I will be visiting the UK soon (I live in Holland), where Richer Sounds seems to be selling a wide range of dacs a lot cheaper than here. Hence, I would like to have made my mind up by then and take a nice dac with me back home. I do not want to spend more than necessary on the dac so I am looking at dacs with basic functionalities, though from quality producers. The choices so far are:
DacMagic 100: 240e
Vdac ii : 215e
rPac : 160e
rDac: 300e
Hrt Music Streamer ii +: 300e
All DACs are within budget; however, if the difference in soundquality between, for instance, rPac and rDac is marginally, then I will be going for the cheap option. However, as you might have noticed, the rest of my setup is (lower)high-end at around 3500e, so I do not want the dac to be the weak link over a hundred euro more or less.
I've compared LCD2 and HE500 to Senn HD600 (don't own HD650) and preferred the first two in every way. HE500 are more silky and colored, and their sound, particularly the mids, is immediately and dramatically better than HD600. After that comparison I put away the Senns and never used them again. While I find LCD2 technically better than HE500, they are more neutral and nothing really jumps out. Their sound is not as soft as the HD600 but I would not describe them as in-your-face at all. Haven't heard the T1, sorry.
After returning the Focal Spirit One, I am in the search for new headphones. I got the AT ath-50's and well they are on my head from when i get home till i get into bed. I looked up a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro Limited Edition. I would like a pair of closed overear ones, the Spirits where to small so must be in m50's size or bigger. I've listened to DT 990 Pro 250 ohm at a friends with my dac/amp Fiio E10 was not overwhelmed by that sound. Are the DT 770 Pro LE better sounding, should be easier to drive them, or should i go for something else?
Thanks for your input. Yes, I'm only considering closed cans only. Any thoughts about the AKG K267's. Hard to know since they just came out and are hard to get.
I need a balance between quality and the ability with which they can be used with portable devices. The other factors aren't as important although I would prefer a pair of semi-open cans.
Fantastic noise cancellation. They are also incredibly comfortably. I strongly recommend them for less than ideal listening conditions. The sound is good. The bass is punchy. But it lacks some range / clarity and the bass will distort at high volumes.
I find my significantly cheaper ATH-M50s or my Grado 325is do a better job of the actual music! With the grados its quite a significant difference, but they are uncomfortable!
Really you should tailor your headphones to your preferences / listening environment!
I'm sensitive to sibilance as (I can't stand the Sennheiser Amperior/HD25-i-ii and Ultrasone headphones in general) well and I don't have a problem with the SRH940.
I understand, great then. How are the Shure 840 in comparison? In case i don't have enough to buy the 940. Also I'm guessing that the Akg K701 doesn't have any sibilance problems aswell since you recommended it.
I actually haven't listened to the SRH840 in detail unfortunately. From what I've read in SRH840 vs SRH940 comparisons, the SRH840 sounds more balanced with more weight in the lower-frequencies, while the SRH940 is a very analytical headphone with a treble tilt. The SRH940 does get fatiguing to me, not due to sibilance, but probably from the higher frequencies. And yes the K 701 doesn't have sibilance issues either, and its treble response isn't nearly as fatiguing as the SRH940.
I will be visiting the UK soon (I live in Holland), where Richer Sounds seems to be selling a wide range of dacs a lot cheaper than here. Hence, I would like to have made my mind up by then and take a nice dac with me back home. I do not want to spend more than necessary on the dac so I am looking at dacs with basic functionalities, though from quality producers. The choices so far are:
DacMagic 100: 240e
Vdac ii : 215e
rPac : 160e
rDac: 300e
Hrt Music Streamer ii +: 300e
All DACs are within budget; however, if the difference in soundquality between, for instance, rPac and rDac is marginally, then I will be going for the cheap option. However, as you might have noticed, the rest of my setup is (lower)high-end at around 3500e, so I do not want the dac to be the weak link over a hundred euro more or less.
I need a balance between quality and the ability with which they can be used with portable devices. The other factors aren't as important although I would prefer a pair of semi-open cans.
I actually haven't listened to the SRH840 in detail unfortunately. From what I've read in SRH840 vs SRH940 comparisons, the SRH840 sounds more balanced with more weight in the lower-frequencies, while the SRH940 is a very analytical headphone with a treble tilt. The SRH940 does get fatiguing to me, not due to sibilance, but probably from the higher frequencies. And yes the K 701 doesn't have sibilance issues either, and its treble response isn't nearly as fatiguing as the SRH940.
I'm sensitive to sibilance as (I can't stand the Sennheiser Amperior/HD25-i-ii and Ultrasone headphones in general) well and I don't have a problem with the SRH940.
I understand, great then. How are the Shure 840 in comparison? In case i don't have enough to buy the 940. Also I'm guessing that the Akg K701 doesn't have any sibilance problems aswell since you recommended it.
I actually haven't listened to the SRH840 in detail unfortunately. From what I've read in SRH840 vs SRH940 comparisons, the SRH840 sounds more balanced with more weight in the lower-frequencies, while the SRH940 is a very analytical headphone with a treble tilt. The SRH940 does get fatiguing to me, not due to sibilance, but probably from the higher frequencies. And yes the K 701 doesn't have sibilance issues either, and its treble response isn't nearly as fatiguing as the SRH940.
No--the 940 is much more balanced and neutral. The 840 has a mid bass hump and somewhat recessed highs, which probably explains why you like it/might like it better.
Most find the 940 to be a great headphone for all those who favor a neutral presentation. It is very detailed, but not cold. Those who prefer bumped up bass with not like it. To my ears it has fantastic mids. Those who hear a treble tilt may be listening for and missing more bass.
On the other hand, some (not me) have found the AKG K/Q 70x line to be sibilant.
Bottom line: when you are talking "fatiguing" and "sibilant" in the context of these cans, it's a very individual thing. The best that can be done is to ID the size and shape of the bell curves on each of these issues for each of these cans. If you can't listen yourself, you will at least get an idea of how these are heard by the headphone community as a whole.
After reading a bunch of reviews about six months ago, I picked up a set of Monoprice 8323's. I've been moderately happy with them, with a couple of caveats. Though sound reproduction seems pretty good to my non-audiophile ears, the soundstage feels very small...there's no sense of space at all. More significantly, the headband has started to crack on both sides. I've probably got about a week's worth of use left in them before the cracking makes them no longer fit firmly on my head (I've slid the worst side inside the top part of the band, but the other side is getting worse). One feature I do like on this set is the removable cable.
I'm a grad student on budget...while a set of cans costing actual money will be in my future at some point, that point is not now. The Monoprices are cheap enough that I could just pick up another pair, but I'm thinking I'd like to try something different. Ideally, I'd not be looking above the USD$50 range, but could probably go a little bit higher if it would result in a significant improvement (music is one of the few things keeping my sanity intact, at this point).
I work in my home office, so sound isolation is a not a huge deal...I'd be interested in giving a more open set a try. Most of the budget recommendations I've found are responses to people looking for closed models, so posting the question here.
I use headphones mostly so I can turn up the volume and zone into my work without disturbing my wife in the other room, or so I can listen at night. If she's watching TV, either one or both doors can be closed to reduce the sound bleeding in. I often wear them for hours at a time, so comfort is quite important.
Musically, I listen to mostly rock (from classic and prog to eclectic modern acts, including some fairly heavy) and classical, with some jazz, metal (mostly avant-garde or experimental), EDM (psytrance), and ambient. I game a bit when I have time, and there am looking more for immersiveness than competitiveness. Most of my classical listening is pipe organ, so solid and non-muddy bass reproduction would be much appreciated. Sources are mostly properly ripped FLACs, with about 30% of my collection still in MP3 or OGGs of various quality (and my tolerance level for bad rips has been steadily decreasing over the past few years). For now, the 'phones will be driven off the onboard sound card on my desktop.
As mentioned, I'm looking for a fairly inexpensive set of around-the-ear headphones with a better soundstage than the 8323's. A headband designed to avoid stress fractures would also be desirable. Any recommendations will be appreciated.
Thanks, peter123, they look quite interesting. I wonder, though, about availability? The best price I could find (by about $30, putting them a bit over $50) was for getting them shipped from China, which makes me a bit dubious. I'm sure it's probably fine, but I'd suspect returns would be a serious issue if there were any problems. I'm also concerned about the comments that suggest they may be a problem for those with large heads. My hat size is US 7-3/4 (metric 62), which means I can wear about half of the XL hats out there, the rest being a bit on the tight side...with returns being dicey, I'm not sure I'd want to risk a fit issue without the ability to try them.
The CAL! is currently just under $60 at Amazon. It ifs one of only a small number heaphones that is worth having at a low price point. It is also very efficient, which means that most anything will drive it. It has a plug togeher cable that allows easy use from portable and at home devices. It is much more accurate and balanced than the Monoprice.
You're in almost the identical situation that I was in just a week ago. I'm a second year grad student who was looking for a pair of headphones to use while at home when I can't use my desktops 2.0 setup while my wife is sleeping in the other room. I also game, but not competitively at all (skyrim, starcraft 2, portal 2, etc).
I ended up choosing between the Samson SR850, superlux hd668b, and the CAL! (rebadged Denon HD1001). I posted on this exact thread about a week and a half ago and after I saw that the CAL had dropped in price, I purchased those (having had good experiences with denon stuff in the past).
I have had them for a few days now, and while these are the only pair of over the ear headphones that I've ever owned, I can tell you what I think of them. I listen to mostly electronica, but occasionally other genres as well, and I'm driving mine through a Fiio E10 just FYI.
The CAL! is pretty comfortable, and even though I'm not "used" to headphones like this they don't bother me at all. I think the longest I've ever had them on consecutively so far is like 2-3 hrs, and while my ears were warmish, they weren't uncomfortable (they're a very light headphone with low clamping force).
The sound on them is pretty good. The bass is a bit overemphasized on mine, but its not muddy in any way, it is simply more prominent. They are very clear, and have worked great listening to everything from The Glitch Mob and Grammatik to Joe Satriani. The soundstage is also pretty good in my opinion but once again I don't have anything else to compare it with so I understand it might not mean too much.
Anyway, good luck with whatever you do. The upside is that if you're looking for something more comfortable than the 8323 that also has a larger sound stage, you're in luck. Those are the two things that many other headphones seem to have over them.
Thanks, KG Jag and ocnlogan. I did make an effort to read some of this thread, but 24K of unthreaded replies through a forum interface made more than a bit of that rather impractical. Bring back NNTP!
Given the extremely favorable opinion that many on Head-Fi have for the CAL!, it was one that I had thought about a bit. If the soundstage is relatively good, that's probably enough to push me over the edge. Though, ocnlogan, I also particularly appreciate the mentions of the other models you were considering.
Is there a chance that the bass prominence in your setup is due more to the E10 than the headphones themselves? How much should I consider getting an external DAC? It wasn't really something I'd given serious thought to...would there be enough improvement that it would take my listening experience to another level with a set of cans like the CAL!? Or would I be better off waiting until the dissertation is finished up and I'm earning actual money again, and then purchase something a step or two up the food chain?
I'm mostly using Linux (aside from gaming), and I know that support for extended features on internal cards (like various recommended Xonar models) can be a bit dicey...is the situation any better for USB? I've got two sets of computer speakers that I use, a Logitech X-540 5.1 setup on my main machine and a set of Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 THX speakers on the box intended as a music server. I love the sound of the Klipsch relative to the Logitech, but there's some sort of a shielding issue the music server box (I can hear drive activity through the speakers), so it's mostly being used to serve the files which are then played from my desktop. The 5.1 is really only useful for gaming (well, and a few Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree surround DVD-As), so that's the set staying attached to the main box. If attaching a USB DAC to the music server could provide a clean signal to the phones and the speakers as needed, that would be a clear win. Oh, but I guess that I'd still have to swap the headphones over to the main box if I wanted a late-night gaming session. So many factors to consider!
There's probably some well-studied cognitive fallacy that makes me willing to consider spending $60 for a set of headphones and $75 for a DAC, when I'd scruple at the idea of spending $135 on 'phones alone right now.
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