[MelvinV]

Don't read anything below, perhaps only the introduction if you'd want to do that.
Otherwise just see my latest post, thank you.
 
Thanks for the help, I'm going to a audio specialist within 1-2 weeks, so I don't need any more help for now.
I would like to hear some opinions about the D7000, since some say they're outdated.
 
So, I've been following these forums for a while, so I think I have some ideas.
But I'm not sure at all, and since I'm going to spend big money I would like to hear some opinions of some Head-Fi-ers.
I created a separate thread because I would like to discuss quite a lot and I guess it would be quite annoying if we keep posting back and forth in the recommendations thread.
 
Edit: Genuine leather does breathe, so closed headphones with leather are completely fine now.
 
I did a lot of research, but I really don't know what kind of headphones to buy, I want natural sounding headphones, preferably open because from what I've head that gives a wider sound stage.
I'm coming from a Logitech G35, I use it exclusively on stereo mode and I bought it because it was rated decent. I've been saving for some proper equipment and that's why I'm here now.
I will marathon with these headphones, I don't really care about weight (The G35 is around 320g), it's just something to get used to. And I really don't care about style, they'll be exclusively used indoors.
I was thinking about the HD700 or something like that, I heard they weren't worth the price compared to the HD650, so I'm really stuck. Any brand is fine, really.
My budget is ~€400, I can go far above that because I save €150 every month for PC components but since my holiday is approaching within 2 weeks I would like to have the headphones when it starts.
It is important to note that I will buy the headphones now, and the amp and sound card (if needed) will come later. I won't be expecting anything big if the source isn't proper. But if they match the level of a USB-powered G35 (which I'm sure they will) it'll be fine.
 
Next up is the amp, I was searching around and found the Woo Audio WA6. Which at €500 is considered cheap with its awesome price-performance ratio.
The instructions said that I should turn them off after 8 hours of use, 8 hours of constant use won't happen anyway. But could somebody tell me how long it actually takes to cool them down?
 
The next thing is the sound card or/and DAC.
I don't know which one is better, I will be using the headphones for everything. Music, videos, games, etc. Now I heard that there are USB DACs out there. But that sounds like either not good or very expensive.
I will probably get a sound card and plug it in the amp and will buy an external DAC if it's that important and put it between later (so I will need TOSlink or whatever is used on the sound card).
Now I did notice that the WA6's input is separate inputs for left and right, yet most sound cards have 1 stereo connector for both left and right, but I guess there are cables for that.
 
Note that my motherboard is the Asus Rampage IV Extreme so I have plenty of PCI-E slots and the onboard audio on this one is pretty good, as far a onboard goes, that is.
I'll also go to an audio store soon to try out some high end things first hand. I did already try headphones at another store but that were €100-€200 'regular' headphones.
 
Thanks for reading all of this, I'll be appreciating your help.
Greetings,
Melvin.

 

[olegausany]

If going to have external DAC you don't a sound card you can just connect the DAC using USB if DAC has one or use SPDIF out of onboard audio to connect DAC and than connect DAC and AMP using RCA cables. I would D7000 as light comfortable great sounding headphones

 

[MelvinV]

Quote:

If going to have external DAC you don't a sound card you can just connect the DAC using USB if DAC has one or use SPDIF out of onboard audio to connect DAC and than connect DAC and AMP using RCA cables. I would D7000 as light comfortable great sounding headphones

Thanks for your response,
 
I did some research on a DAC, and it seems the PS DL III is a very good choice.
Now I found this ( http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=PSDL3 ) site where I can buy it for $500, and they do international shipping.
It's terribly hard to find a store where I can buy it, so does anybody else here know some good places where thing are not overpriced (amazon = $800-1000 for the PS III) and it's important they ship internationally or at least to the Netherlands / EU.
 
About the D7000, cheapest I can find in the Netherlands is €800. I also read that they aren't comfortable after hours of use and that they are quite outdated. If I can find them at a decent price, I wonder if there aren't any other ones. Reviews are mixed.
 
EDIT: It seems that genuine leather does breathe compared to the fake leather I have on my cheap G35, so I'll be editing my first post.
 
Greetings,
Melvin.

 

[mac336]

I'm going to do you a huge favor and recommend you do some research on the ODAC. 
 
 
good luck

 

[MelvinV]

Very, very interesting.
 
It seems that those things are very, very cheap compared to the DAC I was talking about.
Most threads about them have derailed.
Now the expensive DACs upsample to 192Khz, the ODAC upsamples to 96Khz but people say there isn't a noticeable difference between the two.
What I did notice is that the oDAC uses a 1/8 jack and the Woo Audio WA6 has two RCA connections. Are they quality cables than go from 1/8 to L and R RCA, and how will this affect sound quality?
 
Greetings,
Melvin.

 

[mac336]

You can pick one up with RCA outs.  I bought mine from this guy.
 
http://www.facebook.com/AudioPoutine
 
he did a great job building it and numerous other head fiers have bought from him as well
 

 

[olegausany]

D7000 aren't outdated and considered great sounding headphones. Yes there are new better sounding headphones but they cost at least twice more than D7000 but they not sound twice better. Also I have no problem having them on for at least 3 hours daily.

 

[Graphicism]

The setup should be built around your music preference... a bass-heavy phone won't work for Opera, acoustic and the likes. 

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
I would get the D7000 and a simple Fiio E10.
 
If you get a $1000 source equipment setup and compare it, I bet you won't think it's worth $940 more.
 
Very best,

 

[MelvinV]

Thanks for all your reponses.
Quote:

D7000 aren't outdated and considered great sounding headphones. Yes there are new better sounding headphones but they cost at least twice more than D7000 but they not sound twice better. Also I have no problem having them on for at least 3 hours daily.

I'll try the D7000 at a store along with some other headphones, including the HD700, HD800, US Pro 2900 and headphones of quite some other brands.
Quote:

The setup should be built around your music preference... a bass-heavy phone won't work for Opera, acoustic and the likes. 

I want neutral/warm sounding headphones, since I don't really have a music preference. My music libary contains just about anything and I do sometimes listen to a 320kbps radio.
I do want a tube amp, so I'll probably take the WA6 because warm sound sounds more like you're actually in the scene from my experience.
Quote:

Heya,
 
I would get the D7000 and a simple Fiio E10.
 
If you get a $1000 source equipment setup and compare it, I bet you won't think it's worth $940 more.
 
Very best,

I will try some various amps at the headphone store and I'll see how different the 'feel' is.
 
Greetings,
Melvin.

 

[MelvinV]

So, after talking with my dad who used to be a DJ in the 'good old '80s' for some hours and doing some more research I'm currently thinking about the following.
I'm doubting between the HD 800 and the Beyerdynamic T1, but I do lean to the T1 since it doesn't focus on highs too much and it is more forgiving than the HD 800 from what I've heard.
I'll listen to both the HD 800 and the T1 in the headphone store I was talking about, as well as some other headphones.
 
I'm almost sure that I'll get the Violectric V200 which can be found here: http://www.violectric.de/Pages/en/products/hpav200.php
I like how it looks, reviews say it's very good and sounds vivid-neutral, aka: neutral but a bit warm.
Some do complain about how '****ty' the op-amps are or something, but others say it's all about how they're built into the system and that makes sense to me.
 
Now is a separate, expensive DAC really needed? I'm considering this: http://www.violectric.de/Pages/en/products/opto-24-96.php
It ads an optical input for the V200 which includes some sort of DAC, I don't know much about quality DACs so could somebody tell me if that is good?
I think the less devices in between the analog signal and the headphones, the better. It's limited to 2 channel, but it's meant for headphones, so it's not a problem.
If that is considered crappy, than what is a good DAC. I would the DAC to be 100% neutral, now Violectric also has the V800.
Reviews say that they're 100% neutral, but they're so expensive. I doubt they're worth it so I'd like to get the optical input if it's pretty good.
 
EDIT: Somebody was using the T1 straight from the V800 DAC (also by Violectric), and he said an amp wasn't necessary. I can't believe that.
 
Greetings,
Melvin.

 

[MelvinV]

After almost 2 days: bump.
I still have a couple of days left.