[Merrlen]

Hello everyone! I'm new to the site and somewhat of a newbie to the
headphone hifi world. This is a great site and resource I'm thankful I stumbled upon. excuse any typos as I'm typing this vis my blackberry while in my carpool on the way to work.

i need help with what headphone to get. i currently have bose over the ear triports which with my untrained ear can tell they aren't the best. received them as a gift and now I'm already starting to Jones for better quality. i currently have an Astro mix amp which nominal impedence is 51 ohm and pill push 1.6 vRMS. I plan on also purchasing a Bellari HA540 Tube Headphone Amp for home use and if i can figure a way to rig my xbox upto it I will do that as well. i will use the headphones 1st for music and movies and would also like to use them for gaming. i tend to listen to classic rock and alternative the most but listen to all genre including jazz and classical. I'm looking to spend around $500.00. in researching online the Sennheiser hd 650, grado rs2i and rs1i, beyerdynamic dt880 and 990 have peeked my interest. i have heard the older grado rs2 and 1 thus far. Please offer some thoughts and any other headphone i should consider. also debating on ohm rating. thanks for the help!

 

[Prog Rock Man]

Hi. I would not worry about ohms, as most headphones are made to even cope with the tiny output of ipods and other MP3 players. The only headphones that I have that just cannot be used with an ipod are some vintage Sonys rated at 10,000 ohms!
 
I would add AKG to your list as they major on detail and would go well with classical and jazz. I listen to prog rock including the jazzy end of the genre and AKG are my favourite brand.
 
You should consider comfort and type as well. Would you prefer on or over ear design? Would you prefer the sound not to leak so as not to annoy others?

 

[Merrlen]

Hi Prog Rock Man!

I will give the AKG's a listen. i read some good things about the 701 and 702. As far as closed vs open ear, leakage to a point wont be an issue. i do like my bass but I am looking for the best sound quality and good size soundstage. If I remember what I have read the open ear gives a more airy feel while the closed is better for isolation? As far as ohms, not a significant difference in sound? Thanks for the response!

 

[Prog Rock Man]

Most headphones leak some sound, even closed backed ones. The K701/2 leak sound such that they can be easily heard, same with the Grados.
 
Can you go somewhere to audition or will you have to buy by recommendation only?

 

[Merrlen]

There is a place about 60 miles from where I live that has a decent selection. Thus far I have only listened to the older verson Grado rs1 and rs2 at a store near by me. I also listened to the B and W P5 with an amp and wasn't that impressed at least after listening to the Grados. So hopefully, I will be able to listen to at least a couple of sets but all and any advise anyone can give will be very helpful in my decision maling. Thanks again for the response.

 

[desktophifi]

I say the AKg's and the HD650's are good choices to consider. 

 

[Prog Rock Man]

If you were not impressed with the P5s and you like classical you want soundstage and not all in your head. Open backed AKGs, particularly the K701/2 should be high up your list.

 

[Merrlen]

I will give the AKG's a listen when I head up to the store. i do listen to classical music and jazz but mostly listen to classic rock, alternative and hard/heavy metal.

 

[Merrlen]

also has anyone used any of these with an astro mixamp which i will use for gaming?

 

[Merrlen]

Also, does anyone have any experience with ultrasone, pioneer, denon and audio techna? I want to make sure the 1st set of headphones I get are the right ones. Thanks again.

 

[taisho]

I own a pair of the Denon D5000's and the Ultrasone Pro-900's and both headphones are amazing. However, I feel the Denon's are more comfortable, less fatiguing, and presents a laid-back type of sound signature. The Pro-900's have a more forward presentation and tighter bass with more impact. I wear glasses and the Pro-900's get annoying to wear after awhile.
 
EDIT: Both of these headphones have a low ohm range, but the Pro-900's sound better through an mp3 player than the D5000's.

 

[Merrlen]

Hi Taisho, thank you for the input! I will give those both a listen if the store has them.

 

[Merrlen]

Well, thought I would follow up with the peeps that gave their input here. I tried about 20 headphones out and for my 1st pair of somewhat serious headphones I decided on the Ultrasone HFI 780. I was looking to try the  900 pros but they were out of stock. I was very impressed with these. I tested them next to the Grado RS1i and RS2i, AKG 701 and 702, Beyerdynamic DT  880 and dt 990, Sennheiser HD 600 (they didn't have the HD650's in stock which I wanted to try out), the Dennon d5000, Dr Dre Beat Studio (for sh&%$ and giggles) In my opnion not a true sounding headseat, Pioneer, Bose Q2/Q3 and a couple of audio Techica's. I had them all lined up and  listened to each of them over and over with the same trackes each round. The Ultrasone's for my 1st pair of serious cans are going to do more of everything I want to do with them which is listen tp music, movies and play video games. I almost have them broken in and they sound amazing. I was impressed with a lot of the headphones I tried out but in  the end the Ultrasone's won out for this round. The wife got my Bose around the ear headphones. Currently I am running them on an astro mini amp but plan to buy a  Bellari HA540 Tube Headphone Amp . Hopefully  by the end of the year I will be looking at another set. Im really interested in the Beyerdynamic DT880 600 ohm and the Grado's for my next purchase but will have to give them all another go. I also want to give the  Sennheiser HD650's a listen. Thank you all for your input. Cheers..