[Flillycake]

Hello Head-Fiers!  I am quite new to the world of higher end audio.  Thanks to the recommendations on this site I recently purchased a pair of Sony MDR-Z1000's and I could not be happier with this purchase.  I was wondering of there were any open back headphones that would compliment these for at home use as I primarily use the Sonys for on the go.  I am looking for something under $400 preferably but there is some wiggle room 

.  
 
 Even though they aren't open back I was thinking about reaching for a set of Denon AH-D5000s.  Another one I was thinking of getting is the Sennheiser HD 650s.  I was wondering if a set of headphones like these would really outclass the Sonys in sound quality.  I listen to a wide variety of music but primarily rock and Hip Hop.  I've never owned a headphone that was considered to have a considerable "Sound Stage" so that is one of the big criteria for me this time around.  If you guys could give me your recommendations it would be greatly appreciated!

 

[senson]

Both of them you mentioned are mostly "all arounder" but have very different sound, among them I would say D5000 for Rock & Hiphop since It has V/U shape fun sound(strong bass and sparkly high). That doesn't mean HD650 have no bass, to my ears it sounds more like mid centric and darker with wider sound stage(airy)
So if you are looking for fun headphone I would go with Denon, if you are looking for more relaxed, less fatigue for long time listening go with HD650.
Since you like Rock/Hip-hop I would consider Ultrasone Pro series, Grado and HE400 also (don't have personal experience but I heard they are good also)
 
Happy listening

 

[valerianaoff]

+1 for Ultrasones
 
+1 for Hifimans

 

[tzjin]

Another fan of orthos!

+1 for Hifiman

 

[elwappo99]

Quote:

Hello Head-Fiers!  I am quite new to the world of higher end audio.  Thanks to the recommendations on this site I recently purchased a pair of Sony MDR-Z1000's and I could not be happier with this purchase.  I was wondering of there were any open back headphones that would compliment these for at home use as I primarily use the Sonys for on the go.  I am looking for something under $400 preferably but there is some wiggle room 

.  
 
 Even though they aren't open back I was thinking about reaching for a set of Denon AH-D5000s.  Another one I was thinking of getting is the Sennheiser HD 650s.  I was wondering if a set of headphones like these would really outclass the Sonys in sound quality.  I listen to a wide variety of music but primarily rock and Hip Hop.  I've never owned a headphone that was considered to have a considerable "Sound Stage" so that is one of the big criteria for me this time around.  If you guys could give me your recommendations it would be greatly appreciated!

 
Hi there! Welcome to these parts. 
 
I would also recommend the Hifiman range. If you want something that's really going to make you say 'wow' and a step up from your Sonys, that's the way to go. What are you planning on plugging these new headphones into?

 

[Flillycake]

 
Hi there! Welcome to these parts. 
 
I would also recommend the Hifiman range. If you want something that's really going to make you say 'wow' and a step up from your Sonys, that's the way to go. What are you planning on plugging these new headphones into?

 
I just have an old hand me down Marantz receiver.  I was considering saving up for a dedicated headphone amp in the near future.  The Marantz seems to do just fine though.  I know almost nothing about amps/dacs and all that other good stuff.  My uncle just got me interested in this stuff as he has a ton of audio equipment in his home.  He was also the one that gave me the receiver as a gift before I left for college.  Any dedicated headphone amps that you'd suggest to power the Hifimans?  I've heard some very positive reviews about those.

 

[tzjin]

If you just get the HE400, I think the receiver would power them just fine.

 

[elwappo99]

You are certainly in luck! What's the model on that Marantz? There's a huge thread on the Hifiman HE-6, and most people have ditched dedicated headphone amps and gone with the old vintage receivers. The headphone out is pretty fantastic with them.
 
Also, what are you hooking up to the marantz? 

 

[Flillycake]

Quote:

You are certainly in luck! What's the model on that Marantz? There's a huge thread on the Hifiman HE-6, and most people have ditched dedicated headphone amps and gone with the old vintage receivers. The headphone out is pretty fantastic with them.
 
Also, what are you hooking up to the marantz? 

Model 2238B I think.  Also its pretty old, probably a good bit older than I am lol.  Well I just have my computer as my source at the moment.  I don't know if buying an expensive CD player or Vinyl player would benefit me a whole lot. 

 

[Saoshyant]

Quote:

Model 2238B I think.  Also its pretty old, probably a good bit older than I am lol.  Well I just have my computer as my source at the moment.  I don't know if buying an expensive CD player or Vinyl player would benefit me a whole lot. 

Vinyl in my experience is a rather immersive form of entertainment.  Partially due to the fact that for me, I'm having to get up every few songs to flip the record over or switch it out, so by function, requires more of my attention than when I listen to a CD or through my computer.
 
Vinyl ends up having its own benefits and disadvantages, the disadvantages for me mainly being it being more manually demanding than other forms, as well as it not being as easy to acquire as a CD or file, with some notable exceptions.  Another disadvantage I run into is the cost for vinyls tends to be quite a bit higher, some of my albums having cost between 50-250 depending on availability at the time, and overall rareness.
 
For me, one of the main advantages is that more attention to detail feels to have been made when it comes to vinyl as far as the physical product is concerned.  The vinyls themselves may be colored differently, creating some very beautiful effects, some of them may even be see-through to an extent, I know I have a few that do this.  I'll fully admit these advantages are mostly superficial, but the artistic qualities to them are worth it to alot of people.  Many of the older vinyl listeners will gladly admit they have music in their collection that either cannot be acquired through other mediums, or the record not sounding right on other mediums.
 
Vinyl mainly comes down to being a matter of taste and preference.  It ends up being more costly than cds, and depending on the condition of the vinyl, may sound absolutely awful.  But if you are willing to give them a try, you very well might find it was a wonderful choice to make.  Or you may also decide its ultimately not worth it, and continue with easier to use mediums.

 

[elwappo99]

Quote:

Model 2238B I think.  Also its pretty old, probably a good bit older than I am lol.  Well I just have my computer as my source at the moment.  I don't know if buying an expensive CD player or Vinyl player would benefit me a whole lot. 

 
Wow! Certainly a great find! These units have a headphone out that is connected to the speaker taps, and just have a resister built into them. What's the sound system from your computer? Is it just a built in sound card? 

 

[Flillycake]

Quote:

Vinyl in my experience is a rather immersive form of entertainment.  Partially due to the fact that for me, I'm having to get up every few songs to flip the record over or switch it out, so by function, requires more of my attention than when I listen to a CD or through my computer.
 
Vinyl ends up having its own benefits and disadvantages, the disadvantages for me mainly being it being more manually demanding than other forms, as well as it not being as easy to acquire as a CD or file, with some notable exceptions.  Another disadvantage I run into is the cost for vinyls tends to be quite a bit higher, some of my albums having cost between 50-250 depending on availability at the time, and overall rareness.
 
For me, one of the main advantages is that more attention to detail feels to have been made when it comes to vinyl as far as the physical product is concerned.  The vinyls themselves may be colored differently, creating some very beautiful effects, some of them may even be see-through to an extent, I know I have a few that do this.  I'll fully admit these advantages are mostly superficial, but the artistic qualities to them are worth it to alot of people.  Many of the older vinyl listeners will gladly admit they have music in their collection that either cannot be acquired through other mediums, or the record not sounding right on other mediums.
 
Vinyl mainly comes down to being a matter of taste and preference.  It ends up being more costly than cds, and depending on the condition of the vinyl, may sound absolutely awful.  But if you are willing to give them a try, you very well might find it was a wonderful choice to make.  Or you may also decide its ultimately not worth it, and continue with easier to use mediums.

Wow thanks for the very detailed explanation 

.  It seems to be a worthy interest to look into.  Maybe I will try to use vinyls down the line but it seems to be quite a sizable investment in both time and money especially for someone still stacking up debt.

 

[Flillycake]

Quote:

 
Wow! Certainly a great find! These units have a headphone out that is connected to the speaker taps, and just have a resister built into them. What's the sound system from your computer? Is it just a built in sound card? 

Yeah I'm just using the stock sound card that came with my computer.