DT880 to what?
Dec 14, 2014 at 6:37 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 83

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Hi I'm wanting to buy new headphones and I'm coming from a Beyerdynamic DT880 600ohm paired with a matrix-m-stage amp and asus essence stx soundcard.
 
I'm wanting warmer/more fun and possibly more bass. These will be used for music(electronica/edm/epic) and gaming. Comfort is also a big factor.
 
Budget: $300-400
 
My list so far:
 
Sennheiser HD650
Hifiman HE-400
Hifiman HE-400i
AKG K712 Pro/AKG K702 Annie
Philips Fidelio X1 or X2
 
Any other suggestions, which should i choose? Thanks!
 
Dec 14, 2014 at 6:41 PM Post #2 of 83
  Hi I'm wanting to buy new headphones and I'm coming from a Beyerdynamic DT880 600ohm paired with a matrix-m-stage amp and asus essence stx soundcard.
 
I'm wanting warmer/more fun and possibly more bass. These will be used for music(electronica/edm/epic) and gaming. Comfort is also a big factor.
 
Budget: $300-400
 
My list so far:
 
Sennheiser HD650
Sennheiser HD600
Hifiman HE-400
Hifiman HE-400i
 
Any other suggestions, which should i choose? Thanks!

 
Anything Hifi stay away. Terrible cables, terrible pads and poor build quality.
 
Sennheiser 650 are very fun and enjoyable. You can listen to them for hours and forget you have them on. Slightly warm but very enjoyable.
 
Beyerdynamic 990 - Great detail, great bass and same comfort of the 880's. Can be fatiguing when you first listen to them.
 
Dec 14, 2014 at 7:24 PM Post #3 of 83
Can someone comment on the HD600 vs HD650?
 
Also are the HD700's worth the price premium?
 
Dec 14, 2014 at 7:28 PM Post #4 of 83
  Can someone comment on the HD600 vs HD650?
 
Also are the HD700's worth the price premium?

 
Only if you plan to listen to every genre out there and want a pair of headphones that doesn't lack in any area. But when you listen to music you really like its not going to fully shine like you want.
 
I personally haven't tried the 600 but heard its a less bassy/warm version of the 650. If anyone wants to chime in on the differences feel free too. 
 
Dec 14, 2014 at 7:38 PM Post #5 of 83
You may be able to get a good deal on the Hifiman HE500 now it's discontinued.  That would possibly be better than any of those yet mentioned.  I don't worry about the build quality of Hifiman products.  I've owned the HE400s for over 2 years and now have the HE560.  Yes, the cable mechanism is not great, but it's not a problem if you're not throwing them around everywhere.
 
Dec 14, 2014 at 7:44 PM Post #6 of 83
  You may be able to get a good deal on the Hifiman HE500 now it's discontinued.  That would possibly be better than any of those yet mentioned.  I don't worry about the build quality of Hifiman products.  I've owned the HE400s for over 2 years and now have the HE560.  Yes, the cable mechanism is not great, but it's not a problem if you're not throwing them around everywhere.

 
I bought a pair of Focus pads from hifi and they were glued together. Chinese knock companies don't even do that. When I owned the 300's within 2 days the ring around the mesh was falling off. I heard other's 400's and 560's and both had horrendous cables. If i moved in the slightest I would hear the microphonic noise. 
 
Dec 14, 2014 at 7:59 PM Post #7 of 83
 
  You may be able to get a good deal on the Hifiman HE500 now it's discontinued.  That would possibly be better than any of those yet mentioned.  I don't worry about the build quality of Hifiman products.  I've owned the HE400s for over 2 years and now have the HE560.  Yes, the cable mechanism is not great, but it's not a problem if you're not throwing them around everywhere.

 
I bought a pair of Focus pads from hifi and they were glued together. Chinese knock companies don't even do that. When I owned the 300's within 2 days the ring around the mesh was falling off. I heard other's 400's and 560's and both had horrendous cables. If i moved in the slightest I would hear the microphonic noise. 

I'm sorry to hear the issues you had with your HE300.  I had a cable break on me too with my HE400 but after a couple of years use.  Luckily, cables are detachable and replaceable.  I've never had any issues with the build quality of the HifiMan headphones I own.  In fact, they seem particularly sturdy and well put together to me, so I'm still going to recommend HifiMan as an option because they sound so amazing for the money and I personally don't believe the quality control is enough to steer this guy away from considering them.
 
Dec 14, 2014 at 8:48 PM Post #8 of 83
  I'm sorry to hear the issues you had with your HE300.  I had a cable break on me too with my HE400 but after a couple of years use.  Luckily, cables are detachable and replaceable.  I've never had any issues with the build quality of the HifiMan headphones I own.  In fact, they seem particularly sturdy and well put together to me, so I'm still going to recommend HifiMan as an option because they sound so amazing for the money and I personally don't believe the quality control is enough to steer this guy away from considering them.

 
And thats the wonderful thing about this site. Everyone comes here and expresses their viewpoint. Everyone can read the different viewpoints and from that draw their own conclusion. I do suspect my experiences with hifi are due to bad luck but with as much bad luck as I've been having I want to stay away from them. 
 
Dec 14, 2014 at 9:18 PM Post #9 of 83
Added AKG K712 Pro/AKG K702 Annie to the list.
 
Dec 15, 2014 at 4:25 AM Post #11 of 83
For a warmer sound, more fun, more bass -
 
I definitely recommend the (newly released) Sony MDR Z7.
(BTW I've had the DT880 250's for several years; still one of my
favorites).  The K712's won't give you the bass you want.
And IMO the HD650's aren't a significant enough jump
in SQ to bother. 
 
There are others worth a listen, of course, I just wanted
to suggest the Z7's and perhaps dissuade you from
the AKG's and Sennheiser's.
 
Cheers
 
Dec 15, 2014 at 4:53 AM Post #13 of 83
Can someone comment more on the AKG K712 Pro/AKG K702? They look really comfortable but I hear they're more analytical than fun.
 
Dec 15, 2014 at 1:24 PM Post #14 of 83
  Can someone comment more on the AKG K712 Pro/AKG K702? They look really comfortable but I hear they're more analytical than fun.

I owned the K702 a few weeks back and only kept them for a month.  I found them WAY too shrill and harsh in the treble, with a weird shoutiness to the midrange.  I wanted to enjoy them and burned them in for 100 hours too but in the end, I just couldn't bear them, they were well off in the upper frequencies to my ears.  They also had great bass extension but not much impact which again, drew emphasis to the top end .  I've heard the K712 doesn't suffer from these issues like the K702 and I would like to try them one day as I did love the openness, detail and soundstage of the K702.
 
Dec 15, 2014 at 9:08 PM Post #15 of 83
Philips Fidelio X1 or X2 added. Still don't know which to pick lol.. Leaning towards the Philips Fidelio X2 or AKG K712 Pro.
 

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