[AMK8789]

Hi everybody,
I'm new to the head-fi forums and a developing audiophile. I was wondering which one of these headphones i should get.

Ultrasone ProLine 2500 or AKG K702

I have spent the past week browsing the head-fi forums and net for reviews and impressions on both of these cans. I have taken everything i have read as a grain of salt. I would like to hear your opinions on these heaphones.

Now from what i have read the Ultrasones are slightly bass heavy when fully burned in and that the AKG is not as bass heavy as the Ultrasones. The mids and the highs from what i read are pretty much identical.

Now my primary source for listening to music is a 32gb Sony X-series walkman and i use that with a pair of Monster turbines (normal ones). I wanted to get a full-size headphone and portable amp to fully enjoy what this PMP can dish out in terms of sound.

My musical tastes include everything from heavy metal to Mozart and other classical and instrumentals. I dont listen to country music, but i do listen to some hip-hop and rap occasionally. I tend to describe listen to my musical listening taste as balanced with a little more bass, cause i believe that bass helps give a fuller sound.

I have never owned a GOOD full-size headphone before (but have tried alot of them in the past) and i understand that most of the higher ohm headphones require a amp. Since my source is portable i was looking at the iBasso t3d portable amp and was wondering if it can drive those two headphones. I like how the ibasso is relatively small and has two gain switches. I have also looked at the forums and reviews extensively on this amp as well (read the portable amp thread that has reviewed over 50 amps). I would like your impressions on this amp too please. (I have read that the ultrasones are kinda hard to drive even though they are 40 ohm headphones. I believe this is due to the drivers being titanium)

I have taken everything i have read on the ibasso and the two headphones as a grain of salt and i understand that everyone has there own sonic preferences and tastes.

Please help me in deciding which pair of cans to get and i would appreciate your opinions on the ibasso portable amp as well. I am open to suggestions for a amp as long as it is portable. I am hoping that all of your insight on the amp and headphones will lead me to a decision.

Thank you for your time,
AMK8789

 

[joelpearce]

A few quick things.

First, neither of the ones you've listed are going to be that practical for portable use, especially the K702. They are big, don't fold up, and since they are wide open, they won't block outside noise or prevent your sound from leaking. From your post it's unclear whether you intend to take the setup with you or not.

The 2500 will probably be better for many of the genres you listed. The K702 gets more respect for classical, but I can't imagine (FWIR) that most people would be happy with it for rap/hip-hop/metal.

As a fairly new person around here myself, I would give you this advice: take the extra time and find a headphone that you will like with all genres. If you don't, you'll just be back in a few weeks and spend a lot more money than you plan.

 

[AMK8789]

Thank you for your input. I greatly appreciate it. The Ultrasones were very intriguing and i may go with those. I will take your advice and look around the forums again for a headphone that will tailor to my tastes and genres of music.

 

[mesasone]

I don't think the AKG K701/2 are what you are looking for in terms of sound signature OR portability.

 

[fjrabon]

my advice with portable always has been, and I imagine always will be, just get an easy to drive headphone that doesn't need an amp and go straight out of the headphone jack of your DMP, or at most something like a FiiO E5. To me portable just isn't worth it. You really just can't get enough current to really make headphones shine out of a portable amp, the ultimate limit is simply that you can't pull that much when you're powered by batteries. I know some will disagree with me, but I'd take the ease and simplicity of an Audio Technica M50, Grado SR80i, Audio Technica ESW9A or Denon D1001 straight out of your DMP than dealing with like an iBasso and K702's, DT770's, etc. The sound difference, if its there at all, isn't worth the hassle and cost.

Just my $.02

 

[Ninkul]

Thought about IEMs?

 

[Palpatine]

If you are really stuck on full sized, and not on-ear like the AT esw9, perhaps an HFI 780 with a shorter recable and 1/8 plug. No amp required.

 

[NapalmK]

Denon D2000 or an Ultrasone (780 maybe a 750 or something similar) both sound good. Though the Ultrasone definitely fits better if you need a portable. You might want to consider something like the Beyerdynamic Dt770/880 if you want something to amp.

 

[tigermilk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ninkul /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thought about IEMs?

+1

For portable listening on my Zune, I like my Eytmotic ER6i's. I'm actually able to enjoy music on airplanes for once. Sounds is really nice out of these thanks to the nice isolation from outside noise.

Several years ago I'd commute between Houston and Boston and traveled with my HD580s. A major hassle. IEMs are the perfect thing for good sound and portability.