[Vosper]

Hi everyone

I'm looking for some recommendations for a good set of headphones that offer decent bass and excellent isolation (in that order). I often have to spend many hours in the computer labs at university, which tend to be very noisy. I prefer to work in isolation, listening to music either from the CDROM or from minidisc. Now, I know minidisc is crap quality etc etc but it's all I have. Currently I have Senn 280 Pro's (the 75 ohm version) which are fantastic for classical music and sound pretty reasonable for most other things. But I'm also a rock and electronica fan, and I really miss the bass! The 280's have woeful bass. I'm not looking for headshaking, brain mashing bass, just something with more impact than what I've currently got. Size isn't really a concern - I already carry the 280's to uni and they're not exactly compact - but isolation is. So we're probably looking at closed headphones here. From reading the forums I've come up with the Beyer 770's or 880's as possible choices, but I'm sure there must be others? Not having easy access to demoing headphones, I thought I'd ask all you knowledgeable folk to lend a hand

 

[Vosper]

I should have mentioned that a headphone amplifier is not out of the question. It's not an area I know a lot about, but they seem to be the way to go for good sound. So don't hesitate to recomment a headphone that needs an amp to sounds its best

 

[Tyson]

Beyer DT770 pro have the strongest bass of the good headphones I have heard. Good isolation too, but not as good as the 280's (nothing short of Ety's isolate as well as the 280's).

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

If you're going to get an amp then the DT-770 are your ticket, they are the

bass kings, but theier uber-bass can get annonying from time to time if not listening to trance/drum'n'bass or movies. Due to sheer volume, it could be considered "brainmashing bass," but it's not bloated yucky car stereo bass either. They also have pretty darn good (but not amazing) isolation. They need a fairly decent amp to perfom well, I'm not sure if you could get away with a cheapie like a mint or CMOY.

If that's too much of an expense for you, then the Ultrasone HFI-650 DVD edition supposedly have very good bass, and with similar isolation to the HD280. This might be the best option for you IMO. THere's also the Sony V6 or 7506, but its' bass is supposedly more bloated, in addition to not being a very musical, overly analytical can, according to some.

 

[loveheadphones]

i'll throw in my vote for Beyerdynamic DT 770's. they will need an amp. however, if you weren't as concerned about bass i would have strongly recommended the er4p's, as they are easy to drive, portable, and offer great isolation. Most reports here seem to indicate 880's are a bit lean in the bass region.

i'm not that experienced with top of the line headphones, but i love the bass from DT 770's (along with the rest of the frequencies!) and the isolation is very good. from what i've read, DT 770's give the most visceral bass out of all headphones, so it's more like speaker-type bass.

They are also very comfortable so you can wear them for long hours. I have the professional version, which clamp a bit, but if you're worried about that you can just get the regular version (they cost a bit more).

MD isn't crap if you record in SP!

 

[joelongwood]

Yet another vote for the DT-770 Pro. Bass you can feel!

 

[Vosper]

I had thought about the Ultrasone's, but was kind of put off by the "DVD" product code. I presumed that the characteristics of a DVD headphone would not lend themselves to high quality audio reproduction?

As for the ety's, this is something that I have mulled over for a long time. I eventually discarded the idea because I wanted something that I could share with other people ("Have a listen to this!").

Having read pbirkett's comparison of the 880 and 770 I am leaning toward the 880's because they seem to be a more rounded headphone, with better applications to other music than the 770's, which seem to be the clear favourite for techno and bass. Has anyone got any thoughts on this?

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Well the DT880 are an open design so, you won't get any isolation out of them. I've recently heard the 880 described as being highly precise with very good frequency extension, but sounding a bit bright, bass-light, and not very musical. Also, many people say that they need a super-powerful headamp to work properly (i.e. a $1000 Meier Prehead or $1500 Headroom Max). They certainly sound like a very hi-fi set of phones, but I'm not sure they're what you're looking for.

And also, PBirkett has since said that he was overly critical of the DT770 in that review of his.

 

[Vosper]

I didn't realise the 880's were open. They certainly aren't what I'm looking for! Having had so many people put in a good word for the 770's (and I know this is true across other posts) I am going to have to try and hook up a demo! Sadly I don't think any shops in my city (Christchurch, New Zealand) carry Beyer phones... I'll have to try and sweet-talk one of them into getting a demo pair for me

Thanks everyone

Craig

 

[miroslav]

If you`re concerned about the Ultrasone`s "DVD" label you can always try the "Trackmaster" version and join the ranks of your smallish, but rock solid team.

You may even find their unamped sound joyful enough and save some money.

 

[mfgg]

i think u can try koss PP, got very good bass and suitable for rocl and elec music...

 

[dMoog]

Porta Pros have really bad isolation though....

 

[pbirkett]

Quote:

Originally posted by Vosper Having read pbirkett's comparison of the 880 and 770 I am leaning toward the 880's because they seem to be a more rounded headphone, with better applications to other music than the 770's, which seem to be the clear favourite for techno and bass. Has anyone got any thoughts on this?

The DT880 is the more rounded headphone overall, lending itself better to more music overall. However, as you may notice, its the DT770 and not the 880 that remains in my system. The 770 sure is a musical and fun headphone, and the DT880 benefits more from a much higher end system than I have at my disposal.

That being said, it depends what you want - the 880 is more realistic, and more hifi, the DT770 is simply more fun, bouncy and musical, and with bass that quite frankly no other headphone can approach in terms of volume and impact.

The DT770 will always have a place in my collection, but only you can decide whether you can use it as your primary headphone - I cant, and hence have got the DT531's, and these are my favourite Beyers yet - if you do not NEED closed capability then these are worth considering too.

The DT770 also offers good isolation, and I have yet to hear anything that betters it for gaming and movies, so this might also be a consideration for you somewhere.