[pro1137]

Quote:

Any advice on the best portable amp for a Shure SRH 940/Ultrasone Pro 750 class closed headphone?
Hoping not to spend too much. And what's the need for the DAC as opposed to just amp?

 
For not having to spend too much, the FiiO E17 is good. It's $140 on Amazon. If that's too much, a PA2V2 or cMoy BB V2.03 should work well. The PA2V2 is around $60, I believe, and the cMoy BB can range from $60-$80, plus cables. 
 
DAC stands for Digital Analogue Converter. It converts digital music files into analogue sound, or, in layman's terms, something the human ear can hear. A better DAC means better quality audio. The FiiO E17 has a built-in DAC, while the other two do not.

 

[Silversnake1]

I've been lurking for a while and have finally obtained the funds for decent starter headphones. My budget is $130, not including an amp if I need one. I need closed, full sized headphones because of the isolation. My music taste consists mainly of techno, in all it's forms, and rock. ATH-M50s are on sale for $105 on Amazon and I was thinking of getting those, but I've read that the mids are recessed and not good for rock.

 

[pro1137]

Quote:

I've been lurking for a while and have finally obtained the funds for decent starter headphones. My budget is $130, not including an amp if I need one. I need closed, full sized headphones because of the isolation. My music taste consists mainly of techno, in all it's forms, and rock. ATH-M50s are on sale for $105 on Amazon and I was thinking of getting those, but I've read that the mids are recessed and not good for rock.

 
I would go for the Shure SRH-440 or Sennheiser HD280 if I was in your position. Both can be easily driven without the use of an external amplifier. Both have pretty flat responses.

 

[jiaemo]

Hello,

I've been researching headphones for quite a while now and think I've narrowed down my selection to two models.  I am looking for something that will mainly be used as a headphone and mic combo for voice chat in Everquest 2, outside of that I would mostly be listening to all forms of metal from progressive metal like Dream Theater to death metal like Cannibal Corpse and everything in between.  I also will be watching movies occasionally but not as much as listening to music and talking in game/ventrilo. 
 
With this thought in mind, I'm looking for something that is flexible, sounds reasonably good for around $100 or less, and is quite comfortable for long periods of time (one of the reasons I'm shying away from Grado, plus they seem very one dimensional).
 
The two models I am currently considering Creative Aurvana Live and Audio Technica ATH-M50 as they are both around my price range and both seem to get really good reviews for what they do,, basically what I need to know is how well you guys think either of these models would fit my needs and what the pros/cons of each one would be and which one do you think would suit my needs the best for comfort while gaming (upwards of 6 hours a day at times) and metal music (all subgenres of metal, as well as some hard rock like Disturbed or Avenged Sevenfold), as well as an occasional movie (5-10% of the time).
 
I'm hoping with some recommendations or comments about each model I can finally pick out one of them and see what I think, pretty sure it's going to be one of these two though.
 
 
Thanks in advance,
J.

 

[redgiant]

Quote:

Etymotic HF5 with foamies/ Shure olives would work well.

 


Out of curiosity, are active noise cancelling headphones effective at the drilling and hammering that comes inside the building? I've heard they're not as good at noises that aren't as constant as the hum of jet engines.

 

[VitaX]

I need some amp recommendations for the following two headphones since I'm quite new to all this:
 
Grado RS1i
 
Sennheiser HD650
 
Budget is $500 per amp
 
The sound card I have in my computer is an HT Omega Claro
 
Musical Taste: Alice in Chains, Buckethead, Chevelle, Led Zeppelin, Mother Love Bone, Mudhoney, Neil Young, Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana, The Offspring, Pearl Jam, Pink Floyd, Rage Against The Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Screaming Trees, The Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, Tool, etc... Mainly rock music with some metal thrown in here and there.
 
On a side note, I've heard the Schiit Lyr goes quite well when partnered with the HD650s. Haven't heard too much about what fairs well with RS1is besides the Mad Ear + HD. But that might be out of my price range at the moment.

 

[sareea]

Hey guys,
You can say i am a bass head, but i need to hear the quality of other things than bass. Not only bass.
I love mostly to listen to : Offer nissim (house) & Yanni (music) + Adrian von ziegler and any great piece of art of music.
youtube - Offer Nissim - Illusion...
I also love to listen to Eminem , Ludacris , and good songs (black music with good music)... other songs like She Wolf and more...

These will be my first pair.
What to choose for my first headphones ? ~100 $
Are Technics RP-DH1200 DJ great ?Sony MDR-XB500 good also for music like Yanni?
I tend to like AKG and Sennheiser as i read a lot of reviews about them.
What about sony... Or Pioneer ?

I would have bought the ATHM50
but,
" What I do feel as missing from the M-50 is it hasn’t really got enough agressiveness for Rock, and that’s my only complaint for this otherwise great headphone." This is from headfonia review ...

I have to hear one more time the M50 to really be sure about not buying it.

Thanks a lot !

 

[phallan]

(post changed)

 

[kev21890]

Quote:

Well, if you want soundstage with a closed can, then I would point you to the Beyerdynamic DT770. I don't personally know how they compare with the 840, but from all of the closed cans I've used, the DT770 has the largest soundstage in its price range. Both the 840 and the DT770 would benefit MUCH more from the E17, especially if you decided to get the 250 ohm version of the DT770. The E5/E6 wouldn't do much for them, in my opinion. They don't give enough power to be really beneficial other than just making headphones louder. The E17 is much better than the PA2V2 and cMoy BB, especially considering the built-in DAC, but all of those would be a lot better than the E5 or E6. 
 
The DT770 gives a nice balanced sound overall with an exceptionally large soundstage over other closed cans. It is EXTREMELY comfortable, due to the fact that it has velour padding. Does NOT fold up.
The SRH-840 is a bit more versatile, since it can be powered a bit better without an amp, and folds up. Pleather pads may reduce comfort over the velour. These cans fold up.
 
So bottom line
No amp - SRH 840
E5/E6 - SRH 840
PA2V2, cMoy BB, E17 - DT770 Pro (80 or 250 ohm will work in this situation), or SRH840 if you like the way they fold/work a bit more than the DT770.
 
Both will benefit largely with the better amps instead of the E5/E6

Thanks again for your reply. I was under the impression that the beyerdynamic's were more bass orientated? From your reply though, its sounds like I was mislead.
 
Soundstage is one thing to me but the sound reproduction is more important to me. I'm certainly perplexed. Is the frequency spectrum something to go on as I've noticed the beyer's have the broadest? There are no headphone specialists here in Ireland so its kind of difficult to judge which would be for me. I guess I'll research a little more. Then take the plunge! Thanks.

 

[kev21890]

Quote:

 
 
K550's would definitely be ahead of the M50 and SRH840 in terms of overall sound quality, comfort and build quality. Their sound resolution, or "fidelity" is considerably higher than both of those, and they have a bigger soundstage, better detail, better mids, etc. All in all, I don't see M50 or SRH840 competing with K550 at all. Maybe SRH940 would be a better comparison. K550 is the most neutral as well. Less bass than either, but still enough of it.

Thanks for your reply. I was leaning towards them for a long time as its clearly evident that the build quality was phenomenal and they are pretty attractive. Not a necessity but a bonus. Have you had a run of both of them? (Shures and AKG's). I heard unless you have a biggish head to get a good seal its difficult to get the best sound . Would this be true in your opinion?
 
Would the frequency range be important in choosing a set. There are no headphone specialists here in Ireland so it will be difficult to judge. Also if you have any more information/wisdom regarding any of these three cans (Shure SRH-840, AKG K550, Beyerdynamic DT770) or anything headphone related that would aid my choice, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Danny23]

I posted this in the M50 thread but may get a better all round response here..
 
 
Im looking for some new headphones, I bought the HD558s but there wasnt enough bass for me.  So im looking at ordering some M50s, DT770s and possibily some HFI-580's.
 
But i keep reading about this new model of M50's that has less bass, is it really obvious? Or if i never listened to the originals am i not going to really notice any different?  Because i'd much rather buy new but if the difference is huge i guess i could look into getting some used ones.
 
Also i quite like the look of the COPs but are thye worth the extra money say compared to the 3 i mentioned.
 
Thanks for any help

 

[phallan]

Hey! I've narrowed my choice of headphones down to a few and I'd like your input.
 
1. AKG K490 NC
 
2. AKG K167 (tiesto)
 
3. Ultrasone HFI-780
 
4. Audio Technica M50
 
I was wondering what you guys think I'd be the most happy with? With most of these I can return them for a full refund if I'm not, but still.
 
My criteria is as follows;
 
I want a good "all-round" headphone that has excellent sound quality across the frequencies and not "headpiercing highs" for music like Rise Against and Kelly Clarkson, however I want them to also have a deep, solid bass for the electronic music's Sub-bass in Skrillex and Deadmau5 and so on. I'm going to use them mainly at home, and on the bus, train, whatever. I'll be using my iPhone 5 as the source for now. Might purchase an iPod to use with more HQ audio files.

So, go ahead! I'm ordering them tonight or possibly tomorrow.
 
//Sebastian

 

[lukEM22]

I know the Ultrasones are supposed to be some of the best for electronica music, they seem like the best fit for you. I have heard some of the highs are 'piercing' but at the top of page 1489 (or 1488?) some guy had a decent solution for it
 

 

[phallan]

Alright! Thank you!  

 

[OneRhythm]

Hey everyone, I am strictly looking for good quality, closed circumaural full sized, and versatile headphones that are pretty much multi-genre as I like to constantly shuffle my music and listen to multiple genres on a whim.  If I had to be more specific as to what I listen to, I constantly shuttle around hip hop (underground), chillout, downtempo, electronica, R&B, DnB, dubstep, trance, lounge, two steps from hell (Not sure what genre they fall under), and the only rock I occasionally listen to is more of the laid back relaxing kind.  I don't listen to mainstream hip hop, rock (in general), metal, country, asian pop, or folk. I
 
Portablility and comfort is a must as I am planning to use this at home, at college, and of course when I am on the move like when I'm just walking to places.  Speaking of college, sound isolation is a must as I love having a private experience on public places and I always spend time in the college library, so I do not want to disturb anyone.  I only plan to use the headphones for casual general listening  In addition, I will use the headphones though my iPod and laptop.  I'm also planning to buy the e11 amp if the headphones I buy along with the amp will fall in line with my headphone budget.  Oh yeah, my budget is $200.
 
I have also been looking up various headphones and I look favorably upon the Ultrasone DJ1 Pro and the Brainwav HM5.  In terms of sound, the Brainwav HM5 are essentially the all-arounders that I am looking for.  However, they seem very bulky.  I don't mind if the headphones are bulky, but the HM5 seem way too bulky for someone like me as I have a fairly small head and ears which also makes me doubt its portability.  I've looked at the HM5 thread, and an HM5 owner posted a picture of him wearing the HM5, and boy those things will seem monstrous on someone with a small head like me.  My other gripe with the HM5, is that while the cables are detachable, you need to plug in two cables rather than one.  The Ultrasone DJ1 Pro seems to offer great sound and it has the sexy feature that most headphones (such as the m50) within the same price range (and of course within my budget) don't offer, which is the detachable cable.  I would pull the trigger on the Ultrasone DJ1 Pro, but I am not sure if they can compliment most of the genres I mentioned and on the otherhand, I am certain I will be satisfied with the sound that the HM5 promises, but they seem too bulky for me to walk around the campus with. 
 
The Ultrasone DJ1 Pro and Brainwav HM5 are my top candidates, but I am willing to go for something else.  I would appreciate any input/advice/suggestions as to what I should get.