Caiman connections

Dave,

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Originally Posted by dave2010

I'm switching back to loudspeakers mostly now

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listening to loudspeakers really is great, I like the spatial projection of the sound into the room and the feeling of moving air on my skin which I clearly perceive even when listening with moderate volume. However, only when using headphones there’s that certain joy of discovering new and subtle details in tracks which I believed to have been knowing in depth throughout nearly my whole life.

I even got used to the typical in-head location, but I clearly prefer open headphones. There’s a pair of really fine AKG K271 headphones in the shelf behind me, but these are closed-back types which give me a certain claustrophobic feeling when wearing them.

http://www.berghofer.com/photos/gear/akg_k271.gif

Guess I’m leaning more toward headphone listening. I very well remember a certain moment back in my youth when I heard my own field recordings with the radically open Sennheiser HD 414 for the first time. I was working freelance for the Austrian radio broadcasting, producing some kind of outdoor ambient features called “Hörbilder” (“sound images” or “soundscapes”) and “Kopfhörer” (translated literally from German the title of our radio show would be “head listener”, which is the same word used for headphones in German) with Uher Report and Nagra reel-to-reel mobile tape recorders. Once I recorded a feature with the then famous Neumann dummy head condenser microphones, which of course sounded tremendously breath taking and three dimensional with open headphones.

The details I noticed with the HD 414 headphone simply where overwhelming.

http://www.berghofer.com/photos/gear...ser_hd_414.gif

Especially for you I included two more headphone pictures in my post ;-)

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Originally Posted by Werner Berghofer

. . . but at least in my opinion even the latest, gatorized models are no substitute for a true headphone amplifier.

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I completely agree here Werner, I used to listen to headphones quite a bit before buying my latest speakers and used a dedicated headphone amp. I bought the Gator Caiman which is fine for occasional listening by headphones, but it has it's limitations compared to a true headphone amplifier, especially with classical music. If you are intending to do a lot of headphone listening, you really will need a dedicated amplifier to sit alongside the Caiman.

Tim,

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Originally Posted by GreatGig

you really will need a dedicated amplifier to sit alongside the Caiman.

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http://www.berghofer.com/photos/gear/library1.jpg

right, but don’t forget the comfortable chair to sit alongside the Caiman and the headphone amp :-)

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Originally Posted by dave2010

Mike

You probably realise that Lidl do a sort of round the country stock rotation, but most things get around eventually. I was tipped off once about some satellite receivers, and a while later they appeared. The solder I bought was in Leatherhead a week or two back - not sure where it'll turn up next!

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Bought the second last one and some solder at my local lidle. Just need to get some connectors and i will start practicing on some cable i have kicking about.

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Originally Posted by Werner Berghofer

Tim,


http://www.berghofer.com/photos/gear/library1.jpg

right, but don’t forget the comfortable chair to sit alongside the Caiman and the headphone amp :-)

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that looks like an ikea chair. i have one of those.

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Originally Posted by barry-potter

that looks like an ikea chair. i have one of those.

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http://www.berghofer.com/photos/gear/living_room1.jpg

Right, this chair is manufactured and sold by IKEA. There’s another one upstairs in my living room. They are very comfortable (my cat wholeheartedly shares this opinion) and easy on the eye.

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Originally Posted by Werner Berghofer

I have no idea, since I’m not a technical oriented do-it-yourself type of person.

Probably your listening requirements are different from mine, but I fear in the long run you won’t be really happy using the AKG K702 without a stand-alone headphone amp. The Beresford DACs really offer outstanding performance in their price category (I own five of these little black boxes!), but at least in my opinion even the latest, gatorized models are no substitute for a true headphone amplifier.

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Yes I agree, I have to be grateful that within that price category I was able to buy a unit which does what it does. Looks like a dedicated amp it is than :)
Having said that I am still able to enjoy the HFI 780 a lot with this babies :)

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Originally Posted by Werner Berghofer

http://www.berghofer.com/photos/gear/living_room1.jpg

Right, this chair is manufactured and sold by IKEA. There’s another one upstairs in my living room. They are very comfortable (my cat wholeheartedly shares this opinion) and easy on the eye.

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my cat agrees with your cat

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Originally Posted by Werner Berghofer

http://www.berghofer.com/photos/gear/living_room1.jpg

Right, this chair is manufactured and sold by IKEA. There’s another one upstairs in my living room. They are very comfortable (my cat wholeheartedly shares this opinion) and easy on the eye.

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Holy Moly, nice view:)

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Originally Posted by audionewbi

sadly my laptop does not have a express card. I think down the track purchasing a v-link musical fidelity is not a bad idea.

for some tracks I hear a minor sibilance, is that normal? I am still burning in.

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What about a squeeze box? I don't have one but from what I've read they are very high quality and would provide the bridge between a PC/mac and your DAC either wirelessly or via Ethernet. And you'd also be able to connect to your DAC using coax which many believe is the better option.