[LazBro123]

Quote:

Hey guys,
 
Just one question: I'm pretty set about getting the HD600s, but I want a second opinion. I mainly listen to indie rock (The National, Arcade Fire, The Shins, and the like) with a bit of jazz and hip-hop. I like prominent mids, a large soundstage, and PRaT. I'm also generally looking for an open headphone, but I wouldn't mind a closed one if the soundstage is good and everything else is better than a open headphone. I'm looking to spend ~$250-300 and wasn't sure about what to buy. I've been down to:
 
Sennheiser HD600
AKG K550
Grado SR-225/325 or Alessando MS2
Hifiman HE-400
 
I'll be running them out of my Leckerton UHA-4 for now, but a Schiit Asgard is probably in the near future. I don't see myself upgrading amps beyond the Asgard or upgrading headphones in the near future (~5 years). I'm mainly worried about the sharp treble of the SR-325 and the drivability of the HE-400. The K550 seem to be a bit of a FOTM. The Sennheiser HD600 seems to be a step above everything else and I can get a decent price on the "For Sale" forums. Keep in mind that the music I listen to is relatively mellow (not like metal or anything) and I don't have an amp for a time being and would love to have some scalability.
 
Thanks!

All those are great, but check out the Ultrasone HFI 2400. They are really good. I owned them, but had to sell them because they were open.

 

[Fjantefot]

I am willing to spend 120 USD for a pair of headphones. I want them to be stylish and have a good sound.
I listen to 50s, 60s music, pop and old school rock. 
I have my eyes on Earpollution but maybe they suck? I do not know :S

 

[devhen]

Quote:

I am willing to spend 120 USD for a pair of headphones. I want them to be stylish and have a good sound.
I listen to 50s, 60s music, pop and old school rock. 
I have my eyes on Earpollution but maybe they suck? I do not know :S

 
I wonder if some Grados would do well for your genres. The SR60i is $80, SR80i is $100 and the Alessandro MS1i is $109. If you think these might suit you well, have a look through the Grado fan club thread or possibly ask in there.

 

[flashce]

How does the Sennheiser HD 598 compare to the HD 600?

 

[devhen]

Quote:

How does the Sennheiser HD 598 compare to the HD 600?

 
Hmm. There are a lot of people here that are more qualified to answer your question but my answer is.... they don't. The 600s are a big step up. My guess is that the 598s will have more bass and the 600s will be more neutral. Also, the 598s would be easier to drive.

 

[RED-404]

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Ok I need some new headphones $200 to $320 open-back and """"Durable""""
What I currently have 
 
Grado SR125 / Alessandro MS1i: Problem is I'm getting sick of recabling them every year and having to pop open the cans and clean the hair out of the drivers every 2 weeks
 
* Note I look like Gimli. "not an exaggeration"
 
Brainwavz HM5: I like the detachable cable but the plastic wishbone that holds the right can just broke do to the stress of my bigass head over the course of a year and I don't really like closed cans. Im still going to fix them.
 
Sennheiser PC 350:  Have you ever attempted to recable these and the sound is meh plus now I have a Blue Yeti mic.
 
Music: IDM, aggrotech, industrial, metal, rock, blues, southern rock, ambient, neo-classical, metro, classical, jazz, punk, ska, goth, glitch, and the list goes on. 
 
Gaming: ARMA 2, BF3, BF2, Cod4, CS you get the idea i like shooting things though I do play more Company of Heroes the shooters.
 
I do play at lans but still prefer open-back they seem easier on my ears and I like being able to hear what's going on around me both in and out of game.
 
What i was looking at
AKG Q 701 AKG K702 : I like the cable
Audio-Technica ATH-AD900
Beyerdynamic DT 880 250 ohm
 
Feel free to add to the list .
 
The headphones will be at my desk 95% of the time but will also be used most of the day. I also won't be the only one using this PC.

 
Quote:

razordogdeals2008 on ebay will typically accept an offer of $300 on the 600s. Use the Make An Offer feature. They are brand new w/ warranty and razordogdeals is an authorized dealer.

 
So after looking into the HD600 even at $300 and I do like them @300ohm i can't drive them. I have both a ibasso D7 sidewinder and a fiio e10 neither of which are up to the task.

 

[devhen]

Quote:

 
So after looking into the HD600 even at $300 and I do like them @300ohm i can't drive them. I have both a ibasso D7 sidewinder and a fiio e10 neither of which are up to the task.

 
Hmm. Are you sure? I'm pretty sure there are several people here that use the 600s with the e10. Obviously the e10 isn't ideal but its not impossible to drive the 600s with a portable amp. The D7 sidewinder is probably adequate as well. That isn't to say that you wouldn't eventually want to upgrade to a stronger amp. But I think straight up saying these amps aren't up to the task of driving the 600s is going just a tad too far. I was expecting the 600s to be quite difficult to drive but I did not find that to be the case.
 
Edit- Take my advice with a grain of salt because I haven't tried the e10 or d7 sidewinder myself. Ask around, there should be at least a few people who have experience running the 600s through the e10 and/or the d7 sidewinder. But you might be surprised. For example, even my Thinkpad laptop's built-in sound card drives the 600s fairly loud (not loud enough for me but close) and they sound pretty good. In my experience the 600s are less picky with low power outputs than most high-impedence phones are. For me, as long as I can power them to adequate volume they pretty much sound the same no matter what I plug them into.
 
Disclaimer: Thinkpads have better built-in sound cards than the huge majority of PC laptops that are out there.

 

[flashce]

Quote:

 
Hmm. There are a lot of people here that are more qualified to answer your question but my answer is.... they don't. The 600s are a big step up. My guess is that the 598s will have more bass and the 600s will be more neutral. Also, the 598s would be easier to drive.

My setup is just a PC.
Should I get the 600 or the 598?

 

[devhen]

Quote:

My setup is just a PC.
Should I get the 600 or the 598?

 
Definitely the 598 unless you plan on getting some kind of amplifier. Built-in PC sound cards are notoriously weak and just don't have what it takes to drive high-impedance headphones like the 600s. At 50 ohms the 598s would probably work OK though.

 

[RED-404]

Quote:

 
Hmm. Are you sure? I'm pretty sure there are several people here that use the 600s with the e10. Obviously the e10 isn't ideal but its not impossible to drive the 600s with a portable amp. The D7 sidewinder is probably adequate as well. That isn't to say that you wouldn't eventually want to upgrade to a stronger amp. But I think straight up saying these amps aren't up to the task of driving the 600s is going just a tad too far. I was expecting the 600s to be quite difficult to drive but I did not find that to be the case.
 
Edit- Take my advice with a grain of salt because I haven't tried the e10 or d7 sidewinder myself. Ask around, there should be at least a few people who have experience running the 600s through the e10 and/or the d7 sidewinder. But you might be surprised. For example, even my Thinkpad laptop's built-in sound card drives the 600s fairly loud and they sound pretty good. In my experience the 600s are less picky with low power outputs than most high-impedence phones are. For me, as long as I can power them to adequate volume they pretty much sound the same no matter what I plug them into.
 
Disclaimer: Thinkpads have better built-in sound cards than the huge majority of PC laptops that are out there.

 
Maybe I should have worded that differently it's not that they won't work I just don't think/feel they will work well. I don't what to risk it unless someone with experience with this combo or with similar dac/amp can chime in.
 
[size=medium]Granted I've never been one to crank up the volume very hi I care more about the detail than the volume and bass.[/size]
 
But all in all thanks for the advice and I still may get the HD600s I just have to figure out what bill I'm not going to pay if I need an amp.[size=medium] [/size]

 

[devhen]

Quote:

 
Maybe I should have worded that differently it's not that they won't work I just don't think/feel they will work well. I don't what to risk it unless someone with experience with this combo or with similar dac/amp can chime in.
 
[size=medium]Granted I've never been one to crank up the volume very hi I care more about the detail than the volume and bass.[/size]
 
But all in all thanks for the advice and I still may get the HD600s I just have to figure out what bill I'm not going to pay if I need an amp.[size=medium] [/size]

 
Try creating a new thread specifically asking whether the e10 and/or d7 are adequate for driving the 600s for someone who doesn't necessarily need to be cranking up the volume a whole lot. My guess is they will be adequate unless they are no more powerful than the sound card in my Thinkpad but I doubt that's the case. But be forewarned.. there will likely be people that tell you you should use a more powerful amp with the 600s but that doesn't mean portable amps won't work or won't provide adequate volume and detail.
 
Oh, and I should point out... the 600s don't have a ton of bass. If you listen to bass-heavy genres like r&b/rap/hip-hop they aren't the best choice IMO.
 
Good luck.

 

[flashce]

Quote:

 
Definitely the 598 unless you plan on getting some kind of amplifier. Built-in PC sound cards are notoriously weak and just don't have what it takes to drive high-impedance headphones like the 600s. At 50 ohms the 598s would probably work OK though.

So the 598 will actually sound better than the 600 without an amp? 

 

[devhen]

Quote:

So the 598 will actually sound better than the 600 without an amp? 

 
Um... the short answer is definitely yes. The 598s will sound pretty much the way they were designed to sound while the 600s won't. But there could be the odd listener who still prefers the 600 even though it would be much quieter than the 598 w/o an amp. In your case, without an amp, I would say definitely get the 598.
 
In other words.... I wouldn't say the 598s would categorically sound better than the 600s without an amp but they will get adequately loud while the 600s won't.

 

[flashce]

Quote:

 
Um... the short answer is definitely yes. The 598s will sound pretty much the way they were designed to sound while the 600s won't. But there could be the odd listener who still prefers the 600 even though it would be much quieter than the 598 w/o an amp. In your case, without an amp, I would say definitely get the 598.
 
In other words.... I wouldn't say the 598s would categorically sound better than the 600s without an amp but they will get adequately loud while the 600s won't.

Cool thanks.
 
I want really comfortable headphones that are analytical with a great soundstage. Is the 598 for me, would you suggest anything else for the price range?
 
How would the ATH-AD900 compare?

 

[devhen]

Cool thanks.

I want headphones that are analytical with a great soundstage. Is the 598 for me, would you suggest anything else for the price range?

Yeah I'd say the 598 is a pretty good choice. There are other people around here that will have other recommendations as well. Its pretty early, you might have to wait for them to wake up. I'm on late night/early morning duty as usual hahaha.