[Heatley]

 First of all I just want to say I have recently bought a pair of Monster Beats by Dr Dre Studio Edition, more so for the fashion and style than the audio quality. I have come to fall in love with the tremendous upgrade of sound quality from my stock Apple earphones. Still, I hear people talking of headphones like Sennheiser HD800's and their unmatched sound quality so I have a few questions.

1. What is the best pair of headphones to use with an iPhone 4 for listening to music? I'm transforming into an audiophile by the minute, and my Beats have nice bass, but I would like to hear warmer mids. Is there a thresh-hold where the more money you spend will not upgrade the sound quality out of an iPhone?

2. How much better are those $1000+ headphones compared to Beats by Dr Dre Studio in terms of overall sound quality? You can give either a qualitative or quantitative description. 

3. What do the frequeny and other ranges on the specs for headphones mean? In other words please explain as much of headphone jargon as possible for me please. 
 
4. I have also heard or line outs and headphone amps. What equipment would I need to get started? Also, how much of a difference would they make?
 
5. I have been recently looking at the Sennheiser HD  580, Audio Technica ATH-M50S, and Bose QC 15. Which do think is the most suitable for me? Can you give a direct comparison please?

Thank you very much

 

 

[Ishcabible]

Go easy on him/her guys.

1: Well yes, of course you find them much better. Stock buds suck haha. We don't think too kindly towards the Beats, mainly because for the price, you start getting into the price of some mid-level headphones. And uhh I can't truly recommend them since I haven't heard them, but the Ultrasone Edition 8 is probably the highest end portable headphone. Although if you think Beats bass is nice, prepared to be amazed by most other expensive headphones. The Beats have pretty bad sounding bass by my standards. There's a lot of it, but it's not really refined.

2: It honestly depends. The Beats aren't as good as marketing would like you to think though.

3: Sigh...do some research bud. We have a wiki

5: Cross out Bose. The M50s perform around the Beats' level. HD580 is above it when amped.

 

[ArmAndHammer]

Quote:

 First of all I just want to say I have recently bought a pair of Monster Beats by Dr Dre Studio Edition, more so for the fashion and style than the audio quality. I have come to fall in love with the tremendous upgrade of sound quality from my stock Apple earphones. Still, I hear people talking of headphones like Sennheiser HD800's and their unmatched sound quality so I have a few questions.

1. What is the best pair of headphones to use with an iPhone 4 for listening to music? I'm transforming into an audiophile by the minute, and my Beats have nice bass, but I would like to hear warmer mids. Is there a thresh-hold where the more money you spend will not upgrade the sound quality out of an iPhone? Yes and it won't take much. Most headphones above the $100 are going to need an amp to sound their best. Even a small portable amp. Doesn't mean they won't sound ok...but to sound their best they need one.

2. How much better are those $1000+ headphones compared to Beats by Dr Dre Studio in terms of overall sound quality? You can give either a qualitative or quantitative description. About a trillion times better. Most $100 headphones are several times better. Beats are not good and they are way overpriced.

3. What do the frequeny and other ranges on the specs for headphones mean? In other words please explain as much of headphone jargon as possible for me please. How low or high the headphone can reproduce.
 
4. I have also heard or line outs and headphone amps. What equipment would I need to get started? Also, how much of a difference would they make? You need a line out to be able to connect your iPod to an amp/DAC. A good starting point would be something like a CMoy amp or a FiiO amp/DAC.
 
5. I have been recently looking at the Sennheiser HD  580, Audio Technica ATH-M50S, and Bose QC 15. Which do think is the most suitable for me? Can you give a direct comparison please? HD 580 decent, M50 highly recommended, QC15 is junk just like the Beats. Stay away.

Thank you very much

 

 

[Ishcabible]

Quote:

Quote:

 First of all I just want to say I have recently bought a pair of Monster Beats by Dr Dre Studio Edition, more so for the fashion and style than the audio quality. I have come to fall in love with the tremendous upgrade of sound quality from my stock Apple earphones. Still, I hear people talking of headphones like Sennheiser HD800's and their unmatched sound quality so I have a few questions.

1. What is the best pair of headphones to use with an iPhone 4 for listening to music? I'm transforming into an audiophile by the minute, and my Beats have nice bass, but I would like to hear warmer mids. Is there a thresh-hold where the more money you spend will not upgrade the sound quality out of an iPhone? Yes and it won't take much. Most headphones above the $100 are going to need an amp to sound their best. Even a small portable amp. Doesn't mean they won't sound ok...but to sound their best they need one.
 

 
Not necessarily. He asked if there's a threshold where there's no more improvement. There really isn't one imo, it's just underampage. They'll still have their different sound sigs.
 

 

[Heatley]

So ArmAndHammer, you said the M50's are better than the HD 580's, but Ishcabible, your opinion was the other way around. Is this just a matter of preference or what kind of music you listen to?  I've noticed quantitative properties don't accurately compare headphones. 
 
With the headphone amp would there be some wires or other components I need as well? If so, do they usually come with the headphone amp?
 
Lastly, could you please suggest a pair of headphones and a suitable headphone amp for me? My price range is $300-$750. FYI I don't need a portable amp.
 
Thanks once again

 

[Ishcabible]

It's tastes. The M50's sound sig has a tendency to make me literally nauseous for some reason. Plugging them into an iPhone 4 is less than ideal though. And there are sooooooo many more other options since you have seemingly deep pockets.

You'll need a source: either a cd player or a computer. Then you'll need a digital audio converter (DAC) there are many for both computers and cdps. There's also vinyl.

The amp mostly depends on the headphone you decide on first. Synergy plays a role here. What music do you listen to? That's pretty important.

 

[Heatley]

So I'd be using my computer then. I assume I will have to upgrade from my integrated sound card. The genres I listen to most are Rock, Grunge, Classical Rock (Beatles stuff), and a bit of Rap/Hip-Hop. Any suggestions on amps? Are some headphones specialized for certain genres? 

 

[yifu]

Its open vs closed so they dont compare as closed headphones have isolation and no bleeding whereas open ones have better soundstaging but no isolation and bleed a lot. Open cans are better for classical music though. However i think the M50 is better for your genres. 
 
Quote:

So ArmAndHammer, you said the M50's are better than the HD 580's, but Ishcabible, your opinion was the other way around. Is this just a matter of preference or what kind of music you listen to?  I've noticed quantitative properties don't accurately compare headphones. 
 
With the headphone amp would there be some wires or other components I need as well? If so, do they usually come with the headphone amp?
 
Lastly, could you please suggest a pair of headphones and a suitable headphone amp for me? My price range is $300-$750. FYI I don't need a portable amp.
 
Thanks once again

 

[Ishcabible]

Quote:

So I'd be using my computer then. I assume I will have to upgrade from my integrated sound card. The genres I listen to most are Rock, Grunge, Classical Rock (Beatles stuff), and a bit of Rap/Hip-Hop. Any suggestions on amps? Are some headphones specialized for certain genres? 

You'll probably need an external DAC and an external amp. And  yeah, basically. Well some perform better. Like Grados are pretty good for rock to most people. I like their elevated treble energy for rock. Senns are good for classical with their laid back sound and huge soundstage. Denons are...honestly, I don't know what they work well on. I like them, but I don't really know where they're best at. They're bass heavy and have somewhat recessed mids. Beyerdynamics have a neutral/V-curve response, and people like them for classical, but I'd use them for almost anything. Audio Technica's all over the place, but their woodies tend to be good for jazz and rock. I think I hit most of the bases.
 
Amps, uhh I'm going for $300-400 amps like the Bijou and EHHA, and a First Watt F5 which retails for $3000 but is diyable for $400ish with a preamp...so no. Don't have any experience in sub $200 amps. I've read the M-Stage is pretty good for its price, and the FiiO E9 on the cheap, but haven't tried them, so can't really recommend them.

 

[Heatley]

I'm not comfortable yet with any DIY projects. I'm experienced at soldering, but I would have no idea what I'm doing with the different amp parts . Where would I buy a Bijuo or EHHA amp? I would like to buy from an online store if possible (couldn't find on Ebay). Lastly, where can I download song files at 320 kbps? Even iTunes music is <320 kbps.