[Hilariousguys]

Hey everyone!

It's that time again, the time when I'm looking for a new pair of headphones! So far, I'm kind of stuck on Beyerdynamic DT-990, or the Hifi-Man HE-300. I've heard lots of good things about the He-300's, and that I wouldn't necessarily need an amp for them to use with my iPod/Laptop. On the other hand, I want the best of the best, so if I got the Beyerdynamic's, I would want the 600Ohm version which would require serious amping(?). So here are some questions that I would love to have answered;

1) What actually IS the difference between the different impedance's of the 990's? The trebles, mids, lows? And what set is better?
2) What PORTABLE amp is the best to drive the 600 Ohm cans (If they were the ones I would get) My budget is roughly $400 (maybe a tid-bit more, for now, for the amp and headphones).
3) Are these 2 cans the best way to go? Any suggestions? (Types of music I like are down below)
4) Just a bonus question - What is a polarized headphone? (Noobie, sorry!).

So the ultimate question you're asking is, "What type of music do you like?!?!" And the answer is, almost everything; Dubstep/Techno (Deadmau5, Skrillex, etc), Rap (Eminem, etc), Rock (Marianas Trench, etc), Pop/Hip-hop (Usher, Pitbull, etc.), And Country (Lady Antabellum, etc). No Jazz or Classical stuff is about it. So what it boils down to is a great all-round headphone with a clear sound, and punchy bass. I hope I get a few reply's and suggestions for amps and headphones!

Just a few reminders - THE AMP HAS TO BE PORTABLE, since I'll be using the headphones with my iPod mostly. And MY BUDGET IS $400 (maybe a little more), AMP INCLUDED.

Thanks,
Ethan.

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
Best of the best? Not gonna happen.
 
What you actually want, based on your comments, is the Ultrasone Pro 900 with a PA2V2. There's your $400 budget. That's based on the music you mentioned you mostly listen to. It's completely portable.
 
Very best,

 

[Hilariousguys]

Quote:

Heya,
 
Best of the best? Not gonna happen.
 
What you actually want, based on your comments, is the Ultrasone Pro 900 with a PA2V2. There's your $400 budget. That's based on the music you mentioned you mostly listen to. It's completely portable
Very best,

 

Those are $550 cans? That's not my $400 price limit. Plus the price of the amplifier, which, by the way looks nice, thanks for that suggestion. I heard that the 900's are VERY bassy? I like my bass, but I don't like it to the point where the person next to me is shaking along with me

. A nice, not overpowering bass, but at the same time, nice crisp, clear, trebles and mids, get my point?

Thanks,
Ethan.

 

[Thommohawk]

Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO, choose a good portable solid state amp - PROFIT! 
 
Very punchy bass when required, never dominant when not supposed to be, always clear. Wide soundstage. All DT 990's are open backed though, so person next to you will be either jiving along with you or ready to kill you anyway! You'll be too busy in musical heaven to notice this though....
 
One word though, the DAC (or source) makes a huge difference on these headphones - as in makes them sound completely different despite keeping the same characteristics. For example, for me, with my DT 990 PRO the difference between being plugged into a tv out and my laptop out is night & day in favour of the laptop. So don't be afraid to experiment with different sources. Makes a huge difference with these.
 
Quote:

 

Those are $550 cans? That's not my $400 price limit. Plus the price of the amplifier, which, by the way looks nice, thanks for that suggestion. I heard that the 900's are VERY bassy? I like my bass, but I don't like it to the point where the person next to me is shaking along with me

. A nice, not overpowering bass, but at the same time, nice crisp, clear, trebles and mids, get my point?

Thanks,
Ethan.

 

 

[Hilariousguys]

Quote:

Beyerdynamic DT 990 PRO, choose a good portable solid state amp - PROFIT! 
 
Very punchy bass when required, never dominant when not supposed to be, always clear. Wide soundstage. All DT 990's are open backed though, so person next to you will be either jiving along with you or ready to kill you anyway! You'll be too busy in musical heaven to notice this though....
 
One word though, the DAC (or source) makes a huge difference on these headphones - as in makes them sound completely different despite keeping the same characteristics. For example, for me, with my DT 990 PRO the difference between being plugged into a tv out and my laptop out is night & day in favour of the laptop. So don't be afraid to experiment with different sources. Makes a huge difference with these.
 


 

Aren't the 990 pro's the OLD version of the 990's? Just something I heard, not sure if it is true. I also heard that the newer 990's are better than the older 990 pro's. Thanks for all the info, I'm learning a lot! Oh, and the open back-ed-ness, doesn't bother me all too much, don't headphones with open backs sound better than closed backs or something? The open back-ed-ness doesn't bother me all too much since I'm not going to be sitting right next to someone all that often.

Thanks,
Ethan.

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

Those are $550 cans? That's not my $400 price limit. Plus the price of the amplifier, which, by the way looks nice, thanks for that suggestion. I heard that the 900's are VERY bassy? I like my bass, but I don't like it to the point where the person next to me is shaking along with me

. A nice, not overpowering bass, but at the same time, nice crisp, clear, trebles and mids, get my point?

Thanks,
Ethan.

Ultrasone Pro 900 (new) for $350. Not $550.
(you can also get the PRO 900 used in the for-sale forum for about $300 if you look, there's two floating right now)
 
Yes, they're very bassy. They're basshead cans. No one is going to hear the bass. They're closed headphones, with a good sound stage. It will be very tight, good highs. Mids are a little recessed in all bassy headphones (even the DT990). I more than get your point, as I had all of these headphones.
 
If you get an open headphone, everyone will hear everything from you. It's that simple. So if you're going portable, get a closed headphone.
 
And if you want something bassy with no recessed mids, you're looking at a neutral headphone, not a bassy headphone. You selected a bunch of bassy headphones. Time to rethink what you actually want.
 
Also, high impedance is not best. You need to read up on what impedence/sensitivity is. It's far more based on the hardware feeding the headphone, than the headphone itself. In other words, you do not need a 600ohm headphone. At all.
 
Very best,
 

 

[Hilariousguys]

Quote:

Ultrasone Pro 900 (new) for $350. Not $550.
(you can also get the PRO 900 used in the for-sale forum for about $300 if you look, there's two floating right now)
 
Yes, they're very bassy. They're basshead cans. No one is going to hear the bass. They're closed headphones, with a good sound stage. It will be very tight, good highs. Mids are a little recessed in all bassy headphones (even the DT990). I more than get your point, as I had all of these headphones.
 
If you get an open headphone, everyone will hear everything from you. It's that simple. So if you're going portable, get a closed headphone.
 
And if you want something bassy with no recessed mids, you're looking at a neutral headphone, not a bassy headphone. You selected a bunch of bassy headphones. Time to rethink what you actually want.
 
Also, high impedance is not best. You need to read up on what impedence/sensitivity is. It's far more based on the hardware feeding the headphone, than the headphone itself. In other words, you do not need a 600ohm headphone. At all.
 
Very best,
 

Okay, I want to get 2 things straight;
1) I love bass, yes, no doubt about it, but I don't want to compromise any other factors of the sound quality for the extreme bassy-ness. So a little bit of bass will be fine, as long as the sound isn't completely flat (unless the headphones are very sensitive to EQ's). I heard Sennheiser's are almost too flat, if you know what I mean. They're no fun to listen to they're so flat.
2) The Ultrasone's are $550 on the manufacturers website, which, is where I'll be buying the headphones to (They are not available on the Canadian Amazon). No eBay stuff because there are too many fakes to chance it. Also, no used headphones, I want brand new, not to seem.... bratty or anything, but I do want brand new.
I will read into impendance, thanks, I just heard that the 600 Ohm 990's were a completely different beast compared to the 250/32 Ohm versions.

Thanks,
Ethan.
 

 

[koolkat]

Can't you order them from the US and ship it over to Canada yourself? Price on Amazon.ca is kinda
steep at CDN500. 
 
Malveau's had all those headphones, [he sold all of them and got the HE-500 iirc] so I would heed his advice
if I were you.
 
Imo, you sound like you want a fairly neutral headphone, or with enhanced bass. Neutral headphones are
bassy when intended. I suppose you could call them flat headphones. The flattest of headphones cost a
bomb though.
 
Good luck. 
 
 
 

 

[Hilariousguys]

Quote:

Can't you order them from the US and ship it over to Canada yourself? Price on Amazon.ca is kinda
steep at CDN500. 
 
Malveau's had all those headphones, [he sold all of them and got the HE-500 iirc] so I would heed his advice
if I were you.
 
Imo, you sound like you want a fairly neutral headphone, or with enhanced bass. Neutral headphones are
bassy when intended. I suppose you could call them flat headphones. The flattest of headphones cost a
bomb though.
 
Good luck. 
 
 
 

What would a super flat headphone be  (just out of curiosity)? Sennheisers maybe?
Yes, that is pretty much what I want, is a neutral headphone with enhanced bass. But in saying that, I have heard a lot of good things about the Ultrasone 900's... If I could get them cheap enough, they may be a contender.

Thanks,
Ethan.

 

[Hilariousguys]

Does anyone have any experience with the Hifiman he-4? They're a little over my limit but I may be able to pay the extra money if they're good cans... Like miniature He-5's if I'm correct?
 
Oh, and I know someone is going to say, "Go to a headphone shop close by, try some cans out and buy the best one." Well here is why I can't do just that;
1) I don't have any headphone shops close by (other than Bestbuy which really only has Beats by Dre on display).
2) Headphone places run the headphones through amps that change their sound so much, I want advice from people who have heard the genuine sound of the headphone.
3) If I go to a headphone shop, I'm limited to what music they choose to play through the headphones, which, is the music that plays best on the headphones (Eg, Hip-hop/rap to play through Beats by Dre, Acoustic to play through Bose, etc).

Thanks everyone,
Ethan.

 

[koolkat]

Not sure about the HE-4..
 
try asking in the HE-4 impressions thread
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/522157/hifiman-he-4-impressions-thread
 
The flattest of headphones would be the high end ones, I suppose, that's why they call it hi-fi/high fidelity.
 
Maybe LCD-2, HD800 or what Malveau's using now, the HE-500.
 
 
 
As for Sennheisers, I wouldn't call them flat. It depends on the type of headphones you're using. Not all
 
Sennheisers have a flat signature. My HD438 has enhanced bass but the HD448 has a more neutral sound.
 
Comparing the HD438s to the SR60is I just bought, it's safe to say that both phones have different sound signature.
 
 
 
So, it depends on the sound sig that you like. You'll get more answers in the HE-300/DT990/HE-4/HE-5 impression
 
or appreciation threads. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
Ok, a more neutral headphone, but with bass. That's a tall order in the mid-tier range of headphones. I know, because I bought them to find it and hear them, and well, nothing really did that. The PRO 900 likely is not for you if you want a neutral sound. It's a very bass centered headphone with recessed mids. Now some more info on language, a neutral headphone will not have extra bass, that defeats the point of being neutral. I think if you get a relatively neutral headphone with isolation, the bass will likely be sufficient for you while not losing mids. That's the biggest problem with bassy headphones, is that they nearly all lose their mids.
 
So let's find you a new headphone.
 
Do you need closed or open headphones? Ie, will you be walking outside with these headphones?
 
Very best,

 

[Hilariousguys]

Quote:

Heya,
 
Ok, a more neutral headphone, but with bass. That's a tall order in the mid-tier range of headphones. I know, because I bought them to find it and hear them, and well, nothing really did that. The PRO 900 likely is not for you if you want a neutral sound. It's a very bass centered headphone with recessed mids. Now some more info on language, a neutral headphone will not have extra bass, that defeats the point of being neutral. I think if you get a relatively neutral headphone with isolation, the bass will likely be sufficient for you while not losing mids. That's the biggest problem with bassy headphones, is that they nearly all lose their mids.
 
So let's find you a new headphone.
 
Do you need closed or open headphones? Ie, will you be walking outside with these headphones?
 
Very best,

First of all, thanks for all the help, second of all, how do the Pro 900's sound overall? What turned me away from them is that some people say that a pair of Sony extra bass headphones beat them in every aspect.
I'm really in between, I want bassy headphones, but don't want to compromise any other SQ aspect. So that, then, leads me to a neutral headphone and just bump up the bass in the EQ of my iPod/iTunes.

I may be walking outside with these cans, depends, really, on if they look dang ugly (just kidding) and if they're really heavy or not. Personally, if I'm walking outside with them (which won't be too often at all), I would rather an open headphone so I can hear my surroundings. Another reason I want open, is because I've never experienced  the sound of an open can, and people say that it's completely different from closed headphones.
The biggest question of all; How does the sound quality and sound stage get affected by the headphones being open versus being closed. What can is better, the Pro 900, or the Pro 2900? Does the open-ness of the 2900's take care of the recessed mids just a little? Does the bass get tamed down, or get increased? Anyone know?

Thanks,
Ethan
 

 

[Hilariousguys]

Quote:

Not sure about the HE-4..
 
try asking in the HE-4 impressions thread
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/522157/hifiman-he-4-impressions-thread
 
The flattest of headphones would be the high end ones, I suppose, that's why they call it hi-fi/high fidelity.
 
Maybe LCD-2, HD800 or what Malveau's using now, the HE-500.
 
 
 
As for Sennheisers, I wouldn't call them flat. It depends on the type of headphones you're using. Not all
 
Sennheisers have a flat signature. My HD438 has enhanced bass but the HD448 has a more neutral sound.
 
Comparing the HD438s to the SR60is I just bought, it's safe to say that both phones have different sound signature.
 
 
 
So, it depends on the sound sig that you like. You'll get more answers in the HE-300/DT990/HE-4/HE-5 impression
 
or appreciation threads. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

To be completely honest, I have no clue what sound signature I like yet because thus far, all I have been using for headphones has been Skullcandy and Aerial 7. I know, I know, laugh it up, but this is going to be my first 'real' headphone purchase and I want the cans to be mind-blowing. I don't know any audiophile language, I don't know what the heck a DAC is, I don't know how in the world I'm supposed to get 10000Kbps lossless music (speaking of which, what the heck is lossless?) and it's only been recently that I discovered that Bear-dynamic is spelled Beyer-dynamic. Any advice at all would be gratefully excepted and pondered on.

Thanks,
Ethan.

 

[Rawrbington]

yeah.  Im not even sure if its possible to have a bassy headphone that also has a full midrange.  I mean something really expensive probably has good bass and less recessed mids but in order to have certain frequencies forward other frequencies have to be in the back.  and usually with bass its the mids in teh rear and vice versa.
 
DAC is digital to analog converter and almost everything that makes sound has one.  but crappy ones are typical and good ones that sound very nice have to be purchased.  They seem to make more of a difference than the type of amp a lot of times.
 
My suggestion is if this is your first foray into the headphones just pick something.  Go with it, don't spend all your money at first.  Start with a 150 dollarish pair that is good to go without an amp.  and then determine what you like or don't like about it and move on.  A/T M50, shure 840, sennheiser hd 25, ultrasone hfi 750, maybe a 32 ohm Beyer DT 770(prob here is its harder to push than the others even at 32 ohms).