[phongn]

I'm thinking of getting some headphones for (mostly) classical music with a mix of other stuff. The source will probably be my computer hooked up to a M-Audio Sonica external sound card.

I don't have an amp right now, though I'm planning to get one. Also, I'd prefer closed headphones under $200.

I'm thinking of the Beyerdynamic DT831 headphones, but does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Guyferd]

Quote:

Originally posted by phongn I'm thinking of getting some headphones for (mostly) classical music with a mix of other stuff. The source will probably be my computer hooked up to a M-Audio Sonica external sound card. I don't have an amp right now, though I'm planning to get one. Also, I'd prefer closed headphones under $200. I'm thinking of the Beyerdynamic DT831 headphones, but does anyone have any suggestions?

Under 200? goes unamped.. hm let me think...
I think AKG501 is good for classical(but lacks the bass that makes classical fun,.. at least to me

.. but I guess you may need an amp to drive it? HD580 is another nice choice.

 

[akar]

.

 

[phongn]

Thanks for all the responses.

Are there any other closed headphones that might be good for classical? I've been searching the board and some like the DT770 - how would that work?

(gah, I sound like such a n00b)

 

[Guyferd]

I like the Dt770 sound.. in fact it may have been the headphone that I have been looking so far !!! I am going to buy it by this week.

All I can tell you is that the headphone has arguably the best bass(interms of extension, depth, tightness).For classical, I personally like them to be slightly bassy.. coz it's just more fun than listening to headphones like akg501.. which is bass shy. They don't offer much excitement, IMHO.

dt770 requires amp to be driven. But the dt costs only about $140 at meier-audio.com .. think. So you can save up the rest and get yourself an amp.

Or you may want to look at hd580.. although the impedance is a little high.. I know of some people who run em straight out of the soundcard. But I think the sound quality won't be that great compared to hooking em to a dedicated amp.

Probably your best bet is the AudioTechnica W-100. The wooden headphone...(from what I read) are quite good interms of soundstage.They can be run straight out of portables and even computer soundcard. The string instruments also sound much nicer on them. The bass on this phone is also very good, On par with beyer dt250-80 if not better.I heard that they are not that suitable for rock though.. if that bothers u. For pop, classical and other slow paced music they can do very well. Goes for ard.. $230 I think.So far I think this is what you may be looking for?

 

[phongn]

Looking around in the 'net, the AudioTechnica one seems a bit pricey...

I was considering the HD580, but that's an open headphone - I'd prefer a closed one to block out the noise my siblings make.

 

[hokiefritz]

Unfortunately all of the closed phones I've heard probably won't completely block out your siblings antics, but rather just muffle their noise a bit. For thorough noise blocking you need to reach for the Etymotic canal phones which are over your budget. They are excellent for classical btw.

If money is tight you might want to try the Sony V-6 as they provide some isolation and are easy to drive without a dedicated headphone amplifier.

In case you change your mind about open phones, why not try the KOSS KSC35 (check out ebay) or Portapro (if you can get a deal on them) to start with? These work great plugged directly into any source. If you get serious about headphones and go all out, like a lot of the folks here, either of these two make awesome portable phones that will still be useful to you if you move on to more expensive equipment. Just a thought.

 

[phongn]

Quote:

Originally posted by hokiefritz Unfortunately all of the closed phones I've heard probably won't completely block out your siblings antics, but rather just muffle their noise a bit. For thorough noise blocking you need to reach for the Etymotic canal phones which are over your budget. They are excellent for classical btw.

So I've heard. Alas, the thought of sticking things into my ear canal is somewhat disconcerting.

Quote:

In case you change your mind about open phones, why not try the KOSS KSC35 (check out ebay) or Portapro (if you can get a deal on them) to start with? These work great plugged directly into any source. If you get serious about headphones and go all out, like a lot of the folks here, either of these two make awesome portable phones that will still be useful to you if you move on to more expensive equipment. Just a thought.

I may get some in the future for when I don't want to haul around some largish headphones just to listen to music.

 

[MERTON]

what is impedance?

 

[phongn]

Quote:

Originally posted by MERTON what is impedance?

Resistance to an electrical current, IIRC. A headphone with high impedance will be harder to drive from devices with low output, such as portable CD players, most computer sound cards and various other portable devices.