Thoughts on these? I don't have much experience with headphones, aside from low-end, so any advice is appreciated (Budget is $200-$300 range, but flexible). Here are a some that I was looking at:
Thoughts on these? I don't have much experience with headphones, aside from low-end, so any advice is appreciated (Budget is $200-$300 range, but flexible). Here are a some that I was looking at:
Based on your list and your amp, I’d tend to favor the AKGs. The DT990s at 600ohms may not see enough power to do them justice. The HE-560 v2 @ 299 would be an easy way to get into Planars
Thoughts on these? I don't have much experience with headphones, aside from low-end, so any advice is appreciated (Budget is $200-$300 range, but flexible). Here are a some that I was looking at:
General purpose, so all three. I'm assuming that aside from the obvious beyerdynamic, impedance differences don't really matter between the other 3? To get the most out of mid-range, should I be getting a new DAC, or an amp in addition to my DAC?
Just so you know none of those will have the amount of bass the M50’s have even though I think it’s a bit bloated at times. For mids the 560 and 7xx’s would be my call. Haven’t heard the V2’s so don’t know what has changed on them but a very nice sounding headphone that is not real bass heavy the 7xx’s would have more in that department unless something has changed from the original 560. The 560 a bit brighter and probably a bit better detailed but again this is from the old 560’s so am not for sure.
I would be surprised if the 2i2 can drive 600-Ohm Beyer headphones (at least not to their best).
Not sure on the 62-Ohm AKG headphones, but the AKGs are power hungry, for 62-Ohm headphones.
The 45-Ohm Planar Hifiman headphone might(?) do well, plugged into the 2i2.
General purpose, so all three. I'm assuming that aside from the obvious beyerdynamic, impedance differences don't really matter between the other 3? To get the most out of mid-range, should I be getting a new DAC, or an amp in addition to my DAC?
I would say just getting an add-on headphone amplifier, while still using the 2i2, for it's DAC function, would use up the least amount of your audio headphone budget, for adding power to drive headphones>
Leaving the most of your budget, for buying the headphones themselves.
Maybe spend a $115 ($99+ tax/shipping), for a Schiit Magni 3 head amp.
leaving $85 to $185, for buying headphones.
or maybe get the Schiit Fulla 2, it would give you an option, for a DAC function. as the Schiit Fulla 2, could be used as a head amp,
or find a good deal on a used Magni?
I suggest the Sony 1AM2, should fit your requirements.
By the way, Focusrite Scarlett series is general can drive high impedance headphones reasonably to quite well though headphone sensitivity might influence how the audio signal is conveyed.
If you do choose the Beyers & you find it doesn't have enough for you (though in my experience with Beyers, that shouldn't be an issue), I suggest 'boosting' the signal with the Presonus HP 4.
HE-560 + Gustard H10 is a pretty amazing value combo with great synergy. Huge step up from the M-50x and will (should) put off upgraditis for years. But, like the poster above, I haven't heard the V2 or know what was changed about it. To improve on the HE-560 and H10, I think you'd need to spend $$$ -- my modded HE-6 out of a vintage Pass speaker amp sounds maybe 10% or so better to my ears. (Is it worth the money? I think so but law of diminishing returns definitely takes effect here.) At some point, add a multibit DAC with good USB implementation (e.g., Schiit Bifrost MB) -- the HE-560 and H10 are detailed enough to hear the difference in the source. After which, you could do a free trial of Tidal to see if you care about lossless streaming. That's about the best "mid-fi" setup I've personally heard.
You might be able to find a deal on a used Schiit amp (Magni3, Aasgard 2, Lyr2/3), but I know the HE-560 has great synergy with the H10, IIRC most people preferred the H10 over the Lyr 2, which is why I recommended it.
Anyway, that's my opinion with a bit of a love for planars. Others are really into dynamic cans -- the Senn HD-650 with an OTL amp (BH Crack, Valhalla2, etc) also seems like a really popular combo that you can often find used in the Head-Fi buy/sell forums. But then you're getting into tube rolling...
From experience with the 2i2 I found the dac to be fantastic but the amp put out almost no power. I would seriously consider saving some money and getting seperates DAC/amp along with headphones. the Headphones your looking at will not sound nearly as good as you want from the 2i2 alone. As far as an all around good headphone for music games and movies I would recommend the HE400I. My new favorite amp with these is the liquid spark. As far as a dac goes you could go with a JDS OL dac or a Massdrop SDAC for almost nothing. This would set you up with a damn good starting point to build apon.
Can I ask why those headphones? Also what kind of sound do you like prefer in a headphone?
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