[KG Jag]

Quote:

Quote:

I would say no, the Xonar U3 is only recommended for headphones up to 150 Ohms, it would drive the 32 and 80 ohm variants though

Hmm alright. Are there any differences between sound quality between the 250 ohms and the 80 ohms? And I've read that the Xonar U3 has a frequency response of 20 hz to 20.000 khz, does that mean that the bass lower than 20 hz will not be a heard on a headphone with good sub bass?

You should read this:
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/comparison-beyerdynamic-dt-880-32-ohm-dt-880-250-ohm-and-dt-880-600-ohm-headphones
 
For decades a lot of crap audio product has been rated 20 to 20,000.  The devil is in the details--for example +/- what.  In addition there are many other factors, such as signal to noise ratio.  I know nothing about your particular sound card.  I'm simply saying that its good to look behind the performance claims, especially (but certainly not only) of less expensive audio products.

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

Quote:

a majority of humans hear 20-20,000Hz, so the rest is quite useless unless you're one of the few. Depending on your age and your luck, it may be more or less. 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/513393/guide-sonic-differences-between-dt770-dt990-models-more the guide.

But what about headphones with serious sub bass, that can be heard even at 10hz, like the M Audio Q40?

If you want to discuss this, the sound science section of the forum is the place.

 

[szwety]

Well hello Head-Fiers!  I've been lurking these forums for the past couple years or so (Like 5... creepy I know) and finally decided to join up and ask some advice.  I've always liked the idea of high quality audio and have done my best to afford it with what limited budget I have available.  Recently however I found myself with some disposable income and would like to best invest it in my budding collection of audio gear.  Currently my setup includes the e07k DAC/AMP with my PC or using FiiO L9 LOD with my iphone and a pair of Senn HD280 pros with dynamat mod (I also have a pair of MDR-ZX100 LAWL).  Anywho, my predicament is where to go next.  I remember when I first bought these probably 4ish years ago, they were the best thing to happen to my ears in the history of sound!  Now I WANT MORE!!!  The HD's were an easy choice for me due to my limited $100 budget (well with a bit of a struggle between them and the AKG K240's) but going upwards the options are endless and SOOOO daunting.
 
Basically I need some advice on what to do next.  I've got my eyes set on the schiit magni and modi combo for my first REAL DAC and AMP and am entertaining a nice pair of open headphones as I have closed ones and would like to see what they are all about.
 
I've been looking at Grado, AKG and Sennheiser, AT, and HiFiMan.
 
Speciffically:
Grado: SR80i, SR125i, SR225i, SR325is
AKG: Q701's and AKG k702 (also thinking of buying a set of AKG k240 mkII's just to add to the collection)
Sennheiser: 598's, HD600/650
AT: ATH-AD700x/900x
HiFiMan: HE300/400
 
The caveats to my endeavor are this: 
1.  I'm fairly handy and will probably end up making my own cables and can do any necessary mods but would prefer not to. 
2.  I want to spend around $400-500 for the next stage of my upgrade.  So for most of those options I can get the headphones AND the schiitt combo at the same time, COOL!  But my fear is that I'm just going to be upgrading again so maybe buy the HE400's and use my current e07k until I can buy the schiitts...  Or just buy the Schiitt's and hold off on headphones or.....   GAHH!!!!  I'm all sorts of 'reviewed out' and need some personal advice on what I should do.

Thoughts?
 
Also:  Thanks in advance!

EDIT:  Also I was looking at this http://www.amazon.com/SainSmart-Assembled-Headphone-Amplifier-Transformer/dp/B008BGLN5G/ref=sr_1_2?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1368103155&sr=1-2 as a tube amp test... but I'm confused on what exactly it is... I thought it was just a tube amp, but the preamplifier in the title is throwing me off a bit.

 

[slytherin]

I need to know a great more about the sound signature you are seeking and what will be driving these cans.

We can can start with why you are attracted to this Sony can?

I really don,t know about the sound signature, and I am interes in this sony because I got told they were good and very very comfortable.I'll be using them without an amp and with an ipod iphone or mac

 

[dakanao]

Quote:

If you want to discuss this, the sound science section of the forum is the place.

No one is responding on my topic. There aren't many people in that section.

 

[Socrates138]

Hello I am actually looking to buy two new pieces of equipment.
 
Unfortunately I believe my HD 555's are starting to break down (I've had them for a long time now). For a while there's been this annoying rattling noise in them and it's getting worse. So I think I'm going to throw them out and get some new headphones to replace them.
 
I already have HD 598's that I'm happy with, but I want a second pair of headphones (which right now are my 555's) that I can use with my laptop.
 
I would prefer to spend only $100 dollars, however if spending more is worth it then I will. However I am not spending anymore than $200. I do not want to replace my HD 598's I just want to replace my 555's so I am not going to spend more than $200.
 
My question is obvious. Which headphones should I get? I know for a fact that I want open headphones, I don't want closed headphones. Perhaps I'm wrong about this and if so then my mind will change, but in my experience closed headphones don't have that "open feel" that you get with open headphones. With open headphones all the sounds don't feel crammed together into one single point, rather the sounds feel spread out. I like that sound a lot better and therefore if all closed headphones aren't able to get that spread out feeling that open headphones do, then I do not want closed headphones. These headphones will only be used inside of my house in my room (Just like my HD 598's and my 555's). So sound leakage is completely irrelevant and not an issue at all. Also I already have an amp (and as I will explain, I'm looking to buy a better amp anyways. So if a certain pair of headphones need an amp to sound good, then that's a total non-issue here).
 
So far the headphones I've looked at are:
Audio Technica AD700's
Grado SR80i's
Beyerdynamic DT 770 250 OHM Pro
Beyerdynamic DT 990 250 OHM Pro
(Just out of curiosity, I noticed with the Beyerdynamics that the 250 OHM headphones are a lot cheaper. Why is that? What exactly does OHM measure and what's it's significance?)
 
Also one more thing is I think I also want to buy a new amp. Right now I use a Fiio E7 and I adore it. It's plugged into my desktop computer and it really does improve sound quality dramatically for my HD 598's. I was wondering should I upgrade to a better amp? Would getting a better amp than the one I currently have improve the sound quality of my HD 598's dramatically? I only want to spend $100 on an amp. Which amp is the best out of the fiio's the E9, E17, or E07k? Which do you think is best to plug into a desktop computer?

 

[Shikarikato]

Quote:

The bass oriented cans (e.g. M50 and DT770) you are considering are bad for classical.  They have the wrong sound signature and a very small sound stage.  If you want a can that is good or even just decent for classical music, you need something more neutral and certainly a can that does not have recessed mids.  If you are not OK with an open can, then a good studio type can is probably your best choice if listening to classical music is important to you.

I can probably get away with open headphones I'll just mess with the gain of my mic. Are there any suggested pairs of headphones with a neutral sound?

 

[Thujone]

Quote:

(Just out of curiosity, I noticed with the Beyerdynamics that the 250 OHM headphones are a lot cheaper. Why is that? What exactly does OHM measure and what's it's significance?)

I know that the DT770 Pro 80 ohm version is more expensive (despite the cheaper MSRP) because of it's popularity. The ohm rating is known as impedance. Higher impedance (higher ohms) typically means that the headphone will be harder to drive. It's not a perfectly linear scale though. For example, I find that my DT770 Pro 80 ohm is almost as easy to drive as HD600's (300 ohm). I think this just has to do with different materials, different company, etc. I would expect that the difference between a DT770/80 vs DT770/250 is more significant. Now, most people say that typically a particular can should sound "approximately" identical regardless of what impedance rating you get. However, despite that, the DT770 in particular is said to have some very noticeable differences between the 80 ohm and the 250 ohm for example.
 
One thing to know is that higher impedance definitely does NOT mean better sound quality. While you may find this to be true, it's a matter of opinion and there is no evidence to suggest so. The main differences are driveablity. Since higher impedance phones require more drive (due to the extra 'resistance'), they are said to carry less noise and distortion, but that is almost negligible.

 

[Thujone]

Quote:

I can probably get away with open headphones I'll just mess with the gain of my mic. Are there any suggested pairs of headphones with a neutral sound?

If you want a bass heavy headphone without recessed mids, the M-Audio Q40 is a great choice.

 

[BigCabDaddy]

a majority of humans hear 20-20,000Hz, so the rest is quite useless unless you're one of the few. Depending on your age and your luck, it may be more or less. 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/513393/guide-sonic-differences-between-dt770-dt990-models-more the guide.

Most humans hear far less than that on the top end. 20k is more like a maximum. All this sub bass stuff makes me wonder too. I was taught that sub bass is felt more than heard... Like "sick building syndrome" is often sub bass rumble. It can make you feel queasy but not hear it.

 

[BigCabDaddy]

Well hello Head-Fiers!  I've been lurking these forums for the past couple years or so (Like 5... creepy I know) and finally decided to join up and ask some advice.  I've always liked the idea of high quality audio and have done my best to afford it with what limited budget I have available.  Recently however I found myself with some disposable income and would like to best invest it in my budding collection of audio gear.  Currently my setup includes the e07k DAC/AMP with my PC or using FiiO L9 LOD with my iphone and a pair of Senn HD280 pros with dynamat mod (I also have a pair of MDR-ZX100 LAWL).  Anywho, my predicament is where to go next.  I remember when I first bought these probably 4ish years ago, they were the best thing to happen to my ears in the history of sound!  Now I WANT MORE!!!  The HD's were an easy choice for me due to my limited $100 budget (well with a bit of a struggle between them and the AKG K240's) but going upwards the options are endless and SOOOO daunting.

Basically I need some advice on what to do next.  I've got my eyes set on the schiit magni and modi combo for my first REAL DAC and AMP and am entertaining a nice pair of open headphones as I have closed ones and would like to see what they are all about.

I've been looking at Grado, AKG and Sennheiser, AT, and HiFiMan.

Speciffically:
Grado: SR80i, SR125i, SR225i, SR325is
AKG: Q701's and AKG k702 (also thinking of buying a set of AKG k240 mkII's just to add to the collection)
Sennheiser: 598's, HD600/650
AT: ATH-AD700x/900x
HiFiMan: HE300/400

The caveats to my endeavor are this: 
1.  I'm fairly handy and will probably end up making my own cables and can do any necessary mods but would prefer not to. 
2.  I want to spend around $400-500 for the next stage of my upgrade.  So for most of those options I can get the headphones AND the schiitt combo at the same time, COOL!  But my fear is that I'm just going to be upgrading again so maybe buy the HE400's and use my current e07k until I can buy the schiitts...  Or just buy the Schiitt's and hold off on headphones or.....   GAHH!!!!  I'm all sorts of 'reviewed out' and need some personal advice on what I should do.


Thoughts?

Also:  Thanks in advance!


EDIT:  Also I was looking at this http://www.amazon.com/SainSmart-Assembled-Headphone-Amplifier-Transformer/dp/B008BGLN5G/ref=sr_1_2?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1368103155&sr=1-2

 as a tube amp test... but I'm confused on what exactly it is... I thought it was just a tube amp, but the preamplifier in the title is throwing me off a bit.

Since you reference several phones in my personal collection and since we seem to be at a similar place, I'm going to wade in here though I usually leave it to the "experts:"

First a word about methodology. I find an allure to electronic components almost as great as to headphones themselves. I'm talking about a visual thing. So I tend towards something similar to what you're doing... that is picking both at once. But I think what makes more sense is to pick and settle on a can and then find electronics to drive and complement it. That being said, I also have an affinity for vintage stuff so many of my setups eschew modern amps for a vintage amp/receiver leaving only the dac for consideration. Finally, I have real world financial considerations like many here I suspect. So for me, my budget constraint at the moment hovers around $500-$750 for dac, amp, phone which sounds similar to expanded budget. I'm trying to "settle" on gear within this range before bumping up to the next level. I also actually prefer used gear particularly with the used section here as a resource so that expands my quality expectations within that budget somewhat. One more thing: I'm beginning to doubt that I can restrict myself to only one can even though I want to keep my setup as simple as possible. I'm beginning to think three sets of open cans with one each for different listening is where I'll end up.

My opinions are based on personal experience with:

AD700/900x
HD598
HE400

So I'll mostly confine my comments to them. Consider any extraneous comments on a "for what it's worth" basis.

So here we go... I've tried to ditch the HD598 almost from the day I got it mostly on the basis of aesthetic. I love their look in pictures, but in real life, I find the plastic looks and feels somewhat cheap. I don't like that. Also, I don't find the HD598 outstanding in many respects. Yet I've concluded it is likely to stay with me until I bump up to the next tier of gear or extensively upgrade my source material. Why is that? Because of the headphones I've sampled, the HD598 tends to make EVERYTHING sound acceptable - good. I've got an extensive collection of mp3s at 128k where I long ago abandoned the original CDs. This also includes many vintage recording transcriptions as well as low sample rate ones.The HD598 is my go to can for those.

The AD700/900x are my go to for modern recordings that are highly sampled/lossless acoustic stuff be it horn driven jazz, orchestral, vocal, or folkish stuff. I love the way the ADs handle overtones plain and simple. Organic sound sources are all about overtones. I want to sample more phones in the AD line, but for now, the 700 has been superceded by the 900x in everything but the aesthetic department for me. I like the maroon/gold enough that I've debated a transplant of the 900x drivers. When I return to sanity, I see the AD700 being sold off as the 900x is even more open on the top end (overtones) and has better bass as well.

It's taken me awhile to come to terms with HE400. I honestly don't get it's universal appeal and can only ascribe it to lemming/mob mentality. Of the three, for my musical preferences, it is still the specialty headphone. I've modded them to a more general appeal for me, yet I still see them as best suited to electronic genres. Also, I find them the most amplification dependent. They definitely wilt when amped incorrectly. Anyway, their strength is lushness of sound if you tame the strident upper end tendencies somehow. The HE400 gives me enough of a taste of the planar/magnetic/ortho thing that I will eventually delve into it further but for me they are definitely not the stopping off point. For now they will stay in my arsenal as a "guilty pleasure" sort of thing primarily. That being said, as I'm writing this, I'm listening to Layay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers (lossless and 256VBR recordings) through the HE400 quite successfully so it can be done. But in order to get there I had to do a lot of pad fiddling and changing out of electronics. Let me throw in one uneducated opinion while talking about Hifiman products: I'd disregard the HE300 entirely because as I understand it, they are a dynamic can. For me, if I get into Hifiman, it's for the planar/magnetic/ortho experience. Lots of other choices for dynamic headphones including the others I'm discussing here.

Bottom line is this for me: AD900X as my goto for the bulk of my listening which is acoustic voice/instrumentation driven across numerous genres. HD598 are my goto salvage phone for my crappy source recordings. The HE400 is my goto for electronic genres where natural overtones were long ago obliterated. Were this more of my listening, the HE400 would be elevated, but since it's a minor portion of my listening, they would be the one I'd let go of first in a pinch. Unfortunately they are also my most expensive can so things are a little topsy turvy that way for me right now.

 

[BigCabDaddy]

Hello I am actually looking to buy two new pieces of equipment.

Unfortunately I believe my HD 555's are starting to break down (I've had them for a long time now). For a while there's been this annoying rattling noise in them and it's getting worse. So I think I'm going to throw them out and get some new headphones to replace them.

I already have HD 598's that I'm happy with, but I want a second pair of headphones (which right now are my 555's) that I can use with my laptop.

I would prefer to spend only $100 dollars, however if spending more is worth it then I will. However I am not spending anymore than $200. I do not want to replace my HD 598's I just want to replace my 555's so I am not going to spend more than $200.

My question is obvious. Which headphones should I get? I know for a fact that I want open headphones, I don't want closed headphones. Perhaps I'm wrong about this and if so then my mind will change, but in my experience closed headphones don't have that "open feel" that you get with open headphones. With open headphones all the sounds don't feel crammed together into one single point, rather the sounds feel spread out. I like that sound a lot better and therefore if all closed headphones aren't able to get that spread out feeling that open headphones do, then I do not want closed headphones. These headphones will only be used inside of my house in my room (Just like my HD 598's and my 555's). So sound leakage is completely irrelevant and not an issue at all. Also I already have an amp (and as I will explain, I'm looking to buy a better amp anyways. So if a certain pair of headphones need an amp to sound good, then that's a total non-issue here).

So far the headphones I've looked at are:
Audio Technica AD700's
Grado SR80i's
Beyerdynamic DT 770 250 OHM Pro
Beyerdynamic DT 990 250 OHM Pro
(Just out of curiosity, I noticed with the Beyerdynamics that the 250 OHM headphones are a lot cheaper. Why is that? What exactly does OHM measure and what's it's significance?)

Also one more thing is I think I also want to buy a new amp. Right now I use a Fiio E7 and I adore it. It's plugged into my desktop computer and it really does improve sound quality dramatically for my HD 598's. I was wondering should I upgrade to a better amp? Would getting a better amp than the one I currently have improve the sound quality of my HD 598's dramatically? I only want to spend $100 on an amp. Which amp is the best out of the fiio's the E9, E17, or E07k? Which do you think is best to plug into a desktop computer?

Since you are of limited budget, I would focus on headphones before electronics. I love me HD598 and as a complement to them, I've would recommend The AD700 under $100 and the AD900x under $200 (with some shopping.)

 

[shakarock]

Okay I didn't read the WHOLE thread (obligatory) but...
 
I keep hearing this phrase, "It makes good recordings sound amazing and bad recordings sound worse"
 
I know source is THE most important thing.
 
However I have to ask, is there a pair of headphones out there that make Bad recordings sound DECENT?
 
Looking over the music on my portable hard drive, it;s nearly all 128/196 

 
Am I in the wrong place?

 

[dakanao]

Quote:

Okay I didn't read the WHOLE thread (obligatory) but...
 
I keep hearing this phrase, "It makes good recordings sound amazing and bad recordings sound worse"
 
I know source is THE most important thing.
 
However I have to ask, is there a pair of headphones out there that make Bad recordings sound DECENT?
 
Looking over the music on my portable hard drive, it;s nearly all 128/196 

 
Am I in the wrong place?

I've owned a cheap Philips SBC HP400 a few years ago, and those will make your 128 kbps music sound fine.

 

[BigCabDaddy]

Okay I didn't read the WHOLE thread (obligatory) but...

I keep hearing this phrase, "It makes good recordings sound amazing and bad recordings sound worse"

I know source is THE most important thing.

However I have to ask, is there a pair of headphones out there that make Bad recordings sound DECENT?


Looking over the music on my portable hard drive, it;s nearly all 128/196 

Am I in the wrong place?

Sennheiser HD598 is my goto for crappy recordings. Look for reviews that refer to "warm" or "laid back" for the most part.