[Phileon]

 

After years of being content with my Philips SBC HP250s (full sized, closed back and cheap) the right earphone finally gave up. So I decided to upgrade and wanted to spend a decent amount of cash this time.
 
I've spent what feels like DAYS looking at prices, specs, pics, brands, styles, offers from companies around the globe, hundreds of expert and user reviews to narrow it down to 2 open backs for all-round home use. The Sennheiser HD595 and Audio-Technica ATH-AD700 but I CAN'T make the final, epic decision!
 
Due to the money I'm spending and the standard I've been used to (low), I figure the sound quality on either one is going to keep me happy. What I really want then is super comfort and great build quality/durability but after so many reviews read I've gotten mixed signals. (i.e. good and bad things said about the same aspect of each one)
 
Please, please, please!!! Make the decision for me - Sennheiser HD595s...... OR..... Audio-Technica ATH-AD700s ????
 
 
PS   In the meantime I will be trying to find a store to try them out.
​

 

[SoSpecial]

For general home( keyword) use I'd say HD595's, they are just warmer and more immersive to my ears. The AD700's are so open and analytical it's hard for me to get lost in what I was hearing. I assume with movie use they wouldn't be good.
 
Have you ever considered closed back headphones, or even semi closed?

 

[Phileon]

Hey SoSpecial,
 
Maybe I simplified/generalised things too much from what I've been reading about headphones but I thought open backed gave 'better' sound. What say you?

 

[SoSpecial]

Quote:

Hey SoSpecial,
 
Maybe I simplified/generalised things too much from what I've been reading about headphones but I thought open backed gave 'better' sound. What say you?

As with many things in audio equipment, better is subjective. I wouldn't say that open or closed are better I would say they are different. To my ears I prefer closed in most situations.
 
HD555's were the first decent headphones I used and at the time they were my favorite. That's until I got my first set of closed cans with my RX700's which I consider for myself to be better then the HD555's.
 
I generally tell people to try to use these before you make any purchases but I also understand the availiablity of these headphones locally or even at meets is slim. So as a rule of thumb if your going for your first set of decent headphones then try not to spend to much. You don't want to spend $200+ on something you come to find out you don't like right?
 
There are plenty of good budget headphones, most of them are closed back though and I think that's because it's easier to make closed back headphones sound better even if the quality of the parts is lacking, open back they have to have special drivers and all that jazz.

 

[Trysaeder]

Just pick one. The two are heavily dependent on taste. I heard both the AD700 and HD595 in japan, and picked the AD700.

 

[Phileon]

For now though, you've made me lean towards the HD595s. I like that you used the word immersive to describe them, sounds appealing. Thanks.

 

[1Time]

Welcome to Head-Fi. 
 
What equipment will you be plugging your new headphones into? 
 
And what types of music do you listen to / uses do you have for your headphones? 

 

[Phileon]

Quote:

Welcome to Head-Fi. 
 
What equipment will you be plugging your new headphones into? 
 
And what types of music do you listen to / uses do you have for your headphones? 

Thanks!
 
I'll be plugging them into my tv for movies/gaming and into my pc for movies/music. Musicwise; rock, blues, big band and classical...

 

[SoSpecial]

Quote:

For now though, you've made me lean towards the HD595s. I like that you used the word immersive to describe them, sounds appealing. Thanks.

Your gonna find Adjectives on this forum are very important and if you would like me to throw out more to form your metaphorical opinion on them I can. But the thing that is important are your ears, I can't stress that enough. You will have different tastes then I would, and I'm pretty sure of that.
 
But like I said, open cans aren't better they are different. Closed cans do some thing better( Bass & isolation) and open do other things better( Soundstage). The rest of the qualities of Headphones are can to can meaning all headphones are different and all ears are different.

 

[Phileon]

Quote:

Your gonna find Adjectives on this forum are very important and if you would like me to throw out more to form your metaphorical opinion on them I can. But the thing that is important are your ears, I can't stress that enough. You will have different tastes then I would, and I'm pretty sure of that.
 
But like I said, open cans aren't better they are different. Closed cans do some thing better( Bass & isolation) and open do other things better( Soundstage). The rest of the qualities of Headphones are can to can meaning all headphones are different and all ears are different.

 
 
I hope I get what you're saying and I think in an ideal situation I would test various cans to find the one for me. To be totally honest though, I think the subtleties of sound quality would be lost on me for now. Like I said when I started the thread, I think with the money I'm happy to spend I would be pleased with the sound quality. If I can find something that is firstly comfortable and that doesn't fall apart I reckon I could set the benchmark with the sound quality of the cans I get and then over time, take opportunities to try out others and compare.
 
Ideally I'd like to get some new cans in the next few days to replace my broken ones and from there I might have a better idea of what to expect and what to look for next (as well as the time to find and test, test, test.)
 
Thanks for the great replies SoSpecial! All the advice is a huge help. It's an introduction into the world of 'cans' and is setting me up for a rockin new pair!

 

[SoSpecial]

If you've got a local Guitar centre then you can go there and use many of  these headphones. If you have a local Best Buy you can use my current FOTM's(XB500's). You can also get a feel for Closd back Sennhiesers(HD428's) which I enjoy more then I did HD555's.
 
But if you don't think the sudtlies will get you or that you don't think that your ears are up to par then your wasting your money on higher end headphones like 595's. I'd say either go with 555's or get something like an AKG K240. For blues and Big Band/swing I found that the AKG house sound was my favorite, and even if I don't particulary like K701's I found them on Classical and Blues to be some of the best I've ever heard.

 

[Phileon]

Quote:

If you've got a local Guitar centre then you can go there and use many of  these headphones. If you have a local Best Buy you can use my current FOTM's(XB500's). You can also get a feel for Closd back Sennhiesers(HD428's) which I enjoy more then I did HD555's.
 
But if you don't think the sudtlies will get you or that you don't think that your ears are up to par then your wasting your money on higher end headphones like 595's. I'd say either go with 555's or get something like an AKG K240. For blues and Big Band/swing I found that the AKG house sound was my favorite, and even if I don't particulary like K701's I found them on Classical and Blues to be some of the best I've ever heard.

Can't argue with what you're saying about prices so I've had another look around, checking out reviews and bargain hunting for your suggestions. This is what I got:
 
 
Sony X-Bass MDR-XB500 - £35 / $55 - great reviews for sound, excels in bass which I'm not fussed about, comes across as robust, earphones look extra comfortable but head strap does not.
 
Sony X-Bass MDR-XB700 - £60 / $95 - Same as the 500 but with even more comfortable earphones.
 
Sennheiser HD428 - £50 / $79 - good reviews, looks sturdy and reasonably comfortable.
 
Sennheiser HD555 - £80 / $126 - really good reviews for sound and comfort but few things about questionable build quality. Uses a 3.5 jack plug adapter which have broken on me in the past.
Sennheiser HD595 - £125 / $198 - same as the 555 but with upgraded sound properties that I'm oblivious to.
AKG K240 MKII - £90 / $142 - great reviews, comes across as super comfortable and hard wearing. Don't know if the detachable ofc cable is a weak spot?
AKG K 701 - £200 / $316 - Too expensive.
 
Audio-Technica ATH-AD700 - £110 / $174 - great reviews for sound and comfort, mixed reviews on build quality.
 
 
 
Honestly, I'm now torn between the AKG K240 and the AD700 with the XB700 coming in 3rd...
 
What do you think of the prices? Do they alter what you think I should go for?

 

[JayB18]

Quote:

Hey SoSpecial,
 
Maybe I simplified/generalised things too much from what I've been reading about headphones but I thought open backed gave 'better' sound. What say you?

Generally open back phones give better sound dollar for dollar.  Bass is usually tighter and faster (higher quality) and soundstage and separation are superior as well. Closed cans are usually more intimate I guess and have more bass quantity (which isn't necessarily quality). Here is a really good description from Marcus at headphonic:
 
"One of the most common questions we get asked is: “What is the difference between open and closed headphones?”.
It’s pretty easy to answer really, but there are some catches.
Simply put; open headphones sound better, but closed headphones offer isolation.
By isolation I mean in terms of both sound leaking out from the headphones, and sound leaking in.
Unless you need isolation you should consider open models. You can get closed headphones that sound as good as open models, but generally the closed model will cost more.
That’s not to say that all open headphones are better than all closed models either, there are duds in both teams, as well as some models that break the mould.
Open headphones sound more ‘natural’ than closed models. Generally an open model will have much better soundstage (the ‘width and depth’ of sound), more natural bass (tighter and faster) and better separation (how well individual sounds/instruments/details are defined).
Closed headphones on the other hand tend to have a more ‘boxed in’ sound to them (where it sounds like the music is coming from inside your head) and boomier, more resonant (slower) sounding bass. Often this leads to closed headphones sounding bassier, but if you listen closely it’s normally just because the bass is stopping and starting slower, and less accurately, than it would on an open model. This is why using the term “better” can be very subjective. You might consider slow, boomy overpowering bass to be “better” than well defined and clear bass

On the topic of isolation and leakage; this will depend on volume levels. Generally if you’re listening to open headphones at moderate volume levels people in the same room as you will be able to hear at least some of what you’re listening to. If you have your music loud, they’ll clearly be able to hear what you’re listening to. If people are going to be disturbed by this, you might want to consider closed.
Also, if the ambient volume levels around you are low, you shouldn’t be that disturbed by them with open headphones, however if you’re in a noisy environment (public transport, aircraft etc) then closed headphones may be a better choice as you might have to turn open headphones up to drown out background noise, and that’s potentially damaging to your ears."

 

[jschristian44]

i had modded hd555 that sounded like the hd595 and i have the ad700 now.  i sold off my hd555 because i like the detail and highs way more and the soundstage on my ad700.  if you play games or watch movies a lot go for the ad700.  if you listen to music the hd595 will sound good with everything.

 

[Dev Avidon]

It sounds as if you're not intending to get any kind of dedicated amp or DAC for listening to these.  If that's the case, I'd really say the AD-700 is the better choice.  There are a number of different incarnations of the K240, some of which are easier to drive than others, but the AD-700 is definitely going to suffer less from a lack of amping.