[pgporto]

Is there a reason you choose not to use your 25-1? I was very influenced by your review, and I use them with my Macbook and they sound great straight from the headphone jack IMO.

 

[blessingx]

Another HD595 or MS1/SR225 recommendation. Haven't heard the Beyers though. Listening to the HD595 straight from a MacBook right now for the first time. Quite surprising. Why no access to a 595?

"If you are listening to MP3s, no headphone can really help you." That's not exactly true. I suppose all compressed listening (16bit CD, FM, etc.) have always sucked too?

 

[goorackerelite]

keep in mind the wearing comfort on the beyers are much higher than any headphone from sennheiser (sans HD590) , I don't care what any one says the..... beyers are what headphones should feel like on your head ............ nothing!!!!!!

The MP3 issue isn't an issue at all if you encode at 192kbs and above, after all, it's all ones and zeros. I can barely hear the difference between 192kbs and lossless or direct from cd. and with the headphone out straight from the MBP, it woun't resolve the differences between compressions at 192 or above.

 

[saint.panda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blessingx /img/forum/go_quote.gif Another HD595 or MS1/SR225 recommendation. Haven't heard the Beyers though. Listening to the HD595 straight from a MacBook right now for the first time. Quite surprising. Why no access to a 595?

I don't have one at home for comparisons but I should be able to find one at the shops. Do yo think the HF1 would be a good choice as well?

Quote:

Originally Posted by pgporto /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is there a reason you choose not to use your 25-1? I was very influenced by your review, and I use them with my Macbook and they sound great straight from the headphone jack IMO.

I was looking for something more comfortable and don't necessarily need the isolation and high portability that the HD 25 offers. And people complain that they can't talk to me anymore when I have them on. I still use it with my Ipod on a regular basis however.

 

[Jeff E]

Quote:

Originally Posted by saint.panda /img/forum/go_quote.gif Very interesting. So you prefer the HD 25-1 to the HD595 driven from the Macbook? Unfortunately, I don't have access to a HD 595.

My HD595 (50 ohm) sounds fairly neutral out of the mb. Its balanced repro allows a wide variety of instruments, including acoustic instruments, to sound accurate, e.g. an oboe sounds like an oboe.

The HD25-1 directly out of the mb sounds similar to an amped configuration. Using a headphile cable, it is not quite as evenhanded as the HD595 but its very minor coloration (mostly midrange) is not noticeable unless I am listening for it. Two factors lead me to prefer it over the HD595 for use with my mb:
1) Portability, particularly with a 1 meter cable
2) Fun - The HD25-1 manages to deliver great impact/punch/slam with an anemic amp. Consequently, I find myself using it a lot on walks with my naked shuffle and on sits with my mb. I "lurve" my HD25-1.

 

[blessingx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by saint.panda /img/forum/go_quote.gif Do yo think the HF1 would be a good choice as well?

Yes. I kinda group the HF1 and HD595 together - fun cans that I reach for when HD650s are a bit distant - and lately that reaching has been more towards the HD595 than HF1. The HD595s are slightly easier to power also.

 

[TheDarkTrumpet]

A lot has been covered already. I also have a MBP, though, and would like to put a bit into this and my feelings on headphones for it.

From my experience, the MBP (17 inch, 2.16ghz core 1 duo) sounds horrible right out of the jack. One of my big reasons for new headphones and an amp was to get away from the sound it put out. When using it, I heard quite a bit more noise than I really wanted - far worse than the ipod (so bad that I started just using the ipod even when the mac had stuff loaded on it). I got a total bithead, and that helps a lot. Cumbersome, yeah, but it's worth it if you're at a table. Very very quick to plug up, and you're set after that. I use one at my work actually.

The idea of a portable amp has already been covered, but if you're not happy with the sound right now, chances are even better headphones won't help out on this.

 

[Ruppin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by saint.panda /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't have one at home for comparisons but I should be able to find one at the shops. Do yo think the HF1 would be a good choice as well?

Hard for me to answer this, because your tastes seem to be happy where I think "not enough power". But, since I have an HF-1, I'll answer.

IMHO the HF-1 requires an amp for optimal performance. Without one, you lose punch, and highs get scratchy.

Afterthought: are you talking about a Grado HF-1, and if so, what "shops"?

 

[saint.panda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDarkTrumpet /img/forum/go_quote.gif The idea of a portable amp has already been covered, but if you're not happy with the sound right now, chances are even better headphones won't help out on this.

I actually think that the sound from the headphone jacks is ok and I'm not necessarily unhappy with it, just wondering whether there's something that matches better with it than the HD 650, while being comfortable and not too big like the A900. Thanks for trying to persuade me but I've had several amps (SR71, SMIV, Porta Corda, Cmoy, RA-1) and the MicroDac in the past, but there were practical implications that I couldn't live with. Certainly, it's a compromise, which is why I'm trying try to tilt it in my favour by getting a better headphone.


I think I'll try to get the HF1 or SR225 mainly because they are more (trans)portable than the Beyerdynamics or HD595.

 

[Ruppin]

OK, good luck.

If you are going portable, though, why not the shure E-500. With the mic pick up, they're convenient, portable, and sound wonderful.

Last suggestion.

 

[saint.panda]

Tried it already, I preferred my HD 25-1 in overall terms.