manbear
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2011
- Posts
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Hello all,
While this is my first post to the forum, I've been an avid reader for the past few months and in that time I've decided to invest in some decent headphones. My current headphones are a pair of Sony MDR-V6 that I've had for 7 years, and I've found that my biggest problems with it are: hot treble that can be fatiguing over time, closed-in and flat soundstage, lack of bass slam [I know some regard this as a bass-heavy 'phone but it's a matter of preference], and general lack of “flow.”
Considering this, I'm looking for a headphone that offers:
1) Massive and powerful, but not one-note or muddy, bass.
2) A large soundstage with clearly defined separation and positioning of musical elements.
3) Non-fatiguing highs. Bear in mind that I was perfectly able to live with the V6, I'd just like less treble if possible. This means that I'd be ok with a treble-heavy can if it had absolutely top-notch bass and soundstaging, though I'd like to avoid anything with more treble than the V6.
4) Generally musical and fun presentation. Not too flat. Solid, full-bodied images. Not ruthless with decent quality 256kbps+ mp3 files.
Budgest is approx $400 including amp and DAC.
From what I've read here, it seems like the Beyerdynamic DT770-80 Pro is the way to go. There are also the Beyer DT770-250 Pro and the DT990-250 Pro, but I feel that these may require more expensive amplification. I've also read that the 990 has the strongest treble of the bunch.
I've narrowed down the DAC/amp choices to the following:
1) HRT Music Streamer II + JDS Labs CMOY
2) Beresford TC-7520
3) ibasso D4
4) Fiio E7 [hey, it's cheaper...]
Sources will be FLAC and as much of my mp3 collection that the increased transparency will allow. Transportability, in the sense that I need to be able to put it all in my backpack and bring it the library, is important but I don't really care if it's battery powered or not.
Now here's where I get to my actual questions. Thanks for bearing with me, I thought it would be good to give as much info as possible.
1) I'm leaning towards the HRT+CMOY, since the HRT seems like the superior DAC, but this leaves the CMOY as the possible weakest link. Can the CMOY drive the DT770-80 satisfactorily? Obviously it won't be as good as a more expensive amp, but would it be doing the Beyers a disservice? What about the 250 Ohm models? Any other DAC/amp recommendations?
2) I'm also considering saying screw it to all these different components that are just begging for upgrading, and getting a pair of Monster Turbine Golds to run straight out of my laptop or Ipod – how would this compare soundwise to the DT770-80 and one of the above DAC/amp options?
Thanks!
