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Message started by pann56 on 10/15/14 at 19:24:16

Title: csp3 with headphones
Post by pann56 on 10/15/14 at 19:24:16

i am using my pre-amp mainly for headphone use. i have apair of Alpha Dogs and hifi-man 400's which i mostly use but they both sound veiled and underpowered no matter how i dial in the volume settings.  On the other hand my Grado 60's sound much better even though they are by far the least expensive of the group. Am i doing something wrong somewhere ? should i swap tubes (using stock ones) or are there other setting options? :(

Title: Re: csp3 with headphones
Post by deucekazoo on 10/15/14 at 20:36:09

I think you are underpowering them. You need to get the Taboo MKIII. That is the amp made for orthodynamic/planer headphones.

Title: Re: csp3 with headphones
Post by pann56 on 10/15/14 at 21:52:01

would that amp also be good with Grado and AKG's ?   i would consider selling the CSP3 and buying one of them if it could handle all my headphones

Title: Re: csp3 with headphones
Post by deucekazoo on 10/15/14 at 22:18:08

Yes I believe so. The main person to confirm that would be Steve. I do know the amp as an option can have the high/low headphone option. So you have two 1/8" phono jacks that can be wired with a low output and high output. Then you have two balanced connections (3 pin or 4 pin) with the same low output and high output. I think the low output is for sensitive headphones and the high is for low sensitive headphones like planers. But I think Steve would recommend (and he has) to use the CSP3 with the Taboo MKIII for the ultimate setup. But if you can only afford one I would go with the Taboo.

Title: Re: csp3 with headphones
Post by Lord Soth on 10/19/14 at 10:21:07

The CSP3 is meant to be paired with high impedance  headphones .
My BEYER T1 (600 ohms) and CSP3 combo sound great together!

For low impedance headphones <100 ohms, you would be better served by the Decware Taboo.

Suggest u check out the "head-fi" forum too.
Headphone enthusiasts hang out there.  


Title: Re: csp3 with headphones
Post by pann56 on 10/20/14 at 12:44:12

I have a pair of Beyerdynamic 880 (600 ohm)....will give them a shot....thx

Title: Re: csp3 with headphones
Post by Lord Soth on 10/21/14 at 15:44:59

Hi pann, you are onto something special there.

I used to pair my BEYER DT880 ( 600 ohms) with my CSP2+ and CSP3.
The Dt880 is really value for money.

This headphone amp combo is really good.

It took me quite sometime before I finally managed to get my external soeaker setup to meet or surpass the DT880-CSP2+ combo!

The famous "Skylab " of headfi once ranked the CSP2+ as among the top 5 headphone amps in the world.

Have fun! 😃

Title: Re: csp3 with headphones
Post by metropolis7 on 10/26/14 at 23:28:52


The CSP2 with Senn. 600 or 650 is pretty magical. When you give this OTL amp a friendly impedance between 300-600 ohm, it becomes a world-class headphone amp.
FWIW, my Grado RS-1 and Grado 125s sounded very bad through the CSP-2. So, it's limited in headphone use, but is magical with the right cans.

Title: Re: csp3 with headphones
Post by jorgen on 10/10/16 at 20:34:24

Would this mean that a pair of LCD 2.2 are a bad match with the CSP 3, or does it mean Decware can do some magic and make them be a perfect match?

Title: Re: csp3 with headphones
Post by Lon on 10/10/16 at 21:46:43

I have two pairs of headphones and a CSP2+ and a Taboo Mk III. The Oppo PM-1s sound excellent with the CSP2+ and the Audeze LCD-2 sound excellent with the Taboo Mk III. The opposite is not true. . . each pair of headphones shines with one particular amp, is not great sounding with the other.

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