Quote: I've seen this done on satellites (a little larger than headphones I agree).  Take a satellite and place it on the world's largest subwoofer and do a frequency sweep to check that the vibration modes are where they are expected.  (I say subwoofer deliberately, when I asked, I was...

Quote: Ooch.. Expat Brit in fact   (Although been here long enough that a lot of Germany has rubbed off on me).   Just listened to the pair of 'phones again, late at night so no deep analysis.  The HD-800's amaze with clarity and detail every time I listen, but it is with the D7000's...

Quote: A very good answer.   I have both.  Forced to a choice I would actually keep the D7000's - they are truly fun and engaging.  I would however prefer not to have to make the choice!   I agree that technically the HD-800s are better, but give me a late night, a glass of whisky...

Quote: Originally Posted by talkingparrot This is the official response from Sennheiser: Hello- if you are overloading the input signal then you are not causing any damage to the headphones...they are merely reproducing what has been given to them. However if the headphones are...

Could ask for reasoning or a pointer to a reliable reference for some statements On many forum sites I often see many assertions that are neither backed up by any reasoning or can point to reliable sources - which to me is a pretty good definition of how "old wives' tales" start.........

Quote: Originally Posted by Trysaeder Sensitivity, measured in dB, is how much the drivers can move the air (make sound) with a certain voltage. The higher the sensitivity, the more volume the drivers can make with a certain amount of power (volts). High impedance means the...

Quote: Originally Posted by talkingparrot So your saying listening to my Senns through my Cowon D2 is Kosher for now . That would give me a huge sigh of relief sir. Pretty sure of it, so long as the distortion is from the source and not from overdriving the headphones - which it...

Quote: Originally Posted by Mannymax If you drive any headphone into distortion/clipping, (you said you heard distortion) you will ultimately damage them. If you drive the headphones into distortion - i.e. apply so much power that they are past the point beyond which the driver...

Quote: Originally Posted by Mannymax Well, if headphone drivers are the same as loud speaker drivers, which i suspect they are, if you run yours speakers through a low powered amp, increase the volume until the drivers begin to distort and clip, prolonged periods of distortion/clipping...

Always worth remembering that one is comparing apples and oranges when doing direct price comparisons between direct buy from China and buying from EU or US. At the moment (and it will not last as China's economy progresses) one should expect much better 'bang for buck' buying from a well...

I can not give any positive recommendations for headphones (more below), but can point out a place to look to make a short list. HeadRoom (HeadRoom: Stereo Headphones, Amps & DACs, Wireless, Noise Canceling, Ear Canal, Earbud, Audio Cables & Accessories) publish performance graphs on their site...

I've heard this before but do not understand it. I would expect a decent amp to be either very low impedance (i.e. tending to perfect voltage source) or very high impedance (tending to perfect current source). There is apparently some standard for 120ohm o/p impedance for headphone jacks but see...

Headphones: No brand identified. Spent more than I should have on expensive phones from Sennheiser, Denon, Shure and Sony. All have their comparative strengths. Headphone amps. To some extent Little Dot. Their quality and service are superb, and I appreciate the gains that I make from...

You may want to look also at the Little Dot amps (Little-Tube) - I have bought from them myself and they are of high quality and very well priced (paying for direct import from China rather than western economy prices). Search through the forums for reviews / comments.

What about the Denon AH-D2000's. Extremely comfortable, IMHO very good and non fatiguing sound. The only issue for you may be that they are not the strongest (of closed 'phones) for isolation. Well worth a look (errr.. listen) though.