[aphinity]

Hi all,

I've found a wealth of knowledge here and some great threads. Cool community here

I realize this topic has been discussed previously. I'd like to start a fresh thread though.

Anyways, I've been in the market for a new pair of cans for a while now. the Sennheiser 595, 600's, Grado 225, 325, Beyerdynamic 770, 880, AKG 701, Dennon 2000, Audio Technica M 50, Roland, Sonys are on the radar.

Will be doing primarily home listening & some studio work with them. Do want a little bass oomph to the cans as I will listen to a good amount of electronic music and other bass heavy genres of music. Open and semi-open cans would be fine - comfortable cans would be bonus. I'd like to run them through my mac powerbook g4 and emagic emi 26 soundcard, if possible (don't have a headphone amp yet).

Any recommends / other headphones to consider?

The Beyerdynamic DT 880s were leading the pack and I was close to buying them. After doing some research here, looks like the DY 770s might be better suited for my low frequency listening needs? Will be testing out some AKG 701s soon to.

Thanks for the help folks.

 

[shaddix]

don't get 595s if you want bass oomph o_ob

i can't comment on the others o.o;;;;;;;;

 

[yashicaman]

For around $250 or so (do check Ebay) there are oodles of options.
Headroom has some thoughtful reviews and good prices on Grados.

Open phones:

Grado 225
Grado 325i (one of my favourites)
Sennheiser 595 (very comfy)
Grado SR-60 (best bang for the buck)

Closed phones

AKG 271S (old discontinued model is the one to get and then go to Headrooom and buy the velour ear pads).

I've grown very fond of my AKG 271S and use them at home a lot.
I use the Grado 325i at work (I have a private office and the open cans are not an issue).

I use the Grado 60's for portable applications (all Grados will fold flat in a briefcase).

Cheers!

 

[tjohnusa]

Keep an eye open in the for sale forums here...with your budget you should be able to get a nice set of cans. I have the older DT 990 pro and love them. Great soundstage and nice tight bass, also has a decent clear midrange.

 

[atothex]

$250 gives you a TON of choices in the used market, but anything in that range really needs a nice amp to shine. The Euro brands tend to need a lot power just to work adequately, but any decent phone needs more power to sound great. The K701 is a bit bass-shy AND requires amplification. I'd say go w/ the AH-D2000 or DT770 if you don't have much amplification and want bass.

Edit: portable stuff all work well w/o much power, and some of them are pretty bassy.

 

[Agnostic]

K701 is a bit bass shy but very detailed.

HD595 is nice but imo not in the same league as the other headphones I mention here. bass does not extend very deep though it has a decent amount with decent amplification.

HD580/600 has a mid-bass hump but doesn't extend that deep basswise.

Best phone I have heard for deep bass is the classic 600 Ohm beyerdynamic DT990. Their main disadvantage is the amount of treble they have which can make them sound a bit agressive on badly mixed music, but they are currently my favourite headphone for most genres. They do need decent amplification though.

 

[frozncore]

I say go with a pair of Grados. None of them require amplification.

 

[pedxing]

I also agree - dump the HD595 off the list. With the HD600 there, there is no point in getting HD595 unless you are severely constrained by the source.

The Grados out of the box sound quite good with no amps. The higher end grados have more head room to grow with if you do end up buying an amp later.

 

[aphinity]

thanks for all the insight so far folks - i appreciate it.

i think i'll have to track down some beyerdynamic 770s + 990s, hd 600s, + grados to listen to. I know the local guitar center carries the beyers.

realistically, i could see myself getting a headphone amp to fill out the home listening environment as well. The vast majority of listening i do @ home nowadays is mp3s (my 1000+ funk, soul, brazilian, idm, jazz, blues, cd collection is getting rather dusty & i'm sure my sony ce 415 cd carousel is feeling neglected) off my mac.

I'll do my homework in the amp forum and see what i can figure out. at this point, w/ little knowledge of headphone amps, i'd prefer to bump up to a nicer usb audio interface if that would provide adequate amplification for my impending new set of cans. we'll see.

+ i've been distracted all day by surge protection issues; ordered a couple of these :

APC 11 Outlet 2375J Surge Protector

 

[Alpha 1 Omega]

apc good stuf love the wort remover

 

[atothex]

Ohhh researching the basics of amps and USB DACs took me longer than researching headphones. Good luck!

 

[aphinity]

Quote:

Originally Posted by atothex /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ohhh researching the basics of amps and USB DACs took me longer than researching headphones. Good luck!

thanks man.

so what DAC + amp(s) did you have? what headphones are you using? i've got an old pair of mdr 700s whose swivel broke. im rocking mdr xd100s in the interim - lol.

(don't be jealous!)

 

[atothex]

I decided on a Pico DAC into Singlepower PPX3 w/ Slam adapters. I don't have the Pico, yet. =/

I'm not sure about your price range, but those 2 things cost me about $1100.

 

[aphinity]

I don't see myself making that heavy of an investment right now for an amp and another DAC.

maybe $250ish for the DAC.

still gotta do my homework in the amp realm as i've never owned one.

cheers atothex - sounds like you have a pretty robust sound system - lucky duck.

here's what i've got so far (i wish):

 

[atothex]

I'm no expert by any means. I should stop giving advice.... =) Again, good luck.