Audiophile headphone practice setup--mixer vs Cafe Walter

[Schizoid75]

Hey, guys. I have no idea what forum to put this in, so I'll start here.

My normal practice setup for the last couple of years has been running the analog audio line out from my Power Mac into the RCA inputs of a small Yamaha mixer (the MG10/2 if you're curious). I then plug my bass straight into the mixer with a 1/4" cable. Then I use the phones jack of the mixer to drive my headphones.

So, my new dog, God bless her, decided to chew through my headphone cable the other night. I've decided to upgrade to either Beyerdynamic DT 880's, AKG K-701's, or Sennheiser HD 650's--some very nice cans that run between $250 and $500 or so. Since I'm getting some high end cans, I want to make sure I'm getting the most out of them.

Music sounds great through this setup and I never noticed any problems with my old phones. That's not to say it couldn't be better--maybe I don't know what I'm missing! I know that plugging the bass directly in (completely passive bass) negatively affects the sound. The signal is loaded too much by the mixer and I lose highs, right? I mean, it works, but I fear I'm not really hearing all of my playing (ie, mistakes, muting problems, noise, etc.).

So, the obvious solution is a Cafe Walter which seems to be beloved by most if not all. Another solution I just came across seems to the Mackie 402-VLX3. Very compact mixer with a selectable input for line sources or guitar sources.

So, with very high quality cans, do you guys think I'd notice a difference from one setup to the other? I have no interest in tone shaping or any other features. I just want to blend the tracks on my Mac with my bass and have the best possible sound quality. And at this point, I just want to hear opinions about the Mackie (or other small mixers) versus the Cafe Walter. And to be honest, the sound of my bass is probably secondary to the sound of the music. I listen to my headphones constantly throughout the day as I work from home.

And finally, I know there are a ton of other audiophile considerations like the format of my music on the Mac, DAC's, cables, etc, but let's leave all that out for now.

Whew! Hope all my ramblings made sense and mods, please move this if you think it belongs in another forum!

Thanks!
Sean

[iamlowsound]

No idea about the Cafe Walter, but I used a nice Mackie mixer on a weekly bases and it is super clear. I plugged my bass right in and used my grados, just to see, and it sounded really clear. Another thing that you could do it find a headphone amp and use it with your current mixer.

What I do when I want to practice with headphones, I take my yamaha PB-1 and plug right into that and use the headphone out. Super clear and shows all my mistakes quite well. That is another option, they are cheap, but somewhat hard to find.

lowsound

PS, look into some grados as well.

[Schizoid75]

Originally Posted by iamlowsound

Another thing that you could do it find a headphone amp and use it with your current mixer.

What I do when I want to practice with headphones, I take my yamaha PB-1 and plug right into that and use the headphone out. Super clear and shows all my mistakes quite well. That is another option, they are cheap, but somewhat hard to find.

I'm not sure I see the point in adding a separate headphone amp to the current mixer. The mixer seems to drive the headphones okay and I would think adding another component that doesn't need to be there would only degrade the sound.

As for the PB-1, that doesn't help with playing along with songs. I love practicing with my computer because I use the Amazing Slow Downer from Roni Music to transpose songs and slow passages down. So I have to be able to blend my bass with the output from my mixer.

Good to hear that someone else has had good experience playing direct into the Mackie, though!

[iamlowsound]

Originally Posted by Schizoid75

I'm not sure I see the point in adding a separate headphone amp to the current mixer. The mixer seems to drive the headphones okay and I would think adding another component that doesn't need to be there would only degrade the sound.

As for the PB-1, that doesn't help with playing along with songs. I love practicing with my computer because I use the Amazing Slow Downer from Roni Music to transpose songs and slow passages down. So I have to be able to blend my bass with the output from my mixer.

Good to hear that someone else has had good experience playing direct into the Mackie, though!

Ah, I didn't realize that you were playing along with songs off your computer. Also, not the same mackie, but a mackie nonetheless, so it should be comparable. If I were you, I would just get the headphones (not before you look into Grados) and see where that leaves you. If it makes you want a better mixer, then start looking around and try some stuff out. You never know, your current might be perfect for what you are doing.

lowsound