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New headphones for at work (connected to laptop)

post #1 of 27
10/27/11 at 9:58am
Thread Starter 

Hi all, I'm looking for a nice set of headphones to be used at work. I'm using a Sennheiser HD477 at the moment, but I want to use that at home when I'm surfing the net with my laptop.
The new headphones will be connected to a laptop too. My experience is that some models work very well in this situation and others don't. I've tried my AKG K-601 on the laptop at work and that didn't work at all. No bass at all, very crisp highs. I guess that's the effect of the 120 ohm impedance. The Sennheiser I use now is a little bass-heavy, but not to the point it gets annoying. It has a 32 ohm impedance.
I use the AKG at home now (in my audio-set) and have tried it on the laptop at home too. It worked much better on my own laptop then on the one at work.
I see that the current AKG models have 55 ohm impedance which would be a much more convenient load to drive by a laptop soundcard, I expect. So now I was looking at the AKG K-272 HD to replace the Sennheiser (which will move to my home laptop). I listen quite a lot of music at work.
Does anyone know if the AKG's with 55ohm impedance can be driven quite well by the majority of laptop soundcards?
I've made some kind of shortlist:
- AKG K-272 HD
- Sennheiser HD558
- Sennheiser HD518
Some options that appeal to me a little less, but I would still consider them interesting:
- Grado SR60i
- Beyerdynamic DT-440 edition 2007 (with a nice pricereduction)
- Beyerdynamic DT-100/16-G (looks really old-fashioned! I would consider it at home, but have more difficulties wearing this at work )
Are there any other headphones you can suggest in the same pricerange and for my application? (I'm paying €118 for the K-272 HD)

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post #2 of 27
10/27/11 at 10:23am

Hello, can you tell us about your music preferences? are you looking for open back, or closed headphones? 

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post #3 of 27
10/27/11 at 10:49am
Thread Starter 

I listen to a wide range of musical genres. It varies between classical music, jazz, blues, rock (hard, prog, symphonic, ...), heavy metal (also the really heavy stuff) and sometimes a little pop-music too.

 

Well, I don't think I play my music loud enough at work to disturb the colleagues when using open back headphones, but a closed one could possibly block their noise a little more. But it's not that critical.

Are there any reasons to choose for either? (with regards to sound quality?)

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post #4 of 27
10/27/11 at 11:19am


 

Quote:
Originally Posted by RikHouben View Post

 

Are there any reasons to choose for either? (with regards to sound quality?)



Open or closed? It all comes to personal preference, you can find good models on both.

 

Take a look at the Shure Srh840's, they do well on the music genres you listed (Decent isolation).. They scale well when amped, in case you decide to buy one later.  

 


Edited by fabio-fi - 10/27/11 at 11:20am
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post #5 of 27
10/27/11 at 12:30pm
Thread Starter 

The Shure is quite a bit more expensive then what I have to pay for the others in my list (At least 60%). For headphones at work I'm not willing to spend that much.

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post #6 of 27
10/27/11 at 6:40pm

In this case, the SRH440's. (similar sound signature)

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post #7 of 27
10/27/11 at 6:46pm

laptop sound is mediocre at best, they range from 'pretty average' to 'absolutely tinny and useless'

 

This is a better bet ~ take the laptop on board out of the equation with this Nuforce u-Dac2,

it will be powered by your laptop and initialize as a second USB sound card.

 

It's a good little thing and will help your K601's a little bit, but it would be perfect for an AKG 240 mk2

or Grado SR60i in the office.

 

Nuforce Icon uDAC-2 (1024x768).jpg

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post #8 of 27
10/27/11 at 10:51pm
Thread Starter 

I appreciate the input, but I'm not looking for an external DAC for at work, at the moment. This might be a next step, but not for now. At current I'm not willing to invest in a "good" pair of headphones AND a DAC/amp. (This might change in the future.)

Besides that I think it will be a DAC which is not powered by the laptops noisy supply. The DAC in itself might be better then the on-board DAC, but it is still powered by the noise supply from the laptop. IF I invest in an external DAC for at work I think it has to be poweredby an external supply.

 

But for now I'm only looking for a set of headphones that will perform quite nice with the mediocre outputsignal from the laptop.

 

The K-601 will not be used on a PC/laptop anymore. I'm looking for a nice amp for it, but that's a different topic. (taking an option on a Little Dot mkIII :) , I might go DIY otherwise. )

 

@Fabio: What sound-signature do these Shures have?

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post #9 of 27
10/28/11 at 5:27am

+1 on the Shure 840s. I've found that they pair well with just about every genre and in the future if you do get a HP amp, they really scale up well. The sound signature is pretty neutral and for a closed set of cans, they really have a decent sound stage and excellent instrument separation. I would also say they are near the top for isolation - I use mine at work and can basicaly get lost in them as the isolation is that good.

 

I haven't run them directly out of my laptop as I have a DAC/AMP combo that I use at home. I do run them straight out of the Zen Vision M mp3 player at work though, and they are easy to drive and very enjoyable.

 

I'm assuming the cost is more in Europe for the Shure's though?? In the U.S., they are cheaper than the cans you have listed (Beyerdynamic DT-440, the Sennheiser 558, and the AKG K-272). I paid $129 when I purchased mine and they are worth every bit of the cost...and actually, a lot more IMHO.

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post #10 of 27
10/28/11 at 10:39am
Thread Starter 

Maybe it's useful to post prices for the models I can get. That makes comparison more easy.

- AKG K-272 HD (€118)
- Sennheiser HD558 (€122)
- Sennheiser HD518 (€88)
- Grado SR60i (€99)
- Beyerdynamic DT-440 edition 2007 (€110)
- Beyerdynamic DT-100/16-G (€129)

 

I've just discovered a new brand of headphones: Superlux. I see they get rather good reviews. The prices are really attractive, but make me wonder also. What's the catch?


Do these really compare to the models mentioned above? The most expensive I found was about €38!!!

 

BTW: I remembered this morning that I still have a Creative Audigy2 NX sound-card laying around. I tried it at work to power the AKG K-601. For the time it worked, it sounded rather nice. Then I got a blue-screen. frown.gif Seems that I need to install the correct drivers, but I have no permission to install software.

I also noticed that the K-601 isn't suited for at work. It doesn't block out any noise and the colleagues can enjoy what I'm listening too.


Edited by RikHouben - 10/28/11 at 10:46am
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post #11 of 27
10/28/11 at 2:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by RikHouben View Post
Maybe it's useful to post prices for the models I can get. That makes comparison more easy.

- AKG K-272 HD (€118)
- Sennheiser HD558 (€122)
- Sennheiser HD518 (€88)
- Grado SR60i (€99)
- Beyerdynamic DT-440 edition 2007 (€110)
- Beyerdynamic DT-100/16-G (€129)

I've just discovered a new brand of headphones: Superlux. I see they get rather good reviews. The prices are really attractive, but make me wonder also. What's the catch?

Do these really compare to the models mentioned above? The most expensive I found was about €38!!!

BTW: I remembered this morning that I still have a Creative Audigy2 NX sound-card laying around. I tried it at work to power the AKG K-601. For the time it worked, it sounded rather nice. Then I got a blue-screen. frown.gif Seems that I need to install the correct drivers, but I have no permission to install software.

I also noticed that the K-601 isn't suited for at work. It doesn't block out any noise and the colleagues can enjoy what I'm listening too.

Superlux uses lots of plastic.

I believe Superlux keeps the R & D budget low by copying other brands of headphones.

This way they can pass the savings on to the customer.

I used the Superlux HD-668B, great sound for the price, but they stopped working in less then two months.

Samson SR850 (made by Superlux), they are semi-open, blocks more sound then normal open headphones.
 

 

 

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post #12 of 27
10/28/11 at 2:44pm

Grado's will leak too much in a library, so it probably wouldn't be best for office use. 

 

AIAIAI TMA-1? (199 USD, 150 euros)


Edited by Blue Boat - 10/28/11 at 2:45pm
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post #13 of 27
10/29/11 at 12:15am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
I used the Superlux HD-668B, great sound for the price, but they stopped working in less then two months.

 

I like reliability. So Superlux are not for me then.

How does the HD558 compare to the DT-770 pro? And how do you think the 770 would compare to the 440? Would there be a big difference between these 2?

Does the HD-558 leak? (my old HD-477 is acceptable for the situation at work)

 

Quote:
AIAIAI TMA-1? (199 USD, 150 euros)

What do these have over the ones I suggested?

Besides that, when buying in Europe 1USD = €1. (makes me angry every time I see it!!)

The cheapest I could find then is €157.

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post #14 of 27
10/29/11 at 2:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by RikHouben View Post

 

I like reliability. So Superlux are not for me then.

How does the HD558 compare to the DT-770 pro? And how do you think the 770 would compare to the 440? Would there be a big difference between these 2?

Does the HD-558 leak? (my old HD-477 is acceptable for the situation at work)

The HD-558 is fully open, so a total leaker.

My Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro 250-Ohm are great, but needs a headphone amplifier.

The DT-770 Pro 80-Ohm are easier to drive, but works best with a headphone amplifier.
 

 

 

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post #15 of 27
10/29/11 at 2:43am
Thread Starter 

Well, that's a bummer. So the 558 leaks as much a a K-601?

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