[DudeLebowski]

Hi Everyone.I am new here.I am a newbie regarding headphones and want to buy one to start my Audiophile journey.

I have an LG V20 and I want to take advantage of the DAC.I started my research into headphones 3 months back and I zeroed between two headphones i.e between BeyerDynamic DT 990 Premium 600 ohms and Sennheiser HD 650.I am not looking for Closed back headphones.

I mostly listen to Rock,Pop(30% Female Vocals) and would listen to Electronic,Bass and Thump heavy music every now and then.I want the headphone to be Lively and have no distortion.

I was sold on DT 990 for my needs, but then I read many people complaining about harsh treble spikes and started searching again.I liked HD 650 as almost everyone but I am concerned as many mentioned that it is not a fun headphone and it is not as fun as DT 990.

I am looking at this amazon DT 990 deal with Fiio E12 Amp,Case,64 GB card at $279 and HD 650 is priced at $315 in Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/BeyerDynamic...1499224242&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=dt+990&psc=1

Please guide me to the headphone that caters to my needs.Its not mandatory that I will use only LG V20 and will buy an Amp and DAC if required but they are of second priority.

Thank You in Advance.
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Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums.

 

[007shark76]

For the type of music you listen to, I would be more inclined to recommend a closed-back headphone. It would give you more "thump" for modern rock, pop, electronica, etc. My recommendation would be the Denon AH-MM400 for the source you are using (no additional amp or dac required). Any reason why you would not want a closed-back headphone?

 

[14likd1]

Can't say why he doesn't like closed-back but for me, closed-back headphones are extremely suffocating. When I compared my brothers HD 598 cs to my HD 598 se not only were the headphones heavier but it just felt like there was this void in my ear which really irritates me a lot.

 

[007shark76]

I have both types. At home, I like to use open-backs unless I want to "rock out" and get more punch and liveliness from the music. For portable use, I only use closed-backs. They are more efficient to use with smartphones and daps, provide noise isolation, give microphone/remote ability, and are generally less fatiguing with increased volume to overcome ambient noises.

The Beyer's and the Senn's listed would not be a good match with the LG V20 due to their high impedance and needing more power than the V20 can provide.

 

[DudeLebowski]

I tried HD 598 CS and I felt it was suffocating and I did not like them at all.I played G.O.M.D and A Perfect Circle in those headphones and was uneasy till the music stopped.So,I am not looking for closed-back headphones right now.The headphones will be used only in my home and so I don't mind about not being Portable.

 

[007shark76]

Another headphone that you might consider is the Hifiman HE400S or HE400i. The HE400S is more efficient than the HE400i, but you would probably want to make the additional purchase of the Focus A pads with the 400S. The 400i already comes with the Focus A pads. I use the HE400S with a Schiit Modi Multibit and Pangea hybrid tube amp at my desktop and am not left wanting for anything better.

 

[cossix]

Keep in mind, anything over 100 ohms should need an amp to sound their best. For example, buying the 600 ohm Beyers or HD650 would literally be a waste of money with no amp. For your Amazon post, I don't know why they included an SD card. It's a headphone and amp, the card is pointless and you won't need it. Maybe just buy the amp and headphone separately.

Closed vs open: Closed cans will usually offer more "thump" but may not sound as natural. For electronic and similar music, closed back works well because none of the instruments are natural anyway.

Good luck with your search!

 

[Guidostrunk]

I'll second the Hifiman recommendation. And since your primary focus is using the dac in your phone.
I can't recommend enough the Emotiva Basx A-100. Just pop the jumpers in if you go planar. It's a steal at $229 shipped to your door. I prefer this amp to far more expensive amps that I've previously owned.
https://emotiva.com/products/amplifiers/100

I also see the 400i selling on here for peanuts, compared to full retail.

Cheers

 

[DudeLebowski]

Keep in mind, anything over 100 ohms should need an amp to sound their best. For example, buying the 600 ohm Beyers or HD650 would literally be a waste of money with no amp. For your Amazon post, I don't know why they included an SD card. It's a headphone and amp, the card is pointless and you won't need it. Maybe just buy the amp and headphone separately.

Closed vs open: Closed cans will usually offer more "thump" but may not sound as natural. For electronic and similar music, closed back works well because none of the instruments are natural anyway.

Good luck with your search!

Okay thank you for your inputs.How does electronic and alternate music sound in an Open Headphone?Do they sound neutral and dark?I mentioned that Amazon post as buying the Fiio AMP and DT 990 Premium 600 ohms separately is pricier than the offered price.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Hi Everyone.I am new here.I am a newbie regarding headphones and want to buy one to start my Audiophile journey.

I have an LG V20 and I want to take advantage of the DAC.I started my research into headphones 3 months back and I zeroed between two headphones i.e between BeyerDynamic DT 990 Premium 600 ohms and Sennheiser HD 650.I am not looking for Closed back headphones.

I mostly listen to Rock,Pop(30% Female Vocals) and would listen to Electronic,Bass and Thump heavy music every now and then.I want the headphone to be Lively and have no distortion.

I was sold on DT 990 for my needs, but then I read many people complaining about harsh treble spikes and started searching again. I liked HD 650 as almost everyone but I am concerned as many mentioned that it is not a fun headphone and it is not as fun as DT 990.

I am looking at this amazon DT 990 deal with Fiio E12 Amp,Case,64 GB card at $279 and HD 650 is priced at $315 in Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/BeyerDynamic...1499224242&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=dt+990&psc=1

Please guide me to the headphone that caters to my needs.Its not mandatory that I will use only LG V20 and will buy an Amp and DAC if required but they are of second priority.

OK, first off, what exactly is "fun"? What is "lively"? What you and many others who use these descriptions forget is that this has a lot less to do with the response of the headphone and has more to do with sensitivity and actual volume output vs THD+N and has no problems with current delivery. When people claim that Grados are more fun than the HD600s chances are they're playing the Grados louder - not hard to do without any attempt at equalizing with a dB meter and a test tone because the Grado tends to let in more noise, and more importantly, with a much higher sensitivity and an easier 32ohm load (for any amp or device with a low enough output impedance anyway), they'll get there without a distortion and noise penalty. When people think the K701 on some amps isn't as fun as the HD600 on the Crack, again, that's because the HD600 has a 4dB/1mW sensitivity advantage (do not confuse this with efficiency, which is x/1mV - same thing but AKG flips the figures) on top of which it's a 300ohm headphone being driven by an OTL amplifier which makes most of its power when given a 300ohm load. You basically have a lower sensitivity headphone here going up against a higher sensitivity headphone getting more power. On an OTL amp the HD600 can sound as lively as a Grado, mainly because the power output being at 300ohms, you get around the sensitivity of the Grados.

In other words, for the most part, "fun" is listening louder than usual and making sure the amp is up to it, regardless of what headphone it is. And in that sense the HD6x0 might be a better bet than the DT990 since it has a hair lower sensitivity but has double the impedance. Even the T1 sounds a little lazy on some portable amps, despite the high sensitivity.

Alternately you can get the HiFiMan HE400S - sensitivity slightly higher than the HD650, 24ohm impedance so any portable amp can pour a lot f power into it (and practically all of them have a low output impedance also), and the treble range isn't as weak relative to everything below 1000hz.

 

[DudeLebowski]

Another headphone that you might consider is the Hifiman HE400S or HE400i. The HE400S is more efficient than the HE400i, but you would probably want to make the additional purchase of the Focus A pads with the 400S. The 400i already comes with the Focus A pads. I use the HE400S with a Schiit Modi Multibit and Pangea hybrid tube amp at my desktop and am not left wanting for anything better.

Thank You.Can you explain how they sound or point me to any thread here regarding the HIFiman here in Head-Fi?

 

[DudeLebowski]

OK, first off, what exactly is "fun"? What is "lively"? What you and many others who use these descriptions forget is that this has a lot less to do with the response of the headphone and has more to do with sensitivity and actual volume output vs THD+N and has no problems with current delivery. When people claim that Grados are more fun than the HD600s chances are they're playing the Grados louder - not hard to do without any attempt at equalizing with a dB meter and a test tone because the Grado tends to let in more noise, and more importantly, with a much higher sensitivity and an easier 32ohm load (for any amp or device with a low enough output impedance anyway), they'll get there without a distortion and noise penalty. When people think the K701 on some amps isn't as fun as the HD600 on the Crack, again, that's because the HD600 has a 4dB/1mW sensitivity advantage (do not confuse this with efficiency, which is x/1mV - same thing but AKG flips the figures) on top of which it's a 300ohm headphone being driven by an OTL amplifier which makes most of its power when given a 300ohm load. You basically have a lower sensitivity headphone here going up against a higher sensitivity headphone getting more power. On an OTL amp the HD600 can sound as lively as a Grado, mainly because the power output being at 300ohms, you get around the sensitivity of the Grados.

In other words, for the most part, "fun" is listening louder than usual and making sure the amp is up to it, regardless of what headphone it is. And in that sense the HD6x0 might be a better bet than the DT990 since it has a hair lower sensitivity but has double the impedance. Even the T1 sounds a little lazy on some portable amps, despite the high sensitivity.

Alternately you can get the HiFiMan HE400S - sensitivity slightly higher than the HD650, 24ohm impedance so any portable amp can pour a lot f power into it (and practically all of them have a low output impedance also), and the treble range isn't as weak relative to everything below 1000hz.

Sorry if I mentioned Fun and Lively.I posted them because every post I checked mentioned that Beyers are Fun and Lively and Senns are dark,neutral and plain.I will have a chance to check the Senns in this week and will check if they are fun enough to me.

 

[007shark76]

innerfidelity has a review on them.
https://www.innerfidelity.com/content/terrific-hifiman-he400s-planar-magnetic-headphones

 

[007shark76]

here is a head-fi thread for the 400S
https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/new-2015-hifiman-he400s.766529/

 

[DudeLebowski]

here is a head-fi thread for the 400S
https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/new-2015-hifiman-he400s.766529/

Thank you.Will check them.