Pairing Good Headphones with the C1100
 

Hello,

I have a C1100 pre amp that I've had for about a year now, and I love it. I have never had a high-end set of headphones, but I am thinking of getting a set now to take advantage of the headphone amp. I would be interested in hearing from members on their experience pairing good headphones with this unit. I’m considering the headphones listed below, based on their reviews because I haven't had a chance to do actual auditioning yet. I realize the most important thing is for me to listen to any of them myself before I buy, but if anyone has any suggestions, as well as recommendations based on the technical characteristics of the C1100, I’d love to hear them. Thanks, I’m looking forward to your responses.

Sennheiser HD800s
MySphere 3.1 or 3.2 (is the C1100’s headphone amp output transformer-less? I can’t tell from the owner’s manual)
Focal Stellia
Audeze LCD-X

Definitely recommend the McIntoch MHP1000 headphones. I was using a pair of Sennheiser HD800 and immediately noticed the Mac phones were far better in every respect. Not cheap around $2,000 in US and £2,400 in U.K. I was lucky bought a pair on the second hand market. Some of the reviews on Youtube etc are terrible so don’t take any notice just Mac jealousy. I absolutely love mine partnered with the onboard “high drive” headphone amp in my MA8000. Worth you having a listen IMHO. :musicheadphone:

I've owned the HD800, LCD-X, and currently use the Focal Utopia. I can say that all of them have their own unique sound signature. I would highly recommend auditioning multiple headphones if you have the opportunity as everyone's preferences are different. I owned the HD800 and LCD-X at the same time because they were so different from each other. The two balanced each other well as they had their own strengths.

The question also comes down to what you are looking for in a headphone. The MySphere will give a completely different presentation than the LCD-X, which will in turn give a completely different presentation from the Stellia. One is basically an earspeaker, another an open-back, and the third closed.

ditto I happen to own these too. HD800 and LCD-X
All about the user, demo many then choose... Focal makes nice ones too and the new HD senns are nice, but I LOVE my Audeeeze with wireworld cables :)

I have been considering something similar for my C22. You might take a look at RAAL Requisite Sr1a's--rave reviews now making their way around the interwebs--though they would plug into your power amp

I concur. I have owned a pair of MHP1000's since their introduction. I snagged them at a good price because they were a (~ 2hr.) demo pair. Cans are a very personal item and should be auditioned before purchase. In my case I find the Mac headphones to be comfortable with a very smooth extended response as driven by my C2700. Detailed, but not overly so with performance consistent with Mac's "house sound". YMMV. :music:

Bob
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Sources: Koetsu Onyx/Sumiko MCD800 "The Arm"/SOTA Star Sapphire with vacuum platter, electronic flywheel,and some update mods; MCT500 CD/SACD transport; OPPO 205; NAD C446 Internet Tuner; Nakamichi 670ZX cassette deck. Electronics: MacIntosh C2700 preamp w/DA2 and MC462 power amp. Speakers: Wilson Yvettes Headphones: MacIntosh MHP 1000 Interconnects: Transparent G5 balanced and speaker cables; MCT - MCT500 -> C2700.Power cords: Transparent (on preamp, power amp and transport). Surge protected. Record cleaner: Kirmuss KA-RC-1 ultrasonic.

I recently purchased headphones to go with my C1100. I started with Focal Elears and after a month went for the Focal Utopias. I do prefer the Utopias. I also paired a Woo WA22 headphone amp with the Utopias but didn't hear all that much difference than with the C1100. I switched then to a Ayon HA-3 Set Headphone Amp and that is what I am using now for my headphones.

Thanks so much to you all for the replies. Looks I have some listening to do. Now the challenge is finding retailers in the area with with these headphones in stock so I can audition them. I'll post once I've had a chance to listen to a few of them. Talk to you soon.

Pairing Good Headphones with the C1100
 

Check out a CanJam near you if you don’t have a brick and mortar store with a lot of headphones to audition. I have the Audeze LCD 4 and they sound awesome. The headphone amp in the C1100 is very good but not great, so if you get hooked count on getting a dedicated headphone amp.

cans
 

I have Senns and love them , but wifey gets annoyed and turns up the tele on me. I went looking for some closed back cans and settled on the Audeze LCD2 closed back. They are a little lighter than the X-cans. I put a Moon cable on them and they sound great. But the situation is sometimes I like to lie down on the couch to listen. In that case they are big, heavy and awkward. Im looking for something else, maybe Aeon Flow,hd820s ?