I used to have a nice little JVC "Executive" Stereo system, looked pretty, and had single driver ceramic speakers. Actually sounded pretty nice.
But I could never listen when I wanted (especially at night), as it would bother the wife, despite her liking a fair bit of my music.
So headphones were the way to go. I had the Sennheiser 580's already. Got the Cardas upgrade and it made a great difference: more of everything good, with nothing glaringly bad (as I mentioned, it's a little fat sounding, but it's a pleasant coloration).
After lurking a while on head-fi.org (great site, diehards there !), I contacted Ray Samuels and bought his XP-7 system. All I can say is: transformation into heaven !
Got the Sony's as the Senn's were still a little too noisy.
I just played "Baby Now That I've Found You" from Allison Kraus and Union Station Live SACD for my wife last night on the Sony's, and she just smiled all the way through it !
Incredible mod'd universal plaer, mods done by Ric Schultz at www.tweakaudio.com. Improvements over stoc include smoother and more extended sound, deeper soundstage, incredible focus and clarity. Ric has been mod'ing digital for years, and has even designed his own DAC (I have owned 3 of his products). This unit rivals digital gear I've heard at 3 times the price!!! Price is with mods installed.
Tritium UHV Gold
Tritium makes Triphasers, some of my favorite tweaks. These UHV (Ultra High Velocity) interconects are thick but flexible, made with solid gold wire, and sound just damn incredible: smooth yet SO detailed, spacious soundstage; they just get out of the way of the music.
Ray Samuels XP-7 Headphone Amp
A superb headphone amp. Comes with a separate power supply (optional), and can be run off 2 9V batteries. I have NEVER used the term "organic" to describe the sound of stereo equipment, until this puppy came into my system ! Detail, smooth top-to-bottom response, with a suprisingly good amount of in-head soundstaging ! Drives any normal headphones. Price reflects optional PS ($495 without it). www.raysamuelsaudio.com
Sony MDR-CD3000 Headphones
A closed-ear design, good for shutting out the wife...uhhhmmmm, keeping the noise from bothering her :-) Remarkably clean & neutral sound all around, does not seem to emphasize any frequency. Has been labelled bright, but I think that is dependent on source and headphone amp; I get none of that ! Phones can be bought at far below list price, I recommend www.audiocubes.com
Audio Resolution Vibration Shelf
I posted a review for these here; they are similar to Symposium products. Not as pretty, but they list for $115 ! And they do a fantastic job. They take internal vibrations from the equipment, and drain them away. I noticed a nice improvement in midbass through midrange with these, as well as deeper bass impact. www.audio-resolution.com
Bybee Technologies Signature
Signature Conditioner, used on A;gon, with ERS strips placed to help with EMI/RFI. Putting this in my headphone system opened up the soundstage a bit more, and more clearly delineated the performers and instruments within that space. Female vox were already great, now they are superb ! VERY nice addition to the system !
Aural Thrills Silver Big One
Inexpensive but great sounding cord from Tom @ Aural Thrills. One pen-pal friend who tried the older copper version likened it to the Audience cord at 1/3 the price. www.auralthrills.com
Michael Wolff Silver Carbon
Very nice and smooth sounding cord, didn't think ti would have the positive impact it did. Combination of carbon and silver conductors, amking it cheaper than the all-carbon.
Todd, I recently got the same Pioneer player (stock) due to a problem with a NAD DVD player that I had. What modifications did you have done and what are the differences from stock as I am considering doing mods instead of buying new components. I've heard this is the way to go in terms of bang for the buck. Thanks,
System edited: I changed out my EVS-modified Sony NS-500V for an EVS-modified Pioneer DV-45a. Also changed interconnect to Tritium UHV Gold, and one power cord changed from a very good VH Audio to a great Michael Wolff Carbon/Silver combo.
Just kidding, I'm hopelessly and happily in love with her, she is the best ! But I also love my music, too, and hardly get to listen via my speakers anymore. So 'phones be the way to go.....
Listener57, thanks very much for your comments, too. I have definitely enjoyed my travels to get here, and many thanks go out to some fine folks in audio-land who have helped along the way. Audiogon, the newsgroups, head-fi, and especially a few local dealers, have been superb. It's always fun to learn of new things, and even better when you have a chance to try them out at home.
Narchy, Are you implying a ceiling mirror can enhance the bedroom headphone listening experience? Sorry Chams UK for highjacking your thread to inject some humor into our hobby. Your system really shows off the ingenuity of many designers, and your willingness to follow your own point of view, blending so many ingredients.
Thanks for your brief and clear descriptions of each part of your system. I have listened to only some of your choices so it is great to hear about the outstanding work of additional smaller manufacturer/sellers who provide super value. It certainly is less expensive to reach a very high level of listener bliss with headphones compared to loudspeakers. It never hurts to give a taste of the audio heights to our spouses in a bedroom system. After all, we all spend one third of our life in the bedroom, and it's not all sleep time.
