++ FULL-SIZE HEADPHONE RECOMMENDATIONS THREAD++ i.e. Don't start a new thread: ask for advice... - Page 1520

Hello and Happy New Years!  I come to you all with an avalanche of questions in regards to headphones/amps/DACs and, to put it simply, I am an absolute newbie when it comes to audio/headphones/amps/etc. so I immensely appreciate your thoughts and patience with my ignorance/shenaniganry.

 

To get right into it, my current headphones(Sennheiser HD595s) unfortunately seem to be dying on me(noticeable buzzing/fading/static) and the sony stereo-receiver I've been plugging them into seems to also be close to giving out(sound fading/static-y/sound doesn't come play for left-ear/etc.). Consequently, over the past day or so I've been searching around for replacement options. So far, I've somewhat focused-in on the AKG K702s, as they're at a very appealing price-point and, from what I can gauge so far, are well-received amongst audio-enthusiasts. However, from my barebones research, it seems that these headphones require an amp in order to truly bring out their full potential and I am admittedly clueless in regards to headphone amps/DACs. Thus, let the avalanche begin:

 

1) What are your thoughts on the K702s? Are they a noticeable improvement over the senn hd 595s?  Are there any other strong competitors in that price-point? And as silly as this may sound, are they comfortable?(as reference, I consider the senn 595s quite comfy)

 

2) What is the difference between a headphone amp and a DAC? For that matter, what is the difference between a stereo receiver and an amp/DAC? Furthermore, one of the nice things about the stereo receiver was that I was able to connect my xbox to it and then seemingly switch between my PC audio and xbox audio at the touch of a button. Would this at all be possible with an amp/DAC? Finally, given a budget of around $200 or so, what are your thoughts on an amp/DAC that could compliment my headphones well, sound great, and provide a sort of steeping stone to learning more about audio and achieving the best music-listening experience possible within my current budget.

 

That's all that comes to mind at the moment but I'll update/tidy-up this post in the morning should anything else come up. Once again, I sincerely appreciate your time in reading all this and any feedback you have to offer. Cheers :)

Edited by Grazel - 1/1/13 at 1:10am

Where are you from?  What are your local prices for the HD 558, HD 598, K 702 & Q 701?  I'm trying to get a handle of what cans are in the same price range for you.

 

BTW--the AKG K/Q 70x cans are excellent but quite a different flavor than you Senn.  In addition the AKG's will work well out of the headphone jacks of many receivers, but they need more amplification than does you Senn.

 

I'm from the states and the only local option for purchasing headphones would be Bestbuy, and their selection is pretty much Beats or Bose(from what I can tell, not very desirable). The options I'm looking at now are essentially Amazon(received a $50 giftcard over x-mas) or a too-good-to-turn-down eBay listing. So far, I've found the AKG 702s on Amazon for $267.92 and the Sennheiser HD 558s and 598s at $179.95 and $199.77 respectively. In regards to the AKGs, in what ways do you think they differ from the Senn's? The Sennheiser HD 595s were pretty much my first "decent" pair of headphones and I've really enjoyed having them but, now that they're going out on me, I feel like the time has come to upgrade and make my way up the ladder of "audio-enlightenment", so-to-speak haha. Also, in terms of amplification, what would you recommend within a $200 or so budget?

Edited by Grazel - 1/1/13 at 9:40am

Hi all ! I'm new here, I finally decide to change my Koss porta pro after more than ten year of good and loyal services (1999 !!) I love it, really, but i want a new one, my playlist of music have change since 1999 and i listen now all kind ! But i'm always love with bass, maybe not a basshead, not far, because i try a Beats, and It's sound horrible with both ost i heard, exemple with the music of Dark Knight Rise, Gotham's Reckoning ... OMG... Ok Beats are good with hip hop G-funk and electro, but like i said, i switch from Enya at ACDC...  So i'm looking for a polyvalent headphone, with bass, beautiful and big basses, but the mid and hight need to be great too !! Also, i listen only with my android Galaxy S3 and application PowerAMP for EQ, and my Laptop MSI with Sound blaster Audigy Advanced MB with THX Studio & EQ. And i don't want to buy an headphone AMP, so this headphone have to be drive easily. My max budget : 100 € / $  My choice for now after lot of hours of reading this forum are : - Sennheiser PX 360- Sony MDR XB500- Sony MDR XB700 (hardnto find)- Shure SRH 750 or 550- Sony MDR V55- RHA S950i In advance, thanks for your answers !

The Senn HD 558 & 598 and AKG Q 701 are three excellent cans and great buys at their current pricing.  In many ways the AKG is the opposite of the slightly vieled but smooth as very good whiskey Senns.  The AKG will allow you to hear every musical voice and (as part of that) have a larger sound stage.  the Senn HD 5x8 series has improved on the old HD 5x5 series that you have.

 

We need to know if you are looking for a desktop or portable amp.  I can help with the former but not so much with regard to a portable.

Edited by KG Jag - 1/1/13 at 11:39am

 

 

 

1) K702 are technically better headphones than the HD595, when amped properly they will give you slightly better resolution, detail, better extension in both directions, better build quality,a bigger soundstage and they will simply sound like the more expensive headphone.  However, their sound signatures are complete opposite. Whereas the HD595 is pretty warm with great full sounding mids and overall "thick" sound, K702 are somewhat bright and cold, very fast, analytical and light on bass. That is good for studio monitoring, BUT, for someone like you who is used to the Sennheiser sound, they might sound too thin and people often consider such analytical headphones to be boring. I agree, AKG's never made me feel the music, Sennheisers always did. Not to mention K702's chew and spit out any music recording that is not absolutely perfect. Forget about low quality mp3's, they will sounds like crap on K702's. Not that HD595's is totally veiled, but its not as transparent as the 702.  You'd have to try one on your own too see if you like it.  If I were you I'd go for HD598 or HD600's instead depending on your headphone budget.  They will both be a natural upgrade to the sound you're used to. Both will offer better resolution, detail, soundstage, imaging than HD595's.  But of course I understand you probably have the urge to try everything, its normal, maybe you should buy something totally different like the K702 just to try it and see if you like it. Some people love bright thin sound with little weight to it.

For pure music enjoyment, I personally can't recommend the K702 and would consider it a downgrade compared to HD595. I don't know how to describe it, but to me its like an analogy between a raw photo and a painting or enchanced photo. A raw photograph will give you better clarity, but it will never be as beautiful as a painting or a nicely blurred or modified photo.  You know on your own that in order to make pictures, or even movies more beautiful, they're usually artistically modified, they will look less natural, less clear, etc., but be more beautiful.

AKG is a photo, Sennheiser is a painting. Its not as dramatic when it comes to headphones, but you get the point, clearer and more detailed is not always more enjoyable and more beautiful.

 

 

 

2) A headphone amp just amplifies the signal that goes from the source. The better the amp, the less it will change the signal and better power the headphones allowing them to sounds as good as they possibly can. DAC is a digital to analog converter, basically a source of signals that travel towards the amp. You can find them in many forms, in hi-fi terms most significant are the standalone DAC's (portable or desktop), soundcards, but they come integrated into other devices (usually lower quality) that produce sound such as PC motherboards, laptops, smartphones, media players, bluray, dvd players, TV's, monitor controllers, gaming consoles, etc. All stereo receivers,AV receivers, CD or SACD players, as well as some integrated speaker amps have DAC's built in, although usually not of the same quality (but still very good, we're talking about dedicated audio gear after all) as standalone DAC's that you can get for the price of those receivers or amp. These integrated ones are good enough for headphones of HD595 / K702 caliber. However, they will not be quite on the same level as the standalone DAC's, which cost more money, but offer slightly better sound. On the other hand receivers and speaker amps with DAC's give you significantly better value for money. For 300-400$ you can get a decent receiver that will not sound considerably worse than a standalone DAC.  Usually when people have receivers or cd players, they dont really need a separate DAC, as the improvement in sound quality will not be significant. However if your source is a PC, laptop, or any device with a low quality DAC, you'd need a separate one so you don't bottleneck your setup and limit other components you're using.

 

In your case if your budget is 200$ for amp and DAC, then I'd advise to stay away from K702 as you will not power them to their full potential for that money. Rather get a HD598, it will be more familiar to you, yet improved over the 595 in every way, most people prefer it for music listening over the AKG's anyway. And for the 200$ you can get a decent DAC/amp combo, together with HD598's it will sound better than K702's would with the same components. For 250$ (if you save some money by not buying the more expensive 702's) you can get something like O2 amp and DAC, and that will sound absolutely wonderful with HD598's.

Edited by derbigpr - 1/1/13 at 11:42am

Hey guys, I got my gf a pair of RE-262 for the holidays and she mostly uses them to listen to mp3s, youtube videos on her hp laptop, do you think I should get her a DAC/AMP to drive them or would it just be unnecessary based on her uses? thanks yall!

Hello... :)

 

First of all i would like to say thank you for accepting as a member of this fantastic forum and if i posted this topic in the wrong section i am very sorry... ( I am portuguese so excuse me if i say rubbish... XD)

 

So here's the deal... A couple of weeks ago i got the fantastic chance of purchasing one set of AKG's K518 DJ for 20 euros. 

The price was fantastic and it was a really good deal because they were from a friend of my brother and he had them for a couple of months as a gift and never opened them so he sold them to me at this really low price because is more of a in-ear kind of guy.

 

Now the problem... I really like this AKG's but i love to hear all kind of music, since Florence and the Machine to Artic Monkeys, Alt+J but most of all i listen to Electronic music and i really love prog and trance melodies. I listen a lot to Above and Beyond's Group Therapy, Ferry Corsten, Armin van Buuren...

 

The AKG's are really good but the problem is that they are kind of heavy on the bass (at least for me) and although they have a very good amount of detail i dont think they deliver the beautifull high melodies and cords on trance music as i would expect them to be delivered. The bass is so powerfull that it seems to drown all the other sounds (And yes they do hurt a bit after a couple of minutes and i already removed the sponges on the monitors to try to get them better... :)  ).

 

Now i have the chance to sell my AKG's for 30/35 euro's and i was thinking of using this money to get something different and more suitable for my taste in music even though i might end up getting something cheaper.

 

After some research and under the budget of 30 to 40 euros i can get these models (i have to buy on a phisical store sorry):

 

HD202 30 euros

HD203 35 euros

HD407 27 euros

HD408 30 euros

 

(I am can also buy a pair of used HD448 with still 1 year warranty, but i am stil negotiating and i dont think i will be that lucky... XD )

i also saw the sennheiser HD419 at 49 euros, the HD205 at 46 euros and the Sony MDRZX500W but not also are they more expensive (and i am on a budget as all of u can see), but i also did not like the sound on the sony's...

 

I tried the 202 and the 408 and the 408 seemed to have a little more consistent sound (but very little) than the 202 and a really little increase on the highs... i liked both but the 408 seemed a little better but the difference was hardly recognisable.

 

Many people are recomending me the HD203 because all of them say that they have all the qualitys of the 202's but with better and more clearer highs wich will suit a little bit more my musical taste.

 

So can u guys help me please? Do u think I really should get rid of the AKG's? Or buying any of the model's i've mentioned would be a big step backwards?

 

Don't get me wrong, i really like a good strong bass, but i would also love to have something with a little more refined sound for my tastes... 

 

 

 

Sorry once again for bothering and i hope u can help me with my decision... :)

 

Thank u....

Edited by Pedro Oliveira - 1/1/13 at 3:56pm

 

 

Cheers dude, yeah I'll be using them at home only for now. I don't know if I want a open pair as I have never experimented with headphones but I have closed ones now so I wouldn't mind changing to see how they differ.

 

I checked out those headphones and I like them, also it seems people really like them too. Amazon uk sells them for quite cheap so I might order them in a day or two, unless somebody knows anything better within the same-ish price range.

 

V

That depends on the quality of her music files and the quality of the DAC in her computer (my guess is that it's on board audio that is not too good--but probably OK for standard MP3's).  Not sure why you would need an amp for the IEM, as they were made to be played from low powered sources.  However, I am not an IEM expert of any stripe.

Heyas all, new here and only jus learned about headphone amps and other high end audio equipment last week. I currently own only this dinky thing

 

http://us.playstation.com/ps3/accessories/wireless-stereo-headset-ps3.html

 

and am wondering if it's possible to upgrade from there for my own personal uses.

 

 

 

 

Music genres:

*Mostly Synthesized Rock

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSx0SSvOtUs

 

*Lots of J-Rock/Pop

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Stk3r9a5ykI

 

*Lots of Dance/Techno/Industrial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFKzEZhytGA

 

*Even more Easy Listening

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1CjxQXXA7o

 

 

Portable: No, home PC use.

 

 

Price range: Not including the portable amp/dac, $600. Including a portable amp/dac, $800.

 

 

Closed/Open: I prefer Closed, but if Open will offer such a significant mind-boggling world-ending camatose-from-pleasure experience, I'm up for it.

 

 

Headphone preference:

*I prefer "fake leather padding" around the ear cups over silk padding, but if a headphone with silk padding will offer such a significant mind-boggling world-ending camatose-from-pleasure experience, I'm up for it.

 

*A headphone that goes over the head (I hate the over-the-ear ones)

 

 

Other Notes:

*I love Bass, but I HATE Bass that drowns everything out

Hey everyone,
I was looking to replace my gaming headset(turtle beach hpa2) with a higher end headset. However, after a bit of research it appears I would be better off getting some good headphones and a cheap mic. So now I'm looking to replace both my headset for gaming/movies/music and my bose ie2 for on the go listening. I listen to mainly rock(think siriusxm channel 37, octane) and electronic(channel 51/52, bpm and electric area). My budget is around $300 and after browsing this forum I think my best bet is the sennheiser momentum. But before I spend my money on these headphones I want everyone's opinion as I can't go anywhere to test them.

Can't help you with your computer audio questions and will need more information with regard to your second question.  Are you looking for cans (the large, heavy and open HD 600 is no good for portable use) and/or an amp to use with your iPod?  If so, what format or formats are your music files and what is your budget for your portable rig?  Unless told otherwise, I will assume that you have not portable amp, dac or map/dac combo.

It wouldn't be portable in a sense that I'd be walking outside with them.  I work nights in an office environment and could wear them.

Budget is about $175, with option to do more if necessary.  Music files I think are 256-320 kbps