[Silent Echoes]

which is better for an ipod

 

[earthpeople]

That's not a question that will get you definitive answers.

Both should be fine out of an iPod.

One is closed and other is open, so that may be a factor depending on where you plan to use these.

 

[episiarch]

I'm in the minority on this, but I don't like the ES7 unamped. It gets mushy and undefined as soon as the music becomes at all complex. Lots of people seem quite satisfied with it unamped, but I'm definitely not one.

On the other hand the ES7 scales much better if/when you do add an amp. Brilliantly clear highs and powerful deep lows, great clarity in between, It's really good.

The SR60 is very nice out of an unamped source like an iPod and will give you plenty of wow-factor if it's your first 'serious' headphone. However it does have some faults. Its high end is much too rolled off for my taste - things like hand-drum hits turn into thuds, with very little of the slap or snap that they should have. (The Alessandro MS-1 (built by Grado for Alessandro) is much better in this regard, and about as easy to drive unamped, so I'd recommend it over the SR-60. It's no more money than the ES7, so presumably it's within your budget.) Amping an SR60 doesn't change the high-end rolloff - with an amp it becomes a somewhat better sounding SR60 but still has the SR60's limitations.

As squid+ said, the SR60 is open, and the ES7 is closed. The SR60 won't isolate you from any outside noise, and will leak your music all over the place, to the probable annoyance of anybody nearby. The ES7 blocks some sound coming in from outside and leaks not at all and is the clear choice if those issues matter to you.

Moving on to ergonomic issues: because it is open and has foam pads, the SR60 breathes quite well, while the sealed ES7 can start to feel rather hot inside after a while (though the pads are leather so they at least don't get clammy the way vinyl does). The SR60 has a rather stiff and heavy cable (think 'old school') and the ES7 has a very flexible skinny one. (If you're handy with such things, the SR60 cable isn't hard to work on/replace.) Finally, the ES7's headband is not padded, and IMO is uncomfortable if you don't have a lot of hair up top.

 

[QQQ]

Grado is in another league, if you can afford to use open cans.

 

[episiarch]

Didn't this thread used to say SR60?

Anyway, I wrote my reply based on original SR60, and not the new SR60i. I have not heard that one (wasn't even aware of it until today). Nor the SR80i.

 

[ali_x]

Ive just bought a pair of ath es7's to use with my sony walkman (which sound good).

Id be interested to know how the sr80i compares to the es7 also.

Do people use a headphone amp with their ipod/walkman?.

Are the grado's better in quiet environments and minus an amp?.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silent Echoes /img/forum/go_quote.gif which is better for an ipod

 

[miloxo]

Grados are open, what means they leak sound. People around will hear your music playing.

ES7 are closed, wich means they leak no/less sound, and isolate more too.

 

[PieRat]

I plug my Ipod into an amp/receiver if I am going to listen to it using my Grados, or AT's. If I am going to use my Ipod un-amped I will use my KSC-75's or PX 100s, Marshmellows.

This is just my opinion, and maybe because I do use my old school receiver / amps, but to me my SR-80s, ES7's, My Denons, etc...all sound better amped then un amped. So if i am going totally portable I will use the Koss, or something similar.

BTW I use an Ipod 5G. To me the cans listed except the Koss, Senn's, and Marshellows, all sound "blah" straight out of the Ipod, no matter if I EQ or not...If I LOD the Ipod and amp it, then it sounds 100% better. Again just my opinion based on my setups.

 

[ali_x]

How should I go about finding a good headphone amp (I know thats a bit vague).

I know my graham slee phono amp is good and that they also do headphone amps.

 

[PieRat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ali_x /img/forum/go_quote.gif How should I go about finding a good headphone amp (I know thats a bit vague). I know my graham slee phono amp is good and that they also do headphone amps.

Hopefully someone here can give you good guidance on that. Even though I have a Cmoy, and The PA amp that gary makes. To me even using LOD they just make the blah sound I get un-amped from the ipod louder. So I use them with my Koss and other smaller phones to save battery life on the Ipod.

I have not found, or cannot afford yet a dedicated headphone amp that will give me the same sound I get from running the Ipod through a bigger Amp/receiver.

 

[ali_x]

Im just wondering how a headphones amp works with an ipod/walkman?.

Obviously a headphone amp connected with interconnects to a cd player and home system can work, with the headphones then connected to the headphone amp.

But how do you connect a walkman without any interconnects?.

 

[PieRat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ali_x /img/forum/go_quote.gif Im just wondering how a headphones amp works with an ipod/walkman?. Obviously a headphone amp connected with interconnects to a cd player and home system can work, with the headphones then connected to the headphone amp. But how do you connect a walkman without any interconnects?.

I will try to explain if I got the question right. In my case I have a LOD line out device that I plug into the "docking" slot of the Ipod similar to this.....

Only difference is mine has a 1/8" line out on the bottom of the device.


I then use a 1/8" to RCA cable wires to then plug it into my receiver/amps.

A cable like this one....

You could also just use that wire and use the headphone jack of the ipod.

 

[ali_x]

Can I expect to need a new dac to get the best out of a headphone amp used with a walkman?.

 

[PieRat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ali_x /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can I expect to need a new dac to get the best out of a headphone amp used with a walkman?.

I may be totally out in left field here as I am not an expert on DAC's.

I believe your walkman like an Ipod already has a DAC chip in it to convert the digital to an analog signal. DAC's are more used for laptops to bypass internal soundcards that will include a lot of the inner noise/interference from the running of the computer in its audio signal. Again I might be wrong about that.

 

[tenzip]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PieRat /img/forum/go_quote.gif I may be totally out in left field here as I am not an expert on DAC's. I believe your walkman like an Ipod already has a DAC chip in it to convert the digital to an analog signal. DAC's are more used for laptops to bypass internal soundcards that will include a lot of the inner noise/interference from the running of the computer in its audio signal. Again I might be wrong about that.

That's about right. There are precious few digital audio players that are capable of outputting digital via optical or coax, and so a DAC is unnecessary.

If you have one of those few, you can use one, or not.