[Yero]

Hello!
 
First post 

 
I love listening to music. I am also an Architecture student and we spend a lot of time in studio at school (sometimes pulling all-nighters), listening to a lot of music, and working on our models. I’ve been wanting a decent-quality set-up for a while and I think it is time to stop wanting and invest!
 
Just keep in mind that I am very new to all of this. Never owned decent-quality full-size headphones. Spec and tech terms that I am using below are still new to me. Joining head-fi community is a last stage of my research =)
 
My Situation:

Spoiler: Warning%3A%20Spoiler!

Output: Mainly listening to Hip-Hop, so it is all about the bass. I do also listen to Rock, Electronic, and Instrumental music. I do game and watch a lot of movies/videos as well.
 
Quality: Most tracks are 320kpbs MP3. Thinking going lossless, but that’s later on.
 
Devices: Using MacBook Pro (2011) and iPhone 4 equally.
 
Closed vs Open: Still undecided, but leaning towards closed headphones over open for 3 reasons:
1) Isolation from outside
2) Less sound leakage
3) Bass
(questions on this topic below)
 
Headphones: After a long research, articles, lots of youtube videos + visual/coolness factor I am only looking at the following series (more questions on them below):
Beyerdynamic DT770 250Ohm or DT880 250Ohm (now only two because I am not considering the 600 Ohm versions since I am only using a portable amplifier.
 
OEM: Undecided. I know it is important, so questions on it below...
 
AMP/DAC: Only looking to get one of these: Fiio E17 vs E7 vs E11. Plan is to only get one, but use it for iPhone 4, MacBook Pro, car AUX(?). More on it below.
 
Mods: Possibly in the future. Most likely I will mod the cable. Cutting through headphone cables while working on models is a common issue for Architecture students, so I will most likely do a mod that will allow me to plug cable into headphones + I want a shorter cable then the one coming with Beyerdynamic DTs (3 meters is too long). Budget is $50. I might do can out of wood with brushed metal accents in a year or two, but I’ll have to research more on that later on. Never done anything like this, but Architecture students can get pretty crafty + we got all the wood/meal working and hardware tools provided by the school.
 

My Questions (I'll keep updating this portion with new questions if I have them and deleting questions that were answered):

Spoiler: Warning%3A%20Spoiler!

1. I know that closed headphones supposedly give better isolation (not confusing with noise cancelation), less sound leakage, and better basses. On the other hand open headphones can produce a more natural mids and highs. Yet I value isolation, leakage, and especially bass the most. My question is how much more is the difference between the two and is it something an unexperienced listener can notice when comparing two types of headphones, or is it a something an experienced audiophile can notice?
 
2. If I were to end up getting higher Ohm (like 600/800Ohm) version of Beyerdynamic DT 770/880 would it be a noticeable audio-quality loss, if I were to (lets say) forget my amp at home and plug them directly into iPhone 4? ...
 
3. ... Would 250Ohm be a better choice to fit the both situations (iPhone 4 with and without an AMP/DAC)? ...
 
4. ... Speaking of volume levels, would 250Ohm headphones play at least as loud as the apple headphones would on an iPhone 4 or they won’t have enough power to do it?
 
5. Do higher Ohms headphones tend to drain more battery and if yes then how significant is it?
 
6. Portable AMP via AUX in a car??? I know the DAC part won’t work without a USB connection, but would it increase the volume and bass if I were to use one of those portable AMPs (FiiO E17 / E7 / E11) when listening to iPhone 4 via AUX in the car?
 
7. How much would a DAC improve music-quality when using with a MacBook Pro? I am asking because if it isn’t that much of the difference I would go with the E11 for the price, but especially because I fricking love that it has a physical knob and switches instead of monitor and buttons. It also is a lot lighter, smaller, and thinner. Dimensions/weight do matter because I will be carrying it with an iPhone 4 in my pocket, but this is kinda secondary. Yet music quality is superior out of these three, so does DAC improve music that much more that I should consider getting E7 or E17 (instead of E11) to be used on laptop?
 
8. Now that you know everything about my situation, music type, bass priority, ..., ..., ..., which one of these two headphones would you suggest?
Beyerdynamic DT770 250Ohm or DT880 250Ohm
 
9. As far as I know Apple iTouch can only put out 32 Ohms via 3.5 mm connection. Is it the same number with an iPhone 4?
 
10. How much does an iPhone put out when connecting it with a dock connection?
 
11. I also wonder how much can a MacBook Pro put out with it's 3.5 mm connection?

 
Any help/suggestions/opinions is GREATLY appreciated. Is there anything else I need to know on the topics?

Spoiler: Warning%3A%20Spoiler!

and who knows, maybe if you don't listen to this now you will never get a chance to listen to finest Russian Rap again.
 
(2:25) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-ok3gi6N1k
(3:31) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQfuG8jnHOs&hd=1

Thanks,
Yero

 

[PurpleAngel]

If you went for headphones like the Denon AH-D2000 (which are only 25-Ohm and easy to drive)
you would not need to get an external add-on headphone amplifier as most apple products come with decent support for audio quality.

 

[Yero]

Well I am only interested in headphones that I listed in post #1. I've also added questions question # 9, 10, and 11 based on your reply.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Well I am only interested in headphones that I listed in post #1. I've also added questions question # 9, 10, and 11 based on your reply.

Unless your willing to buy an AC powered headphone amplifier, getting 600-Ohm headphone may not be the wisest choice.
Apple products seem to come with decent audio support (DACs) and the iPhone can not use the DAC feature of the Fiio E7 or E17.
(The iPhone can still use the amplifier part of the E7 or E17)
So to me the Fiio E11 portable headphone amplifier ($65) might be a good choice.
On eBay, for around $13, for use with the E11,  you can get two spare batteries (BL-5B) and a simple AC battery recharger.
These batteries are made and shipped from China, they may not hold a charge for as long as they are rated (mA)
But for the price they are still a good value.
 
So the Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80-ohm and 250-Ohm and DT880 Pro 250-Ohm choices are left.
Closed headphone might bother your ears after hours of long use.
So I vote for the Beyer DT880 pro 250-Ohm,
The Fiio's can not get 250-ohm headphones super loud.
But as you going to wear them for hours on end, I do not think you want to blast your ears anyway
 
Down the line Fiio will be coming out with the E12, which I guess will be an E11 on steroids.

 

[Yero]

Any clue one when is E12 coming out and how much is it going to cost? I tried researching it and only found that it could be around $200. If it is so, then I think I will be much better of with E11.
 
I usually listen to music for not longer then 1 hour. I also never put it on 100% volume unless I am in studio and it is noisy. I am sure I won't do it with full-scale headphones because they give more isolation.
 
I read negative reviews on DT 770 80 Ohms. People say they are good headphones, but compared to the price and the 250 Ohms version they don't unveil their full potential as much as they should be, so should be considered overpriced for what they are? Or was it DT 880 80 Ohm? Anyways, I am guessing most optimal in my case would be 250 Ohms since I am planning on using an amp at least half of the time I am listening to music? I am left with DT770 250Ohm or DT880 250Ohm.
 
DT880 is very tempting because they look damn sexy. Much more of a professional look and sturdier feel because of metal parts. 
 
The only things that still keep me away from getting DT 880 250 Ohm over DT 770 250 Ohm is the isolation, leakage, and the BASS. Did you or anyone try both of these headphones and is there a significant difference between them? I mean do you get much less isolation and much more sound leaks out, and there is less bass and things like that? I also wonder if I can make up for it with the bass settings on the FiiO amp. On the other hand I still keep wondering if I were to get the closed 770 headphones and use the bass from the FiiO 

 
 
 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

 
Any clue one when is E12 coming out and how much is it going to cost? I tried researching it and only found that it could be around $200. If it is so, then I think I will be much better of with E11.
 
I usually listen to music for not longer then 1 hour. I also never put it on 100% volume unless I am in studio and it is noisy. I am sure I won't do it with full-scale headphones because they give more isolation.
 
I read negative reviews on DT 770 80 Ohms. People say they are good headphones, but compared to the price and the 250 Ohms version they don't unveil their full potential as much as they should be, so should be considered overpriced for what they are? So I guess I am left with DT770 250Ohm or DT880 250Ohm.
 
DT880 is very tempting because they look damn sexy. Much more of a professional look and sturdier feel because of metal parts. 
 
The only things that still keep me away from getting DT 880 250 Ohm over DT 770 250 Ohm is the isolation, leakage, and the BASS. Did you or anyone try both of these headphones and is there a significant difference between them? I mean do you get much less isolation and much more sound leaks out, and there is less bass and things like that? I also wonder if I can make up for it with the bass settings on the FiiO amp. On the other hand I still keep wondering if I were to get the closed 770 headphones and use the bass from the FiiO 

I would be really surprised if the Fiio E12 is $200, the E17 has way more features and is selling for $150.
I would be surprised if the E12 broke $100 (guess?).
I own the DT770 Pro 80-Ohm and 250-Ohm, but my DT880 Pro 250-Ohm will not arrive for a few days.
So it's hard for me to tell the real differences.
If it's noisy in the studio, might as well get the DT770 Pro 250-Ohm.
DT880s let all the outside noise in.

 

[Yero]

Thanks for a replying again.
 
Any clue on when E12 could be out?
 
Nice. Can you check back when you get the headphones? If the basses don't lack that much, I would get them.
Also I forgot to mention that they are not completely open headphones. I think they are considered semi-open, so that is why I am wondering if it still might be acceptable.
 
Speaking of the mod I was planning for future. If I were to take DT 880 and replace the "open" part with wood, wouldn't that make the closed and add to isolation? Something like these:
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg190/scaled.php?server=190&filename=kanenkm880.jpg&res=landing
Or is there something specific when in the headphone when they say isolation (like some kind of foam on the interior walls of the headphone?

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Any clue on when E12 could be out?
 
Nice. Can you check back when you get the headphones? If the basses don't lack that much, I would get them.
Also I forgot to mention that they are not completely open headphones. I think they are considered semi-open, so that is why I am wondering if it still might be acceptable.
 
Speaking of the mod I was planning for future. If I were to take DT 880 and replace the "open" part with wood, wouldn't that make the closed and add to isolation? Something like these:
http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg190/scaled.php?server=190&filename=kanenkm880.jpg&res=landing
Or is there something specific when in the headphone when they say isolation (like some kind of foam on the interior walls of the headphone?

They have only released rough designs on the E12,
talk is it will come with 6 AAA Lithium rechargeable batteries.
I'm hopeful it come with a docking station for recharging (while in use).
 
The DT880 are "open" headphones, they just call them semi-open because the DT990 is even more open (Super open?).
I'm guessing Beyerdynamic designed (tuned) the audio for the amount of "openness" DT880 has.
Closing them would more likely make them poorer sounding.
 
If you do not mind hearing the "noise" inside the studio, get the DT880.