[Bob007]

Hi everybody,

I would like to have some advices concerning headphones choice.

I like to make compilations from my favorite artists (classic rock mostly), from various CDs.
And I try to find the best sounding ones (best masterings). But sometimes it's hard to tell which ones they are.

I'm looking for headphones (+ amp + soundcard, why not; for the while I have almost nothing exept a ac97 and a mdr-v6 that I don't like at all mostly because it's harsh, thin and not that detailed; futhermore, I have the impression that it's gonna render me deaf; I fear the day when I'm gonna find it neutral) which could help me for this.

So it should be able to make me hear a lot of details (hiss, etc..) which could reveal the source of the recording (vinyl, 1st generation tapes, 4th gen tapes, etc...).

It should be neutral (balanced and uncolored), so I could tell which ones are flat transfers, which ones have eq applied, etc....

I would prefer a closed one for leackage pb. I know that speakers would be better but they leak even much more.

For the price, let's say 1000$ for the whole chain (from pc to my ears).


I'm considering:

DT 250 250; it seems well balanced but not very detailed
K271s; seems detailed but colored.
k701 recabled; seems perfect but not closed, and I don't know which are the best cables.
hd580,hd600; seems perfect but not closed.
er4s (or altec im716); seems neutral but a bit thin and I'm not sure about iem.
Denon D2000; most seems to like them but I have no idea if it should fit the criterias.
hd25-1; seems good but not completely neutral
and others...


It my first post and it's already a question. Sorry for that. And thanks in advance for the recommandations.

 

[Cool_Torpedo]

Hi, welcome to Head-fi...

One of my friends is an audio engineer working as a freelance. He masters recordings and also is at the mixboard on live concerts. His reference closed cans for the job are the Sennheiser HD25-1 when needing isolation from environment noise. He knows its flaws (excessive bass response below 400Hz, and a bit too hot treble in the 8-10KHz area) but overall they're decently flat, resolving and comfortable on long sessions. Were he able to use open phones for enjoying low noise environment, then he'd use the HD580. Those have been his reference cans for many years. We've tried and measured many other dynamic phones, from K701 to Ultrasones, and while there are others more musical, funny, warm or whatever, for serious mastering and monitoring, he still relies on his Senns, specially for their being the less colored for his purposes.

I hope this helps. Rgrds.

 

[Bob007]

I've heard good things about HD25-1 indeed (most notably from the saint.panda "comparative review of 15 closed headphones") but it was mostly for their portability aspect, and I don't plan to use them outside.
The hd580 may be an excellent idea, but I'm afraid about 2 things with them:
1. the leackage (for someone working in the same little room for example)
2. the famous veil (will it mask some of the details?).

By the way, isn't the hd580 the same as hd600, or is there a reason to prefer it to the later?

Thank you for your suggestions.

 

[Cool_Torpedo]

The HD580 and HD600 are basically the same and show no differences soundwise to my ears. He got the 580 because they were cheaper. They have about the same response graphs.

They leak some sound, but if that's a concern, then get closed cans, all open ones leak sound. Regarding the "veil" it all depends. To me it's more an HD650 issue than a 580/600's related to the 650's increased midbass response.
The 580/600 could sound veiled if compared to Grados or any other bright/sibilant phones. If you believe the Grados are right, then the 580 would sound veiled, but if you find the Grados bright and sibilant, then you'll think the 580 are simply right. To each one his own.

If you need no leaking sound on your cans, then consider the HD25, but it'd be good you tried them before.

Rgrds

 

[Bob007]

Thank you Cool_Torpedo. I put both headphones on my "considering list".
Other opinions out there?

 

[espire]

The AKG K701 is a very accurate and transparent headphone; Detail is a much higher priority with the K701 than a fun sound.

 

[Tridacnid]

Electrostats, maybe?

 

[djbob]

Quote:

Originally Posted by espire /img/forum/go_quote.gif The AKG K701 is a very accurate and transparent headphone; Detail is a much higher priority with the K701 than a fun sound.

X2 I just purchsed mine a few weeks ago and I absolutely love them. The detail is really good, and though I also wouldn't label them as fun, paired with my Millett Hybrid Max the sound is incredible. I'm now even listening to types of music that I had never really enjoyed before.

 

[Bob007]

No closed ones?

 

[MacFrank]

Hello Bob007,

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob007 No closed ones?

Should they be?

In my point of view you get a quite good value with open headphones in the pricerange <500-600$, especially if you are looking for "honest" headphones.

Good allrounders that tend to be quite neutral (which I attatch to "honest") for me are:
- Beyerdynamic DT880
- AKG K701
- AKG K601
- Sennheiser HD600

The DT880 and the K701 do have a tight, very deep but discreet bass, solid and quite neutral mids and just overdo the highs slightly (versus other headphones, of course).
The HD600 has more bass with less defined contours, also very clean and solid mids and slightly less accentuated highs. These characteristics make the soundsignature more relaxed as from the AKG K701 or Beyerdynamic DT880.
The K601 is somehow quite alike the HD600 in soundsignature but with a slight change in mids (that sound less natural than the Sennheiser's to me), more tension in bass and less relaxed.


For soundcard I would recommend a M-Audio Audiophile or an E-MU 0404. In Addition you can choose a headamp out of the wide range, just read a bit here on head.fi.

 

[captian73]

Roland Rh300's.

The Rh50's i have are the most noncommercial, honest headphones i have and i love them. The RH300's are on my wish list.

ROLAND RH-300 RH300 STEREO PROFESSIONAL HEADPHONES NEW - eBay (item 230229297485 end time Jul-03-08 06:23:15 PDT)

 

[shomie911]

Neutral and revealing? DT880s for sure.

You'll probably aslo want to look into the AKG monitor headphones, because they were made for the studio. I have K260s and they seem to be a little more revealing than the DT880s.

 

[Bob007]

Are you telling me that without open headphones, you cannot detect which mastering is the best?

 

[espire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob007 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are you telling me that without open headphones, you cannot detect which mastering is the best?

It wouldn't be impossible, but it tends to be easier to make open headphones that sound transparent, because the designers and engineers don't have to account for the sound that bounces around inside the enclosure.

 

[Bob007]

The problem I have with open ones is not only that I think I could hear the noisy fans from my PC, but it's the leackage: sometimes, my brother comes working in my small "apartment" because he can hear some noise (that I wouldn't notice myself) from his neighbours, for example.