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Rare Bird
10-09-2010, 21:29
Could i ask for peoples views on the headphones they use, what they get out of the model & what they using them with? ..I am getting fed up with buying phones to try & not like, i find Headphones the hardest thing to buy..I've used cheapish phones for too long now as to keep on the safe side.

Proprties i'm looking for:
Very detailed but no harshness, big deep bass but tight!

Techno Commander
10-09-2010, 21:36
Whats your budget?

Rare Bird
10-09-2010, 22:06
dunno really andy!

Alex_UK
10-09-2010, 22:20
Andre, have you tried any of the Grados? My SR60s are the bottom of the range, but to my ears fit what you're after.

alfie2902
11-09-2010, 01:55
Headphone choice IMO is as personal as speaker choice Andre.

If I were you, if possible go & try a whole bunch of pairs in a few Hi-Fi shops they're just as subjective as speakers. So you will just get a list of cans that people own!

I've tried a few pairs but always end up back with my Senn HD600 the HD650 have better bass, sound a little darker though, both are better with a good amp too IMO.

Big deep bass often comes at the expense of detail IMO & is probably why I end up back with the Senns.

Beyers do good bass DT770/880/990 are all worth an audition. The DT770/80ohm pair stayed with me a long time & if you like them & want to chuck some money at them you can always Darth Beyer them :eyebrows: http://headphile.com/page8.html Very nice indeed :stalks:

Denon cans are pretty bassy too, check out the D2000 or for even bigger bass the D5000(not cheap though)

Grado might be what your looking for as Alex says, but I find them uncomfortable for a long listen! If you do like the Grado sound/comfort etc have a look at the Alessandro modded ones! :eyebrows: The MS1 sounds better than the SR60/80/125 & all for $99 delivered worldwide. A true headphone bargain IMO & one I regret selling & the MS2 are even better http://www.alessandro-products.com/headphones.html

Budget & head amp to be used would help though mate! But there's some bits to research or look for demos :)

Cheers, alfie.

Rare Bird
11-09-2010, 02:07
Cheers Alfie. something to consider..

John
11-09-2010, 05:17
I had a few different headphones and agree headphones are a personal thing
Here are my own personal experiences
SR80 nice phones but for some reason never really enjoyed them
HD600 with Cardas wires Very holographic the cables made a big difference but just did not rock enough for me
AKG701 I quite liked these but quite bulky and sounded crap with my sony Walkman but with a dedicated headphone amp sounded pretty good to me
HD595 easy to drive so works well my Walkman, boggies well but not the most refined. Only thing I dislike is the way they look but comfortable to wear

DSJR
11-09-2010, 08:36
I always found HD600's a bit bland in a "nice" way. perhaps a truly dedicated headphone amp would open them up a bit?

I use Sennheiser HD25's (basic version). They need eq'ing to get them flat (and an inverse eq curve is provided) so you may find the sparkle a bit much. They are extremely clear and reasonably uncoloured I find (by comparison to HD600's, which I owned for a while). The HD265 closed-back phones may be a good used buy as well.

Grado's can be either truly wonderful or extremely uncomfortable depending on your head. The old fashioned looks count in their favour and if you like the 60's Alex, the next models up give you more of the same I found (they've changed their range in more recent times).

I don't know if any dealers still have those "Sennheiser towers/headphone bars" where you can easily compare several models together...

Techno Commander
11-09-2010, 11:26
If you do like the Grado sound/comfort etc have a look at the Alessandro modded ones! :eyebrows: The MS1 sounds better than the SR60/80/125 & all for $99 delivered worldwide. A true headphone bargain IMO & one I regret selling & the MS2 are even better http://www.alessandro-products.com/headphones.html


Cheers, alfie.

I have heard many good reports on the Allesandro's. The MS2 are very appealing.

goraman
11-09-2010, 18:15
Thats like recomending a wife.
Headphones are a love hate thing.

scoobs
11-09-2010, 18:52
You really should try to get a listen to some if you can. I bought K701 on the back of the many good reviews, but they were far too bass light for me, so the opposite side of that coin was Denon, and I now have a pair of d7000's which suit my taste far better, but require a muscular amp to control keep them in order.

StanleyB
11-09-2010, 20:06
I have both the D7000 and K701 and they both perform well enough with the Caiman headphone output. No problem with the K701 bass. It's the headphone amp design that affects how well the bass comes through. Speakers require a different approach to headphones when it comes to reproduction, but like many headamp designers have yet to discover that...

YNWaN
11-09-2010, 22:31
I use Grado SR325iS headphones with a D10 Cobra into my Asus Netbook.

Alex_UK
11-09-2010, 22:39
I use Grado SR325iS headphones with a D10 Cobra into my Asus Netbook.

...and do you rate them, Mark?

ReggieB
11-09-2010, 22:47
I use Goldring NS1000. I just wanted something cheap to use at work, and I was able to get a new pair for £50. I first bought a second hand pair of Goldring DR100, which were OK. However, the NS1000 are more comfortable (I can wear them all day) and give a better sound. They are also closed back so cut out a lot more background noise (I don't use the noise cancelling feature very often).

My main problem is they've opened up the world of listening to music on headphones. I've got the bug now, and am saving up for a better headphone amp and DAC, and perhaps then better headphones.

Alex_UK
11-09-2010, 22:56
I've also got a pair of NS1000's Reggie, great for a) mowing the lawn (noise cancellation comes into its own!) and b) when the other half wants to watch Eastenders :rolleyes: and the leakage of the Grados "ruins" her enjoyment of said "program"... I do find I like the noise cancellation though, as without it, the treble seems cut off to me. They are fabulous quality for the money (got mine for £50 too, play.com I think) and very comfortable. Pound for pound, cans offer much better value than speakers if you are mainly the one who listens to your system, on your own.

Rare Bird
12-09-2010, 12:31
Just for the record i had a pair of K701 & disliked them, the same for me that Nick (Scoobs) mentions, this was an expensive mistake & the reason i kept with my cheap Senns foe so long.

YNWaN
12-09-2010, 13:18
...and do you rate them, Mark?

Yes, I really do - some of the best headphones I've ever heard. They are remarkably good at separating out the strands of the music without making it sound like a science experiment - very good indeed at rhythmic flow and pace.

I should add, the Cobra D10 I mentioned is the iBasso Cobra D10, combination DAC and headphone amp (I've got a Naim Headline headphone amp but I'm going to sell that).

Rare Bird
12-09-2010, 13:27
Hi Mark
What are those headphones like in the Bass department, i've seen that DAC/Headphone amp it has USB yes?

spendorman
12-09-2010, 13:27
I have these Sennheisers:

http://www.wikizic.org/Sennheiser-HD-400/reviews-1.htm

They sounded very much like the Stax SR3 (I think) electrostatic phones that I had.

http://wiki.faust3d.com/wiki/index.php?title=Image:Stax_SR3_a.jpg.

But, the Sennheiser were much lighter in weight.

Both pairs of headphones had a similarity in sound to ESL57's

Steve Eddy
12-09-2010, 18:57
You really should try to get a listen to some if you can. I bought K701 on the back of the many good reviews, but they were far too bass light for me, so the opposite side of that coin was Denon, and I now have a pair of d7000's which suit my taste far better, but require a muscular amp to control keep them in order.

Word on the street has it that the bass performance of the 701's can be improved by driving them with a sufficiently high source impedance.

There is an IHF (Institute of High Fidelity) standard for headphone amp output impedance which is 120 ohms. I wouldn't be surprised if some headphone manufacturers don't design their headphones with this standard in mind.

However the output impedances of headphone amps out there is all over the road. And if a headphone is designed to sound its best when driven from a 120 ohm source, it's not going to sound as good if driven from a much lower impedance.

se

Reid Malenfant
12-09-2010, 19:09
There is an IHF (Institute of High Fidelity) standard for headphone amp output impedance which is 120 ohms. I wouldn't be surprised if some headphone manufacturers don't design their headphones with this standard in mind.

However the output impedances of headphone amps out there is all over the road. And if a headphone is designed to sound its best when driven from a 120 ohm source, it's not going to sound as good if driven from a much lower impedance.

se
You know that makes a lot of sense & i doubt it's something anyone who was going to build their own headphone amp would ever consider :doh: Me, i'd make it as low an output impedance as possible, this would effectively kill the bass & i'd be wondering why :scratch:

Just like loudspeakers the driver Q will be affected by the source impedance & if it's designed to produce low frequencies when driven from a 120ohm source then anything less will indeed reduce the bass response.

You have just opened a big can of worms Steve & frankly i'm glad i don't listen to headphones (too many instances of falling to sleep whilst listening & doing damage :eyebrows:).

The only thing to do would be to boost the bass output to counteract for the falling bass if driven from a low impedance amp. As i say, can of worms :eek: Unless people know what was used to drive the things at the design stage then it's no wonder things are all over the place :rolleyes:

Ali Tait
12-09-2010, 19:29
That's the good thing about the WAD HD83,the impedance is adjustable to suit just about any set of cans.

YNWaN
12-09-2010, 19:44
Hi Mark
What are those headphones like in the Bass department, i've seen that DAC/Headphone amp it has USB yes?

Yes, the iBasso has USB input - that's how I connect it up to my Netbook (it also has optical, mini-jack and Coax inputs).

The bass on the Grado's is tight and punchy - however, it is lean and has zero fat. Senheiser's sound fat, muffled and slow in comparison (or the Grado's sound bass light, depending on your viewpoint). Although very detailed and extended in the treble, the Grado's are never harsh, hard or spitty.

A friend of mine described the SR325iS as being the Naim of the headphone world and I think that is a pretty fair description.

Reid Malenfant
12-09-2010, 19:48
That's the good thing about the WAD HD83,the impedance is adjustable to suit just about any set of cans.
Hi Ali, i'm not sure what you are refering to here, but World Audio Design, as in Hifi World springs to mind? :scratch: It's probably one i missed having given up all magazines a while ago :eyebrows:

Steve Eddy
12-09-2010, 19:51
That's the good thing about the WAD HD83,the impedance is adjustable to suit just about any set of cans.

Not intimately familiar with that amp. How are they doing it?

If it's using taps on the output transformer, that wouldn't be quite the same.

se

Ali Tait
12-09-2010, 20:05
Yes that's the one Mark.See here

http://wduk.worldomain.net/acatalog/pdf/HD3S.pdf

Steve,yes,the output trannie secondaries can be wired to suit a range of impedances.