said to create a jitter-free design. The DAC then runs off of the Pico's low-jitter clock instead of the USB. D/A conversion is done by Wolfson's flagship 24-bit DAC chip, the WM8740, and then passed to an analog output stage that uses a unique MOSFET op-amp.
This is the kind of design only found in $1000+ home DACs, except they rarely give much attention to their USB inputs, and there is also no wall power required for the Pico to add noise or hum. With its tiny size, the lengths of the signal paths are kept as short as possible.
Translation: it sounds fucking great.
Now alot of that might seem like hype, but I've been playing this game for some time, and it really does sound incredible. So good in fact, that I also use it as a preamp when using a computer as a source for a full stereo. Google around on it, and many will agree with me.
Other than that I have two sets of headphones that I use. At home, I use Sennheiser's current flagship, the HD-650.
At work, I use the Head-Fi.org special edition, limited release Grado HF-1 (I have #83). This is based off the grado SR-225 design, but produced with a wooden driver housing instead of plastic, adding a slight touch of warmth to the sound.
Due to the limited release these have actually increased in value quite a bit...probably the best gadget purchase I've ever made due to that. Resale averages 50%-100% over what I paid.
And that's all folks. The little Pico has been an amazing buy, and it drives my cans to their fullest potential, all in a small, portable package.
posted on 03.21.09