[keanex]

Quote:

I think I'm almost to the point now where I am just going to get the AD700s now, and maybe when those Sony XB1000s come out I will pick that up as well for my bassy needs (or maybe just the XB700 if the 1000 is bad or too expensive). Everything I've read about the AD700s say they're amazing for movies and games as well as most music. Is an amp required at all for the AD700s?

 
Get the Ad900, you'll end up there anyway. Also no amp required.

 

[Daemos]

Hey guys, I'm an IEM guy looking to buy his first set of headphones. It'll be used with an astromix amp (and another amp if really needed) when watching movies/games as well as music, I'd say 50/50 music/movies. For music, I listen to hip-hop/r&b/rock/jazz/pop I'm considering a few headphones, and an open to suggestions.
 
The two headphones I'm looking at are the Fisher Audio FA-002w (they are the wood version of the FA-003, which supposedly sound amazing, and I've had good luck with my FA DBA-02s) as well as the Beyer DT-880/990 600, and the Senn HD650s.
 
Thanks!

 

[keanex]

http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-AD900-Open-Dynamic-Headphones/dp/B00070GXBS
 
Are hard to beat for $200. They usually go for $250+.

 

[Mdraluck23]

Quote:

Why hello, I have questions and I hear you guys can answer.
 
After buying Turtle beach x11's for my xbox, my poor ear buds for my ipod have never been the same. I can no longer listen and enjoy my music with the buds, but sadly my x11's are usb powerd and thus non-mobile. It's time I manned up and got a real pair of headphones to satisfy my needs. Now to explain my wants.
 
Music I listen too:
The killers
Cold play
Phoenix
Breaking benjamin
The Kooks
Foo fighters
Lemaitre
Plenty of movie scores. With a BA chorus and epic sorts of music. (ex:transformers soundtrack)
 
I do listen to rap and other things of that sort, but not often enough on my ipod to be of real mentioning. The bumpin bass is for my car sound system.
 
I don't do much in the form of public transit and at my college generally I will use my old buds for the portability. Thus, the whole open or closed speaker thing doesn't really matter.
 
What I want:
I love the retro look in headphones, well... what I think is retro...
Yes, the look is somewhat important, I just dont like those smooth rounded headphones that look like ear protectors.
Occasionally the headphones will go on walks in the outside world, and on a bike, through a park. I live in the suburbs so its not terrible noisy out.
 
So far I like the grados sr60i and the AKG style headphones
 
My budget is $100 and maybe I could be pursuaded by a good arguement to go as high as $120-130
 
Please help me oh great head-fi-ians. Reading all the recomendations and discussions has made me even more lost on what exactly I am looking for.

I would just like to say that you have excellent taste in music. You should probably look at the AD700 or Alessandro MS-1's.
 
If you are going on walks, you may want to look at closed 'phones. Or IEM's. (You should also check out my music thread, in my signature)

 

[Radio Flyer]

Would anyone say any of the Beyerdynamic headphones would match up against the M50? From what I've read it seems the DJX-1 will match them in bass and have a bit more of a soundstage. I'm definitely set on a pair of closed cans.

Bands I listen to a lot, Radiohead, Beck, Wu-Tang, Outkast, Sublime, Led-Zeppelin, Talking Heads, Grateful Dead, Kid Cudi, Jazz, Dubstep, Blues, Classical. I'm really looking for something all around with solid bass but it's not lacking everywhere else.

 

[Vader815]

Hey folks I need some help. 
 
I've been using the 595's for a while, but some songs just... actually a good amount of songs just don't really have much 'kick' to them and I can see why some people call them boring. Some stuff like Radiohead, Phoenix, some NIN mostly sound good, but A.) the songs rarely have 'crunch' and B.) bass leaves much to be desired and so on. Straight out rock songs tend to sound a bit bland for my own personal preferences, so I'm hoping to move on. 
 
Basically, I just want a much livelier, rockier sound. Like I said this is for bands like Radiohead, NIN, post-hardcore/some harder stuff, a good amount of music soundtracks, and so on. 
 
Budget: Anywhere from 100 to maybe 200 if it's really that much worth it. I want these to last me a long, long time. 
 
Soundstage: I'd like a big one, but it's not a must. The soundstage in the 595 is amazing to me, and I've been told it's quite weak so anything as big as the 595, bigger couldn't hurt though. 
 
That's about all I can tell you in terms of what I want. Lots of detail, lots of crispness, rocky sound, and so on. 
 
Do you guys think an amp (like the total bithead which I've been told works really well with 595's) would improve many of these issues? 
 
Thanks ahead guys, 
 
-Vader

 

[12345142]

An amp can't totally change the sound signature of a headphone. It will improve the overall performance, but don't expect it to work wonders.
For detail and crispness for rock, Grados are the de facto headphone. Ultrasone headphones have more bass, though. Look into the SR225i and HFI-780.

 

[Vader815]

And those would respond amazingly to the bands I listed as well? 

 

[dudzy]

ok, i do not want a headphone which is not good looking. The beats are a perfect example, they are really really good looking, but apparently dont have good sound (i read on this website). Another want is comfort. When i travel my older brother always has these bose headphones while im stuck with the 10 buck skull candy headphones. I also would prefer the headphones for house music (hard house), hip hop, things like that for the bass. With that said, if i want to listen to a song like "Dream on" by Aerosmith, it will not sound awful. Also minimal sound leakage would be nice along with some passive noise cancellation. Let me know what you think. My budget is 100-300 dollars (above or below is fine).

 

[12345142]

Quote:

And those would respond amazingly to the bands I listed as well? 

Yeah, they should do quite well. If you listen to more electronic-oriented stuff, get the Ultrasones but if not, I would go with the Grados. Neither of them require an amp.

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

And those would respond amazingly to the bands I listed as well? 

If you'll like them or not more often depends on your preferred sound signature and not whether or not a given 'phones "suits" a particular piece of music.  The most common exception to this general rule would be electronic music with deep synthesized bass.  A lot of headphones just cant produce it at all.  That might apply to some NIN tracks but the rest of what you listed probably doesn't need it.
 
From your earlier post your seemed to want a more aggressive sound with a "smile curve" EQ (i.e. extra bass and treble).  Grados and Ultrasones are generally along those lines with the Ultrasones having more bass than the Grados.  Neither of those are going to have the soundstage of the 595s though.  If you can increase your budget or wait around and buy used when a deal comes up the Beyerdynamic DT990s also have a "smile curve" sort of sound along with a huge soundstage.

 

[ohhgourami]

Hi,
 
I have an audio-gd NFB-10es coming in soon and I'm looking to get my first pair of full-sized cans for it.  Since I'm currently saving up for HE-6 or T1, I need something kind of cheap.  I'm a midrange kinda guy that listens to a whole bunch of genres, not much care for bass (although needs to be there).  Detail and transparency is the emphasis and is hopefully a fast driver.  The current cans I'm considering are the DT880 600ohm and Fostex T50rp (heard the midrange is very good).  No Grados for me as they aren't my type of cans.
 
Can someone give me some comparisons between the DT880 and the T50rp?  Will my these on my dac/amp sound significantly better than my portable setup? (a must)
 
Thanks in advance,

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

Hi,
 
I have an audio-gd NFB-10es coming in soon and I'm looking to get my first pair of full-sized cans for it.  Since I'm currently saving up for HE-6 or T1, I need something kind of cheap.  I'm a midrange kinda guy that listens to a whole bunch of genres, not much care for bass (although needs to be there).  Detail and transparency is the emphasis and is hopefully a fast driver.  The current cans I'm considering are the DT880 600ohm and Fostex T50rp (heard the midrange is very good).  No Grados for me as they aren't my type of cans.
 
Can someone give me some comparisons between the DT880 and the T50rp?  Will my these on my dac/amp sound significantly better than my portable setup? (a must)
 
Thanks in advance,

Don't bother with the T50RPs unless you plan to mod them.  I'm loving mine so far, but I didn't love them until I started with the mods.  Before you mod them they sound like an good set of speakers set up in the bathroom.  The modding is the equivalent of room treatments.  The Beyers have pretty cold and lifeless mids to my ears.  They're plenty detailed, but they just sound "off" in a hard to describe way, of course other people disagree with me.  You might want to look and HD600s.  Their sound is centered on a smooth and detailed midrange with decent extension on both ends.
 
At first they might sound slower or less detailed than the Beyers but I think its really an illusion.  The 880s have a big spike in the high treble (about 9 or 10 kHz) that IMO is there to give a false impression of detail.  To me, it just makes things stand out from the rest of the mix in an unnatural way and make you think you're hearing a detail that isn't present on another 'phone when in fact that detail just isn't supposed to be prominent in the mix.
 
When you save up the cash, I would also wholeheartedly recommend the HE-6 over the T1 for the same reasons.

 

[CaelK]

Alright. I was originally a lurker here (but only when I needed a pair of headphones), but now I gotta ask what headphones you guys think are right for me. In the process, I hope to show how much of a noob and loser I am, while still retaining invaluable information that will further my journey on the way to audiophiledom. Or something.
 
Musical Preferences
Well, the Japanese call them ballads, I have no idea what they're technically called in English, but songs carried by good vocals (preferably of the female variety), with accompaniment by classical instruments. (Except the genre isn't classical, or opera I don't think.) But this, above all else, must absolutely sound good.
I also listen to a lot of J-Rock and Techno/Trance, which I also want to sound good. Obviously, orchestral rock/orchestral techno must also sound good. J-Pop... isn't as important, but I still listen to it a lot too. Samples are as follows.
(Ballad) ALIVE, sung by Haruka Tomatsu
(J-Rock) JAP, by abingdon boys school
(Techno/Trance) Rise, sung by Origa
 
The budget is $180, hopefully lower, but I can go (a bit) higher. Looking for full-size cans, over the ear, circumaural preferred. It should be noted that unless you guys tell me Ultrasone HFI-780's are good for gaming, I will likely do a lot of gaming with these. Headphones should be collapsable and neckable, though at this price range, I don't think that's a problem. Likely will not mod.
 
Opinions on other headphones, if it helps
My first pair of good headphones I got around a year ago, a pair of Ultrasone HFI-780's. So far, they've been perfect, except oh yeah, I have nothing to compare them to. I don't even know what S-Logic does to sound. I feel I need to branch out, thus this post. General Listening EQs: Lows are cut, mids are slightly cut. Low-mids aren't touched. Mid-highs are boosted, highs are slightly boosted. I hoped to reduce bass boom and increase vocal clarity, maybe it worked.
NuForce NE-6's had some... lingering lows, maybe they muddied up the music a bit. Felt like my ear drums were taiko drums until after burn-in (they're mostly fine now). General EQ: Lows cut a bit more than the Ultrasones, Mid-highs and highs boosted more than the Ultrasones. Everything else's mostly the same, honestly didn't really know what to do here. Still sounds better to my ears than un-EQed, maybe I'm fighting these cans?
JLabs J3s hurt my ears out of the box. 50 hours of burn-in later, I still felt like there were fireworks or depth charges going off in them. Always intended as a gift for my sister, though, so I handed them off. Did not experiment with EQ settings.
Listened to my friend's JVC/Victor HP-M1000's, thought they were too echoey. It was an out of the box test, though.

 

[keanex]

Quote:

Alright. I was originally a lurker here (but only when I needed a pair of headphones), but now I gotta ask what headphones you guys think are right for me. In the process, I hope to show how much of a noob and loser I am, while still retaining invaluable information that will further my journey on the way to audiophiledom. Or something.
 
Musical Preferences
Well, the Japanese call them ballads, I have no idea what they're technically called in English, but songs carried by good vocals (preferably of the female variety), with accompaniment by classical instruments. (Except the genre isn't classical, or opera I don't think.) But this, above all else, must absolutely sound good.
I also listen to a lot of J-Rock and Techno/Trance, which I also want to sound good. Obviously, orchestral rock/orchestral techno must also sound good. J-Pop... isn't as important, but I still listen to it a lot too. Samples are as follows.
(Ballad) ALIVE, sung by Haruka Tomatsu
(J-Rock) JAP, by abingdon boys school
(Techno/Trance) Rise, sung by Origa
 
The budget is $180, hopefully lower, but I can go (a bit) higher. Looking for full-size cans, over the ear, circumaural preferred. It should be noted that unless you guys tell me Ultrasone HFI-780's are good for gaming, I will likely do a lot of gaming with these. Headphones should be collapsable and neckable, though at this price range, I don't think that's a problem. Likely will not mod.
 
Opinions on other headphones, if it helps
My first pair of good headphones I got around a year ago, a pair of Ultrasone HFI-780's. So far, they've been perfect, except oh yeah, I have nothing to compare them to. I don't even know what S-Logic does to sound. I feel I need to branch out, thus this post. General Listening EQs: Lows are cut, mids are slightly cut. Low-mids aren't touched. Mid-highs are boosted, highs are slightly boosted. I hoped to reduce bass boom and increase vocal clarity, maybe it worked.
NuForce NE-6's had some... lingering lows, maybe they muddied up the music a bit. Felt like my ear drums were taiko drums until after burn-in (they're mostly fine now). General EQ: Lows cut a bit more than the Ultrasones, Mid-highs and highs boosted more than the Ultrasones. Everything else's mostly the same, honestly didn't really know what to do here. Still sounds better to my ears than un-EQed, maybe I'm fighting these cans?
JLabs J3s hurt my ears out of the box. 50 hours of burn-in later, I still felt like there were fireworks or depth charges going off in them. Always intended as a gift for my sister, though, so I handed them off. Did not experiment with EQ settings.
Listened to my friend's JVC/Victor HP-M1000's, thought they were too echoey. It was an out of the box test, though.

Audio Technica Ad900 perhaps, do you live in Japan? If you do they are pretty cheap there.