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I listen almost exclusively to metal and I'm thinking of getting either the Beyerdynamic DT 990... - Page 2

post #16 of 56
12/4/12 at 1:10pm
Thread Starter 

By the way, since you're already being so helpful, I was wondering if you could answer another question of mine. Do you know how revealing the 900 Pros are? I don't listen to any lossless music. Much of my library is 320 mp3s. I was wondering how those would sound with these headphones and the amp & DAC? As well, is there a discernable difference between 256 kbps and 320 kbps mp3s? How would even the lower bit rates sound? I have the feeling that I might need to do an overhaul of my library. 

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post #17 of 56
12/4/12 at 1:19pm

They're very unforgiving, meaning if you serve them low quality audio (mp3 @<256kbps), they will show every flaw, but if you serve them high quality audio (mp3 >=256kb/lossless), they will shine.

 

Getting a lossless library is always a good move, because as lossy codecs keep evolving and new lossy codecs surface, you always have perfect quality audio archived, which you can then transcode to the lossy format of your choice to have on your PMP while on the go.

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post #18 of 56
12/4/12 at 1:22pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roller View Post

They're very unforgiving, meaning if you serve them low quality audio (mp3 @<256kbps), they will show every flaw, but if you serve them high quality audio (mp3 >=256kb/lossless), they will shine.

 

Getting a lossless library is always a good move, because as lossy codecs keep evolving and new lossy codecs surface, you always have perfect quality audio archived, which you can then transcode to the lossy format of your choice to have on your PMP while on the go.

Guess this is where an external hard drive comes in. Do you really think I'd notice the difference between flac and 320 kbps mp3s with the 900 and Fiio E7 setup? 

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post #19 of 56
12/4/12 at 1:33pm
Thread Starter 

Here's a little update. I have the opportunity to get the HD 600s and the Pro 900s for roughly the exact same price. Does that change anything at all?

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post #20 of 56
12/4/12 at 1:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by CrimsonTowers View Post

Guess this is where an external hard drive comes in. Do you really think I'd notice the difference between flac and 320 kbps mp3s with the 900 and Fiio E7 setup? 

 

You're more likely to notice the difference between =<256kbps mp3 and 320kbps mp3/lossless. But like I said before, having a lossless library means futureproofing your music library, something you might or might not be willing to do at the present time.

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post #21 of 56
12/4/12 at 3:17pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roller View Post

 

You're more likely to notice the difference between =<256kbps mp3 and 320kbps mp3/lossless. But like I said before, having a lossless library means futureproofing your music library, something you might or might not be willing to do at the present time.

Good point. It's something I'll have to look in to but it won't be an easy task. 

 

By the way, I was wondering if I could get some advice on this, in case you didn't see it:

"I have the opportunity to get the HD 600s and the Pro 900s for roughly the exact same price. Does that change anything at all?"

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post #22 of 56
12/4/12 at 3:22pm
In the same price range, denon does metal better from my experience.

Better midrange
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post #23 of 56
12/4/12 at 3:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by CrystalT View Post

In the same price range, denon does metal better from my experience.
Better midrange

 

Hardly, I'm afraid. Far too slow drivers for the genre.

 

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by CrimsonTowers View Post

Good point. It's something I'll have to look in to but it won't be an easy task. 

 

By the way, I was wondering if I could get some advice on this, in case you didn't see it:

"I have the opportunity to get the HD 600s and the Pro 900s for roughly the exact same price. Does that change anything at all?"

 

Given the bulk of your listening will go through metal, I do think you'll be more satisfied with the Pro 900.

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post #24 of 56
12/4/12 at 3:31pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roller View Post

 

Hardly, I'm afraid. Far too slow drivers for the genre.

 

 

 

Given the bulk of your listening will go through metal, I do think you'll be more satisfied with the Pro 900.

I appreciate the help.

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post #25 of 56
12/5/12 at 2:51am

listened to the denon music maniac.

 

tested techdeath, grindcore, djent, shred metal, power metal.

 

performed exceptionally.

 

Care to tell me they're too slow?

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post #26 of 56
12/5/12 at 3:20am

i think the dt 990 do a better job at metal then the ultrasones or the senns... of course, try and get the 600 ohm version though.

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post #27 of 56
12/5/12 at 3:42am
Would the Sennheiser HD598 or 518 good for metal?
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post #28 of 56
12/5/12 at 3:56am

In general sennheiser won't excel with metal, but they are by no means bad. Beware of the grados for metal. They are good at rock and certain types of metal, but they might be too aggressive, and personally I think they sound too thrashy (eg. probably good if you like thrash metal or rock, but not if you want a clear and smoother sound).

If you are going to do some equalization, it isn't somehting you do in 10 minutes. Go find a proper guide and follow, else I'll bet you won't be that satisfied with the result.

 

Personally i have bought the DT-880. A good allrounder.

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post #29 of 56
12/5/12 at 4:01am
Hi, I listen to a lot of metal and would like to offer my 2 cents:

DT990 is a great headphone and definitely a step up from your HD518 but it might be a little too bright for a lot of metal, which is notorious for being badly produced and brickwalled. I think the DT880 would be a better option but it would still be a tad too bright.

Ultrasone PRO900 is waaaay too bright and piercing for metal. I would advise against getting that.

HD600 would be a fantastic choice, as would the HD650. The former will give you superior clarity and the latter will give those kick drums some awesome weight.

Grado headphones are superb for metal. Perhaps consider the SR325i or the SR225i, or perhaps the analogous Alessandros.

Shure SRH940 is also great for metal due to very fast midrange and lots of detail, you might need to EQ the bass up a little though, and they are very uncomfortable for a lot of people.

AKG K550 is fast, detailed and has great bass out of the box, but they can be a bit bright as well. Great soundstage for a closed can.

Finally, IMO the best headphones for metal are actually the Audio Technica ATH-M50 and the Sennheiser HD25-1 II (or the Amperior, which is a small but substantial improvement over the HD25); however, they are both closed and have pretty small soundstages. They are perfectly tuned for metal though and they really do that punchy, aggressive sound some justice.
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post #30 of 56
12/5/12 at 4:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by CrystalT View Post

listened to the denon music maniac.

 

tested techdeath, grindcore, djent, shred metal, power metal.

 

performed exceptionally.

 

Care to tell me they're too slow?

 

Yes, they have slow drivers. While they might've sounded good to you, their transients certainly weren't nearly ideal for the genre.

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Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › I listen almost exclusively to metal and I'm thinking of getting either the Beyerdynamic DT 990 or the Sennheiser HD600.