[GMF2010]

I'm currently the proud owner of a pair of Shure SE530PTH's which are my main portable IEMS, some Ety ER4-P's, Sony D66 Eggos, Senn PX-200s, and a Senn PC 166 Headset, which I'll regrettingly admit, is on my head more than anything else.

I spend alot of time on my pc, between college, work, photography, graphic design, some gaming, watching movies, blogging, etc. Listening to music comes with the territory of being in front of my pc for long periods of time, however, the PC 166's don't really cut it (dramatic understatement) when it comes to music.

You may have seen my other post asking about a condenser microphone for my pc. The reason for this is, that I'm looking for a nice pair of closed, full-size cans that I can use exclusively at home, mainly at the PC. They will be plugged into my on-board sound, which is actually surprisingly impressive (EVGA 680i).

Finally getting to the point:

I'm looking to spend somewhere around $200 dollars, but I'm flexible, I can go higher, as long as it's justifiable.

So far I've taken into consideration the Audio Technica ATH-A900 and the Denon AH-D2000.

I won't bother specifying which types of music I listen to, because I listen to everything across the genre spectrum.

I'm sorry this post ended up being so long, but when it comes to full-size cans, my knowledge is limited (mainly an IEM guy).


Thank you all in advance for your help, it is much appreciated.

~Greg

 

[Woobies]

The Denon's appear to be a very versatile set of cans, especially after the Markl mods. Be aware that without the mods, some consider the bass slightly boomy and uncontrolled. But otherwise, they're comfortable and very musical.

The Audio Technica's may be better for gaming/movies. They are also recommended as great gaming headphones.

But it's up to you to decide what is most important for you. But my opinion is that you won't be disappointed with the Denons.

 

[GMF2010]

Thanks for the response, I'm looking forward to an influx of additional opinions, soon! (crosses fingers)

 

[jonathanjong]

I'll plug the D2000s, especially at the current Amazon price. And on Woobies's note, burning them in is supposed to help.

 

[GMF2010]

Any thoughts on the ATH-A900? or are the Denons better hands down? I'd appreciate some more input.

 

[GMF2010]

bump.

 

[glac1er]

I had the A900 before. IMO, my Denon D2000 (recabled though) sounds better than the A900 across the spectrum. If you're going closed, the Denon is a pretty good bet.

 

[GMF2010]

I decided to post some of my most listened to bands/artists so you guys can get a better idea of what I'm looking for. I was leaning heavily towards the Denon D2000, but I really don't like the idea of having to have them re-cabled to obtain optimum performance, nor do I want to cut holes/modify them to achieve better bass response. Surely, there has to be something that would accommodate my needs without needing mods?

Anyways, here is what I mostly listen to, in no particular order:

Alice in Chains, Anberlin, Audioslave, Billy Joel, Billy Talent, Boston, Coldplay, Daft Punk, Foo Fighters, Iron Maiden, Imogen Heap, Mannheim Steamroller, Megadeth, Metallica, Motley Crue, Muse, The Beatles, Brandi Carlile, Tool, Wolfmother, The Killers, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Seether, and Pink Floyd.

Edit: Also, if I have go over my original quote of $200 dollars, that would not be a problem, as long as it is within reason.

 

[FallenAngel]

Lol, that's funny - recabling D2000 to achieve optimal performance. You can upgrade the cable on ALL headphones. I would personally recommend recabling the internals of all of your equipment as well. What good is it to change the cable on half of the signal? I'm sure that will raise a few eyebrows. Couldn't resist especially when somebody says that a cable as good as the D2000 "should" be changed. There's quite a few headphones I would recommend to recable, D2000 isn't one of them, at least not before investing the same amount of money into something else.

D2000 is a very nice headphone, I highly recommend it.

If you're pleasantly surprised by how nice the EVGA 680i's Azalia onboard sounds, you'll be MUCH more pleasantly surprised with a real soundcard/DAC and amp.

 

[GMF2010]

I should clarify. The only experience I have with the EVGA on board sound, is the optical output, which is going directly to my Onkyo TX-SR502 with Polk Audio Speakers. I can't speak for the actual headphone jack on the motherboard.

My previous PC had a Turtle Beach Catalina sound card set up the same way (optical out to Onkyo receiver), and honestly, there was no discernible difference between the two. Therefore, I didn't bother buying a sound card for this pc build.

Also, FallenAngel, what sound card would you recommend if I decide to purchase one down the road.

 

[FallenAngel]

If you're using optical output, as long as you can get it bit-perfect it will have minimal difference as you're not using the DAC, it's just a transport and they are 95% the same vs any other soundcard or usb adapter.

For soundcards, I really recommend the Prodigy HD2, I love this card and am listening to it right now at work. Fantastic bang/buck, especially after spending $15 to upgrade opamps.

 

[lacrossebowe8]

Based on your rock preferences and budget, I would take a look at the grado sr-225. I can't compare them to anything but some senns and other grado's but they are brilliant for rock music.

 

[GMF2010]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FallenAngel /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you're using optical output, as long as you can get it bit-perfect it will have minimal difference as you're not using the DAC, it's just a transport and they are 95% the same vs any other soundcard or usb adapter. For soundcards, I really recommend the Prodigy HD2, I love this card and am listening to it right now at work. Fantastic bang/buck, especially after spending $15 to upgrade opamps.

I think I may just buy that. Which opamps did you replace the stock ones with? can you throw me a link please?

Also, in reference to getting the optical out bit-perfect, I have Output sampling rate options of 44.1k Hz, 48k Hz, 96k Hz, and 196k Hz, however, my receiver only allows me to enable Prologic II: Music mode when I have 48k Hz selected. My receive can do 96, but for some odd reason it doesn't allow me to turn on Prologic, any ideas why?

 

[FallenAngel]

2x OPA2604 and AD8022 (needs to be on a BrownDog adapter).

As long as you can bypass Windows internal reclocking you're good for bit-perfect (KMixer likes to upsample to 48kHz then down to 44.1kHz for output).

You don't want to resample at all, if your source is CD (44.1kHz) keep it at 44.1kHz. Don't resample on your receiver either.

 

[Carter54]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GMF2010 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Any thoughts on the ATH-A900? or are the Denons better hands down? I'd appreciate some more input.

I have the ATH-A900 and they are great. I bought them mainly for gaming but since I have gotten them I have a new appreciation for my music collection.

I cant really compare them to any real headphones but I have had several Gaming headsets including the Sennheiser PC155 which is the earlier verson than the 166 that you have. The A900 is a huge upgrade for positional audio and sound stage.