If you had $300 to spend on headphones...
Aug 25, 2011 at 12:29 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 17
heartofwinter

heartofwinter

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What would you get and why?
 
I can't make my mind up between the AKG K701, Audio-Technica ATH-M50, and Beyerdynamic DT 880
 
HELP!
 
Is there anything else I should be considering? These are going to be for home-use/living-room use only for me and my girlfriend.
 
Aug 25, 2011 at 12:32 PM Post #3 of 17
Personally I'd cut the budget in half and spend the other half on a nice amp/DAC unless you have already taken this into consideration. Mostly the decision depends on what kind of music you listen to, whether or not sound stage is important to you and if you'd rather have an open or closed back headphone. 
 
Aug 25, 2011 at 12:35 PM Post #4 of 17
These headphones would be used in conjunction with a Sony receiver that I've been using for some time ( I've got a turntable and a little cradle to pop my ipod into). Most everything I listen to on my iPod is at 320 kbps.
 
The Sony receiver should have enough juice to power to drive some decent headphones, right? I'm not planning on using my 'home' headphones directly with an iPod as a source.
 
We listen to a lot of indie rock, blues, rock/pop, and metal.
 
Aug 25, 2011 at 12:36 PM Post #5 of 17
Musical tastes? do you have any preference? 
 
Aug 25, 2011 at 12:43 PM Post #7 of 17
You should also look into the various Grado models. Those seem to be popular around here for those that like your kind of music. 
 
Aug 25, 2011 at 2:04 PM Post #8 of 17


Quote:
heartofwinter said:
What would you get and why?
 
I can't make my mind up between the AKG K701, Audio-Technica ATH-M50, and Beyerdynamic DT 880
 
HELP!
 
Is there anything else I should be considering? These are going to be for home-use/living-room use only for me and my girlfriend.
Click to expand...

DT880 without a second thought.
 
The M50 don't belong in that trilogy good as they are.  If you don't have a great amp the K701 is a waste.
 

 
 
 
Aug 25, 2011 at 2:17 PM Post #9 of 17
k701 needs an amp. Not sure if receiver would be good enough. I say go with the dt880. They are a little brighter but will settle down somewhat and they have a little more bass than k701.
 
Aug 25, 2011 at 2:31 PM Post #11 of 17
Heya,
 
Going backwards, I'd get a used/sale SRH940 and a Digizoid ZO for around $300ish. It has a good sound stage for a closed headphone, it's closed, so it isolates decently, it's very comfortable, it's astonishingly detailed, clear and airy with forward highs and mids, but can be pushed high on volume and you still have little to no sibilance. It's a low impedance headphone and sensitive, so easy to drive, but benefits a little amplification. The ZO comes in to help the bass department, which is fine for most applications, but for bass-centric music, it needs a bump and the ZO provides that as well as just amplification in general. It is then an all around headphone that can be portable or desktop and cover everything fairly well.
 
Very best,
 
Aug 25, 2011 at 2:53 PM Post #13 of 17
I ended up going with the 250 Ohms. These are my first pair of headphones that cost more than $30 so I'm really looking forward to using them for many many hours. I know that my girlfriend has been wanting something like these for a couple of years.
 
Now the search for a new turntable begins.
 
 
Quote:
davidmahler said:
Congrats! Which Ohms did you go with?
 
Click to expand...



 
 
Aug 25, 2011 at 7:40 PM Post #15 of 17
Congrats, DT880 250 Ohm is fantastic. I have the 2005 version. I think they sound good straight out of my portable players. I think they sound much nicer than a Shure SRH940. I also prefer them to the overly bright (IMO) sounding K701. The M50 is a budget headphone that's several levels below DT880 in sound quality.. Good choice.
 
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