[gregvet]

I want a pair of closed cans for my iPhone.
I currently use Shure in ear 'phones for on the go and Audio technica AD700s for at home. My home listening is either direct from the iMac or via Apple TV and my Arcam AV9 receiver.
What I want is something that I can listen to on the train/plane or camping with the comfort and sound quality of the ATs but without the sound leakage.

I am not neccesarily after exactly the same sound signature as my current cans, I like to have different options and am still finding my feet with the audiophile thing, so am keen to try new sounds makes and styles.

Although I am planning to get an iBasso D10 in the not too distant future, and the Arcam has a pretty decent headphone output, I need something low impedance so that it can be run direct frmo the iphone also.

My budget is £100-200

The two main contenders I have currently looking at are the Audio Technica ESW9 (+ points portable, pretty, - points same make as current phones, may sound worse as smaller) and the Denon D2000 (+ points comfortable, different make, - points not so portable, possibly not so well driven by iPhone alone).

Anyway, which of the two would you go for if you were me, or are there any obvious alternatives that I have not considered. I did look at the Senn HD25s but cant find much about the sound quality/signature, and am not sure if they would be as good on the home rigs as the others. What do you think?

 

[Pagail118]

D2000 is really big for portable... They don't fold or anything, so it is up to you.

As for the iPhone being able to drive them, I can listen past 12 on my Zune ( out of 20 ). Beyond that it is really too loud. So you will be able to listen to your the D2000 even if you don't have an amp for now.

 

[yourstruly]

If you're set on full-size headphones for the plane and train, you might want to give noise-cancelling headphones a try. I fly all the time with my ath-anc7, and active noise cancelling works really well against engine noise.

However, anc7's are discontinued now, which is a shame because they are amazing for noise-cancelling phones, so the next best thing would be the JVC HA-NC250.

 

[earthpeople]

I see people recommend the AT noise canceling phones, but I've never seen anyone recommend the Denon active noise canceling headphones. Is that because they sound bad?

Note; I'm not recommending them, I'm just curious why they're never mentioned.

 

[gregvet]

Sorry guys, I don't think I made it very clear in my post. While my excuse for buying these is travelling etc when they will be run from the iPhone, realistically they will be used far more at home from the receiver and/or iMac. So noise cancelling is not a massive priority. For the same money I have to assume that cans without noise cancellation will sound better, and this is the top priority!

Keep the suggestions coming though

 

[peanuthead]

iPhone will drive D2000 surprisingly well, but the cable is really thick and not very flexible enough for portable use.

 

[The Uam]

Denons are not portable, go with Audio Technica. The ES-7's or the ATH-M50's will do nicely!

 

[mbd2884]

Quote:

Originally Posted by squid+ /img/forum/go_quote.gif I see people recommend the AT noise canceling phones, but I've never seen anyone recommend the Denon active noise canceling headphones. Is that because they sound bad? Note; I'm not recommending them, I'm just curious why they're never mentioned.

Genshiken is definitely one of my favorite Anime!

 

[K_19]

Assuming that you are running the iphone unamped, and depending on your taste, you may find the traditional ipod's flat response not providing enough bass for your liking. For that reason I'd probably suggest the Denons more... D1001 with markl mod and recabling will get surprisingly close the D2000 from what I hear, and D1001 run very well unamped so I'd suggest that.

 

[yourstruly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by squid+ /img/forum/go_quote.gif I see people recommend the AT noise canceling phones, but I've never seen anyone recommend the Denon active noise canceling headphones. Is that because they sound bad? Note; I'm not recommending them, I'm just curious why they're never mentioned.

Nobody should recommend the AT's anymore at $199.

I haven't heard the denons, but I can recommend the ES7's if you're going to use them for portable use. They sound good for their price, and plus the es7's are the only full-size headphones I would ever consider wearing outside.

 

[earthpeople]

Quote:

Originally Posted by yourstruly /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nobody should recommend the AT's anymore at $199. I haven't heard the denons, but I can recommend the ES7's if you're going to use them for portable use. They sound good for their price, and plus the es7's are the only full-size headphones I would ever consider wearing outside.

Which is another reason why I don't understand why the Denons aren't recommended for active noise cancelling. Those are like $140 on Amazon. Maybe they just don't sound good. Haven't heard them myself.
sorry to go off topic, gregvet

I also recommend the ES7s though. They are nice looking, pretty comfortable after some slight bending, and they sound great to my ears.

 

[jonathanjong]

I carry my D2000s around in a headphone bag I got off eBay, so that takes care of the portability issue. However, I really do think that D2000 needs amping. Needs in a moderately strong sense, too. It's not that they sound bad unamped, but they don't sound like $200 closed circumaurals. If you're getting them for $140 though, that's sweet. Also, since you're plugging them into a home rig more often than not, then hey that's better still.

Caveat: You want a warm amp. The one negative thing I have to say about D2000, SQ-wise - is that it has a sibilance problem. My 2Move takes care of this most of the time, but right now, I'n cringing while listening to Adele.

 

[gregvet]

Interesting you guys all advise the AT ES7s over the ESW9s. Why is this? There is not that much between them, and I have always fancied a pair of woodies!

If I get the Denon it will likely be second hand, so I may well get it anyway as an experiment-if I like it great, if not i can sell it for similar to what I paid. Win win if you ask me! I have a sneaking suspicion the ATs (7s or 9s) are going to be more my thing though.

No one has any comparisons to the Sennheisers HD25sthen?

 

[Overheat]

jonathanjong and Skylab should both be able to tell you a thing or two about HD25s and ESW9s as I believe their big fans of the two!

 

[unlimited]

i would say Audio Technica..