Moving up in the audio world?

[Zweben]

Hi. I'm Zweben and i'm an audio noob. (Ok, now that that's over with...)

I'm looking to move up in the audio world one more step and I could use some guidance.

I am slowly inching up in terms of my appreciation of high end audio.

My current audio equiptment is:

-Logitech Z-2300's
-Shure E2c's
-Sennheiser HD212 Pro's

Both my Shure's and Sennheisers sound great to me; my Logitech's sound decent but i'm starting to become dissatisfied with the bass (it sounds a little muddy to me) and the lack of fullness to the sound. (Which could either be positioning, the room acoustics, or... that it's a $150 computer speaker system)

So as I said, i'm looking to move up another step (or at least try something one step up), as I don't really appreciate good audio until i've heard something better. I don't use my Shure's much because I find them uncomfortable. My Sennheiser HD212's aren't that comfortable either, but I love the sound and use them all the time. I love lots of bass and they have plenty, even for me.. I listen to music both on my iPod and on my computer. Most of it is 128kbps AAC from iTunes. In terms of my ability to descern compression, I can tell a 128 MP3 from AIFF (just barely), but I can't tell a 128 AAC from AIFF.

What kind of suggestions does anyone have for moving up to the next step towards high end audio? Or does it sound like I wouldn't appreciate anything better at this point and shouldn't bother? For example, would a headphone amp be something worthwhile to look into for the Sennheiser HD 212's? Where should I go from here?

Thanks in advance.

 

[InTheIndustry]

Keep in mind that I am just grasping at straws here because I don't know your budget.

Your Logitec system is not lacking fullness do to set up and room acoustics. It's lacking those things because (as you put it) it's a $150 Logitec stereo. I'm going to recomend something to you that can be used with or without a PC and is a very classy, well built unit that has a bit of an old school feel to it (which I think also adds a bit of a "wow" factor).

I am assuming that since you are using your PC for audio you need something that will sit on your desk or small shelving area? If that is the case go with an Onkyo MC35TECH (link here: http://onkyousa.com/model.cfm?m=MC35TECH&class=Audiosys&p=i ).

You can use a 3.5MM stereo cable like this: http://www.cablestogo.com/product.asp?cat_id=2002&sku=40614 to hook it up from your PC. it also has a CD changer with it and you can hook up other peices of equipment to it like a TV, and/or DVD player, headphones etc. You can even add a sub down the road as it has a subwoofer pre-out. However, I think that you will find the bass on it the be very good.

This little guy ROCKS. It replaced the MC25TECH which was a great model. I have extensive use with this system and the one it replaced. Absolutely Amazing in all aspects of sound. It's perfect if you are wanting audio out of a PC or for use as a 2 channel system even in a space like a family room or something. I truley can't say enough about it. It looks and sounds beautiful.

Do a google search for it and dealtime.com has the thing available for under $350. I think MSRP is around the $500 mark. It sounds great!

 

[Zweben]

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll be a little more specific.

I'm not looking to buy anything immediately so I don't have an exact price range, but i'm interested in stuff in the range of $200-$1000 for the entire setup. $400 is just about right. I remember my dad dishing out $400 for an Aiwa minisystem that probably sounds worse than my Logitech's, so i'm certainly not going to argue with a $400 system that sounds good.

As for how I listen to the music, I have a Apple laptop and an iPod as my two main sources of music, so really anything is fine. The laptop has optical out if that is of any significance. I currently don't have a whole lot of space for speakers (Those Onkyo's wouldn't fit), but i'm not getting anything right away and i'm willing to rearrange stuff to fit them.

The only thing with those speakers is that i'd like to avoid, if possible, having a CD changer or anything (besides an amp) that come between the speakers and the computer. So I guess i'm looking for a high end equivalent of computer speakers, although they don't have to be an all in one piece thing, a separate amp is fine.

I'm also interested in hearing what, if any, benefit there is to having a headphone amp for headphones such as my Sennheisers. I'm not looking for particular things here, just wondering if there is any reason for an amp and if so, what.

Thanks again-

Zweben

 

[Nick250]

. I'm also interested in hearing what, if any, benefit there is to having a headphone amp for headphones such as my Sennheisers. I'm not looking for particular things here, just wondering if there is any reason for an amp and if so, what.
Thanks again-
Zweben

My experience with headphones amps is that as long as you are hooking the headphones into a receiver, to my ears there is no improvement in sound with my amp. I have a Corda Headamp amp and it is considered a good one. I heard no improvement over the headphone outs off the receivers I have owned ie Onkyo 595, Denon 1602, Denon 1705, Denon 3806. Headphones I own are Senns HD580, Grado 80 and Koss Porta Pros.

On portable devices it's different. Using my portable Panasonic CD player the HD580s (they are power hungry) are very muddy and unusable, the Grados are ok, but not as good as with a receiver and the Porta Pros don't care what you plug them into because they are so darned efficient and for the money ($40ish if I recall correctly) they sound quite good.

Hope this helps.

Nick

 

[jcPanny]

Upgrade options

Zweben,
Are you looking to create a 5.1 HT system, a 2 or 2.1 channel system or just improved 2 channel audio from your PC?
In your budget, a receiver and some good bookshelf speakers would provide a major improvement. Another option is powered monitors like these that got a good review from AH:
http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/loudspeakers/audioengine-A5p1.php

These might be good enough to make you switch from MP3 to FLAC.

 

[Zweben]

Zweben,
Are you looking to create a 5.1 HT system, a 2 or 2.1 channel system or just improved 2 channel audio from your PC?
In your budget, a receiver and some good bookshelf speakers would provide a major improvement. Another option is powered monitors like these that got a good review from AH:
http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/loudspeakers/audioengine-A5p1.php

These might be good enough to make you switch from MP3 to FLAC.

I am mostly looking for a 2.1 system but I will also consider 5.1.

I like a lot of things about the Audioengine 5 speakers, but I won't be at all satisfied with a frequency response that bottoms out at 60hz. I'd like at least 30hz, if not lower. I definitely want the option to attach a subwoofer, which those don't appear to have.

If there is anything that has the simplicity of the Audioengines, but the expandibility of the Onkyo's, that would be good.

One question: Will I be any more able to tell a 128 KBPS AAC from lossless on one of these sets of speakers than on my Shures or Sennheisers? How do these two speakers compare to my headphones?

 

[jcPanny]

2.1 system

Check out the onix X-LS speakers and X-sub from av123.com. It will run $400 for a pair of bookshelf speakers and the sub. Pickup an entry level 5.1 receiver for about $200. When you are ready for surround sound, add the center and surround speakers to the system. This should be a major improvment over most PC speaker systems.

I don't have much experience with headphones so I can't compare them to speakers. However, higher quality speakers are generally more accurate and trasparent allowing you to hear the difference between porr recordings or low bit-rate MP3s and a higher quality CD.