Best headphones for classical music
Jul 4, 2015 at 6:00 AM Post #47 of 176
I bought the A900X on the strength of a HiFi News review. They offer good dynamics and a wide soundstage, but lack midrange openness and detail. BTW, the stock pads are terrible. I replaced mine with A1000 pads.

Also, these cans don't appear to scale well with amplification. I have found that they will perform pretty close to their best on the end of a humble O2.
 
Jul 4, 2015 at 6:01 AM Post #49 of 176
They won't touch your ears, but they might slide down your head...
 
Jul 6, 2015 at 2:13 AM Post #51 of 176
Please make sure that you can get on with the AT self-adjusting headband / head pads. If you have a narrow head, the fit is not very secure.
 
Jul 6, 2015 at 8:19 AM Post #52 of 176
Actually I'm more leaning towards open-back headphones right now, after hearing the difference. With closed-back, I asked them to show me the best what they had under 200 euros, and it sounded almost identical to my Sennheiser in-ears. However, with open-back Grado or Audio Technica I almost felt like in a live concert. Emphasizing the word "almost" here, but the difference is still big enough to beat the downside of noise isolation.
 
Jul 6, 2015 at 10:40 AM Post #53 of 176
You should be able to get the DT880 at under EUR 200 these days.

I'm tempted, to add another high impedance can....
 
Jul 6, 2015 at 10:52 AM Post #54 of 176
I'm a Classical fan as well and do own Sennheiser HD650, AKG K701, Beyer DT770 and 880 plus Grado/Alessandro MS1.  If you are into Classical, stay away from Grado.  These are better suited for rock.  They have a V shaped EQ, short decay and compressed head-stage.  If you can afford it, the Beyers DT880, AKG K701 and the Sennheiser HD600 are good bets for Classical.  You need an amp though, and those amp needn't be expensive.  Check out the Fiio amps or the O2 and ODAC amps.
 
Finally, for Classical, it is better to go Open rather than Closed phones, again, due to sound-staging.  Open phones have a much wider soundstage.
 
Hope this helps.
 
Jul 8, 2015 at 3:13 AM Post #55 of 176
sionghchan said:
  I'm a Classical fan as well and do own Sennheiser HD650, AKG K701, Beyer DT770 and 880 plus Grado/Alessandro MS1.  If you are into Classical, stay away from Grado.  These are better suited for rock.  They have a V shaped EQ, short decay and compressed head-stage.  If you can afford it, the Beyers DT880, AKG K701 and the Sennheiser HD600 are good bets for Classical.  You need an amp though, and those amp needn't be expensive.  Check out the Fiio amps or the O2 and ODAC amps.
 
Finally, for Classical, it is better to go Open rather than Closed phones, again, due to sound-staging.  Open phones have a much wider soundstage.
 
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...


Really? The shop worker told me that they had the most *equal* sound range, that is, all frequencies are emphasized very similarly. It was my first time listening to high-end headphones, and I didn't really feel any emphasize on bass or treble, and the sound appeared very clear and detailed to me, I could hear every instrument... And everything you suggested basically doubles my budget :frowning2: They're at least 400 euros in this shop. I could afford DT770, though, but no money left for amp.
 
By the way, what do you think about Beyerdynamic DTX 910 or DT 990 PRO (for some reason they're 2 times cheaper than regular DT880)? I would go to the shop again, but I don't want them to think I'm just trolling them and not buying XD
 
Jul 8, 2015 at 3:37 AM Post #56 of 176
sionghchan said:
  I'm a Classical fan as well and do own Sennheiser HD650, AKG K701, Beyer DT770 and 880 plus Grado/Alessandro MS1.  If you are into Classical, stay away from Grado.  These are better suited for rock.  They have a V shaped EQ, short decay and compressed head-stage.  If you can afford it, the Beyers DT880, AKG K701 and the Sennheiser HD600 are good bets for Classical.  You need an amp though, and those amp needn't be expensive.  Check out the Fiio amps or the O2 and ODAC amps.
 
Finally, for Classical, it is better to go Open rather than Closed phones, again, due to sound-staging.  Open phones have a much wider soundstage.
 
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

 
Yes and no.
 
It's the DT 770 that has a very deep "V" shaped EQ.  Because of this, it is a poor choice for classical.
 
The SR Grado line (including its Alessandro cousins) are not "V" shaped.  There sound signature depends upon whether you are listening to the i/is or e versions.  However, none is bass heavy, although the i/is versions lean to the bright side.  It is correct that they are not the best choice for classical music.  They are designed for a "sitting on stage with the band" sound and the slam & smaller sound stage that goes with that.  The e versions have more present and extended bass.
 
I also agree that the Beyer DT880 and the Sennheiser HD600 are good bets for classical.  They have different sound signatures.  So you might prefer one over the other.
 
The AKG K701 is OK, but its treble it a bit too metallic & unnatural sounding and its bass is not as good as that of the other two.  The new K 7XX is a good choice from this family line.
 
Jul 8, 2015 at 8:16 AM Post #57 of 176
If you're not gona use amp it could be worth checking out Philips Fidelio X2 or the new HE-400S. Note that I have not heard either of them but they are probably the best headphones arround your bugdet with no amp requirement. Maybe they are not even suited for Classical but I just thought I'd let you know that those 2 exist.  
 
Jul 10, 2015 at 6:07 AM Post #58 of 176
pauliunas said:
Hi,
I'm looking for good quality over-the-ear headphones for listening to classical music. Right now I'm totally lost between all the different choices. For now, here's what I already know:
1. There are headphones that emphasize either bass or treble, but I need ones that actually sound good in the whole range of frequencies, because I want to hear every tiny detail of every instrument (I like symphonical orchestra kind of music)
2. Some headphones require extra amp to operate properly... I am not sure I want to buy ones that do, because I don't have an amp and that would mean extra money to spend. However, if I understand correctly, those that require an amp have higher impedance and thus make the sound more natural and minimize dissortion. I really want the sound to be crisp clear and as natural as possible, without any dissortion. This is still a hard decision for me, though.
3. Gread headphones require great money - and I don't think that I can afford real studio grade headphones, but I want to squeeze out as much as possible from the money I do have.

And here's a rough list of features I want in my headphones (I may as well have forgotten something):
1. VERY clear and natural sound
2. Good sound quality in all the frequencies, not only bass or treble (that can be customized a tiny bit with a software equalizer, right?)
3. Affordable: my current budget is about 300 dollars, but I might add some more if I really think it's worth it...
4. Sound quality is a definite must-have for me and I give all the priority to it, but it would also be great to have some portability, like folding the earcups so they can lay on my neck, or even better, folding it all into a small space so it can fit in somewhat small pouch. However, this is optional, as the most important feature for me is great sound quality
5. Comfortability - this is not a priority requirement either, but it's definitely a must - it shouldn't press on my ears or make me feel uncomfortable in any other way. I can sit there listening to my FLAC collection for hours, and I would not like it to make my ears hurt because of some crappy earcups

My friend recommends me to buy Sennheizer, but I'm not sure their high-end models are affordable enough for my budget... And also, I have noticed massive discounts on Amazon right now specifically for this kind of headphones, so you can offer something from a higher price range as well and I will try to find a discount for it.

Thank you very much in advance :)
Click to expand...



tail said:
NAD Viso HP50 should be exactly what you are searching for:

300$, no need for amp, they are pretty sensitive low impedance headphones, sound great straight from anything (laptop, smartphone etc.) 
Over the ear, big soundstage, very good for any genre, jazz and classical music in particular imo (because they don't have emphasized bass, just as you wanted it)
About portability, they aren't exactly the most portable but you get nice case to carry them and they are closed headphones after all, so certainly more portable than any open headphone (due to it's isolation). Check some reviews about them, most people said they are the best they've heard for the price (that isn't exactly low) including me.


Also about higher impedance headphones what you said:
"However, if I understand correctly, those that require an amp have higher impedance and thus make the sound more natural and minimize dissortion"
Not true, so don't even think about that. Some of the best headphones that exist (and some of the most expensive ones too) have very low impedance, which doesn't mean they're worse than some higher impedance ones. There are reasons and differences but it doesn't determine directly how natural it sounds of how much distortions it has. So if you are on budget (which you are at ~300$) I recommend searching for something with lower impedance (say ~32Ω) that are fairly sensitive (95-100+ dB SPL) so you get max out of them with portable sources and the sources you already have.

Also about DAC, while that is important most today's gear have very good built in DACs. So literally you can't get much better audibly than lets say an iPhone (there are technically better DACs that measure less noise for example, but good luck hearing that noise anyways), so don't bother so much about that, while it can be an improvement it won't make night and day difference, especially if you already have a decent source. Many fairy tales around how it will make everything more open bla bla, just get the good headphone, if it's harder to drive try to find better amp and DAC you need only if you have some really crappy source, but generally most today's are fine in my opinion (there were even countless tests where people couldn't distinguish simple 15$ sound card vs 1500$ DAC so...). 

Ofc this is just my opinion I guess, but be sure to check Viso HP50! 
Click to expand...


+1 on the NAD HP50. And PSB M4U 1 or 2, which IMHO is better than the HP50 for classical. Only headohones that made me appreciate classical music (CM). No emphasis in any frequency, whether bass, mids or treble. And sub-bass is there, very important IMO on CM. Around $300ish.
 
Jul 10, 2015 at 12:54 PM Post #59 of 176
diamondears said:
+1 on the NAD HP50. And PSB M4U 1 or 2, which IMHO is better than the HP50 for classical. Only headohones that made me appreciate classical music (CM). No emphasis in any frequency, whether bass, mids or treble. And sub-bass is there, very important IMO on CM. Around $300ish.
Click to expand...


Too bad most of the headphones listed in this thread are not available in my location :frowning2:
Here are the only 2 shops we have:
http://ausines.com/taxonomy/term/8 (open headphones)
http://ausines.com/taxonomy/term/7 (closed headphones)
http://vinylshop.lt/laisvalaikio-iranga/on-ear-ausines-1 ("leisure on-ear" headphones)
http://vinylshop.lt/dj-iranga/dj-ausines ("DJ" headphones)
http://vinylshop.lt/studio-iranga/studijines-ausines ("studio" headphones)
The prices are a bit expensive here, so I'll probably buy them from Amazon, but I still definitely have to try them before buying!
 
Jul 10, 2015 at 2:07 PM Post #60 of 176
Headphones strictly for Classical & Orchestral music, you want soundstage, soundstage, soundstage!
Open back head phones are a must as they always offer the best soundstage.
 
The best two headphone lines under $200 for soundstage flat out are:
 
Audio-Technica AD700 & AD900 (cheaper & no amp required).
 
AKG K701, 702, 7xx (any amp is recommended).
 
Both lines have very weak bass & will leak sound to people around you, but for classical, jazz & acoustics, they are tops.
The only other headphones that have better soundstage than them are ones priced in the $1,000 range.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top