Help me pick my upgrade

[Bones2010]

I'm looking for a circumaural-open phone for rock and blues. My #1 priority is comfort. #2 is sound quality. #3 is price. I currently use AT M50's and am happy with the purchase(at the time I had to have closed phones) but there are aspects of closed phones that I don't like. Also, I would like to try a less analytical sound. So far, I am considering:

Beyer dt 880, 990
Senn 600,650

Any phone that's not very comfortable is ruled out.
Any phone that lacks bass is ruled out.

They will be used with an Asus Essence stx soundcard(I don't plan on upgrading source or amp).
Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[nullstring]

.... I am not too sure that any of those are drivable with the Essence STX. I am sure others will either support or deny this.

Ignoring the amp issue, you couldn't go wrong with either of those. I would lean more toward either the HD600 or the DT880. The DT880 is going to be brighter and more detailed. The HD600 is going to sound smooth and rich. FWIR.

 

[1Time]

What is your budget for buying these headphones?

And, would you consider using some of that budget for also buying an amp?

 

[Uncle Erik]

The Asus soundcard will only give you about 140mW. If you want to drive any of those, you'll probably want to shoot for at least twice that. From personal experience, I didn't find the HD-600, HD-650 or DT-880 to really open up until fed with 500mW or more.

I think the Sennheiser HD-600/650 would be about what you're looking for. If you need affordable power, hunt down a vintage receiver a a thrift store, Craigslist, garage sales, and the like. You can find them for free up to $100 or so. You might also consider the PreSonus HP4, which goes around $100 new.

 

[1Time]

The PreSonus HP4 has 150mw per channel, and so that doesn't seem to be enough.

The vintage receivers can be quite the hit or miss adventure. I owned two (edit: Marantz) models that were well reputed to drive headphones well, but neither did with my HD580 and HD650. I do, however, recall how the one model sounded back when it was new in the 70's with some unknown headphones, and it was impressive.

 

[tintin47]

150 mW per channel is different than 150 mW.

 

[Bones2010]

From reading these forums I was under the impression that the STX would drive up to 600 ohm phones. That's what made me decide on it. I haven't bought it yet. I would really like an all in one solution as far as dac/amp go.
I haven't decided on a budget yet. I'm trying to figure out what works good for my musical preferences. If it's going to cost even more for amp, I might hold off on upgrading.
Can anyone recommend hps that would work with the STX and my music?

 

[1Time]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tintin47 /img/forum/go_quote.gif 150 mW per channel is different than 150 mW.

It has 4 channels for 4 separate headphones (typically). That's 75mw into each headphone, which doesn't seem like much.

 

[scytheavatar]

If comfort is your top priority I'll point my finger at the Denons, you can't get more comfortable than them.

 

[Bones2010]

I would like to try open phones. Definitely will be running out of STX. Any suggestions for compatible phones?

 

[1Time]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bones2010 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I would like to try open phones. Definitely will be running out of STX. Any suggestions for compatible phones?

ATH-AD900

 

[CDBacklash]

the AD900 is a great suggestion, it doesnt NEED an amp, and will still get benefits from there being one. its not huge on bass though...
IMO the STX is overrated, and theres people running very hungry phones from it. They might as well run them from an ipod because it simply doesnt deliver that much power.

 

[atothex]

No votes for lower end Denons? Comfy comfy comfy. Until they get hot...

Edit: oops he implied that he didn't want closed. Retracted...

 

[Bones2010]

Doesn't sound like the AD900 would suit my tastes. Possibly bass light and some reviewers have said there not so good with rock. Plus I already have Audio Technica hps. I would like to try other brands.

 

[hifidk]

Like others, I would recommend a proper amplifier other than ASUS sound card but if you are really set on those, I would still go with either DT880 or HD600. In my opinion, they don't sound like CRAP without proper amplification and you still can certainly enjoy straight out of the sound card.