[Yoones]

hello Head-fi community, I need your advices.
I was wondering if it would be a good choice to buy HD-595 for my portable player (ihp 140).
according that they have 50 ohms impedance, would it be still ok without an amp ?
(of course I know it would sound better with an amp but I may buy it later)
for now I'm using HD-497 with it, so can you point me to the best choice for my precious portable?
HD-555? HD-595? if I must buy an amp, then which one should I choose?
or simply tell me what is the best headphones for portable player

(I really don't like in-ear for the comfy and for the fact that I would step on them XD )
I might buy 595 very soon, and may try to find some good mobile amp
(btw, what do you think about headroom, I think this site smells like they really want you to waste your money, only their amp in there, are they worth their price?!)

Thank you! take care of your ears

 

[darkninja67]

I love my 595s but would go closed if you are using them mostly for portable duties. I think you should look at the Senn HD 25s.

 

[jagorev]

The 595 sounds fine unamped. It shouldn't be a problem.

Headroom is a great site. I've always been impressed with their honesty about products, and their excellent customer service. I can't think of any other retailer willing to give fair and good reviews to cheaper products or criticize pricy "flagship" products. Most retailers don't state any opinion whatsoever. They're also usually quite upfront about the limitations and capabilities of their own amps. Their prices are usually competitive, and I've heard they will price-match a lower retailer (not sure about this).

 

[Yoones]

hi thanks,
but first HD-25 are 70 ohms, so I guess my ihp140 won't drive them without an amp neither if it could drive HD-595,
then it's supraaural and I prefer circumaural for comfy.
althought, I m don't know about closed type rendering, but I know it might be good when using in portable use because I m often in noisy environnment, but I like fidelity in sound reproduction...
so you got 497?

tell me if the 595 are worth buying them compared to 497? do you use an amp between them and your source?

 

[Yoones]

thanks jagorev, I m closer to buy them now ^.^
aah thanks to internet, I didn't know nothing about headphones few months ago then I clicked on a nice pic which was actually a pair of HD-650, I started to learn and now I'm here on head-fi. I guess I'll be broke in one year with a stax at home.
hower I need to listen as many headphone as possible to make my mind about how good can sound the musics I love.

 

[RichardCory]

I have the 595. I mostly listen to it out of my laptop's soundcard, but I've also heard it through my iAudio G3 mp3 player, along with the Xin SuperMacro-III and RSA Hornet amps. It all sounds great, and I notice no difference in sound between any of the sources/amps.

 

[darkninja67]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yoones hi thanks, but first HD-25 are 70 ohms, so I guess my ihp140 won't drive them without an amp neither if it could drive HD-595, then it's supraaural and I prefer circumaural for comfy. althought, I m don't know about closed type rendering, but I know it might be good when using in portable use because I m often in noisy environnment, but I like fidelity in sound reproduction... so you got 497? tell me if the 595 are worth buying them compared to 497? do you use an amp between them and your source?

The 497s are not even close to the 595s. I barely touch the 497s. The 595s are more refined. Just better in detail, headstage, dynamics, more balanced, etc. I think you can find the 595s for around $150 here. They are well worth is and sound great with my current amp although I can drive them directly from my X5.
The 595s will probably make me want the 600/650s even more now that I have been liking the Senn sound. (yeah I know the 595s are more upfront than the 600/650s)

 

[darkninja67]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yoones I guess I'll be broke in one year with a stax at home.

Home? What's that? I live in an ATM now due to this addiction.

 

[jagorev]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yoones hi thanks, but first HD-25 are 70 ohms, so I guess my ihp140 won't drive them without an amp neither if it could drive HD-595, then it's supraaural and I prefer circumaural for comfy. althought, I m don't know about closed type rendering, but I know it might be good when using in portable use because I m often in noisy environnment, but I like fidelity in sound reproduction... so you got 497? tell me if the 595 are worth buying them compared to 497? do you use an amp between them and your source?

I had the 497 (which is very good for the price) and 595 for a while, and I feel that it was a big improvement.

However:

1. HD-25 can be driven easily by a portable. Ohms aren't as important as sensitivity (dB/mW).
2. Please don't use the 595 in a noisy environment. It does not isolate at all. I used to make this same mistake. Closed is the only way to go if you want to protect your hearing...I personally value fidelity, and I think it sounds much more accurate and "hi-fi" when there is less background noise interfering with the music. HD 25-1 is preferable for this kind of use.

Open headphones force you to turn up the volume to dangerous levels in order to block out noise - this is always a bad idea.

 

[senny-ftw]

Headroom - I wish the Total Bithead had enough juice to power HD600/650 properly because it is otherwise an excellent, good value device being a very good sound card and headphone amp in one. It doesn't have the juice, so the entry point is the Micro line, which is so expensive in my personal opinion that it cannot be good value...

I'm not dissing headroom though, I am very happy with my TB and their customer service.

HD595s are excellent headphones and have an exciting sound.

 

[thomasmiller]

The 595's will slurp all the current they can find, and they really want to ride a real amp to show their talents. They're very very accurate when well driven. That said, I won't put them on my laptop or my portable CD player, even with an entry level amp. It's just not fair to the phones -- or the esteemed listener.


On the flip side, my mid-level audio amps at home all drive them quite well (rotel, NAD, denon).

Put a good amp in the chain, especially in a desktop config, and you're golden.

--tm

 

[Yoones]

well I have just ordered HD-595, and I will order a total bithead portable amp from headroom soon.
I'm also saving up for HD-25 which seems to fit my expectation for use in noisy environnement.
I guess it's not a waste to have bought HD-595 because even if they won't sound as good as they are supposed to do with a good home amp,
they will sound far better than my actual headphones, with a total bithead.
and it may lead me to buy a good amp for them.
I'll do my review (noob opinion tho) when I ll receive them.