[GMRghost]

Hey Head-Fi-ers,

Being new to the audio world, my knowledge of equipment is very limited. I'm currently in need of some new headphones to replace my old Bose Quiet Comfort 2s. Browsing around, I've noticed a certain apathy for Bose and understand there are much better products out for cheaper. I'm looking to spend around $150-200 on a new set. I plan to use them for music, obviously, and gaming.

I won't really bring them outside. Something large and bulky would be fine if they produce good sound quality. I listen to rock music, so whatever would be good for that. Being comfortable is a must.

Are headphone amplifiers usually needed? Does it vary from set to set? What exactly do they do? What would be a good one for my price range?

Thanks a ton guys.

 

[logwed]

When you say "What would be a good [amp] for my price range?" does that mean that you would have another $150-200 set aside for an amp, or that you would be buying a headphone and amp for $200?

Things that jump off the top of my head would be the Grado SR225i ($200 - excellent for rock music, probably not that great for gaming) or the Audio Technica ATH-AD700 ($100 from amazon.com - better for gaming, not as good for rock music, complaints of weak bass in general0.

 

[GMRghost]

Eh, something reasonable for the amp. $60ish maybe?
Those Grados look awesome but I think I'm looking for Circumaural headphones (thanks Wikipedia.)

 

[debitsohn]

Maybe a used HD600? I havent heard it but im curious how it sounds since i love the hd650s. other than that... if you want new maybe hd595? anyway, look up sennheiser. i dont have much experience with anything else. good luck!

 

[GMRghost]

The Hd595s seem nice. What would be a nice amp for it?

 

[debitsohn]

HD595s can run without one but again my experience is limited. my littledot mkII is fun. whats your price range? i also tried: fiio e5 & e1, PA2v2, and i have a cmoy right now but its having issues. so it really depends on your price range. there are a lot of portable amps around 100$ that are suppose to be decent. of course these are all low end amps.