[DwightK]

I have a digital piano and a Sony SBC HP195 that desperately needs replacement. I already asked some opinions on a dedicated piano forum, but I guess your input could be a valuable addition as well.

I understand that reviews are based on usage with normal stuff such as Mp3, stereo etc. A good headphone can sound great but flat and thin at the same time when used with a digital piano.

I have put a lot of hours in setting up the following list of headphones that I want to choose from:

Grado SR60i
Sennheiser 595
AKG 601
Beyerdynamic DT 990

I hate my old Sony's. They are flat and have a very thin bass. So I expect a big improvement.

-Grado SR60i's- Great for rock, classical music etc. Ton's of admirers throughout the web. Shame for its on-ear design and uncomfortable headband. It needs to be comfortable because I will use it for extended periods of time.

-Sennheiser 595- Very comfortable. Lacks in bass.

-AKG- Nice full round, warm bass, but the headband slips from the head and can be uncomfortable at times. Would benefit from an amp.

-Beyerdynamic- Same as AKG. But probably misses out on the mids and treble. Is semi closed  a big difference to open?

I don't have the money for a good amp and I don't want to invest in one either, because it would be an overkill for my budget piano.

Any advice would be appreciated.
 

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 

 
Between the HD580's (neutral) and my DT990's (bassy), I really favor the DT990's when I play piano (and listen to piano). I always throw in the HD580 for comparisons because of it's neutrality to see if the color of the bassier headphone is something I really want to hear. I find the DT990 renders the oumph you feel from a real piano (bass that is very present in a piano when the key is struck, not just laid back at all unless you touch softly). The DT990 lets you take that bass powerful when you strike forte, versus light when you go softer. My Yamaha can actually push my DT990 600's to very decent volumes. You can always of course output to an amplifier then to your headphones if it's an issue. Otherwise, I suggest lower impedance headphones simply so that you have the option to go as loud as you please with less equipment requirement.
 
Very best,

 

[iancraig10]

I use a Clavinova and the Senn HD650 sounds really good from it. Good bass and not toppy so you get a strong, mellow sound.
 
Ian

 

[DwightK]

Thank you for the helpful input.
 
There are so many opinions. All very positive. It's a shame that I can't test them myself.

Would you recommend a semi open (Beyerdynamic) or open headphone (Sennheiser and Akg) for the use with a piano?

People tell me I need one with a flat response. Does this mean that the bass is also more neutral/modest?

A full, warm, rounded bass that's not muffled and distanced would be nice, good mids and a clear and mellow end would be great. Not too bright, stingy and thin.
 

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

Thank you for the helpful input.
 
There are so many opinions. All very positive. It's a shame that I can't test them myself.

Would you recommend a semi open (Beyerdynamic) or open headphone (Sennheiser and Akg) for the use with a piano?

People tell me I need one with a flat response. Does this mean that the bass is also more neutral/modest?

A full, warm, rounded bass that's not muffled and distanced would be nice, good mids and a clear and mellow end would be great. Not too bright, stingy and thin.
 

Heya,
 
Flat response is like `equal' response if that makes sense. Not colored towards any side of the spectrum. It's best for listening to exactly what something should sound like based on the recording. However, it doesn't actually mean it sounds more like what you hear in real life. So that's your call.
 
If you can, take a listen to some DT880 or DT990 32ohm headphones with some piano. Or possibly some Shure 940's.
 
Very best,
 

 

[gilency]

I use my DT880 Beyers with my Clavinova and really like them.
First time I did, thought the sound was coming from the speakers.
Another  question is, who has compared all above phones with their digital piano? 

 

[DwightK]

The only Dt990 I can find is a 2x250 Ohm's. I thought all the Dt990 would be pretty much the same without any difference in the Ohm's.

"Not colored towards any side of the spectrum." My current headphone has an almost unnoticeable bass. Can I call this uncolored as well? Or will a supposedly neutral Sennheiser 595 give it more bass?

And how do I know if my digital piano can drive a headphone? The Sennheiser has only 50 ohm's and the other go over 100 ohm's. It seems, unamped, that the Sennheiser 595 is my only option here, because the AKG and Beyerdynamics must have one?

 

[LugBug1]

I don't use a digital piano, but I do listen to a lot of piano music. I find my Grado RS1i's do a pretty good job at piano reproduction; very crisp and whole sounding; good timing. My 650's can slightly warm and muddle the low bass notes in clusters. Grado's are easy to drive from any source and they are very light.  

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

The only Dt990 I can find is a 2x250 Ohm's. I thought all the Dt990 would be pretty much the same without any difference in the Ohm's.

"Not colored towards any side of the spectrum." My current headphone has an almost unnoticeable bass. Can I call this uncolored as well? Or will a supposedly neutral Sennheiser 595 give it more bass?

And how do I know if my digital piano can drive a headphone? The Sennheiser has only 50 ohm's and the other go over 100 ohm's. It seems, unamped, that the Sennheiser 595 is my only option here, because the AKG and Beyerdynamics must have one?

Heya,
 
The DT990's have different sounds based on their impedance, it's not major, it's just a little different. The 600ohms for example are rated the bassiest by most.
 
If your current headphone is very bass light, near unnoticeable, I would say that if you're listening to something and it doesn't have bass presence when it should, it's colored away from bass. In which case, it's not uncolored, nor neutral. The Senny 598's will give more bass for sure if currently bass is not noticeable at all.
 
Your digital piano should have a manual or search for it's manual online. Find out what the output of the headphone jack is rated for. They usually simplify it to be able to drive most headphones. But again, my Yamaha drove my 600ohm Beyers to decent volumes for playing/listening on it's own. I imagine you can probably get away with near anything on most of these pianos, mine is not high end by any means.
 
Very best,
 

 

[gilency]

My DT880s are 250 and driven well by the Clavinova, which also has an equalizer but have not had the need to use it.

 

[DwightK]

http://support.casio.com/pdf/008/Web_PX130E1B.pdf

On page E-21 I found the following information;

Inputs/Outputs Phones jacks: Output impedance 3 Ω . Output voltage 1.5v (RMS) MAX.

What does this mean? Only 3 ohms?

 

[DwightK]

After reading tons of posts I have come to the conclusion that everyone has different opinions. I have seen several posts saying that the Senn 595 has more bass than the AKG and Beyer, but also countless posts that disagree. Some will say that the 595 is more mellow than the beyer and yet again some disagree. And the list goes on and on.

It's like there is no clear definition between the 595, 601 and dt990 because everyone has a different view on it.

 

[iancraig10]

Speaking very generally:
 
K601 quite even but for electric piano, may seem thin. (Mine Does)
DT990 has a 'u' shaped Frequency Response so nice bass and strong top too. I like it. (I have it as well)
HD 595 is again, quite even with less top than the K601 and bass is quite light.
HD650 for me is ideal. It has strong bass presence, so you don't feel the need to hammer the keys in the bass end and the trebl;e isn't too strident so you can play into headphones at 'realistic' piano volume.
 
You must get the volume right, or else it will affect the way that you play which is why I stick with HD650 or 600. Piano is not the same as listening to hi fi imo. You need to get a realistic volume or it can play havoc with your technique because you'll do weird things with the touch sensitivity at low volume in order to get more impact.
 
I'm a pro player and I use various Synths and Synclaviers and I'd personally use nothing less than an HD650. I also don't think Hi Fi people are as useful for electric piano headphones to be honest. They're guided by their headphone amps and CD player which don't sound quite the same as a piano!
 
The volume and tone will affect the way that you play quite a lot and you'll do it automatically if you are a good player. You tend to play into the sound that you want so for me, it's important to hear it kind of close to how it would come out live in order to stop me hitting the keys hard in order to get more dynamics. (If you see what I mean?) If you learn that technique via headphones, you'll play really harsh fortes on the piano in live stuff.
 
Ian

 

[Defiant00]

I use both my Grado SR80i and Shure 840s with my DP (Kawai MP10) and they both sound excellent.

 

[DwightK]

General consensus in this topic: AKG has a few disadvantages while using with a DP. It sounds thin and lacks bass.

I'm looking for a Beyerdynamic 30 ohm's, no luck yet. It seems they only sell the 2x250 ohm's over here.

Like I said; i would go for the HD 650 if it didn't need an amp. To be able to benefit from its sound I will need to spend three times as much. And I don't think the budget onboard sound of my DP is good enough to compliment the 650.

However, I found an old Sony “Digital delayed dolby prologic surround audio/video control center” with two old speakers. Is this considered an amp as well? Is there a chance I can hook it up to my digital piano?