1st pair of real headphones help please.

[TrixRabbit]

** Edit - Thanks for the help and info. I ordered 2 pairs of 58x, one for my own upgrade over the 599, and 1 for the gift.
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Hello. I am currently wondering which of these would be better for a 1st pair of headphones for someone thats not use to any kind of headphone or real audio.
Since I'm in Canada my choices are slightly limited. They are going to be a gift for my brother in law. He has no amp or dac, but said he would definitely buy one down the road after I got him the headphones should they need more juice. I will supply him with an apple dongle for the meantime though. I have decided on Sennheisers as he has borrowed my 599 and enjoyed the comfort for long sessions without an issue and loved the sound.

The primary use will be roughly 50-50 of fun gaming (single player stuff, Battlefield, nothing competitive) and music. Music being mainly EDM and underground hiphop/rap.

My 1st pick and thought were the Sennheiser 560s, but I'm unsure if they would be a bad choice for a real 1st headphone for someone with no experience? Are they too detailed and analytical, and not "fun" or relaxing enough? My other options I thought of were Sennheiser 58x Jubilee, or PC38x but they come out to a bit more money since Drop to Canada isn't as easy. If the HD 599 were on sale again, I would have bought those already, but for $260 CAD, the 560s is the exact same price.

Thanks for the help!

 

[King CATalyst]

Hello. I am currently wondering which of these would be better for a 1st pair of headphones for someone thats not use to any kind of headphone or real audio.
Since I'm in Canada my choices are slightly limited. They are going to be a gift for my brother in law. He has no amp or dac, but said he would definitely buy one down the road after I got him the headphones should they need more juice. I will supply him with an apple dongle for the meantime though. I have decided on Sennheisers as he has borrowed my 599 and enjoyed the comfort for long sessions without an issue and loved the sound.

The primary use will be roughly 50-50 of fun gaming (single player stuff, Battlefield, nothing competitive) and music. Music being mainly EDM and underground hiphop/rap.

My 1st pick and thought were the Sennheiser 560s, but I'm unsure if they would be a bad choice for a real 1st headphone for someone with no experience? Are they too detailed and analytical, and not "fun" or relaxing enough? My other options I thought of were Sennheiser 58x Jubilee, or PC38x but they come out to a bit more money since Drop to Canada isn't as easy. If the HD 599 were on sale again, I would have bought those already, but for $260 CAD, the 560s is the exact same price.

Thanks for the help!

I've owned and enjoyed a pair of 58x's for a couple years now and i would definitely suggest them. I've owned quite a few more expensive headphones over the years as well and currently own 3 $400+ headphones and i can say without hesitation that 58x can hold it's own to all of them. Very good for rock and metal imo and a decent all rounder as well.

 

[TrixRabbit]

I've owned and enjoyed a pair of 58x's for a couple years now and i would definitely suggest them. I've owned quite a few more expensive headphones over the years as well and currently own 3 $400+ headphones and i can say without hesitation that 58x can hold it's own to all of them. Very good for rock and metal imo and a decent all rounder as well.

Awesome man, thats great to hear! I might order a second pair after I try them if I like them over my HD 599. They were the initial ones I wanted before I even had tried the 599 last year.

Do you find the 58x to be a laid back, fun headphone? Or are they in your face and really detailed? How would they be for EDM stuff like drum & bass, trance, etc?

 

[King CATalyst]

Awesome man, thats great to hear! I might order a second pair after I try them if I like them over my HD 599. They were the initial ones I wanted before I even had tried the 599 last year.

Do you find the 58x to be a laid back, fun headphone? Or are they in your face and really detailed? How would they be for EDM stuff like drum & bass, trance, etc?

They're a bit on the warm and laid back side, you can listen to them hours and not get tired. They're not the most detailed but they're not completely lacking either. I thought they sounded pretty good for edm and stuff like that, like i said they're a good all rounder. They have the correct amount of bass imo, the mids are what really shine on them and most sennheiser cans.

 

[TrixRabbit]

They're a bit on the warm and laid back side, you can listen to them hours and not get tired. They're not the most detailed but they're not completely lacking either. I thought they sounded pretty good for edm and stuff like that, like i said they're a good all rounder. They have the correct amount of bass imo, the mids are what really shine on them and most sennheiser cans.

Awesome bro, appreciate the detailed reply and additional info. I am ordering them right now as we speak! Very excited even though it might take a bit to get them. Thanks again

 

[Facedepoulet]

Consider the HD58x may not be the easiest pair to drive as it got 150ohms drivers. It'll need around 27mW/2V to reach 110db SPL (considered as loud).
You can check required power for any set here : Power Calculator

Probably needs an amp to sound the best it can. Not really meant to be portable due to its size and big circum-aural design (and it's power-hungry and open-back).
Earphones for portable devices are usually 16/32ohms. So with most smartphones/tablets you'll want an additional external amp to drive those HD bad boyz properly.
If they happen to sound quiet and shy that means you don't feed them enough power.

Usually closed-back earphones are most suitable for gaming because they provide a better noise isolation. But that's totally up to each individual whether they prefer open or closed backs.
IMO, I prefer it closed for gaming (better isolation) and opened for music listening (sounds wider and airier)

That's my 2 cents, thought it was important considering those factors before getting a new set.

Just saying, brands like FiiO or Topping have popular portable amps. For example, Topping NX3s model could suit the HD well for a mobile setup, nice and affordable.

 

[TrixRabbit]

Consider the HD58x may not be the easiest pair to drive as it got 150ohms drivers. It'll need around 27mW/2V to reach 110db SPL (considered as loud).
You can check required power for any set here : Power Calculator

Probably needs an amp to sound the best it can. Not really meant to be portable due to its size and big circum-aural design (and it's power-hungry and open-back).
Earphones for portable devices are usually 16/32ohms. So with most smartphones/tablets you'll want an additional external amp to drive those HD bad boyz properly.
If they happen to sound quiet and shy that means you don't feed them enough power.

Usually closed-back earphones are most suitable for gaming because they provide a better noise isolation. But that's totally up to each individual whether they prefer open or closed backs.
IMO, I prefer it closed for gaming (better isolation) and opened for music listening (sounds wider and airier)

That's my 2 cents, thought it was important considering those factors before getting a new set.

Just saying, brands like FiiO or Topping have popular portable amps. For example, Topping NX3s model could suit the HD well for a mobile setup, nice and affordable.

Hey, thanks for all this additional info! I will be getting an amp shortly after the headphones arrive, and was looking at something like the Atom stack, or iFi Zen DAC most likely as the Schiit isn't an option in Canada without paying a lot extra.

They will be used 100% for gaming and music on my computer at home, so portable isn't needed, but thank you for the info on that area as well! I have a quiet place with just me and my Mrs that works full time, so theres not gonna be any background noise really so I decided to go with open backs. I really appreciate you taking the time to explain a few things and help out someone who's very new to all this stuff. I did a fair amount of research despite being a noob, so I feel a bit more comfortable overall. Cheers

 

[Facedepoulet]

It's certainly a good solid set, didn't read otherwise anywhere. Open-backs are sometimes picked over closed-backs for gaming (Philips SHP9500) so everything should be fine.
Definitely get an amplifier to drive it best and give your ears what they deserve. A DAC would be a nice extra too, as PC stock audio mainly sucks.

You'll want to install a few things if you're running W10 + USB DAC.
First, ASIO4All, if no ASIO drivers are provided by DAC manufacturer.
Then, Foobar2000 to play your audio files, so you can use ASIO on output + it can play Hi-res files, DSD, SACD, whatever. Foobar2000 is a beast! You'll find tons of How-to's for it.
Note: that's especially true for DSD files playback (see here : Play DSD on PC)
Don't forget the sound panel settings and change the quality to the highest available for you.

 

[TrixRabbit]

It's certainly a good solid set, didn't read otherwise anywhere. Open-backs are sometimes picked over closed-backs for gaming (Philips SHP9500) so everything should be fine.
Definitely get an amplifier to drive it best and give your ears what they deserve. A DAC would be a nice extra too, as PC stock audio mainly sucks.

You'll want to install a few things if you're running W10 + USB DAC.
First, ASIO4All, if no ASIO drivers are provided by DAC manufacturer.
Then, Foobar2000 to play your audio files, so you can use ASIO on output + it can play Hi-res files, DSD, SACD, whatever. Foobar2000 is a beast! You'll find tons of How-to's for it.
Note: that's especially true for DSD files playback (see here : Play DSD on PC)
Don't forget the sound panel settings and change the quality to the highest available for you.

Oh damn I didn't know any of this. I will bookmark this for the day the Amp+DAC comes, and setup + install all of this. Appreciate the extra help.

 

[Facedepoulet]

Might be "overkill" and "you'll eventually never hear the difference" some would say (I see you trolls coming). Yeah, maybe...
We're not talking about a huge difference but it's there, signal truly is... what it is. Not some downsampled ersatz.

Reality is PCs are terrible for audio playback unless tweaked properly.
Onboard soundcards are "meh" for Hi-Fi and the way Operating System handles audio is just as "meh".
That's why a lot (like... ALOT) of "audio enthusiasts" use ASIO4All and foobar2000 as favorite audio player. They both are free. Enjoy.

 

[Audi5000]

Might be "overkill" and "you'll eventually never hear the difference" some would say (I see you trolls coming). Yeah, maybe...
We're not talking about a huge difference but it's there, signal truly is... what it is. Not some downsampled ersatz.

Reality is PCs are terrible for audio playback unless tweaked properly.
Onboard soundcards are "meh" for Hi-Fi and the way Operating System handles audio is just as "meh".
That's why a lot (like... ALOT) of "audio enthusiasts" use ASIO4All and foobar2000 as favorite audio player. They both are free. Enjoy.

^^^ yup, search your pc's sound card... if its not a third party 'hifi' sound card.. chances are its not that good. Realtek, HP, Sound Max etc are okay at what they were meant to do, SoundBlaster/Creative has its low end and hi end stuff. For more control than what most DAC's provide, a USB interface is usually engineered toward sound quality and many offer two way i/o 192 conversions, and even the cheapest will offer 48, compared to the standard 16 bit 44.1, and also compatible with steingberg asio4all drivers/codecs.