[GuyDebord]

I listen to your type of music too. For a little bit more than $500 dont overlook the koss esp-950 or the STAX SRS-2170, this music plays amazingly well in electrostatics. If electrostatics are to much, then focus on the new Shure SRH-1840, these cans are simply amazing and IMO better than the more expensive hd-800's, all hi-fi man's and T1's, look at them on ebay. Forget about the amp now, first get some good cans. 

 

[cartograph]

@chicolom

Thank you for your recommendations.
 
It seems Q701 is really great with ambient, as everybody say. And about Denon AH-D5000, I’ve read many good words from them here, especially between electronic music lovers, but I’m not sure enough about them. AKG K550 is a great closed can too, but I think I still prefer Q 701 over them (people say Q 701 has enough bass, so no need for more bass, I think).

Now that you own and recommend Q 701s, which amp do you prefer most to use with them?
 
 

@GuyDebord

Thank You, GuyDebord. These are the cans that you've recommended:

Koss ESP-950 = 600-700 $
STAX SRS-2170 = 1200 $
Shure SRH1840 = 700 $

All of them seems great, but they are really expensive. I can only think about Koss ESP-950, because it doesn't need an amp.
I want a headphone that satisfies me at least 5+ years & I have barely 400 – 500 $ to spend (It’s a lot of money in my country, you know), but now your recommendations sounds great but seems a little bit difficult. In other words, I should wait at least 3 months to prepare that extra 100-200 $.
 
How much Koss ESP-950 is better than Q 701 or HD 600 with an 200 $ amp?

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

@chicolom
 
Now that you own and recommend Q 701s, which amp do you prefer most to use with them?

 
I use the Matrix M-stage with them.  The only amps I've tried are the E10, E9, and the M-Stage. 

 

[GuyDebord]

You can pick up the Shure's for $620 on eBay, the Koss for around the same and the STAX for $755. These three are superior to the akg's.
I was just trying to push the envelope a bit, in your range, then... I would seriously consider the Shure SRH1440, they are around $400, they are extremely detailed and open, imo a much better can than the akg's.
 
good luck

 

[cartograph]

@chicolom

Thank you, dear chicolom for your time & recommendations.
 
My first choice is Q701+Matrix M-stage now.
 
 

@GuyDebord

Thank you, dear GuyDebord.
 
I haven't checked eBay before and now I can see what a great prices it has. The Koss ESP-950s is really tempting, but I don't know if they worth to wait 3-4 months or not.
 
and about Shure SRH1440s, Mike at Headfonia has wrote a nice review on them and said a lot of good things about them, but I'm not sure about choosing them.I should wait and see what others say.

 

[goldoon]

Hello,
 
Q701 sounds good with Audio-GD NFB-12 too and fits to your budget.
 
Stax headphones are great cans but are out of your budget & I am not certain that they make you happier than Q701.Shure SRH1840s is really superb, but if you want an amp for them too, it becomes at least 1000 and IMO if you want to spend this amount of money, Stax & Koss are better options.
 
I'm so curious to see what others think about Shure SRH1440 & Koss Koss ESP-950 (especially for ambient/noise music). It's interesting to see how many different headphones have been recommended by users for such an unpopular kind of music (I don't mean the light kind of ambient that people mostly use for relaxing)
 
But, anyhow you want a headphone for a lifetime & it's a important buy, so wait to see what other users think.
 
Good luck

 

[cartograph]

Thank you, dear goldoon.
 
Q701+Audio-GD NFB-12 is a good choice and I consider them as a serious choice.
 
 
Quote:

It's interesting to see how many different headphones have been recommended by users for such an unpopular kind of music (I don't mean the light kind of ambient that people mostly use for relaxing)

Yes, you re right. I, myself couldn't predict this & I'm really happy to see this amount of diverse choices for Ambient & Noise.
 
 
Quote:

But, anyhow you want a headphone for a lifetime & it's a important buy, so wait to see what other users think.

Thank you for your heartwarming recommendation, I would wait for sure.

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

Thank you, dear goldoon.
 
Q701+Audio-GD NFB-12 is a good choice and I consider them as a serious choice.
 
 
Yes, you re right. I, myself couldn't predict this & I'm really happy to see this amount of diverse choices for Ambient & Noise.
 
 
Thank you for your heartwarming recommendation, I would wait for sure.

 
Heya,
 
If getting the Q701, you could save your money and get a Fiio E10 for more than half the cost that will drive the Q701 just fine. I would only get the NFB-12.1 if you want an amp that will be able to play all headphones in your future too (like a planar magnetic even).
 
Very best,

 

[cartograph]

Thank you, dear MalVeauX.
 
It would be great if Q701 sounds good with Fiio E10 and even Fiio E9.In this way I can save my money to buy a better headphone later.
 
By the way, GuyDebord made me really curious about electrostatics. In your opinion, how much better are they than Q701+Fiio? What about SRH1440?

 

[cartograph]

Latest list of recommended headphones & amp for Ambient / Noise music:
 
Recommended Headphones:

AKG Q 701 x 3
Hifiman HE-400
Sennheiser HD 600
Shure SRH1440
Koss ESP-950
STAX SRS-2170
Denon AH-D5000 x 2
AKG K550
Shure SRH1840
 
 

Recommended Amps:

For AKG Q 701:
Fiio E10
Fiio E9
Objective2
HiFiMan EF2
Matrix M-stage
Audio-GD NFB-12
Musical Fidelity X-Can V3

For Hifiman HE-400 / Denon AH-D5000:
Fiio E10

For Sennheiser HD 600:
JDSLabs Cmoy
HeadRoom Total AirHead
Schiit Asgard

For Shure SRH1440:
Objective 2
 

Any other headphone/amp which makes the list better than this?
 
Thanks in advance.

 

[extrabigmehdi]

Hello,
I don't think it's worth it to buy a too much  expensive headphone for ambient music.
I'm not particularly a fan of the hd595, but if there's one area it excels, it's ambient music.
But you mentioned dark ambient, so probably you'd want more sub bass than the hd595 is able (for the scary effect, you have with some bass drones).
I think here are the quality for the headphone you are looking for:
- nice sub bass
- great soundstage
- anything but bright (I mean no emphasis of the highs).
- not excessively analytical,  preferably something "smooth".
- some euphony , if you listen to stuff like stars of the lid (i.e even when playing a single note for long, it sounds pleasant).
 
The hd595 offers all of this except the sub bass.
Listening to merbow  would be painful on a detailled and bright headphone , which seems the case of the k701/ q701.
The sonic difference between the k701, and the q701 is most likely due to the presence of the logo that partially hinder the air flow.

 

[chicolom]

Quote:

Hello,
I don't think it's worth it to buy a too much  expensive headphone for ambient music.
I'm not particularly a fan of the hd595, but if there's one area it excels, it's ambient music.
But you mentioned dark ambient, so probably you'd want more sub bass than the hd595 is able (for the scary effect, you have with some bass drones).
I think here are the quality for the headphone you are looking for:
- nice sub bass
- great soundstage
- anything but bright (I mean no emphasis of the highs).
- not excessively analytical,  preferably something "smooth".
- some euphony , if you listen to stuff like stars of the lid (i.e even when playing a single note for long, it sounds pleasant).
 
The hd595 offers all of this except the sub bass.
Listening to merbow  would be painful on a detailled and bright headphone , which seems the case of the k701/ q701.
The sonic difference between the k701, and the q701 is most likely due to the presence of the logo that partially hinder the air flow.

 
Q701s have decent sub bass for an open headphone with large soundstage, better then HD5xx.  They are also warmer and darker then HD5xx.  K70x are a bit brighter, but still not that bright IMO.  I've heard much brighter phones.
 
And the sonic difference isn't due to the logo button.  I compared a K702 and Q701 and swapped that piece and couldn't hear any changes to the sound.

 

[extrabigmehdi]

Quote:

 
  K70x are a bit brighter, but still not that bright IMO.  I've heard much brighter phones.

The ultimate test , would be to listen to the Venerology album from Merzbow, and see how long you could stand it.
On the hd595 I could listen to the whole album , and was wondering why people were making such fuss about the harsh noises

, it was still smooth to me.
On the srh940 (some says it has similar brightness and level of details than  k701), I was just afraid to damage my ears after ten minutes.

 

[Lorspeaker]

ooooo.......just get a bose ae2i and be done with ...lol.
( i just gotten one and like the cooler balanced sound vs a KRK KNS8400...the pads so cushy...so the bose is a snoozer to zzzzz with...great!! )

 
 its getting to be a maze with the list u chalked up..
just buy something and sell it, and buy somemore...thats the headphiway.

 
errr the Q701 dun sound the same as the k702...ditto the k701.

 

[extrabigmehdi]

Quote:

ooooo.......just get a bose ae2i and be done with ...lol.
( i just gotten one and like the cooler balanced sound vs a KRK KNS8400...the pads so cushy...so the bose is a snoozer to zzzzz with...great!! )

That's a bit exaggerated, but I don't think it's worth it to invest too much for drone-like , or ambient music.
At the very least , the op would want some sub bass, to listen to lustmord for instance ( it's mostly about inducing fear with very low bass).