Best headphone that doesn't require an amp?

[TobaccoRoad]

What the title says. I'm looking for a headphone that performs just as good without use of amps. Price doesn't matter, and no iems please. I actually own amps but I'm asking this question for personal reasons. I know SQ can be subjective but help me out with your personal opinions.

 

[lucky]

I don't think phones need amps for anything beyond volume, but my favorite of those I've owned is the AD700.

 

[Brian_the_King]

Best Grado you can afford.

 

[MaloS]

Grado RS1, Alessandro MS-Pro, ATH-AD2000 (possibly Edition 8, whenever that comes out). Take your pick. =)

 

[Brighten]

RS-1

 

[FourierMakesFunk]

Grados and the top of the AD line from Audio Technica (AD2000).

Depends on genre and taste.

 

[Duggeh]

Nomad wrote positively of running his Qualia unamped and in public. Got very nervous when someone got interested and asked to see them but went with it.

 

[Donald North]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TobaccoRoad /img/forum/go_quote.gif What the title says. I'm looking for a headphone that performs just as good without use of amps. Price doesn't matter, and no iems please. I actually own amps but I'm asking this question for personal reasons. I know SQ can be subjective but help me out with your personal opinions.

What will you use to power the headphones? An iPod or sound card or ??? Please provide more details.

 

[vkvedam]

In addition to all the above ones I would like to add HFI-780s as well, awesome out of any source.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Etymotic ER-4p

EDIT: Yeah, Audio-Technica ESW-10

 

[jinp6301]

Audio Technica ESW9

 

[boomana]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jinp6301 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Audio Technica ESW9

ESW10 with ESW9 coming in a close 2nd. You should be able to easily find plenty of impressions and reviews for both, some in here, and some in the portable headphone forum.

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TobaccoRoad /img/forum/go_quote.gif What the title says. I'm looking for a headphone that performs just as good without use of amps. Price doesn't matter, and no iems please. I actually own amps but I'm asking this question for personal reasons. I know SQ can be subjective but help me out with your personal opinions.

W5000/AD700/D2000/D5000/D7000 /AD900/780/900/48/E8/E9/ JVC1000. G1000i/RS1i/325is

 

[boomana]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kool bubba ice /img/forum/go_quote.gif W5000/AD700/D2000/D5000/D7000 /AD900/780/900/48/E8/E9/ JVC1000. G1000i/RS1i/325is

The OP said "just as good" without an amp. Assuming that some can come close unamped, I'd still completely eliminate some from your list, as they really need an amp:

W5000
D5000
G1000

These do sound noticeable better with a well-matched amp:

D2000
RS1 (I haven't heard RS1i)

Are E9s Edition 9s? If so, amp 'em, but they sound okay without.

and I've not heard the others, except the esw9s, which I agree sound good without an amp.

Where in the world did you get that list from?

 

[catscratch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TobaccoRoad /img/forum/go_quote.gif Price doesn't matter, and no iems please.

I think you should rethink that one bolded bit. Custom-molded IEMs can be just as comfortable as full-size cans, even more so in my experience since they don't put any pressure on your ears, and will sound fantastic unamped. If price is no object, then take a look at the UE11, ES3x, maybe ACS T1, etc. It's hard to make a custom-molded IEM recommendation since unless someone has massively deep pockets it's unlikely that they will ever hear every single custom on the market. But I do know Digihead has heard pretty much everything that's available in the US, so you may want to send him a PM.

Really, even my ES2 sounds spectacular unamped and can easily rival headphones in the HD600 tier when the latter headphones are amped (driven by the same source). The ES3x is said to be a big improvement on that.

If I had to make a completely off-the wall left-field guess, I would have to say that an unamped custom-molded IEM would be a better investment in terms of bang for the buck than an unamped top-tier headphone. But once again this is just complete guesswork since I haven't heard any customs better than the ES2 yet. Gimme a few weeks...