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please clear up some info and suggest some phones...

post #1 of 10
10/4/05 at 3:15pm
Thread Starter 
hi. i read that the lower ohm the cans are the less power is required to drive them so theyd be good for lets say an mp3 player. i currently have sennheiser hd212pro's. theyre great. theyre rated at 32ohms. i recently got a x-fi fatality sound card and am using the i/o panel with my headphones, it has one of those big jacks on it, not the small mini plug. now, i want better cans that would yeild the benefits of this uber sound card. which route should i go? higher ohms? the more expensive sennheiser's im noticing, are at 120ohms. will these not be driven well?? if so what should i go with? a lower ohm'd pair? if this makes any sense i appreciate the help. thanks a lot
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post #2 of 10
10/4/05 at 3:24pm
Howdy, welcome to the forum and sorry about your wallet

Dont know who started this rumor but it NEEDS to be squashed and that post deleted.

Low impedence cans benefeit from amplification just as much as high impedence cans. Low impedence cans are current hungry and need ample current reserves for transient peaks. All my low impedence cans benefeit from amplification. Including my Grados, and MDRV6... Even more-so do my K240s and DT770-80.

Not familiar with that particular sound card... maybe someone else can chime in and recommend a can that synnergizes well with its headphone circuit.

Garrett
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post #3 of 10
10/4/05 at 3:44pm
Thread Starter 
SPECIFICATIONS


Technical Specs
24-bit Analog-to-Digital conversion of analog inputs at 96kHz sample rate
24-bit Digital-to-Analog conversion of digital sources at 96kHz to analog 7.1 speaker output
24-bit Digital-to-Analog conversion of stereo digital sources at 192kHz to stereo output
16-bit to 24-bit recording sampling rates: 8, 11.025, 16, 22.05, 24, 32, 44.1, 48 and 96kHz
ASIO 2.0 support at 16-bit/44.1kHz, 16-bit/48kHz, 24-bit/44.1kHz 24-bit/48kHz and 24-bit/96kHz with direct monitoring.
Enhanced SoundFont support at up to 24-bit resolution
64MB of X-RAM

Audio Performance (Rated Output @ 2Vrms)
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (20kHz Low-pass filter, A-Weighted)
Stereo Output: 109dB
Front and Rear Channels: 109dB
Center, Subwoofer and Side Channels: 109dB
Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise at 1kHz (20kHz Low-pass filter) = 0.004%
Frequency Response (-3dB, 24-bit/96kHz input ) = <10Hz to 46kHz
Frequency Response (-3dB, 24-bit/192kHz input) = <10Hz to 88kHz (Stereo only)

On-Board Connectivity
FlexiJack (Performing a 3-in-1 function, Digital Out / Line In / Microphone) via 3.50mm mini jack
Line level out (Front / Rear / Center / Subwoofer / Rear Center) via 3.50mm mini jacks
AUX_IN line-level analog input via 4-pin Molex connector on card
One AD_Link (26 pin) connector for linking to the X-Fi I/O Console (upgrade option)

I/O Drive Connectivity
Two RCA jacks for coaxial SPDIF input and output
Two RCA jacks for Auxiliary input
Two optical connectors for optical SPDIF input and output
Two mini MIDI female connectors for MIDI input and output
Headphone output and volume control via 6.35 mm (1/4-inch) stereo jack
Shared line-level analog Line/Microphone input via 6.35 mm (1/4-inch) stereo jack


those are the specs on the card. these hd212pros i have are great, i think, they sound good and feel ok. where should i go from here if i wanted better sennheiser cans. not so much better but, maybe better sounding if its possible? should i go with high ohms, higher sensitivity, lower freq response? thanks a lot
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post #4 of 10
10/4/05 at 3:49pm
Whats your budget?
What kinds of music do you listen to?
Do you need isolation?

For starters...
Koss UR40 if youre on a tight budget
Koss KSC75 if youre on a really tight budget
Grado SR60
Alessandro MS1
Grado HF1 (when Todd opens the floodgates) IMHO it sounds very good unamped as well as amped. Great all around performer.

Sony MDRV6 if you need $70 isolation.
I havent personally heard the Audio technica A900 or Sennheiser HD25-1... but they are very popular as an un-amped, closed can.

**edited**


Garrett
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post #5 of 10
10/4/05 at 3:52pm
Thread Starter 
dude, you just blew my mind. are those sennheiser's? isolation as in no sound exits the phones and no sound enters? id prolly prefer to hear nothing except the sound coming from the source. i listen to metal, hardcore, punk and play pc games constantly. big into gaming which is really all ill use the phones for. sometimes while playing WoW ill listen to itunes but mostly games. thanks again
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post #6 of 10
10/4/05 at 4:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by chickennuggets
dude, you just blew my mind. are those sennheiser's? isolation as in no sound exits the phones and no sound enters? id prolly prefer to hear nothing except the sound coming from the source. i listen to metal, hardcore, punk and play pc games constantly. big into gaming which is really all ill use the phones for. sometimes while playing WoW ill listen to itunes but mostly games. thanks again
Reply edited to include brands... LOL!!! we throw around "pet names" for all these cans so frequently that noobs get overwhemed easily .

Yes isolation = no sound in & no sound out.

IMHO you can scratch the Koss and Grados off the list.

Might want to add a beyer dynamic DT770-80 to your search, as well as sennheiser HD280. I like my DT770 for counterstrike and shooters as well as some music listening. Its my best sounding closed can, although its lower midrange recession doesn't work too well with acoustic music. For your kinds of music it excells IMHO.

Use the search tool to find other discussion threads.

Garrett
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post #7 of 10
10/4/05 at 4:04pm
You don't want Senns based on your preferences. If you are willing to spend around $200 you would probably want one of the following:

Audio-Technica ATH A900

Grado SR225

Beyer DT770-80

The Grados are open (meaning sound will leak and can be heard by those around you) and from what I hear would be the best for the rock/metal/punk. I'm not sure how they perform form gaming.

The Beyers or AT would be best for gaming and are not slouch for the music you like but still probably could not compete with the Grados.
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post #8 of 10
10/4/05 at 4:09pm
Thread Starter 
ok cool, thanks a lot. which do you think i should go with, sennheiser 280, 280pro's? sup with those dt770's? they look pretty intense. the 280's are cool cause theyre about 100$ but the others are 170$ or so. so for pc gaming, which would you recommend i buy? thanks a lot

edit: ill be running no amp if that helps
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post #9 of 10
10/4/05 at 4:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by chickennuggets
ok cool, thanks a lot. which do you think i should go with, sennheiser 280, 280pro's? sup with those dt770's? they look pretty intense. the 280's are cool cause theyre about 100$ but the others are 170$ or so. so for pc gaming, which would you recommend i buy? thanks a lot

edit: ill be running no amp if that helps
If these are mostly for gaming the DT770 can't be beat. They are for bass heads and explosions sound pretty intense. I have the 250 ohm version and they are awesome for gaming and movies. Some argue that the A900 is also good for gaming and although I have not heard them I know from what I read they do not have the DT770 bass.
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post #10 of 10
10/4/05 at 4:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by chickennuggets
ok cool, thanks a lot. which do you think i should go with, sennheiser 280, 280pro's? sup with those dt770's? they look pretty intense. the 280's are cool cause theyre about 100$ but the others are 170$ or so. so for pc gaming, which would you recommend i buy? thanks a lot

edit: ill be running no amp if that helps
Of the 3 closed cans I own the HD280 is the flattest and most un-colored. It does have some great treble and sub-bass extension. Its accurate and un-colored. Doesn.'t seem to add anything of its own, maybe a little treble boost but thats about it.

DT770 is nearly a polar opposite. HUGE bass slam and sub bass extension. Decent treble extension, foreward upper mids from 900-6000Hz. Lower mids from 300-900Hz are recessed relative to its massive bass and upper mids. Its somewhat difficult to drive. A $50 cmoy does wonders. If your soundcard has a decent headphone circuit, it might be your ticket.

MDRV6, Big bass impact and excessively bright upper mids. Similar signature as the DT770, but severely recessed lower mids and upper mid exageration. Good inexpensive can though and is foldable too.

Garrett
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