[imahawki]

Just curious how badly I'd be mocked if I wanted to put together a decent rig but my source is likely to be an iPhone and my music is pretty much all going to be 256k AAC?  I have "simplified" my life and sold off both my stereo and my home theater.  I recently got a pair of AKG Q460s and really enjoy them.  I'd like to get a full-size set of cans for home and an amp that is easy to hook up to my iPhone.  But my CDs are all in storage, I'm not re-ripping them all to lossless any way, I don't own a CD player, and ultimately I wouldn't want my listening chair to be my computer chair any way.  So I'm looking for something that works with an iPhone as I said (and I'm willing to get an amp within reason from a cost perspective).

 

[Head Injury]

Most of my music is still MP3, but my FLAC collection is growing. Not because there's a difference in sound quality, because 95% of the time there isn't. I just want a lossless copy of what I own so I don't have to re-rip later.
 
256kbps AAC is plenty. You'll only hear a difference on the most demanding tracks, and you won't miss that difference when it's gone.

 

[Parall3l]

Lossless comforts me via placebo, thats all. My untrained ears can't tell the difference between a 128kbps mp3 to lossless (Then again, the track I used for the test wasn't that well recorded in the first place)  Exactly how much are you spending and what kind of music are you listening to ? 

 

[imahawki]

My music tastes are eclectic.  Not much classical but pop, rock, some rap an even some singer songwriter type of music.  My most recent purchases include Katy Perry, Black Eyed Peas, Daft Punk, Ellie Goulding, Ingrid Michaelson, Adele, James Blunt, The Black Keys, and even Stevie Wonder.
 
Budget is up in the air.  I probably won't make a purchase right away, I'm a research and mull it over kind of guy.  And I'm not sure how I'll set this up.  I can see wanting to be able to move the amp around to various locations in my house, so something semi-portable (but not necessarily battery powered) would be ideal.  My tastes in audio gear has always tended towards the warmer side.  I'd rather have warm but not muddy than bright/sibilant.  I can't stand bright.  And I like good bass but again, I'd rather have tight bass than more bass that's boomy.
 
If I could find a set of cans that DON'T need an amp I'd probably actually be happier.  I have a young family (3 girls) and need to be able to move from room to room ideally.

 

[Gwarmi]

Quote:

My music tastes are eclectic.  Not much classical but pop, rock, some rap an even some singer songwriter type of music.  My most recent purchases include Katy Perry, Black Eyed Peas, Daft Punk, Ellie Goulding, Ingrid Michaelson, Adele, James Blunt, The Black Keys, and even Stevie Wonder.
 
Budget is up in the air.  I probably won't make a purchase right away, I'm a research and mull it over kind of guy.  And I'm not sure how I'll set this up.  I can see wanting to be able to move the amp around to various locations in my house, so something semi-portable (but not necessarily battery powered) would be ideal.  My tastes in audio gear has always tended towards the warmer side.  I'd rather have warm but not muddy than bright/sibilant.  I can't stand bright.  And I like good bass but again, I'd rather have tight bass than more bass that's boomy.
 
If I could find a set of cans that DON'T need an amp I'd probably actually be happier.  I have a young family (3 girls) and need to be able to move from room to room ideally.

What you need is a good source of material like HDtracks.com, preferably Vinyl 24bit / 96Khz rips of all your favorites.
 
It's changed my collection entirely, the CD versions are more visceral and sharp while the Vinyl rips are sublime and lush.

 

[Happy Camper]

Better gear will make your music sound better. The vast majority of my material was ripped in 128k before finding this place. There is a difference if you A/B but if you can force yourself to let it go, you'll enjoy your music just fine.

 

[baka1969]

Pick up a Grado 225i and a Shure 940 and you'll be covered.

 

[leng jai]

Really? The difference between 128kbps and lossless is night and day to me, while 320kbps is indistinguishable. I've ripped my CDs to ALAC just for peace of mind, I can't really hear a difference.
 
Quote:

Lossless comforts me via placebo, thats all. My untrained ears can't tell the difference between a 128kbps mp3 to lossless (Then again, the track I used for the test wasn't that well recorded in the first place)  Exactly how much are you spending and what kind of music are you listening to ? 

 

 

[imahawki]

No offense but I'm looking for headphones, not advice on replacing my entire music collection.  I've been in this hobby for 15 years now (home theater and stereo side, not much in the headphone area specifically) and one thing I learned is that you need to listen to music you like, not music that is well recorded.  If they happen to be the same, great, but if not, its a lot of misery trying to make yourself like audiophile music.  I know because I've BEEN THERE.  I kept churning equipment, went to audio shows, tried tubes, separated my HT system from my stereo system, went into debt, and then realized I don't really like "audiophile music".
 
I did a quick search on HDtracks and none of my recent purchases came up.  I'm not interested in high quality digital files of music that I don't like.
 
Just to be clear in case I've misinterpreted your post, I don't find my current audio files sibilant through the right equipment.  They sound fine on my admittedly entry-level living room surround system and on the Q460s.  I've just had experience with the corner of hi-fi where extracting every last detail meant hyper-etched, bright, sibilant sound that was not pleasing and resulting in listening fatigue.

 

[HeatFan12]

Quote:

No offense but I'm looking for headphones, not advice on replacing my entire music collection.  I've been in this hobby for 15 years now (home theater and stereo side, not much in the headphone area specifically) and one thing I learned is that you need to listen to music you like, not music that is well recorded.  If they happen to be the same, great, but if not, its a lot of misery trying to make yourself like audiophile music.  I know because I've BEEN THERE.  I kept churning equipment, went to audio shows, tried tubes, separated my HT system from my stereo system, went into debt, and then realized I don't really like "audiophile music".
 
I did a quick search on HDtracks and none of my recent purchases came up.  I'm not interested in high quality digital files of music that I don't like.
 
Just to be clear in case I've misinterpreted your post, I don't find my current audio files sibilant through the right equipment.  They sound fine on my admittedly entry-level living room surround system and on the Q460s.  I've just had experience with the corner of hi-fi where extracting every last detail meant hyper-etched, bright, sibilant sound that was not pleasing and resulting in listening fatigue.

So, basically you are looking for headphones that sound good with lossy files and maybe an amp with your iPhone?
 

 

[Parall3l]

Quote:

My music tastes are eclectic.  Not much classical but pop, rock, some rap an even some singer songwriter type of music.  My most recent purchases include Katy Perry, Black Eyed Peas, Daft Punk, Ellie Goulding, Ingrid Michaelson, Adele, James Blunt, The Black Keys, and even Stevie Wonder.
 
  My tastes in audio gear has always tended towards the warmer side.  I'd rather have warm but not muddy than bright/sibilant.  I can't stand bright.  And I like good bass but again, I'd rather have tight bass than more bass that's boomy.
 

"Don't Stop The Party" by Black Eyed Peas definitely sounds eargasmic with a lot of bass. Seems to me that you should audition some basshead headphones.