amplify

Reading about the sound of high-end headphones on my blog is one thing, but there aren't too many places where you can actually compare the sound of top-of-the-line headphones before you buy a pair.

That's why Ken Ball started 32 Ohm Audio. The shop has about 100 headphone models on hand from AKG, Beyerdynamic, Denon, Grado, JH Audio, Koss, Monster, Skullcandy, Sennheiser, Ultrasone, and so on, as well as a large assortment of headphone amplifiers and digital-to-analog converters you can try out. Or you can just plug the headphones directly into your iPod or Zune to try them. You can't do that online, and face it, there's no substitute for an ears-on headphone audition.

It seems as if I'm always getting e-mails from readers asking about the difference in sound quality between decent set of $100 'phones and a top of the line $1,000 Grado or Sennheiser. I understand the dilemma, but all I can do is report what I hear. I'm thrilled there's at least one place where people can go hear them with their own ears. The store also sells custom-molded in-ear headphones from JH Audio, which 32 Ohm Audio can demonstrate before you buy--the shop work with a local audiologist who makes custom ear molds.

Don't get the wrong idea, most of 32 Ohm Audio's customers aren't buying $1,000 headphones, but because of the store, they know they exist. Ken Ball says the Grado SR 80i ($95) is, "Dollar for dollar, the best sounding headphone you can buy, they're amazing."

Headphone comfort is another area that's subjective, there's no substitute for putting a pair on your ears, and listening to a song or two to see how they feel. Sure, they might feel fine at first, but give 'em some time before you commit to buying them.  I'm sensitive to headphones that make my ears sweat, as the B&W P1's do for me. However, the P1 doesn't have that effect on everyone, so you can't know in advance how it's going to work for you.

It's also great to hear how a high-end headphone amplifier can transform the sound of a headphone--it's not a small change. The same applies to digital converters; at 32 Ohm Audio you can hear the difference. Bring your laptop in and have 32 Ohm set you up with a first-class headphone rig. … Read more

You can buy a set of great full-size headphones for $100 from Grado or Sennheiser, but if you want to pick up one of the world's best headphones, be prepared to spend more than $1,000. Granted, no one needs a $1,000 headphone to listen to music or a $140,000 Porsche Panamera Turbo sedan to drive to work, but they're nice things to have. That's why we cover them on CNET.

Audio-Technica, Sennheiser, Grado, and Ultrasone's latest attempts to advance the state-of-the-art are really expensive, but before the introduction of the T1, Beyerdynamic's top models all carried an MSRP of less than $400. With the Tesla T1, Beyerdynamic joined the $1,000-and-greater club; it sells for $1,295.

Steep prices haven't stopped the high-end headphone market from booming, and Beyerdynamic can't keep up with the demand for the T1. It's hand-built and tested in the company's headquarters in Heilbronn, Germany.

Its padded leather headband and soft earpads provide high comfort levels, and while we were testing the T1 over some rather hot and humid late spring days, the headphone remained comfy for hours on end. The T1 comes packed in a very impressive aluminum storage case.

According to Beyerdynamic, the T1's transducer is the first to produce more than one Tesla of magnetic flux density (hence the T1 designation). A more powerful magnet better controls the diaphragm's movement, which should produce lower distortion.

Most of the T1's outer earcup is covered with a finely woven wire mesh, which allows the user to hear outside sounds. Actually, the T1 is classified as a "semi-open" design, so it partially limits how much sound the wearer would hear, compared with open Sennheiser and Grado designs. The T1's thick cable is just shy of 10 feet long (118 inches) and it's fitted with a 6.3mm connector. Beyerdynamic doesn't include a 3.5mm adapter for use with iPods or other portable devices.

I listened to the T1 with three different amplifiers: an Onkyo TX-SR805 receiver, Woo Audio WA6-SE vacuum tube amp, and Burson Audio HA-160 solid-state headphone amp ($699). Beyerdynamic's headphone amp, the A1 ($849), would likely be a serious contender, but I didn't have a chance to try it. … Read more

If you've invested in a set of really high-quality headphones--and you're plugging them into a headphone jack on your receiver or computer--you ain't heard nothing yet. The sound may be pretty good, but the weak link is the "good enough" headphone amp built into the receiver or computer sound card.

Dedicated headphone amps, like the Burson Audio HA-160 take the high road and are built like bona-fide high-end audio amplifiers. Little amplifiers to be sure; it doesn't take a lot of power to drive a headphone, but the quality of the power is something else again. Burson Audio is based in Melbourne, Australia.

I love the HA-160's understated design; the silver anodized-aluminum chassis feels nice and solid. Up front you get two headphone jacks: one for use with low-impedance (15-150 ohms) headphones, and one for high-impedance headphones (150-500 ohms). The large, machined-aluminum volume control is a little unusual; it's a "stepped attenuator." That's a big draw for serious audiophiles, stepped attenuators have matched sets of resistors that sound better than more commonly used continuously variable volume controls.

Most solid-state headphone amps, including a lot of high-end ones, use off-the shelf "opamps," integrated circuit chip sets, but the HA-160 uses circuits developed by Burson Audio, and it features discrete circuits with resistors, capacitors and transistors. That's a more labor-intensive way to build amps, but there's no other way to build true high-end designs.

What does the HA-160 sound like? Nothing at all. Switching back and forth between my Onkyo TX-SR805 receiver's headphone jack and the HA-160 was a study in contrasts. The TX-SR805 certainly didn't sound bad on its own, but the clarity gains with the HA-160 were dramatic. The sound was far more vivid, and the "spaces" between the instruments and vocals were in sharp relief. Bass was also clearer with the Burson; the TX-SR805 sounds softer and veiled by comparison.

I next compared the HA-160 with my reference headphone amp, the Woo Audio WA6-SE ($1,050). It was a closer match, but there were still very significant differences between the two amps. Listening to Peter Gabriel's new "Scratch My Back" CD, the WA6-SE was sweeter and more laid-back than the HA-160.

The orchestral accompaniments were richer, but the HA-160 was more immediate, it sounded much clearer, as if there was nothing between the music and my ears. All of my listening up to this point was with the Beyerdynamic Tesla T1 headphone ($1,295), which is one of the very best headphones I've ever heard (full review is in the works). … Read more

"Good enough" audio is the order of the day, but here at The Audiophiliac it's all about great sounding gear, which can get really expensive. Usually, but not always, so here's a Top 10 list of great gear that won't break the bank. Prices run from $8 to $1,995, and seven of the ten are under $650. All are truly exceptional performers, affordably priced. (Just note that these are my personal picks; see CNET's list of best home audio products for the editors' official recommendations.)

Grado SR60i headphones ($79). Grado long ago set the standard for unbelievably great-sounding, full-size budget headphones with the original SR60. The SR60's sound had weight, detail and punch far beyond the capabilities of most under $100 'phones. Jim Austin, over at Stereophile magazine, recently reviewed the SR60i, and he thinks Grado's upgraded design surpasses the original SR60.

Ikea Lack hi-fi component stand ($7.99) It's made of particleboard and ABS plastic, and it comes in a variety of painted colors (and "birch effect"); it's 21.3 inches wide and deep, and 17.75 inches high. Ikea doesn't present the Lack as audio furniture; it's a side table, but audiophiles all over the world have used it to support their prized possessions. Build quality is surprisingly sturdy.

Sony XDR-F1HD HD Radio ($100). I guess most of you don't listen to radio anymore, but if you're lucky enough to still have a great NPR or college station nearby, you gotta hear this radio. Plug it into your computer or hi-fi and it'll sound better than Internet radio by a long shot.

Samsung HT-C6500 home theater in a box system ($649, pictured at top). I've probably reviewed more HTIBs than anybody, but this new Blu-ray Samsung HTIB really stood out from the crowd. First because it doesn't have the feeble, thin sound I associate with the petite speakers that come with most HTIBs. The sound is rich, full, and thanks to the HT-C6500's potent subwoofer, powerful.

Altec Lansing Expressionist Ultra MX6021 PC speaker-subwoofer system ($200). I checked out Altec's mighty PC sound system when David Carnoy was working on his CNET review. Wow, this thing rocks! It's remarkably clean-sounding, and the subwoofer goes really deep, without the boom and bloat so common to computer speaker systems. Face it, you're never going to get great sound out of pipsqueak speakers, the Altec system's subwoofer is 15.8 inches tall by 15.1 inches wide by 10.2 inches deep, and the satellites sport 3-inch midrange drivers and 1-inch neodymium tweeters. It's easily the best sounding $200 speaker/subwoofer package on the planet! … Read more

Audiophiles never gave up on tube electronics. Sure, there's no shortage of great-sounding solid-state amps to choose from, but tube amps are still a hot commodity in the audiophile world. As good as solid-state amps can sound, they never sound like tubes.

Thing is, tube electronics are more expensive to build than solid-state gear, so when I hear about an affordable tube amp, I want to hear it.

The Miniwatt N3 Integrated Tube Amplifier uses a single ECC83 twin-triode tube feeding a single EL84 output tube per channel, and the amp features a switching power supply. The N3 delivers a healthy 3.5 watts per channel; it was designed in Hong Kong and it's built in China.

Yeah I know 3.5 watts doesn't sound like much, but the N3 made its presence known with a range of speakers, running from my Audioengine P4s ($249/pair), to Dynaudio Contour 1.1s, up to the mighty Zu Audio Essence towers ($3,600/pair). I can't tell you the N3 will work with every speaker, satisfy headbangers, or fill your loft with high-decibel sound. But those 3.5 watts will play louder and sound better than you would have thought. At night with your room lights turned down the tubes' soft orange glow will look way cool. … Read more

Wednesday's video was a basic overview of how to wire up an amplifier to your car stereo system. Well, today's clip is a practical demonstration of grinding grounds, soldering the terminals, and running the power cable from the front end of the car all the way to the back.

To run the wire from the front of the car where your alternator and battery are, you'll need to find or make a hole big enough for your wire to make it into the interior of the vehicle. (Don't worry, the narrator describes where to look for … Read more

Tuesday's video blog was all about wiring and hooking up an aftermarket head unit into your car stereo, but let's suppose you want to create a big, bumpin' system. In that case, you want to get yourself an amp. And if you want to see how to hook up an amp to your car stereo, you've come to the right place, as this Web clip is a practical demonstration on how to make it happen.

This instructional clip goes over some of the tools and materials you'll need to wire and install the amp, how to … Read more

Today's Web clip is a quick primer on how to install a new car stereo head unit into your vehicle. (This of course being that you already have or know how to uninstall your factory deck, but that's a different story for a different time). There's not a whole lot I can say here that isn't demonstrated in this video clip, but to give you an overview of what can be seen here, I'll give you the rundown: installation of the shell in which the deck fits, putting in the ISO connectors to the back … Read more

Recently I've been using this video blog to cover topics related to car audio, and on Thursday I presented a video that touched upon the importance of wiring in the implementation of any car stereo system. In today's video we get a broad overview of wiring your car stereo head unit for use in a new car audio system.

There are certain considerations involved in determining the wiring of your car stereo, and this video covers several of them. Among the considerations covered here are head unit involved, options (iPods, satellite, Bluetooth), making sure your aftermarket harness can … Read more