Welcome, Guest. Please Login or Register
Decware Audio Forums
03/29/24 at 14:29:45 




Pages: 1
Send Topic Print
csp3 with headphones (Read 10254 times)
pann56
Senior Member
***




Posts: 56
csp3 with headphones
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? Sad
Back to top
 
 
  IP Logged
deucekazoo
Seasoned Member
****




Posts: 461
Re: csp3 with headphones
Reply #1 - 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.
Back to top
 
 
  IP Logged
pann56
Senior Member
***




Posts: 56
Re: csp3 with headphones
Reply #2 - 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
Back to top
 
 
  IP Logged
deucekazoo
Seasoned Member
****




Posts: 461
Re: csp3 with headphones
Reply #3 - 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.
Back to top
 
 
  IP Logged
Lord Soth
Seasoned Member
****


I'm an American
BadAss!

Posts: 300
Re: csp3 with headphones
Reply #4 - 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.  

Back to top
 
 
  IP Logged
pann56
Senior Member
***




Posts: 56
Re: csp3 with headphones
Reply #5 - 10/20/14 at 12:44:12
 
I have a pair of Beyerdynamic 880 (600 ohm)....will give them a shot....thx
Back to top
 
 
  IP Logged
Lord Soth
Seasoned Member
****


I'm an American
BadAss!

Posts: 300
Re: csp3 with headphones
Reply #6 - 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! 😃
Back to top
 
 
  IP Logged
metropolis7
Seasoned Member
****




Posts: 176
Re: csp3 with headphones
Reply #7 - 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.
Back to top
 
 
  IP Logged
jorgen
Seasoned Member
****




Posts: 224
Re: csp3 with headphones
Reply #8 - 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?
Back to top
 
 
  IP Logged
Lon
Seasoned Member
****


"Love without
guts is
worthless!"
Philip K. Dick

Posts: 23312
Re: csp3 with headphones
Reply #9 - 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.
Back to top
 
 

HR-1,ZTPRE,ZBIT,ZROCK2,SEWE300B,CSP3-25mod,Taboo MkIV;Rega RP3 all GrooveTracer mods;PSAudio:PST+DSD,P15,NPC,PowerBases,AC-12 pwr cbls,Reference spkrcbls;Mapleshade SamsonV3;VooDoo:Cremona+Amati interconnects, IsoPods; headphones:Sennheiser HD800S,ZMF Ori,Oppo PM1
  IP Logged
Pages: 1
Send Topic Print