[Jonathan Griffin]

Hi folks,

I have a hankering for some decent sound quality at work, so need to get some good-ish closed headphones. (IEM's don't suit me.) I mostly, but not always, listen to classical or jazz, have an amp available (a Chiarra), and need to cut out background noise. So the choice seems to come down to

1. AKG K271S, or
2. Ultrasone Proline 650

Any advice? Anybody got the Proline series and listen to orchestral music? Other headphones I really ought to consider?

Cheers,
Jonathan.

 

[vo328]

Jonathan, what kind of sound are you looking for? I use the K271 and DT770 for closed headphone listening, depending on mood and material.

 

[Jonathan Griffin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vo328 Jonathan, what kind of sound are you looking for? I use the K271 and DT770 for closed headphone listening, depending on mood and material.

In an ideal world, detailed but not over-bright, fast but reasonably smooth, a tad warm but not warmed-over, balanced over the frequency spectrum - instruments have to sound like themselves, bass where you can hear the note rather than boomy or especially impactful (I quite like the Stax SR001 MkII bass), and no screechy violins or brass. I don't ask for much.

Cheers,
Jonathan.

 

[F107plus5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jonathan Griffin In an ideal world, detailed but not over-bright, fast but reasonably smooth, a tad warm but not warmed-over, balanced over the frequency spectrum - instruments have to sound like themselves, bass where you can hear the note rather than boomy or especially impactful (I quite like the Stax SR001 MkII bass), and no screechy violins or brass. I don't ask for much. Cheers, Jonathan.

Uh oh; I can see it already! "You" may not ask for much, but your wallet may soon be asking "for mercy"!!

I can't help you on closed phones for classical, yet, but I see some "classical" signs of an illness taking hold that many of us here are already suffering with!

It may be too late for you already!

 

[pds6]

I HAVE NEVER TRIED EITHER: AKG K271S or the Ultrasone Proline 650.

I own the Senn HD-25's. They are in your price range. They are well made and small. They provide a moderate to high amount of isolation. They have a split headband that keeps them in place.

I like them a lot. They are about as big as you would want to wear in public. They are a very nice sounding pair of cans. I have also noticed that a number of other Head-FI's own and like these cans.

Good Luck (The other two sets look good. I don't think you will make a mistake whatever one you pick.)

 

[plus_c]

I owned the AKG K271 for over a year. I cannot think of a better closed headphone for classical/jazz when amped. I traded it out when I graduated from college, because I no longer needed a closed headphone.

May I also suggest the Zu Mobius for AKG to go with it?

 

[Jonathan Griffin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by F107plus5 It may be too late for you already!

Almost certainly. I already have more headphones than I can reasonably use in a single day, which seems like a bad sign. But they're all open - I don't have any real experience with closed headphones, thus the call for advice, esp. on classical. What works real well for Michelle Shocked or Queens of the Stone Age doesn't always do so well for Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto.

Cheers,
Jonathan.

 

[Jonathan Griffin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pds6 I own the Senn HD-25's. ... I like them a lot.

Thanks. They do sound like good headphones, but I'd prefer something circum-aural, as supra-aural generally make my ears sore on longer listening sessions. I'll be using them at the office, so they don't have to be wearable on the move.

Cheers,
Jonathan.

 

[nv88]

Here's my 2 cents. I listen at work. I had the hd25-1's for about 4 months and just got the k271s a couple of days ago after hearing it and the Ultrasone HFI-700.

HD25: Great headphones. They are compact and sound great (especially with pop/rock) right out of a portable. Bass is really punchy, very fun headphones. The bass is tight and there's not much resonance. You don't get the smooth mids and highs that you do with the k271s. Not that the mids on the HD25 are bad, just not in the same class as the k271. If you don't plan to use an amplifer, get the HD25 and don't look back.

K271s: (Disclaimer: Remember I've only had these a couple of days. Also, they're probably not burned in yet.) Very smooth and nice mids! You really need an amp to get enough bass. Plugged into my home stereo they sound very nice. They have enough bass for me with a decent amp. The mids still sound fine from a portable, but you lose most of the bass and you have to turn the volume up considerably. With an amp the bass is not as tight and impactful as the HD25.

Ultrasone HFI-700: (Huge Disclaimer: I only listened to these for 30 mins directly from a portable) Lots of bass. Lots of treble. Did I say lots of bass? I really wanted to like these from what I had read online. Maybe with an amp they would have sounded better. For me there was just too much of everything. Too much highs, too much bass... It almost seemed to me that the details were enhanced. Again, I only heard these for a short period without an amp.

Sizewize the K271s are much bigger than the HD25. It's like bagels on your ears. Comfortable bagels though. The K271 do get hot and I get "headphone hair" that I didn't get with the HD25. The Ultrasones are halfway between, similar in size to the Sony V6/7506.

I was looking for something that would be better for classical music, maybe more musical and sophisticated in general. In the end the smooth mids from the K271 won me over. Now I'm looking for a inexpensive amp to use with my K271 from a portable. Any suggestions?

I hope that helps.

 

[Jonathan Griffin]

After much faffing, I've decided to go with the Proline 650. Partly I suspect because they're more expensive

but mostly because they seem more versatile - will sound good with more than just classical/jazz. Well we'll see. Thanks for all the info, folks.

Cheers,
Jonathan.