cubbie5150

O.K....very cool, thanks

Well, after quite a bit of looking around, I decided to get a pair of Audio Technica ATH-AD900's. I figure this will be a good entree for me into the headphone world. Even though my self-imposed budget would've allowed me to "reach higher", I decided that sub-$300 for my first real headphones is a large enough of a jump initially.

This is probably a stupid question, but how come sound still comes out of my external speakers (which are connected via the breakout cable) when I plug in headphones? Do I need to disconnect the breakout cable (or shut off my powered speakers) whenever I want to use headphones? Please don't make too much fun of me..

Hello all. First post on this great site... I just got an Apogee Duet that I'll be connecting to my Macbook Pro. Right now, all I have is the MBP, Duet, & a pair of AudioEngine A5's (powered speakers). I got powered speakers because I wanted to avoid having to buy an amp (for now--I'll upgrade speaker system & maybe get an amp months down the road). Let's assume that I do not want to add any additional hardware: what headphones can be driven by the Duet's headphone amp ( & sound "good" in the process)? Can I get, say, Sennheiser HD600 (or 650) & be o.k. w/ how the Duet amp drives them? For example, I've read somewhere else that cans like Grados (not that those would suit me anyway) need more clean power than can be provided by the Duet amp.. My thinking is that I want to get the "best" headphones I can now, and later on I'll consider a separate amp. They don't have to be over-the-ear--I'll also consider IEMs. I'm just asking for some suggestions to get me started in my hunt. I'm pretty flexible on price; I'd probably spend anywhere between $200-$500 USD. BTW, my musical tastes are relatively ecelectic; I mostly listen to a lot of jazz, blues & alt rock. But I'll also go through phases when I'll listen to electronic, ambient or even wanna crank up some metal (meaning a band like Tool).... If you made it this far, thanks for taking a look.