[pickerdd]

Howdy folks. I'm relatively new here. I've been reading posts on the forum for a couple of months and I've learned a lot! I appreciate all the great information. I have several headphones that I use when recording and mastering (I'm a semi-pro musician and recording engineer) and we have a few Grados at home. I'm interested in improving my home setup and I have spent a lot of time on the various Grado threads. 
 
Thanks again for the great site and forums. I look forward to participating.

 

[chazb11]

Hello Everyone. My name is Charles and I'm new here. I'm an old timer with audio in general but fairly new to headphones. My wife and I have retired and hit the road full time in a motorhome...now our only home, hence the interest in headphones. There's just no room for audio gear anymore.
I currently have a HiFiMan EF2a and a set of Audio Technica ATH-M50's but I'm looking to upgrade, which brought me here. I guess I can quit lurking now!

 

[whitemass]

  Hello Everyone. My name is Charles and I'm new here. I'm an old timer with audio in general but fairly new to headphones. My wife and I have retired and hit the road full time in a motorhome...now our only home, hence the interest in headphones. There's just no room for audio gear anymore.
I currently have a HiFiMan EF2a and a set of Audio Technica ATH-M50's but I'm looking to upgrade, which brought me here. I guess I can quit lurking now!

I'm assuming you're wanting a recommendation?
I'm gonna start off first by basing recommendations on your living condition.
My Recommended List:
- ATH-AD900x($160) - Why am I recommending these? If you live in a fairly quite traveling situation, and you only occasionally get bothered by your wife to do something, these are great! Your amp can easily power them, and they sound pretty fantastic. Also, maybe you're like me, and you really appreciate AudioTechnicas' House Sound. They are Open Back, so I'd grab them if you want a spare for when you have quite times.
- Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 250 Ohm($177) - Me recommending a brighter headphone is a bit dodgy, right? If you enjoy your AudioTechnicas quite a bit, these are different. 
They have are just generally a bright sounding headphone, and if you get these, you'll understand. But I feel that if you knew anything about the M50s' Bass, they're very muddy sounding, and splashy.
The DT770 has the same Articulate Bass, but does it right, and is less congested.
I recommend reading reviews on them, and if going down a Bright path doesn't bother you, I'd pull the trigger.
Philips Fidelio X1($250) - I recommend these if you're lost.
If you don't wanna take huge risks, and go bust on headphones you don't enjoy, these are great! 
I would directly throw them beside the M50 any day. To me, they have the M50 Sound Signature with an Open Back design, and give more of a spacious feeling. Better than the Sennheiser HD595 by a long shot. Though for an Open Back design, these remain very warm. 
Bass is Rapid, Lows have a V-Shaped Sound(Like the M50), and Highs are splashy, and compliment the cans well.
 
A few more that are different, but similar.
 
SoundMAGIC HP100($180) - These are regarded as the best M50 Upgrade.
WHY? - They're fun sounding, and though you may question why I'm recommending "Fun Sounding" to you, you may not know it. But if you've used your M50s' a lot, and actually enjoyed them, you're used to a fun sound.
These do everything right that the M50 did wrong. They do have a brother, but I don't think the Sound Signature would suit an upgrade for you, it's different.
Highs - They have awesome definition, and fit in well, the cymbal crashes are pretty, sometimes reminding me of a Live Recording type sound, without actually listening to a live recording.
Mids - Vocals fit in to this picture more than you'd think, they aren't focused in on like the M50 did, but you get a good picture of presence, Bass Guitars are arguably a bit more forward sounding, that's just a trait of this headphone, Lead, & Backup Guitars are fun sounding and definitely have a sound to get caught up in.
Low End - Bass is Rapid responding, and a good reason I recommend these to you, the Bass isn't splashy, it's calmed down quite a bit, and settles with the instruments without being the only thing you hear at times.
 
My last recommended headphone is somewhere between the HP100, M50, and Fidelio X1, so I'm only gonna give it a slight explanation. 
 
Brainwavz HM5($130) - The Bass Monster, with a Soundstage for it's price that's so clear it's been recommended all over the board.
It doesn't sound near as Crisp and Watery as the HP100, but it's sure great.
 
I don't wanna recommend you go getting a $250+ Headphone, as I'm still using my M50s' and looking for an upgrade.
You wanna stay in the right price range until you know you wanna spend $300+ Upwards to get the right sound.
 
But I've tried a lot of these, and I'm gonna stand on my high horse and say you have some options, but I recommend the  HP100, or HM5 the most.

 

[chazb11]

Thanks for the tips. I actually need a closed design because my wife and I are nearly always in the same room and she is a tv junkie. I was thinking along the lines of the MrSpeakers Mad dogs or maybe AKG K500s. I like the large size of the K500s since my ears are kinda large and I can't stand having the pads mash my ears. I think my head may be large enough that the loose fit would not be an issue. 
The worst feature of my current phones is the tight fit and sweating after an hour or so of listening. The M50's sound fairly good to me but I'd described them as having an over emphasis in the upper mids as well as being bass heavy. (although I never thought of them as bass heavy before I put Mullard tubes in the HiFiMan)

 

[whitemass]

  Thanks for the tips. I actually need a closed design because my wife and I are nearly always in the same room and she is a tv junkie. I was thinking along the lines of the MrSpeakers Mad dogs or maybe AKG K500s. I like the large size of the K500s since my ears are kinda large and I can't stand having the pads mash my ears. I think my head may be large enough that the loose fit would not be an issue. 
The worst feature of my current phones is the tight fit and sweating after an hour or so of listening. The M50's sound fairly good to me but I'd described them as having an over emphasis in the upper mids as well as being bass heavy. (although I never thought of them as bass heavy before I put Mullard tubes in the HiFiMan)

One thing you've gotta remember with AKG is that mostly all of their Over Ear designed cans have a Sub Open Back sound.
And I'll say myself, this leads to a lot of leakage, and takes in a lot of outside noise. 
The K550 may be a good step in the direction, the HP100 are relatively large as well!

 

[acain]

  Hello Everyone. My name is Charles and I'm new here. I'm an old timer with audio in general but fairly new to headphones. My wife and I have retired and hit the road full time in a motorhome...now our only home, hence the interest in headphones. There's just no room for audio gear anymore.
I currently have a HiFiMan EF2a and a set of Audio Technica ATH-M50's but I'm looking to upgrade, which brought me here. I guess I can quit lurking now!

Congrads on retiring and that is exactly what I want to do is pack up and see the rest of the country, that's awesome we live far to short and there is so much to see and explore. My dad retired and bought a motor home and did the same thing and he has so many great pictures.

 

[selfmade23]

Hi.  I'm new to this forum and joined because I have a love of music and audio devices.  I'm also into fitness and performance and always looking for the latest gear that will allow me to enjoy my favourite tunes and motivate me to train harder.  Thanks.

 

[CoffeeDog]

Thanks to All of the Head-Fi Members!
 
Another new member here...
 
I'm not much of a forum poster, but Head-Fi has so much to offer and has been such a great resource for me that I needed to come here to say "thanks" to all who've posted so much to help this headphone- and music-loving community.  So... THANKS Head-Fiers!
 
I guess I've followed a fairly usual path in the audio world, in that I was fairly diligent in my pursuit of sonic perfection.  I had the best preamp/amp/loudspeakers that I could afford (OK, more than I should have by a good bit, but who needs to eat anyway?).  I remember that as a five year old, I would stand in front of my father's stereo system and "conduct" the symphonies, and even then I absolutely hated the crackles and pops of the vinyl records.  Once grown (I'm hesitant to say "grown-up") and living on my own, I'd turn the A/C or heat off and unplug the refrigerator before a listening session.  Marriage and children had a way of changing all of that, to the point that I just didn't listen to music much anymore.  I had thought I'd lost the love of it.
 
I had a set of cans that I'd thought were pretty good, some Beyerdymanic DT770 with 600 Ohm impedance, but they never really did sound that good to me.  I'd assumed that it was just me.  But, I still had that stirring in my soul, wanting to rekindle that love of the sonic experience, so I went searching the 'net.  I still had (and have) my old speakers, but even though the kids are grown I knew that I would never be able to get that silent house experience again, and thought of headphones.
 
Back when I was a serious listener (I'm hesitant to say "audiophile" for I don't know if I'd ever possess those golden ears, and they're definitely tending toward brass these days) I knew that headphones were OK for isolating the listener, but they really weren't very good at providing a wondrous listening experience.  But, thanks in large part to Head-Fi, I came to learn that things had changed quite a bit.  I'd had a number of sets over the years, from noise-cancelling for airline flights to (what I thought were) very good IEMs, up to those DT770s, and was never impressed.  But I'd thought "what the heck?", and after much research (again, mostly here on Head-Fi) decided to splurge with the purchase of a small DAC/amp.
 
YIKES!  I just couldn't believe what a difference that little iFi Micro iDSD made!  So, if a DAC/amp can make such a difference, what would a different set of phones sound like.  After much more researching again mostly here, I bought a pair of HD650s and... yikes SQUARED!  I almost couldn't believe my ears!  After a number of hours listening to the new pair, I'd wondered if the difference was all in my head (the grey matter, not the ears) so I plugged the DT770s in, for all of 30 seconds.  I haven't gone back to those old phones again.  Oh, I will when I bring the music on the road, but not while I'm in the house.
 
And so it has begun...  I of course had to plug the iFi into my Samsung Note 2, which very quickly resulted in a fried power management chip on the phone (apparently a not infrequent occurrence, which one only finds out after frying said PMIC), so I now have a new Note 4, which plays very nicely with the iFi.  Then there is the hi-res player (settled on USB Audio Player Pro, which is what actually prompted me to join Head-Fi: to return the favor of helping other Head-Fiers.  More on that in a moment.)  And re-ripping the hundreds (thousands?) of CDs to FLAC, searching for Hi-Res Audio files online (the jury's still out on that, but I'll never be sorry for having information that I can't hear, as opposed to the opposite), and now wondering just how much of a difference does a tube-based headphone amp paired with some tasty orthodynamics really make to the listening experience. 
 
It's a good thing my wife loves and understands me!
 
So here I am, posting in Head-Fi.  I'd had a bit of a rough time finding out how to pair the Android's USB Audio Player Pro with my PC, so that I could stream all of those newly ripped FLAC files, and found that I was not alone in that sometimes obfuscated task.  Having found a fairly simple answer to the problem, and seeing that another Hi-Fier had asked for a solution, I've joined Head-Fi to post the solution, which I will do in another dedicated post.
 
A bit of a long story by way of an introduction, but it somehow seemed fitting.  I'm glad to be in here, and thanks again to all of you other Head-Fi members who have shared your enthusiasm and knowledge.  I have to go now.  I need to go put my wallet in the safe and have my wife change the combination...

 

[adamgbiggs]

Hi all, I'm new here, names Adam, been a reader for a while, just bought my first DAC/Headphone Amp, the Denon DA-300USB, I will be getting my first decent set of headphones Denon AH-MM400 to go with it once funds allow, my sources are Denon DNP-730AE Network Music Player playing FLAC files from my NAS and a Denon DCD-730AE CD Player.

I listen to soft rock and pop mainly, some examples are The Goo Goo Dolls, Roxette, Bryan Ferry, Queen, Lightning Seeds etc.

My other kit consists of Sony STR-DN1030 AV Receiver, Sony BDP-S7200 Blu-Ray Player, Cambridge Audio Minx Min 21 (5.1) and a SVS SB-1000 subwoofer, my TV is a few year old Sony due to be replaced.

It's good to be here, and thanks to everyone for all the good info on these forums.

Adam

 

[kipaw]

Hi everybody! I am essentially an old timer when it comes to hifi but relatively new to DAPs and IEMs. Started out on hifi way back in the 70s but my first ipod was just a few years ago. Right now I have the Calyx M partnered with the 846s. Fantastic combination. Otherwise, it's the Stax 307 or T1 over my head. At other times, I listen to vinyl through valve/tube amplification. 300Bs are my favourite. Nothing beats great music and it's good to be here.

 

[howard88]

Hi guys, new to here. ~~~~

 

[araxiscentauri]

Hello Head-Fi, my name's Ed.
 
I've been a long time reader/lurker here and I'd thought that I should probably make an account eventually. I love music of all genres but I've only recently gotten into the world of proper audio equipment. At the current moment I have a ATH-900x and I plan to eventually get a proper setup. I'm currently thinking of getting a Schitt Modi, a Little Dot Mk2, and eventually a pair of Seinnheiser HD650s. 
 
Um, I guess that's it for now. 

 

[alb8697]

Hi everyone, so I'm a hs senior who's played piano for 12 years now, and I just got into headphones. I can't tell the differences between audio file types, and was wondering if anyone could tell me what things to pay attention to as the bitrate decreases. Btw:i prefer flat freq. response.

 

[DavidA]

Hi everyone, so I'm a hs senior who's played piano for 12 years now, and I just got into headphones. I can't tell the differences between audio file types, and was wondering if anyone could tell me what things to pay attention to as the bitrate decreases. Btw:i prefer flat freq. response.

this thread might interest you :http://www.head-fi.org/t/359999/192-kbs-and-320-kbs-is-there-really-a-difference

 

[chazb11]

Hi everyone, so I'm a hs senior who's played piano for 12 years now, and I just got into headphones. I can't tell the differences between audio file types, and was wondering if anyone could tell me what things to pay attention to as the bitrate decreases. Btw:i prefer flat freq. response.

Like you, I had a hard time telling the difference between file types and bitrates unless it was a low bitrate MP3. That all changed when I got an external dac and headphone amp. Now the difference is night and day! Try getting a USB dac first. (I am of course assuming you don't already have this stuff or you would be hearing the details better) The Asus Xonar U7  USB sound card is an excellent dac for cheap and gives you other features too (line in, line out, etc) It is also a headphone amp but not a very good one as it is powered only by the usb port. I use the Xonar U7 as a dac then use the line out to go to another headphone amp.