[mau5fan]

Hello world. Im brand new to the headphone scene, but have done a bit of reading before starting this post. I have decided i want some headphones, but have literally no prior experience with them. I do know what i need however. I listen to primarily house, progressive house, dance, and trance. Im in college right now and work late into the night, while my roomate goes to bed relativley early so i need headphones with a closed design. Also, im going to be buying some earbuds later for mobile use which means that these dont have to be portable at all, and if the headphones suggested to me are best with an amp,then so be it. If they  do need an amp,it would be great if you guys could also suggest an amp that would complement the headphones best. So im looking for closed headphones good with house and dance music (DJ headphones i guess?) that are definitely under $350, and an amp that is definitely under $250. Something with accurate yet strong bass would be best, but not at the cost of quality through the rest of the range. Im not rushing into buying anything yet so i have plenty of time to wait for everyone's responses and opinions. Also, as an aside,i know next to nothing, including the common jargon used in these forums, so being as obvious (read dumb) as possible helps me the most. Thanks for all the help guys.

 

[1Time]

Welcome to Head-Fi.
 
You will need a good source to put in front of your new amp and headphones. Assuming this will be from your computer, I suggest posting in the computer audio forum for help with determining your source - a sound card or USB DAC / amp. 
 
Here are two ways. 
1. sound card (or USB DAC / amp) headphone out connected to headphones
2. sound card (or USB DAC / amp) analog out connected to amp's analog in and amp's headphone out connected to headphones
 
FWIR...
I suggest considering the SRH750DJ - or for less sound leakage the HD25-1 II. For this music, I would want to try the SRH750DJ first. I suspect the D2000 or D5000 would leak more sound than would work for you.

 

[mau5fan]

First off, as an edit to my OP, i clearly know nothing. Second, how do the ultrasone HFI-780's compare to the Shure's? Again, thanks for the help.

 

[ShenaRingo326]

here's a good review on a few popular closed headphones in your price range
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/480354/closed-headphone-shoot-out-k271-vs-dt770-vs-d5000-vs-srh840
 
what will the source of your music be coming from? computer (onboard vs sound card), ipod, other? and what file formats are your music in? (lossy mp3/aac or loseless flac/alac or others?)

 

[mau5fan]

Shena, thanks for the link, that just what i was looking for in terms of deciding what to go with. So,I'm guessing ill definitely get the SHR 840's. My source of music will be my laptop (im not using a soundcard, so im assuming it would be onbaord, or do some, or all laptops come w/ internal soundcards that just aren't good enough?), and the file format are mp3's straight from itunes. It is to my understanding that i will need both a DAC and an amp to get decent quality out of my headphones? I did a little poking around and was wondering whether the HeadRoom Micro DAC and HeadRoom Micro Amp would be a good combo for me? If there are better DAC's and amps for around the same price, or less please let me know though (as i have quickly realized that i will have to almost double my original budget to get what Im looking for). But, idk. As i said before, I know virtually nothing, so anyone please feel free to school me.

 

[mau5fan]

Ok. just did a bit more looking around and started reading up on some DT-770's. Should I go for the Pro's or stick w/ the regulars? How do they compare to the SRH 840 and the HFI 780's? Is the dac & amp combo i suggested good for the price (and a good match for the phones) or is there better?

 

[maverickronin]

The micro DAC/amp combo is going a little overboard to start with, but it is quite good.  If you want something cheaper, and semi portable to use in the library or lounge or something the Total Bithead is a good choice.  If it doesn't have to be portable at all the Maverick D1 DAC amp combo is a decent choice.  The DAC is good and its stron enough to power whatever you throw at it, which the Bithead really isn't.  Most of the 'phones mentioned will work just fine with the bithead though.
 
Check this thread for info on the different DT770 versions.  I can also double up on the suggestion to avoid the D2000s because they leak music at higher volumes.  Some people don't have that problem, but you probably don't want to have to find out the hard way.

 

[eucariote]

DT770-600 ohm will probably be ok, but stay away from the 80 ohm pro.  Those are hard to listen to for any extended period due to a combination of ear thumping bass with little definition, sucked out mids and intense metallic highs.  It's true that the Denon headphones leak, but depending on how far & sensitive the other person is you might get away with them.  They're on par with the Shures with most things but their much-bigger soundstage makes them more involved and enjoyable for me.  For your budget, I'd consider D5000, SRH840 or DT770-600, an inexpensive dac (e.g. uDac) and an old but good stereo amplifier that will most likely work great and cost nearly nothing used.

 

[ShenaRingo326]

Quote:

... My source of music will be my laptop (im not using a soundcard, so im assuming it would be onbaord, or do some, or all laptops come w/ internal soundcards that just aren't good enough?), and the file format are mp3's straight from itunes...

Most laptops have onboard sound cards instead of dedicated sound cards, unless it's a gaming laptop with focus on 3d audio effects etc.. you should check and see if your laptop has digital output via optical toslink or coaxial.. if it doesn't, then you will have to look for a DAC or DAC/Amp combo that supports USB input
 
if your mp3's are 192 kbps or lower, you may consider getting the headphones first and see if they sound good directly out of the laptop's.. as a good dac/amp may reveal the lower sound quality of <192 kbps files.. causing you to want to re-rip all your music to lossless format

 

[mau5fan]

Ok.So Shure 840's and the Maverick Audio TubeMagic D1. A good starting setup everyone? Again, thank you all very much for the help.

 

[clou91]

If you're listening to electronic music you can't really do much better than Ultrasone IMO. The 780s are great headphones. A lot of their fans have moved on to the Pro 900, but I still liked the 780s more when I had both.

 

[mau5fan]

well, after reading this i think ill stick with the srh 840's :

Shure SRH 840 versus the Ultrasone HFI 780: My Journey.

Im not sure how to make a link so just copy & paste into the search bar if you want to read the review. That guy was routing his phones through a maverick tubemagic D1 and had quite an experience w/ the hfi 780's. from how he described it, i think the shr 840's are more of what im looking for.

 

[clou91]

His results were IMO a result of poor amping. The sound he describes is how I felt my 780s sounded out of my UDac-2 headphone out. They sound much smoother, more controlled, and more detailed with a better amp. I guess if you want to keep costs low you should go for the 840s. My 780 setup only cost me about $450 all in, but I got a great deal on an awesome amp.
 
Anyway, good luck with the Shures