To me it’s helpful to think of Grados as a different way to go at headphones rather than being in the same category as the headphones that are mostly discussed here (Focal, Hifiman, Sennheiser, etc.).
Grados are on-ear so they don’t have cups that seal which by itself creates a different presentation.
The typical Grado house sound was rather hot but they have been toning things down with the new drivers in the X series (60x, 325x, etc.) and also the Hemp.
You probably wouldn’t want to buy a Grado without hearing it first since it’s a different animal in both presentation and tonality.
But for me the 325x sounds like music where the sealed cup headphones just don’t work.
For some reason the Aeolus does not feel much heavier than the HD650’s. Only nominally. I own both and listen extensively. How the ZMF’s carry the weight on the head is a big factor. Everyone who comes to the house and listens, likes the comfort of the ZMF Aeolus. Planar’s are just heavy and really feel top heavy on the head.
The wood cups are a contributor to the terrific house sound.
Yeah, I mean I’d just have to try them to believe I wouldn’t think they’re too heavy, and ZMF’s return policy includes a 10% fee which for a >$1k headphone is going to be more than $100. I’m not even sure I want to spend >$1k on any headphone, but definitely not one I’m not sure I’d like. One advantage of the Grados is at least they’re in stock at Audio46 here in New York so I could go over there and try before I buy. But people say that Focal headphones distribute weight well and are comfortable and those I definitely find too heavy. For ZMF, I guess I’d have to wait for a CanJam or something…
Also also, I want to say that I already have a headphone with more detail and resolution than the 6XX, which is the ETA Mini Closed, which is fantastic really. I just didn’t mention it because it’s a 32 ohm headphone so I’m not sure how much it would scale or benefit from a more powerful amp.
I have recently installed a Roon Rock system and using Qobuz for most content. Currently I have a Bluesound Node, co-ax out to a Rotel A12 amplifier, with Hifiman Ananda headphones attached to the Rotel headphone jack. Crutchfield lists the Rotel DAC as “Wolfson premium 24-bit/192kHz digital to analog converter.” Would my listening experience be enhanced by using a headphone amp/DAC instead of using the Rotel headphone output? What specific equipment would be recommended consistent with the quality of equipment I have? Thanks for any thoughts.
Well, I figured I’d give an update. I got a used Jot 2 today. I’ve listened to my usual demo tracks and I’m very impressed. There’s more body and feeling of attack compared to the rHead. It’s punchier and more detailed. I tried both low and hi gain but I prefer the low gain for both my headphones. I was looking forward to using the preamp function and I’m glad it works as well as I was hoping. I’ve got it hooked up to my Hegel’s HT Bypass/power amp input.
Thanks to @hottyson and @robson for recommending the Jot 2. I’m sure the Soloist 3XP is better, but would’ve also cost me just over 3X more than the Jot 2.
A couple of pics:
Do you have other sources connected to the Rotel? Are you using headphones exclusively? Which model Node do you have?
You could try and connect the Node via its analog output to your Rotel to see if there’s a difference. I believe the newest Node model is capable of 32-bit/384 kHz. I don’t have Qobuz so I don’t know if they have content higher than 24/192. Just a thought.
Hello @RFHolland, welcome to the forum. I looked up your Rotel A12 here. I happen to like Rotel equipment quite a bit and have one of their CD players in my main stereo system.
It looks like you have both digital out and a pre-amp out. The pre-amp is single ended (RCA). No I do NOT know this specific integrated amp, but in general the problem with most modern (Post 1980s) amplifier headphone jacks is a lack of power in the amplifier section. It’s not driven by your main amp, but by some afterthought for headphones.
I would suggest an auxillary headphone amp. If you find that it doesn’t float your boat, you can always get an additional DAC and use it from the digital out with the amp. However, the Wolfson DAC is probably pretty good.
I do not have this amp, but I have listened to other sibling products and they have been good for price point. It’s designed for Hifiman headphones. I have other iFi products and have been happy with them.
Now others are free to chime in and whack me for breaking my own rules and not asking you a bunch of questions, then actually suggesting a specific product that I don’t personally know or own. All red flags. But I did it out of my respect for Rotel and that most of the people who buy Rotel have some clue about what they’re doing.
So glad you got squared away with that Schiit Jotunheim 2. Thank you for sharing the photos too. I don’t know what those black speakers are but it looks like they have radiator ring tweeters, which I are in my top three favorite types of tweeters. Sweet looking listening setup you have got there overall. I bet it is a really great place to chill out.
Thanks, I quite enjoy spending time with my set up. I don’t get to play through speakers as often lately but when I do, I like to switch between speakers. With the Jotunheim 2, now I don’t have to keep switching speaker cables.
I am now looking at getting a slightly longer balanced cable for my LCD-2, one that reaches the chair comfortably.
Thanks for your astute observations and suggestion, pennstac. It opened my thinking about the Rotel and the possibility of using its DAC along with an external headphone amp. The one you recommend is at an acceptable price point and would seem to fit well in the chain between modem and headphones. I’m anxious to learn if there are others who concur with your thoughts about the quality of the internal headphone amp and DAC in the Rotel.
I have MartinLogan speakers connected to the Rotel. My listening is split between headphones and the speakers. Everything is good otherwise, except a question as to whether each component in the chain from modem to headphones is optimal. Thanks for your thoughts.
If you use the search function, you’ll find a lot of discusión here about using integrated amp headphone jacks, and how the design of them changed as they started to rely on ICs more and more. @SebastienChiu used to work for iFi, and can probably comment on the iCan HiFiman signature edition.
Which MLs? I’ve toyed with buying a used pair of the Prodigy or Odyssey models of a few years back. Then I see a NOS CLX for around 20K, and I worry about Wife Approval Factor. But I want them.
Anyone own and/or have impressions on the Shuor EJ07M Kinda Lava? Not many reviews around on it and I’m trying to compare it with other mid tier options (Oracle, Variations, SA6, others??), but am having trouble deciding what direction to go. I’m good with balanced or a little V shape (don’t want mids to to be too recessed), and really want something that is clear, has good detail and imaging. I like alot of different types of music, so an all-rounder would be great. I could even go up to the $1k range if there was something there that would check all the boxes and be an endgame set for me (Monarch MKII, Andromeda 2020?). Now that I’ve reread this, sorry it is all over the place, but I’m having a bit of paralysis by analysis on this one and need some guidance (as you can see).
I recommend taking it slow and building some more impressions of IEMs based on some less expensive offerings. Have you tried the Timeless or Moondrop Kato? How about the Blessing 2? What have you all been able to listen to this far?
Do you have a dealer nearby, or could you perhaps order from someplace like Amazon or headphones dot com that has a generous return policy? You could compare a few and then return the losers; and even if there’s a return fee, it’s well worth being able to directly compare yourself.
