Help me pick my graduation present!

[tvrboy]

My aunt called me last night and offered to buy me a graduation present. My budget is around $300-$400 and I want to get full-size headphones and a portable amp. After reading around here I have narrowed down my choices, but I still need a bit of help as I have no firsthand experience with any of these products. The headphones I am looking at are: Audio Technica ATH-AD700, Grado SR225i/Alessandro MS-2, AKG K271 Mk II, and Sennheiser HD-595. The amps I am looking at are the Headroom Total Bithead, iBasso D2 BOA, and Nuforce Icon Mobile.

Would any of these combinations be totally great or totally horrible? I listen to punk, hardcore, metal, and folk music. Quality of the files will be low, so slightly forgiving headphones would be nice. Source will be a Creative Labs Zen V or my computer's sound card. I am leaning towards the K271 because of its detachable cables or the AD700 because it looks sweet. Any headphone that has modular or rebuildable parts would be a huge bonus cause i break things all the time. Any help you guys could offer would be greatly appreciated.

 

[fjrabon]

I've never received better advice on head-fi than forgoing the portable headphone amp route. My advice is to just build a quality home set-up and then for portable use, just go with something like KSC75s that can easily be driven by a portable player.

For $400 my picks of what you have listed would be:

DAC STRAIGHT [DAC STRAIGHT] - $125.00 : Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce

Alessandro MS-1

Millet SSHM

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f42/fs...ae-2-a-423708/

 

[az2123]

I recently purchased SR225is and they're fantastic. I agree with fjrabon about going for a home set-up; however, if you absolutely must get a portable amp, go for the Mini^3.

 

[rjoseph]

tvrboy, at some point or the other we all start out new. I'm new too and started out by buying an Audio Technica ATH-m50, a simple all rounder can that does not need an amp and is powered straight out of my itouch. I would recommend something like that. Since you have a good amount of dough as budget, I would recommend getting a can that does not necessarily need an amp and build on it based on your preference. You WILL NOT get it right the absolute first time round. But if you do need an amp there are some good ones in the 'for sale' section. I think I saw a Total Bithead as well.

From what I've learned, buy a can you lean towards most, hear it with your current setup, and if not optimal build on it with an amp or whatever. One of the best advices I have received and what i would recommend is, go by what sounds good to your ear.

A few of the most recommended cans that I have seen here according to your music taste are the Audio Technica AD700/900, ATH-m50 (my preference), Ultrasone HFI-780 and Denon D2000. They should easily fit your budget along with a used amp (if you really need one). If you are in for the long haul, I would recommend saving up and buying a good (costly!) amp at a later date. For an entry level listener an amp or a DAC is not that important. My 2 cents on things. Its all about experimenting and building.

Hope this helps.

 

[Suntory_Times]

HD580/600 as headphone and ibasso d2 boa would be my pick. Or diy dac and amp will get you better.

 

[cyberidd]

Welcome to Head-fi! Depending on how much you would use your cans at home, I would go with a nice desktop dac and amp and some home headphones. Since you say that you are rough on your portables, I would also get the Koss Portapro (no amp needed); I have not personally heard them, but they get quite a bit of respect and moreover their no questions asked lifetime replacement guarantee is great for someone who has a habit of breaking equipment!

 

[xkRoWx]

Get a pair of YUIN PK3 ($40), combined with a FiiO E5 ($15) for your portable set up, cheap and efficient. No need to spend all the premium to have great sound while traveling/commuting (this isn't a time for critical listening sessions). Portable amps are, IMO, redundant (the amps are either as big/bigger, or as heavy/heavier than the player, assuming you have an iPod). Portable set-ups must be light, small, and fun. Nothing beats the E5 in terms of portability, and as for premium sound for buck, YUIN PK3 is probably the only contender. If you want isolation, go for the JVC Marshmallows ($15).

Then, either spend the rest of the budget on a good pair of headphones, or a good DAC/amplifier combo. I vouch on the Grados (low end, especially the SR-60), easily modifiable, and if you happen to not like their sound signature, they also sell pretty quick here on the For Sale forums without much depreciation.

Remember this: nobody can tell you how good a pair of headphone sounds until you've tried them. All my recommendations to newbies are headphones that have great resale value, in case if you happen to not like them. Have fun!

 

[olblueyez]

I say get a set of headphones that dont need an amp and spend all your money on the headphones. Low Impedance of course. AudioTechnica, Grado, Denon, maybe even some 32 Ohm Beyers from Moon-Audio.

 

[pyrokid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xkRoWx /img/forum/go_quote.gif Get a pair of YUIN PK3 ($40), combined with a FiiO E5 ($15) for your portable set up, cheap and efficient. No need to spend all the premium to have great sound while traveling/commuting (this isn't a time for critical listening sessions). Portable amps are, IMO, redundant (the amps are either as big/bigger, or as heavy/heavier than the player, assuming you have an iPod). Portable set-ups must be light, small, and fun. Nothing beats the E5 in terms of portability, and as for premium sound for buck, YUIN PK3 is probably the only contender. If you want isolation, go for the JVC Marshmallows ($15). Then, either spend the rest of the budget on a good pair of headphones, or a good DAC/amplifier combo. I vouch on the Grados (low end, especially the SR-60), easily modifiable, and if you happen to not like their sound signature, they also sell pretty quick here on the For Sale forums without much depreciation. Remember this: nobody can tell you how good a pair of headphone sounds until you've tried them. All my recommendations to newbies are headphones that have great resale value, in case if you happen to not like them. Have fun!

No love for the ne-7m/RE2? I have the nuforce and it's right up there with the pk3. The nuforce has a bit more detail, but other than that the sound signitures are fairly similar. and I haven't heard the RE2, but I heard it does really well with an amp.

 

[aCuria]

Unless you cant achieve decent volume levels without one, portable amps are a joke. They simply dont perform as well and are not really "portable" anyways

If u break stuff easily, look at the senn HD-25. Its built pretty well

 

[.coco]

If you go for a Grado or Alessandro, you dont really need a portable amp.

 

[uraflit]

$300-$400 is a pretty good budget.

get a portable headphone like a PX100, Portapro, KSC75, Marshmallow, Yuin PK3, etc (~$20-$50) and skip the portable amp. the FIIO amp might be worth it if you need the volume boost

use the rest on a quality headphone and a home DAC/amp <-- doesnt need to be expensive, but a decent source will trump onboard sound/portable source any day.

if your aunt is paying for the gift herself, it might be easier to buy something commercial like an EMU 0404USB or anything similar. else, you can ask for a quote from a reputable DIY'er on these boards to build you a dac/amp combo.

 

[tvrboy]

Thanks for the advice. I think I will skip the portable amp then. Can a headphone with impedance of 32 ohms be driven adequately with no amp? Every one I am looking at is either 32 or 35 ohms, except the K271 which is 55. I'm kind of leaning towards the Grados. Is there any difference between the SR225i and MS-2?

 

[olblueyez]

32 Ohms is perfect without an amp.

 

[Oggranak]

I started with a portable amp and found it to be the worst bang/buck purchase I have ever made. Not recommended by me.

Maybe go for some good unamped headphones, like Grado SR225s.