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Help choosing headphones?

post #1 of 9
11/5/11 at 9:45pm
Thread Starter 

Hi, it's been a long time since I've been on this site.

 

I've decided to buy a new pair of headphones. I've already got audio technica es-7, which I got for their portability.

 

This time, I'd like to get a pair of headphones, that does not need to be portable at all, as I'll mainly be using them on my pc (listening to music, whatever), and how they look doesn't matter at all either. There's no problems with outside noise, so if I understand the difference between open/closed headphones correctly, open should be fine. If the headphones are comfortable, that's a plus obviously.

Some other things worth noting - my budget is only around 200$. I listen to a lot of various genres (psytrance, dnb, house, classic rock, dubstep, metal, alternative rock, hip hop, some classical music, lots of game soundtracks,whatever I like really), but I'd like it if the headphones had a bit different sort of sound than the es-7 that I have at the moment - because a change would be pleasant.

 

Of course, another thought that comes to my mind is, that for around 200$ I might not be able to get that much better headphones than the es7, so it might be a waste. Tell me what you think guys, I'll appreciate any help.

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post #2 of 9
11/5/11 at 11:27pm

 

Even better ~ keep a $100 in your pocket and buy a pair of Grado SR80i's (RRP $100USD)

 

They will excel with your classical rock, hard rock, metal and classical music (especially string instruments)

 

They're an open,very light on-ear. Comfort is so-so, it depends, I wear them for hours at a time others find them

to be annoying. I recommend the L-cush pads as a $18USD dollar extra ~ they act as bowls and add

more soundstage, they sound fairly spacious to me on the right recording for a small headphone.

 

What genres do you like your ES7's for at the moment? As in their strengths according to you?

 

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post #3 of 9
11/6/11 at 6:49pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks for the reply. I'm not really sure what I like about the es7 at this point, because it's the only sort of sound I know haha. I do remember that in the beginning, I've always thought the sound was sort of crispy and precise?... not sure whether that makes sense.

 

I should have mentioned one thing - the prices are very strange in my country. The ones you posted, sell for about 200$ here. It's not all that bad though - for example, sennheiser 380 hd pro cost about 180$ (even less than the 280hd pro) - I think that's a good price, but I haven't heard that much good about them and I think they're closed, so I haven't considered those. They would definitely be good for gaming though, but I don't play games that much anymore anyway...

 

These seem to have a decent price, even here:

Sennheiser HD 558 - 170$

 

 

Another thing I've just remembered - the cable on my es7 seems to be bad (sometimes the left part doesn't make any sound) and will need to be replaced (dad can solder it for me) - does it matter what sort of cable I get, concerning sound quality? I've tried looking for cables sold them selves, but the prices seem quite absurd to me... would it be bad if I just bought some cheap headphones, and used the cable from them?

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post #4 of 9
11/6/11 at 7:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pk1234 View Post

Thanks for the reply. I'm not really sure what I like about the es7 at this point, because it's the only sort of sound I know haha. I do remember that in the beginning, I've always thought the sound was sort of crispy and precise?... not sure whether that makes sense.

 

I should have mentioned one thing - the prices are very strange in my country. The ones you posted, sell for about 200$ here. It's not all that bad though - for example, sennheiser 380 hd pro cost about 180$ (even less than the 280hd pro) - I think that's a good price, but I haven't heard that much good about them and I think they're closed, so I haven't considered those. They would definitely be good for gaming though, but I don't play games that much anymore anyway...

 

These seem to have a decent price, even here:

Sennheiser HD 558 - 170$

 

 

Another thing I've just remembered - the cable on my es7 seems to be bad (sometimes the left part doesn't make any sound) and will need to be replaced (dad can solder it for me) - does it matter what sort of cable I get, concerning sound quality? I've tried looking for cables sold them selves, but the prices seem quite absurd to me... would it be bad if I just bought some cheap headphones, and used the cable from them?



Before you decide to try and solder anything ~ contact Audio Technica in your country or in the nearest country

available. They may be able to help you under warranty if they're not too old.

 

Once you modify them ~ that's it, they're yours for life!

 

A cheap nasty cable from a cheap pair will degrade the sound, but if you use half decent cheap speaker

cable you should be fine.

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post #5 of 9
11/6/11 at 7:34pm

I think the HD558s would match the ES7 quite well, HD558s are much more neutral with better low end reach and better soundstage, you might find them a little boring if you are used to the ES7. They are definitely a good option if you don't have an amp and are listening at home (they are super comfy and easy to drive).

I wouldn't personally recommend low end grados, they are far too bright (emphasis on treble) to the point they making listening to music harsh, almost painful. Also the build quality if awful for the price. Unless you wanted to heavily modify them, you can fix some of the problems, but it's not worth it in my opinion.

In terms of recabling the ES7, I have heard that the ES7s improve quite well with high-quality recabling. The only problem is that the hole on the ear-cup is quite small, so you might have to drill a hole into it. The price of boutique cables are ridiculous, but you can do it quite cheaply if you buy some of the Canare mini star-quad microphone cable (L-4E5C?) and a neutrik 3.5mm plug, it takes a bit of soldering, but it's not too difficult. It probably won't make a huge difference to the sound (a lot of recabling is hi-fi voodoo in my opinion anyway), but if the cables are breaking, it can't do any harm.

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post #6 of 9
11/7/11 at 7:01am
Thread Starter 

Ok, I'll further think about the hd 558s.

 

About the recabling - would this cable be fine?

http://kytary.cz/bespeco-slympr180/HN104847/

 

It's described as - 1x Jack Stereo/2x RCA (M)

 

The price is very low, around 7$.

 

I've sent an email to the audio technica distributor in my country, but I'm not sure how it will go. I've ordered them from bluetin, or whatever the name of that site was - even with shipping, it ended up being much cheaper than buying them here.

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post #7 of 9
11/8/11 at 7:38pm
Thread Starter 

Bump...

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post #8 of 9
11/8/11 at 9:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pk1234 View Post

Hi, it's been a long time since I've been on this site.

 

I've decided to buy a new pair of headphones. I've already got audio technica es-7, which I got for their portability.

 

This time, I'd like to get a pair of headphones, that does not need to be portable at all, as I'll mainly be using them on my pc (listening to music, whatever), and how they look doesn't matter at all either. There's no problems with outside noise, so if I understand the difference between open/closed headphones correctly, open should be fine. If the headphones are comfortable, that's a plus obviously.

Some other things worth noting - my budget is only around 200$. I listen to a lot of various genres (psytrance, dnb, house, classic rock, dubstep, metal, alternative rock, hip hop, some classical music, lots of game soundtracks,whatever I like really), but I'd like it if the headphones had a bit different sort of sound than the es-7 that I have at the moment - because a change would be pleasant.

 

Of course, another thought that comes to my mind is, that for around 200$ I might not be able to get that much better headphones than the es7, so it might be a waste. Tell me what you think guys, I'll appreciate any help.


Fischer Audio FA-011

BeyerDynamic DT990 PRO

 

Those two would be the ones I put you on for your price range and the genres you listed.

 

Very best,

 

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post #9 of 9
11/8/11 at 11:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pk1234 View Post

Ok, I'll further think about the hd 558s.

 

About the recabling - would this cable be fine?

http://kytary.cz/bespeco-slympr180/HN104847/

 

It's described as - 1x Jack Stereo/2x RCA (M)

 

The price is very low, around 7$.

 

I've sent an email to the audio technica distributor in my country, but I'm not sure how it will go. I've ordered them from bluetin, or whatever the name of that site was - even with shipping, it ended up being much cheaper than buying them here.

 

 

 Looks reasonable to me, only thing is you won't need the RCA ends obviously for your re-cable, but for the price it looks

 good, made by a reputable audio house instead of a no name production.

 

 

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