What headphones are you using with the Bushmaster?

[vouk]

I used the Senn 650's for a year - great cans but fell victim to a malicious toddler attack.
Tried the AKG 702's but proved too uncomfortable for me. Beyers I like, got some custom made 880's but found them a little fatiguing in the long run.

Have now settled for some heavily modded Denon AHD 2000 - absolutely love them and with a 25 ohm impedance, some of the most versatile cans around.
Great pairing, IMO, with the bushmaster.

I have a pair of Russian wooden delights, the Fischer Audio FA 011 for "open back" duties which, for 120 bucks, are ridiculously good.

When funds and the grim reaper (aka Greek taxman) allow, might be getting myself the Audio Technica 1000 RPM's or 2000 series open back headphones. Marvelous little things.

The bushmaster could drive any headphones and with consummate ease.

[goraman]

If the AKG K701 is to bright and shrill run like hell from the Grado 325i .
I ran a pair in for 2 solid months and they never became bearable, much like having stinging bees in your ears.
The AKG Q701 has a little more thump and smoother highs than the K701,it is a different animal and I am upgrading a cable for mine now.
A head phone that is both dynamic and has more bass than all of the above is the Ultrasone HFI 780 a real bargain in the headphone world and if the track has bass in it you will miss nothing.

I have owned or still own and spent time with all of the above except the K701 I had on loan for 2 weeks.
So I can give a reasonable assessment of the headphones but my amp is a tube headphone amp and most likely sounds a little different than yours but most likely nothing earth shakingly different.

[Maximum]

These are my 325i's,with a bit of modding they can sound very smooth with a Bushmaster.Attachment 8112

Attachment 8113
For only $ 150 they can sound like RS1's

Hi Alan, do you have a link to this mod or did you just get hold of some RS cups and have a go? Not sure I fancy performing the surgery though.

I'm not sure how much difference is between the i and is version but it has been said the is are slightly tamer in the highs. I'm currently trying the tape mod (electrical tape around the sides of the bowls) which is known to tame the 2k peak a little and smoothens them up a touch and also adds a little bass.

[Xaval]

Robert, I own a few modded Grados (and have owned a few more) and still enjoy listening to stock Grados.

You are correct with your assertion re the 325i vs 325is. However, they also differ a bit with the upper mids

It's interesting to note that with Grado cans, you already get a lot of Grado by the time you reach the 225, from here on forward the law of diminishing returns kicks in severely. As you move up the lineup you get more Grado but less bang for the buck - most of the lineup will sound very similar with slight improvements as you spend more. For a Grado fan it's all part of the fun, but for someone who is not a fan you may not get that much more fun.

It should be noted that Grados are hand built. The same 2 Grados of the same model sometimes don't sound the same. If you factor in the several generations of drivers along the years it's easy to get a bit lost

There's a lot about the Grado sound to know about and I could bore you to death with details about this interesting company. But I won't

After a lot of experimenting, I'd say to anyone into Grados to just get the RS1 (any of it's iterations) and be done with it; or maybe the PS500. Yes it can get expensive on this side of the pond, but that's what it is. I still prefer my Magnum v3.5 "Grados" on wood silver cabled - That's what they look like: http://www.flickr.com/photos/6927840...7629288985715/

[alan47]

Hi Alan, do you have a link to this mod or did you just get hold of some RS cups and have a go? Not sure I fancy performing the surgery though.

I'm not sure how much difference is between the i and is version but it has been said the is are slightly tamer in the highs. I'm currently trying the tape mod (electrical tape around the sides of the bowls) which is known to tame the 2k peak a little and smoothens them up a touch and also adds a little bass.

Have a look at Turbulent Labs,i can recommend the head band and the classic cups.
Head band easy to fit,but the cups do need a leap of faith to do,but worth it imo.It took me a year to pick up the courage to attack mine with a hairdryer.
Happy listening.

[Maximum]

Thanks for info, the wood is very nice but the wallet would hate me. Besides they still make me sit and listen and not want to move as they are.

[mudan]

I find that it drives my HD650 extremely well.

[Theotherlarryb]

I am using the BM for private home cinema, blu ray PCM stereo signal in and AKG k550 headphones out.

I was a bit worried that it wouldnt hold a candle to my 5.1 home cinema set up but it does. Amazing ambience, and somehow a much more intimate experience. Incredible detail and no trade off on bass heft. Fantastic!

Making me spend even more time with the Game of Thrones box set...

And hats off to Stan for phenomenal service and reponsive advice. Not to mention a delivery speed that Royal Mail seem impossible to find whenever I use them myself.

[jajh2204]

Hey all,

I am pretty new to the DAC world and I am looking to buy my first decent pair of over the ear headphone to listen to the Bushmaster with.

From reading this thread, most of the headphones listed are pretty much top end "at home" types of headphones (hope I got that bit right???) but I wondered if anyone had used the DAC with the more portable types of headphones (B&W P5, Seinnheiser Momentums etc)??

Please forgive my ignorance if these types of headphones are completely the wrong type of kit for the DAC I just wondered if there was something out there that I could use at home with the dac but also on the road with ipod/iphone etc

J

[Xaval]

BM has a very good HP out, besides being a great DAC to boot. You should have no issues with the BM driving the type of headphones you listed. You have far bigger challenges on choosing the HPs you're going to get.

As a suggestion, add to your list the Beyer DT1350 and the venerable Senn HD25. These play quite fine out of an iPhone also. It's all down to personal preference as for the type of music you enjoy. All should provide decent isolation for on the go use - quite not as good as IEMs though.

edit: May I also suggest you take a look at the Japanese JVCs HA-S500? Don't be fooled by the price... serious piece of cans. They don't look the part though facing the P5s or Momentums