I like the music, but I don't like the limited dynamic range masters that are sometimes used for the digital release. A vinyl release forces a different master because physics. It literally requires that you keep some dynamics that are crucial in rock music. The difference is quite stunning with...

I found one specific use for vinyl records. I like some rock albums that were mastered for digital with limited dynamic range (everything close to 0 dB). They sound pretty bad because it really kills any drums/bass impact. However, because of vinyl's physical limitations, you can not put...

Some humans, especially children, can hear to about 20 KHz, maybe a little over. Whether the headphone description says 40 KHz or 50 KHz is pure marketing. Those frequencies do exactly zero to the actual sound quality, and are often not even present in recordings. Ignore the snake oil.

The balanced pads make things slightly u-shaped in a good way. The analytical pads make them very obviously bright.

The notch in the housing is where you start. Get a bit in, and then rotate the pad slowly, keeping it in place. It will slide right on.

The Asus Xonar D2 is a pretty good sound card. The Essence ST/STX would be better, but that might cut the amplifier budget too short.

You need a DAC to go with the HDVA600. Either a good internal sound card, or an external solution. You can also look at integrated DAC+amp gear. There is plenty out there, but you really need to set a budget to get sensible recommendations. Some of it goes for as much as (good) a used car.

That is a lot of information, which to me compresses to these points: Your integrated brick ;) has a good DAC, and a good headphone amplifier. You can get more out of your current setup by disabling all artificial enhancements, which often add distortion. You can improve on that further with a...

Unless you want to jump head first into this hobby, or need something that works away from your home rig, I would not worry about getting a dedicated headphone amplifier. At this level of integrated hi-fi gear, you get good, discrete headphone amps, and the DAC is likely also high quality...

Welcome to head-fi. Sorry about your wallet.

No, they are not for bassheads. But there is plenty of bass in all the right ways when the recording has it -- from the usual hard electronic thump through rock drums and guitars to plain on piano. It does not just play, it hits properly.

FiiO says up to 100 ohm headphone impedance is covered, so yes, at least in theory. But be aware that the A1 is designed for IEMs. You may find it not loud enough, or dying relatively quickly, when running the 80 ohm DT 770s. In terms of sound quality, they made a name for themselves by going...

If you can afford one, always get an external DAC+amp. Whether a device can drive the headphones is one thing. At 80 ohm, most will do fine in terms of volume. The real issue is, you rarely know what kind of output impedance is baked into that integrated headphone out. A phone is actually the...

Beyerdynamic entered some loopy land. The closed-back cans have problems with bass impact while the open ones (DT 1990 Pro) are great in that regard.

My vote would also be Bose QC. They are not audiophile gear, but they work, and the sound should be good enough. I have IEMs from Etymotic (HF2) with extra long foam tips, over 30 dB of isolation. We are talking industrial protection plugs levels. The sound quality is very good, but with pretty...

All other things being equal, the lower the output impedance of an amplifier, the better the sound quality. It literally means less distortion, regardless of your headphone or speakers impedance. In addition, the G5 wins by being an external solution. While the Essence ST/STX is a great DAC, its...

I recently bought the Signature Pro to try and replace my modded 750 Pro. The sound signature is only slightly U-shaped, which is pretty damn flat for a Ultrasone. Great build quality, great detail across the board, extremely controlled bass. All around lovely sound if you like your headphones...

I am looking for closed-back cans with a generally neutral signature, and good but not overbearing bass. Comfort is important, portability is not. The budget is about 500 euro. I currently have the Ultrasone 750 Pro with dampening mods, which reduce the V sound signature considerably (felt on...

This is so strange. I never could understand why the bumps would be a problem, even with a fresh 3-mm-all-around haricut. When mentioning the strenghts of the K 701, remember the awesome sound stage. Very few headphones can match it. Most sound downright claustrophobic in comparison. Bass is...

@obobskivich You're right that a bad damping factor is less of a problem for some headphones. But 1) it's still a problem and 2) the question was about open high-end Sennheisers, which have wild phase/impedance graphs, making the amp impedance a big deal.

To get a good damping factor, you want the headphone impedance to be at least 8 times the amplifier output impedance. If it isn't, various problems occur, most often around the bass frequencies. Starting with 300 gives you better odds of achieving the correct damping factor than 50. (I used the...

That is nice, but it only tells us something about your system and your ears. Expectation bias works both ways, you know.

I live in Poland, so availability might be different for you. You'd have to ask a local Ultrasone dealer. In addition to the different earpads, the sound signature of the PRO 650 is closer to neutral than the PRO 750 (it has a more prominent midrange) .

Coming from the AKG K 701, I consider the Ultrasone PRO 750 plenty bassy already. The velour earcups on the Ultrasones might be too small for big ears. I liked the PRO 650 better in that regard (same diameter, but a bit more space inside with the faux leather). The genres you like most don't...

It's really nice to see people worried about my PC, but I assure you, you need not be. :) I'll make the point for a third time, maybe it will come across: On three PCs, Foobar doesn't stutter, ever, while MediaMonkey does every now and then--with all hardware and software being equal.