Jazz Headphones: HD 650, DT 880, or K 701?

[pleathercups]

I want to pair a set of cans with an amp for listening to instrumental jazz. I have gathered that the HD 650, DT 880, and the K 701 are some of the best for this type of music. I have also heard great things about the Denon D 5000 and JVC DX 1000. With which amps have listeners had great success with these cans? My price point on the amp is around $500. Other suggestions on personal favorites are welcome. Thanks

[billinkansas]

I have owned all of these cans, except the D5000 (had the D2000 though)

My advice for jazz is to save a few bucks and buy more music -

K601 or HD600/HD580 or Stax SRX-MKIII/SR-5

[Zanth]

RS-1's are my favourite jazz headphone bar non. Even when I had the R10's and Omega II's, when I spun a jazz disc, I would dawn the RS-1's.

[musicmind]

Of the cans I have, I prefer my HD650 and AD2000 for jazz. The AD2000 is faster and more energetic and has a sense of air that really shines with instrumental jazz. It isn't bright or strident in the highs. The HD650 is more laid back and less fatiguing so I prefer it for longer sessions at the moment, when I mix it up with classical music.
I don't find the stock D5000 to allow as much instrumental detail and textures to come through, and you can maybe peruse the review in my signature.

The JVC DX10000 does see to be a favourite of many, but I haven't heard them personally.

As for amps, if you like your sound a bit lush then an ASL MG HEAD DT/OTL MKIII is very nice with its tubey sound at around 350$. I found this sounded really nice with AD2000 and the HD650 when I had a brief listen. The WA6 I have now is more precise and detailed but still has the tube smoothness and body. Perhaps a stock WA6 with the pseudo-dual PSU mod installed my Jack Wu is a good amp to go for. It will be a little over your budget but I think it will be worth it.

Hope that helps

[StanleyB1]

It pains me to recommend the K701, without also mentioning the errata. A headamp capable of driving them is a must, otherwise they are not worth the effort.
I use my K701 exclusively when listening to jazz. The drivers are fast enough to take on drum kits with little sound colouration, and flexible enough to capture the dying seconds of a guitar string after release with real emotions. The HD650 in comparison turns emotions into warmth, which can be very much out of place in many jazz expressions captured on CD. Diana Krall springs to mind.
The K701 also needs a warm up time of 15 minutes or more.

[greggf]

I agree with billinkansas - jazz is great on HD600. The HD650 might be too warm. And I personally found the K701 and DT880 a bit too painful, but that's me.

[JMCIII]

Originally Posted by StanleyB1

It pains me to recommend the K701, without also mentioning the errata. A headamp capable of driving them is a must, otherwise they are not worth the effort.
I use my K701 exclusively when listening to jazz. The drivers are fast enough to take on drum kits with little sound colouration, and flexible enough to capture the dying seconds of a guitar string after release with real emotions. The HD650 in comparison turns emotions into warmth, which can be very much out of place in many jazz expressions captured on CD. Diana Krall springs to mind.
The K701 also needs a warm up time of 15 minutes or more.

I would agree with much of what StanleyB1 said. The K701s are the most neutral headphones I've ever heard. Since most jazz is acoustic in nature and usually well recorded, it behooves one to have a headphone that reproduces all the tone and timbre as accurately as possible - which the K701s do in spades. They go deep enough clearly and cleanly to allow you to follow the bass line without it overpowering the balance of the musical spectrum. Mids are outstanding (an AKG trademark), and the trebel is clean and extended without becoming shrill.

I can't recommend them highly enough - and I'm a jazzfan of the first order.

[JMCIII]

Hey Gregg, hows that Esoteric coming along? Enjoying it?

[Aimless1]

I haven't heard the HD650s or the K701s. I have heard the HD580 which is sonically the same/similar to the HD600 by most reports. I personally didn't care for the 580s with jazz. They seemed to miss the essence of the music with a rather bland presentation. Some call that neutral. I call it uninspiring.

I have been borrowing the K601s for the past couple of weeks and will probably pick up a pair. They seem to handle all music genres well, but for jazz I prefer the K501s. Wonderful soundstage, sweet midrange and enough bass/treble to convey the music as I believe it should sound.

Last night I just received the DT880s and they certainly show great potential as a great choice for jazz cans. Wonderful detail, sparkling treble, mids close to the K501s and bass that seems natural, not overpowering the mids or highs. Ella Fitzgerald sparkles on Oh, Lady be Good to me, which is what is playing as I post this.

My two cents, look at AKG or the DT880s.

[cjc]

I have HD580's, DT880's and K701's currently and recommend the AKG701's as the best suitable for JAZZ. BTW, All these cans are superb so whichever you get, you will be happy I hope.

[Uncle Erik]

I own those three headphones, but I have not heard the Denon or JVC. About 50% of my listening is jazz - about evenly split between SACD and vinyl.

Provided you have a suitable amp, all three do a great job with jazz. If you have your heart set on one of them, you can't really go wrong. However, they're not what I reach for with jazz. I like the Sennheiser HD-600 for a more neutral balance than the HD-600. I also prefer the AKG K-501 to the K-701. It's more neutral and has killer mids with soundstage to boot. If you're listening to live recordings in a jazz club, this is the one to go for. Bettered only by the K-1000 or ribbon/ESL/AMT/planar speakers, in my opinion. The other go-to jazz headphone is the Beyerdynamic DT48. Dead neutral with the same amazing mids as the K-501. The DT48 soundstage is narrower (being closed) but makes up for it with some of the finest detail I've heard. Few things get piano as right as the DT48. They're not mainstream headphones at all, but you can find them around $300 at B&H.

For an amp, you want tubes. They're better at acoustic music and vocals where you don't need the low end slam of solid state. Look around the For Sale Forum - you will save a lot of money and help out a fellow Head-Fi'er. Don't shy away from Singlepower amps, despite the threads. If you need service, you can take it to your local guitar tube amp guru, hi-fi tech or antique radio guy. They can fix it every bit as well as the factory.

[John D.]

K-701 for JAZZ
HD-650 for ROCK

[compuryan]

I think the HD600 or HD650 would both be awesome with jazz. The k701 doesn't have enough bass or impact for me, the bassy stuff would be a little light in jazz music with the k701.

[pleathercups]

So far I'm leaning towards AKGs. Do most of you agree with Uncle Erik regarding tube amps?

[Pangaea]

Grados, even the low end ones are ideal for Jazz. Get some SR80s and 40 jazz discs instead.