audioanon
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2017
- Posts
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I could use some advice. I am going on a business trip in June and would like to take some headphones with me to listen to music from my laptop in my down time. I am not an audiophile by any stretch of the imagination and not looking to be spendy.
I have a pair of Sennheiser HD518 I originally am thinking of taking, but I find them a tiny bit too much on the warm sounding side. I like the bass and mid bass they have, the mids are alright as well, but the highs take a dive at 9kHz and come back way late. While they do sound nice and are very comfortable to wear they are not the clearest sounding cans. (I also have a pair of AKG K7xx, but they are not good travelers and kind of disappointing in some respects. I have a pair of Takstar Pro 80 as well, but they aren’t coming out from under lock and key so to speak. Very rare cans now and sound great in spite of their lack of comfort, especially for what they cost. How I ended up with so many headphones over the years is beyond me, because I do not like headphones. They are just a necessary evil sometimes).
Anyway, I am looking for something that will give me a slightly more balanced sound than my Senn HD518s while maintaining clean bass, good mids and highs without being fatiguing. I don’t want to spend a lot of money for something I am likely to use for 3 days and then discard unless it has much to warrant keeping, so I am trying to keep it around $100 or less.
I was thinking about perhaps one of these choices:
Superlux HD668B
Beyerdynamic DT440
Phillips SHP9500
Audio Technica AUD ATHAD500X
Symphonized Wraith 2.0
Audio Technica ATH-M40x
If all of these are 100% lateral moves or notably worse in some areas compared to my HD518, then getting different cans is not the answer.
If that turns out to be the case, perhaps getting a portable amp will improve things with my HD518s. There are plenty for not much money. If an amp is the answer, would I do well with one of these choices?
Topping NX2
Audiophile CMOY
FiiO A3
Nobsound Mini Portable
Nobsound DAC ASIO
FiiO E10K Olympus 2
I’m looking for advice that is beyond cheerleading. Of course, I expect opinion because audio is 99% subjective, but I could not get measurements on any of the headphones above except the Superlux, so if someone has knowledge of the others, it would also be helpful so I could compare to my HD518s. Of course, comfort is very important as well. I think most headphones I would choose would be of decent comfort at least except some Monoprice ones I tried and my Takstars which are not that comfy for someone who wears glasses such as myself. Other than that, you will note that all the choices I listed are “around the ear” style. That is because there is no such thing as a comfortable “on-ear” style and don’t get me started about earbuds.
Thank you.
I have a pair of Sennheiser HD518 I originally am thinking of taking, but I find them a tiny bit too much on the warm sounding side. I like the bass and mid bass they have, the mids are alright as well, but the highs take a dive at 9kHz and come back way late. While they do sound nice and are very comfortable to wear they are not the clearest sounding cans. (I also have a pair of AKG K7xx, but they are not good travelers and kind of disappointing in some respects. I have a pair of Takstar Pro 80 as well, but they aren’t coming out from under lock and key so to speak. Very rare cans now and sound great in spite of their lack of comfort, especially for what they cost. How I ended up with so many headphones over the years is beyond me, because I do not like headphones. They are just a necessary evil sometimes).
Anyway, I am looking for something that will give me a slightly more balanced sound than my Senn HD518s while maintaining clean bass, good mids and highs without being fatiguing. I don’t want to spend a lot of money for something I am likely to use for 3 days and then discard unless it has much to warrant keeping, so I am trying to keep it around $100 or less.
I was thinking about perhaps one of these choices:
Superlux HD668B
Beyerdynamic DT440
Phillips SHP9500
Audio Technica AUD ATHAD500X
Symphonized Wraith 2.0
Audio Technica ATH-M40x
If all of these are 100% lateral moves or notably worse in some areas compared to my HD518, then getting different cans is not the answer.
If that turns out to be the case, perhaps getting a portable amp will improve things with my HD518s. There are plenty for not much money. If an amp is the answer, would I do well with one of these choices?
Topping NX2
Audiophile CMOY
FiiO A3
Nobsound Mini Portable
Nobsound DAC ASIO
FiiO E10K Olympus 2
I’m looking for advice that is beyond cheerleading. Of course, I expect opinion because audio is 99% subjective, but I could not get measurements on any of the headphones above except the Superlux, so if someone has knowledge of the others, it would also be helpful so I could compare to my HD518s. Of course, comfort is very important as well. I think most headphones I would choose would be of decent comfort at least except some Monoprice ones I tried and my Takstars which are not that comfy for someone who wears glasses such as myself. Other than that, you will note that all the choices I listed are “around the ear” style. That is because there is no such thing as a comfortable “on-ear” style and don’t get me started about earbuds.
Thank you.
