[Narsil]

I recently decided that I'm going to buy my first pair of decent headphones and I have some questions that I was wondering if anyone could help me with. Keep in I'm new to the world of quality audio so I'm drawing on a rather small pool of personal knowledge.

I've decided that I would like to buy a set of open headphones, as I really only plan to use them at home so i won't really have to worry about background noise. After reading through various threads two headphones I've seen mentioned a lot that are in my price range are the HD650s and the K701s, I was wondering if anyone had any other suggestions for around the same price that I should consider. I listen to a lot of indie and folk/indie but also various alternative rock and jazz musicians as well as a small amount of electronica/intelligent dance.

Secondly I plan to use them for the most part with my macbook pro (I have a rather large FLAC library but very few hard recordings) but I've read I'm likely to get a poor sound quality from this source. I do have a receiver thats 2-3 years old that I imagine would be better suited to power the headphones than the integrated sound card on my macbook. So I was wondering what the best way would be to connect my laptop to the receiver. I know an amp and dac would optimal but unfortunately I'm gonna have to hold of on these for a while, I'm on a tight budget.

Any suggestions?

 

[crewchief]

Welcome to Head-Fi and sorry about your wallet.

As far as other choices you have the DT880's or perhaps a RS-2(used) or 325i new. Based on your listening preferances I would say the K701 or HD650 is your top competitors. I would actually suggest the K701, but that leaves the problem of amping. Although you can get "good" sound temporarly from your mac you will need an amp to get them to shine. I don't belive your reciever cuts it either as most people are talking about dedicated headphone amps when talking about amping. I am actully in the same boat as I do have the K701 but am currently running it unamped (I know sad but I will change that soon) and can say that they do sound good with Jazz and for me Ambient Dance music. I would though have no hesitations in investing what you can right now into the actuall pair of headphones and then in a month or whatever focus on your source.

 

[Dorito123]

I would recommend the Senn 650 from the two you have picked. The 701 is a nice set of cans but unless you have a VERY good amp then you will never hear how good they can sound. The 650 is similar but finding a good amp to match will be much easier and most likely cheaper, relatively speaking. I have both and I also feel the 650 is better suited for the range of music types you prefer. I want to make another suggestion as well. You will be using a laptop or a receiver for amping purposes (for now). Knowing this I would highly recommend something like the ATH-AD700 from Audio Technica because they are 32 ohm and will get plenty of power from your notebook or receiver, no amp necessary. You can add an amp later and it will improve the sound you get with the ATs but in the mean time you will be able to realize a larger percentage of their potential 70% where you will only be getting 20 or 30 percent out of the Senn's and AKG's. I can tell you from owning the 701s that the sound you get from a notebook or receiver with the 701s will sound like crap unless a good amp is used. I know Crewchief might disagree and he is a great guy but I still say the best tool for the job is one that works with your current equipment. If I haven't swayed you then consider the Senn's They have a more natural bass and will not highlight your lack of proper amplification as much as the 701s. I started with the 701s and I love them but since I got the 650s they don't get much use. This is why im looking at amps, so I can find one gutsy enough to drive the 701s. Good Luck and ask lots of questions.

ATH-AD900 - Google Product Search

Audio-Technica ATH-AD900 Open Air Dynamic Headphones | Wall Street Photo

Amazon.com: Audio-Technica ATH-AD1000 Open Air Dynamic Headphones: Electronics

Found the 900 ATs in your price range and they are 35 ohm!

Here is a post from a very informed person that might make some sense of what I am trying to say.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/dis...9/#post3367121

 

[esuko]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Narsil /img/forum/go_quote.gif I recently decided that I'm going to buy my first pair of decent headphones and I have some questions that I was wondering if anyone could help me with. Keep in I'm new to the world of quality audio so I'm drawing on a rather small pool of personal knowledge. I've decided that I would like to buy a set of open headphones, as I really only plan to use them at home so i won't really have to worry about background noise. After reading through various threads two headphones I've seen mentioned a lot that are in my price range are the HD650s and the K701s, I was wondering if anyone had any other suggestions for around the same price that I should consider. I listen to a lot of indie and folk/indie but also various alternative rock and jazz musicians as well as a small amount of electronica/intelligent dance. Secondly I plan to use them for the most part with my macbook pro (I have a rather large FLAC library but very few hard recordings) but I've read I'm likely to get a poor sound quality from this source. I do have a receiver thats 2-3 years old that I imagine would be better suited to power the headphones than the integrated sound card on my macbook. So I was wondering what the best way would be to connect my laptop to the receiver. I know an amp and dac would optimal but unfortunately I'm gonna have to hold of on these for a while, I'm on a tight budget. Any suggestions?

Hello

I think HD650 and K701 are a little too much at this point of your audio journey. They are realy the kind of headphones that need tweaking with the sound(amp, source&cabels).
You could try headphones that do not have so great requirements. I would recommend some easy phones that do not deviate their sound signature so much and can be driven easily from receiver.
Audio-Techica A900 and Sennheiser HD595.

Edit:

Totally forgot to say this: BUY USED!
This way you can go through many headphones loosing very little money doing so.
If you are on the marked for new ones, please audition as many you can.

 

[manofmathematics]

I suggest that you skip the receiver until you can afford a DAC, or the route of source/amp.

I also suggest that you look at a pair of Sennheiser HD600. They will perform fine powered by your macbook for now, and will also do well with a lot of your musical preferences.

 

[Dorito123]

600 or 650, really makes no difference without an amp.

 

[ken36]

Welcome to head-fi. You're in good hands.

 

[Narsil]

Thanks for the suggestions!

However, I would like to add that while I don't currently have the money for and amp and/or dac, that doesn't exclude them from a future purchase. That is to say I'm looking for headphones of the best quality in my price range regardless of my current setup, the receiver would be more of an inexpensive temporary fix.

~

 

[boomana]

The 650s and 701s definitely need good and well-matched amps to sound as they are respected for sounding. The 580s and 600s also need an amp, but do a bit better with a wider range of amps. The 650s are picker and can sound dark/veiled/slow improperly matched. The 701s need some serious power behind them or they can sound thin and almost etched.

There are some wonderful sounding headphones that aren't as demanding. You might want to check into Ultrasones or Denons for decent all-rounders. Although you stated closed, my new fav headphone is the ATH-ESW9. It's closed, comfy, and more of a portable, but the sq is impressive, though not quite up to the the HD600/650s. It doesn't require an amp to sound good, but improves subtly with one.

If you're set on the Senns, I'd try to pick up used 580s or, when I checked a couple months ago, you could get the 580s on ebay still and even refurbished ones on Sennheiser's website for under $200. An good starter amp could be a mini^3 for $125 (I would not recommend a portable amp for either the 650s or 701s). You could get a DIY guy to build you a dac down the line and you'd have a nice set-up for around $500 total.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I think the DT880 would be a good fit, if only because you like jazz and electronica. I think they pair better with those than the K-701 or HD-650. And yes, you will need an amp for any of these. If you're on a budget, I'd look around Tuner Information Center - Vintage Stereo Tuners and see if you can turn up a decent one on Craigslist or at a thrift store. Some of them drive headphones well and can be had for a song.

 

[intoflatlines]

Get a Grado. They are easy to drive and sound great out of any source. Of course, they benefit from amping and better sources, but the really do have a wonderful sound even out of a laptop or iPod.

 

[Joelc87]

I'd agree with the Grados perhaps 325i. Senns and AKGs need lots of power to really run. What exactly is your price limit for now, $400-500? If you must, order the AKG's from HeadRoom they're only $309 which would maybe leave some room for a cheap headphone amp to get you by until you can buy a bigger better one.

 

[Dorito123]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Narsil /img/forum/go_quote.gif I recently decided that I'm going to buy my first pair of decent headphones and I have some questions that I was wondering if anyone could help me with. Keep in I'm new to the world of quality audio so I'm drawing on a rather small pool of personal knowledge. I've decided that I would like to buy a set of open headphones, as I really only plan to use them at home so i won't really have to worry about background noise. After reading through various threads two headphones I've seen mentioned a lot that are in my price range are the HD650s and the K701s, I was wondering if anyone had any other suggestions for around the same price that I should consider. I listen to a lot of indie and folk/indie but also various alternative rock and jazz musicians as well as a small amount of electronica/intelligent dance. Secondly I plan to use them for the most part with my macbook pro (I have a rather large FLAC library but very few hard recordings) but I've read I'm likely to get a poor sound quality from this source. I do have a receiver thats 2-3 years old that I imagine would be better suited to power the headphones than the integrated sound card on my macbook. So I was wondering what the best way would be to connect my laptop to the receiver. I know an amp and dac would optimal but unfortunately I'm gonna have to hold of on these for a while, I'm on a tight budget. Any suggestions?

Quote:

Originally Posted by intoflatlines /img/forum/go_quote.gif Get a Grado. They are easy to drive and sound great out of any source. Of course, they benefit from amping and better sources, but the really do have a wonderful sound even out of a laptop or iPod.

Audio Technica?