Is A900 a significant/worthwhile improvement over e5c?

[dj_mocok]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fizban Haha! I know this is going to sound weird but...i'm not having an amp cos i don't understand a single thing about them? Despite all that i've read about them...which...well...isn't much. My budget is along the line of around 180 bucks? Max. Around that region.

In that price range,

If I were you, I might get either A900, or AD700.

 

[enzoferrari650]

If you might consider the HD600's, you could give the MG-Head OTL tube amp a try. I paired that with my HD600's when I still had it and they were an excellent match for a warm pleasing sound with great soundstage. I remember selling my Hd600's for about 160 4 months back and my MG-Head OTL for about 200. Also 4 months back.

Man, after posting in this thread, and talking about how my old phones used to sound, I'm starting to really miss them. This is making me want to buy my UM2's back and my HD600's and amp, and everything else I sold.

Oh well, what can I say. Photography is more expensive than I had planned.

 

[Fizban]

Eh haha! Awww....sorry this thread made u all nostalgic and all...

But how's HD595?

The A500 is much more affordable than the A900, and i have to admit that one of the main reasons i sorta chose the A900 was cos of aesthetics *heh heh*
BUT if they are truly of little difference, i might just settle on A500 and save up from burning too big a hole in my pocket. That is if you think i will NOT have to upgrade to A900 in time.

I tried the grados sr60 and thoguht they were absolutely FINE!

Oh MAN!

So many choices...so many many DIFFICULT choices...

 

[dj_mocok]

Get Alessandro MS2 then, if you like Grados.

That'll probably be the best 200 bucks you've ever spent.

 

[enzoferrari650]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dj_mocok Get Alessandro MS2 then, if you like Grados. That'll probably be the best 200 bucks you've ever spent.

That's a good suggestion. And as for getting A500's instead of A900's, it depends what kind of person you are. If you're like me, the type that simply can't accept the fact that what you have is good enough for your own good, then you might as well get the A900's.

And yes, nostalgia has finally kicked in as I had feared from the moment I sold my phones. You might be seeing me back in these forums more often, and pretty soon, you might see me with a new pair of e5c's or um2's. You never know.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Electric_Mofo]

OMG guess who knocked on my door just before I was about to post........... The postman with my new UM2's

 

[tayano]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Electric_Mofo OMG guess who knocked on my door just before I was about to post........... The postman with my new UM2's

Enjoy !

 

[Elephas]

Fizban, if you've been using an E5c straight from an iPod mini, maybe you should get an amp first.

Using the line out and a portable amp will improve the sound quality significantly.

I've compared the Shure E4c, E5c and Westone UM2 using the iPod headphone port versus line out to a SuperMacro-3. All three IEMs sound much better with the amp.

As for other headphones, since you bought the E5c surely you can increase your budget?

Amped, the Alessandro MS2i, Alessandro MS-Pro, Grado RS-1, Senn HD600, Senn HD650, Beyer DT880, Sony SA5000, ATH-AD2000 all sound very good to me.

Unamped, my choices probably be any Alessandro/Grado and the ATH-A and AD Series. I say "probably" because I don't listen unamped out of the iPod.

 

[Fizban]

Thanks guys...you guys are way cool and a great help.

Elephas, i dunno much about amps, even after reading about them at headroom, since they're kinda technical?
I also read that for e5c, it's pretty hard to find a suitable amp, since it's notorious to cause significant background hissing with amps.

Btw what's the reason for the hissing?

 

[smittysan89]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fizban Haha! I know this is going to sound weird but...i'm not having an amp cos i don't understand a single thing about them? Despite all that i've read about them...which...well...isn't much. My budget is along the line of around 180 bucks? Max. Around that region.

hmm if you are set on unamped i would get a set of grados. what kind of music do you listen to? or maybe even some beyer DT770. Try to find some nice Grado then, they will work great unamped. They arent the most comfy in the world though. But if you could find a pair of Ms2 you would be very very happy!

Acctually now that i think of it, if you want unamped phones that you could maybe amp later in the future that sound great and close to e5c i would get a pair of HD595. In between the Senn and Grado sound signature.

 

[bg4533]

I currently have an E5C and my A900 should arrive in a few days. I will try to post some opinions when I get a chance.

 

[Fizban]

I just borrowed the grados sr60 from my friend and...i can't take it.
The sound is alright.
For the first 5 mins, i thought...what discomfort are you guys talking about? They feel ALRIGHT!
But right after that, i could begin to feel the clamping of the cans...had headache and neck ache after that.
No way for me to use grados anymore.
A shame, yeah...but i really have some form of phobia using it already.

Btw, HD595...and A900...i always thought they were pretty similar in sound quality...aren't they?

And..heh heh...i've always been curious about how the Bose Triports sound...for about 100 bucks...do you think they're worth a try?

 

[smittysan89]

dont ever try to attempt to try triports, sr60 blow them out of the water...

hd595 are alot better sound quality than the a900

 

[3lusiv3]

Yeah, the HD 595 sound better than the A900.

 

[dj_mocok]

Fizban: You should've bent the Grado headband a bit to loosen up, I think your friend's head is smaller than yours. The headband is made from metal, you won't break it.