An Autonomous Agent

exploring the noosphere

Category: Headphone

Audiophile Headphones

Wishing for a high quality music environment, I did some research into audiophile headphones. I learned that there does not exist a “best” pair of headphones. Rather, there are various headphones which are great for their reproduction of various parts of the audio spectrum. For example, the ones that I bought, the Sennheiser HD 598s are known to be good (considering their price) for listening to the higher side of the spectrum; i.e., vocals and other high frequency sounds. I must say that I love my Sennheiser HD 598s. Sennheiser produces a couple of other highly rated headphones, including the HD 650 and HD 800. Here are some other headphones which have good reviews:  Beyerdynamic DT 770, AKG K702, Grado SR60, Grado RS1, and the ATH M50. Also, to get the best sound out of the headphones, one should buy an amplifier.

Headphone Amp

About a year ago I purchased the Sennheiser HD 598 headphones. I have been listening to music with them through my Onkyo TX-SR604. The quality seems decent and I love the sound on the HD 598 (great for vocals and that hi range). However, the potential for a better listening experience has convinced me to try hardware devoted to headphone amplification versus the standard headphone output on the Onkyo. Rather than selling the Onkyo, I will take advantage of its DAC abilities to convert digital signals to analog. Thus, my loss-less FLAC audio collection and the HD audio on YouTube should sound pretty good with an amplifier.

In search of a high quality headphone amplifier I found the following:

Qinpu – A-6000 MKII – Integrated /Headphone Amplifier
Amazon link and reviews



Matrix M-Stage
Amazon link and reviews





Woo Audio WA3
Official Website of WA3









O2 
(the name is like the molecule oxygen)
JDS Labs – O2

First, the Qinpu and Woo Audio WA3 are both tube amplifiers. Since I didn’t know much about amplifiers I thought tubes were cool. However, upon further investigation I found that they may not be the best way to go. Apparently they “add color” to the sounds they reproduce. The WA3 is a little pricey ($495 at the date of writing) while the Qinpu is a little better in pricing (around $280). After reading some reviews (head-fi WA3 review) of the WA3 on the Internet and finding a like-new one for sale on Ebay for $350 I was intent on buying it. As my luck died, the WA3 was sold before I made up my mind. Looking at the Qinpu on the Internet I found various reviews. The Amazon reviewers seemed very impressed and happy with there purchase. However, it was at this point that I discovered the Matrix M-Stage.

The Matrix M-Stage Amplifier has some great reviews (check Amazon and head-fi).  I was sold on this amplifier.  Up until today I was going to buy the M-Stage. But when I looked once more for headphone amplifiers I came across the O2.

The O2 was recommended for the HD 598 headphone on head-fi in one of the forums. After reading that, I looked for more information on the O2. Here is the webpage of NwAvGuy (the creator of the O2). His webpage also contains a great many other reviews and links for audiophiles. So, I then made my decision to buy this amplifier. The best site I found was Mayflower Electronics, which had a holiday special for the standard version of the O2. I bought the O2 for $115.
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