Signal Down
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- May 12, 2015
- Posts
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I'm currently looking to replace my 3 year old Sennheiser HD 449's which I've used heavily for listening to Classical recordings, some industrial rock like Nine Inch Nails, some rock music (Pink Floyd) and just recently some experimental ambient music. So far, from focusing on Sennheiser and Shure's line of headphones, I've narrowed my choices down to the HD 600, HD 650 and the SRH1440. Right now the 600 is on Amazon for about $280 while the 650 and 1440 are sitting at 300.
To drive my headphones I am using a Soundblaster 3D Recon 'Fatal1ty' card which is advertised as having a 600ohm amplifier built in. From a thread I found after searching here a while back, a few users recommended a dedicated amplifier for someone looking at the HD600 with my exact same soundcard. From this I figure I can't get all of what I could get out of the 600/650 unless I purchase an amplifier.
I mention the SRH-1440 because it is easier to drive due to its very low impedance and would probably be a better fit for my hardware, but I noticed that they cover a smaller frequency range compared to the 600/650. From my end I'm confused by what I read since the documentation with the card says it supports phones up to a rated impedance of 600 while the HD 600 and 650's are rated for only 300. Am I missing something?
Now, I have the following questions:
1. Will my soundcard drive the 600 and 650's adequately given their impedance of 300?
2. If the 600 or 650's can be driven well enough, will their ability to produce a better range of frequencies cause them to absolutely sound better than the 1440's?
3. Have any of you had personal experience with all or some of the cans I've considered? If so how do they compare to a lower end phone like the 449?
4. Do you have any recommendations on other models from different brands? Please post them if you do.
To drive my headphones I am using a Soundblaster 3D Recon 'Fatal1ty' card which is advertised as having a 600ohm amplifier built in. From a thread I found after searching here a while back, a few users recommended a dedicated amplifier for someone looking at the HD600 with my exact same soundcard. From this I figure I can't get all of what I could get out of the 600/650 unless I purchase an amplifier.
I mention the SRH-1440 because it is easier to drive due to its very low impedance and would probably be a better fit for my hardware, but I noticed that they cover a smaller frequency range compared to the 600/650. From my end I'm confused by what I read since the documentation with the card says it supports phones up to a rated impedance of 600 while the HD 600 and 650's are rated for only 300. Am I missing something?
Now, I have the following questions:
1. Will my soundcard drive the 600 and 650's adequately given their impedance of 300?
2. If the 600 or 650's can be driven well enough, will their ability to produce a better range of frequencies cause them to absolutely sound better than the 1440's?
3. Have any of you had personal experience with all or some of the cans I've considered? If so how do they compare to a lower end phone like the 449?
4. Do you have any recommendations on other models from different brands? Please post them if you do.