[Stash Musial]

Im looking for some input on a closed back headphone to compliment my AD900s. A little background - I work in an office and share it with a co-worker every other week. So one week there's 2 of us and one week I have the office to myself. So I can use the AD900s, which I enjoy while he's gone, but I need something that doesn't have much sound leakage (Im not worried about isolation). Id also like something that sounds different  - read stronger bass (quality and quantity) and more fun. Price range 200-250.
 
My plan is to listen mainly to jazz, classical, blues and some rock with the AD900s and switch it up with hip/hop, dub, rock with the new closed cans. I've read reviews on the usual suspects - DT770, D2000, M50, Ultrasones, etc. Some reviews highlight sibilance in the Beyers and Denons which I cannot do - I had AD700s and had to return them in part because the sibilance was too much. Ive also read conflicting reports on the Denons leaking sound.
 
Ill be getting an amp to run whatever cans I get - likely an O2, but it would be nice if I didnt have to rely on it to get 80% out of them, in case I use them for movies or gaming at home. Ill also be running out spotify or MOG out of an iphone or laptop until i get a DAC, likely a fiio E17. I hope this is enough info and that I can get some quality feedback. Thanks in advance.

 

[MattTCG]

I would suggest the beyer dt 770 or the d2k. I have both and don't hear any of the silibance that some people refer to. These are both outstanding hp's.
 
GL!!

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

Im looking for some input on a closed back headphone to compliment my AD900s. A little background - I work in an office and share it with a co-worker every other week. So one week there's 2 of us and one week I have the office to myself. So I can use the AD900s, which I enjoy while he's gone, but I need something that doesn't have much sound leakage (Im not worried about isolation). Id also like something that sounds different  - read stronger bass (quality and quantity) and more fun. Price range 200-250.
 
My plan is to listen mainly to jazz, classical, blues and some rock with the AD900s and switch it up with hip/hop, dub, rock with the new closed cans. I've read reviews on the usual suspects - DT770, D2000, M50, Ultrasones, etc. Some reviews highlight sibilance in the Beyers and Denons which I cannot do - I had AD700s and had to return them in part because the sibilance was too much. Ive also read conflicting reports on the Denons leaking sound.
 
Ill be getting an amp to run whatever cans I get - likely an O2, but it would be nice if I didnt have to rely on it to get 80% out of them, in case I use them for movies or gaming at home. Ill also be running out spotify or MOG out of an iphone or laptop until i get a DAC, likely a fiio E17. I hope this is enough info and that I can get some quality feedback. Thanks in advance.

Denon D2000 for sure.
 
Very best,
 

 

[Darkblade48]

I am not sure how much the D2000s leak (since I live by myself), but they do not isolate that well, so I would imagine they would leak to some degree.
 
I also personally notice some sibilance with the D2000s, but it may be because I am too sensitive.

 

[dweaver]

Might want to check out the SRH-940. They have a similar level of bass, better mids, and a bright detailed treble that is not sibilant. They also have a decent soundstage for a closed headphone.

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

Might want to check out the SRH-940. They have a similar level of bass, better mids, and a bright detailed treble that is not sibilant. They also have a decent soundstage for a closed headphone.

He said:
 
 

and switch it up with hip/hop, dub, rock with the new closed cans.

 
I would seriously not recommend the SRH940 for anyone looking to listen to hip/hop or dub. 

 
Very best,

 

[fabio-fi]

I own the AD900's and the Ultrasones Pro750. 
 
They are a nice compliment. 

 

[Stash Musial]

@darkblade - have you listened to the AD700 and what is your setup for your D2000s?
 
@fabio-fi - hows the fit on your ultrasones? I have a big head - 7 5/8 cap size and ive heard they are not the most comfotables phones.
 
@malveaux - if i plan on possibly getting a second set of closed cans for work to go with whatver i get now, would you still recommend the D2K? or soemthing even more bassy like the DT770? Im thinking soemthing like the SRH840/akg 271 and D2000/DT770 might be a good combo down the road.
 
Thansk for the replies.

 

[Darkblade48]

I have, but it was only briefly, and I did not test out many songs, so I cannot tell you whether the sibilance that I hear in my D2000 are greater (or less) than the AD700.
 
For my D2000, I use a laptop playing FLAC through a Fiio E17 to my headphones.
Quote:

@darkblade - have you listened to the AD700 and what is your setup for your D2000s?
 

 

 

[dweaver]

Quote:

Might want to check out the SRH-940. They have a similar level of bass, better mids, and a bright detailed treble that is not sibilant. They also have a decent soundstage for a closed headphone.

He said:
 
 

and switch it up with hip/hop, dub, rock with the new closed cans.

 
I would seriously not recommend the SRH940 for anyone looking to listen to hip/hop or dub. 

 
Very best,

He also said he owns the AD900 and loves them so obviously is OK with what most people consider a bass light headphone. Since I have owned both and know they have a similar level of bass I thought he might be interested in a closed headphone with similar characteristics as his open headphones.

Otherwise based on those genres alone I would agree with you and would not have made my recommendation.

Just reread the OP's original post and I stand corrected

 

[Stash Musial]

@darkblade - how do they sound with the e17? is it powerful enough to use as a portable amp as well? Also, If I have a Dolby Headphone signal coming out of my Astro Mixamp, would I need to go from that to the e17 and what difference would it make? Im still learning about the DAC stuff. It uncompresses digital file correct? How would this effect a digital signal for gaming?

 

[Darkblade48]

Some differences I noticed with my D2000 when connected through the E17: bass is a bit tighter, mids are brought forward a touch, and sibilance is reduced a touch. I leave the gain at 0, and do not adjust the bass/treble/balance. I have a comfortable listening volume with the E17 set to a volume of 28 (maximum is 60; if I set it to 60 with the D2000, I would surely lose my hearing).
 
I would imagine the E17 is powerful enough to use as a portable amplifier, as that is what it was designed for. Of course, it depends on the headphones that you plan to use.
 
If you have an analog signal coming out already, you can connect to the E17 and use it as an amplifier only.
 
A DAC, in short, is a piece of electronic that processes digital data (stored as 0's and 1's) and converts them to an analog signal (i.e. sound) that we can hear. I'm not sure what you mean by how it might affect a signal for gaming; in games, the sounds are gotten from sound files (wav, mp3, etc). The DAC then takes this digital data, and converts it to sound we can hear.
 
If the game has low quality sound, then the amplifier/DAC will not magically improve the sound quality.
 
Quote:

@darkblade - how do they sound with the e17? is it powerful enough to use as a portable amp as well? Also, If I have a Dolby Headphone signal coming out of my Astro Mixamp, would I need to go from that to the e17 and what difference would it make? Im still learning about the DAC stuff. It uncompresses digital file correct? How would this effect a digital signal for gaming?

 

 

[Stash Musial]

i was asking more about the difference between going to something like dolby digital vs. dolby headphone. The mixamp converts the game audio to dolby headphone for 'surround sound' effect. Going back through a DAC id be mixing the signal again to go to analog. Does this effect positioning or detail?

 

[fabio-fi]

Quote:

 
@fabio-fi - hows the fit on your ultrasones? I have a big head - 7 5/8 cap size and ive heard they are not the most comfotables phones.

My head size is regular, they fit well. Can use them for more than 4 hours with no comfort issues. 
The problem lies on the headband, but there's always a solution.