Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › Pricing dilemma in Australia - 650 HD, AKG Q701, DT880
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Pricing dilemma in Australia - 650 HD, AKG Q701, DT880

post #1 of 6
12/4/11 at 9:48pm
Thread Starter 
I recently became interested in buying a nice pair of headphones. At the moment, I'm using Z5500 speakers, which are fantastic, but I feel they also have their weaknesses (I think the mids are a bit weak), and I'd also like something to use when blasting my speakers is not an option. One of the first hits I stumbled upon in my research was the ranked list on this website, which shows the Sennheiser 650 HD headphones as quite popular and well received. They're barely within budget, but if I don't have to replace them for a long time I think it's worth it. It seems the pricing is a bit inflated here in Australia, where as I see them a lot cheaper on Amazon, but they don't ship here. Going off ebay, these are the prices for some of the headphones I'm looking in to, and I'm not quite sure how they rank against each other:

DT880 - $245
650 HD - $390
q701 - $300

I will be using these on a desktop, for extended periods. I'm not completely settled on an amplifier yet but perhaps an E7 or something better if the headphones require it. I'll be listening to bass heavy remixes, soundtrack material, anime (songs) and occasionally gaming. I'd prefer closed headphones for less sound leakage, but not at the sacrifice of sound quality. Money is an issue, but if I'm getting what I'm paying for I don't mind shelling out for the 650.

tl;dr not sure how headphones rank against each other and if I'm being ripped off
Edited by Neoshroomish - 12/4/11 at 9:50pm
Reply
post #2 of 6
12/4/11 at 10:17pm

Price for the hd650 and q701s seem a bit overpriced, for the dt880s the price seems ok.  By the way I dont own either of these headphones so its just my impression after hours and hours of research that I've done.  

 

None of those headphones are closed so they all will leak quite a bit of sound.  The HD 650s are the most expensive and rightfully so, they are in another league.  For an open headphone they have very good bass with a sound tilted to the warmer sound of neutral.  They have the 'Sennheiser sound' which people may say is laid back but non fatiguing; some people hate it.  These are 300 Ohms.  

 

They DT880s are semi-open, but there are a lot of different version of the 880s.  There's the 32, 250, 600 Ohms versions of the 880s.  All are relatively the same I think except the amount of juice they need.  I hear its also has very good bass.

 

Didn't research the q701s much but I hear they are a bit bass light.  Have really good mids and highs, but it can get a little shrill and in your face after a bit of listening. I believe they are 65 Ohms.

 

The E7 has a weak amplifier so you can squeeze by with the Q701s and the 32 Ohms version of DT880s.  For all the rest, the E7 will barely have enough juice to power the headphones.  You'll probably need to get the E7+E9 combo which should power the others fine.

 

 


Edited by ztreb185 - 12/4/11 at 10:19pm
Reply
post #3 of 6
12/6/11 at 10:59am
Thread Starter 
Thanks, this pretty much confirms what I was thinking. Shall go with the 650 and E7 for now, and grab the E9 when I can.
Reply
post #4 of 6
12/6/11 at 11:12am

I actually recommend that you get the E9 first, seeing as that will bring you the greatest improvement. I would also forget about the E7 if you are only going to use these phones on your desktop. The E10 is cheaper and superior in every regard except for the fact that it isn't a portable amp/dac. I don't really know why anyone would want to use the HD650 in a portable setup.

Reply
post #5 of 6
12/6/11 at 11:37am
Thread Starter 
Alright, thank you for clearing my misconception, E9 it is.
Reply
post #6 of 6
12/6/11 at 12:25pm

Based on your genres, HD650, $390 for new is an okay price.

Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Headphones (full-size)
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › Pricing dilemma in Australia - 650 HD, AKG Q701, DT880