[blacknile]

I usually don't have problems in buying used stuff but I guess I should be a bit cautious with headphones.. Not really sure if I'd be able to spot a counterfeit/subtly damaged item plus I wouldn't really feel comfortable in wearing somebody else's headphones. How about some AKG K240 Mk-2 on the same auction site for 89£. The seller seems trustworthy. If I'm not wrong somebody mentioned in an earlier post that these might be difficult to drive. I might go for these, it's ninety pounds anyway, if I notice I'm missing something I might then immediately buy a basic head amp and wouldn't regret it too much given the initial headphone price is less than I'm aiming to spend to start with.
 
HD 558/598: thanks for letting me know these are in another class wrt 595. I thought they were only aesthetical updates/minor improvements etc.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

[chrisjackson]

Good spot. AKG K240 Mk-2 looks a good choice : seems to have good reputation for sound, comfort and robustness

 

[dnmtsn]

I am listening to the HD650 5 days a week in my office, amped by the Fiio E9/E7 and two days a week at home, through my TEAC receiver or through an integrated amp HK650. Many people with more experience than me say that the E9/E7 are plenty amp to drive the HD650. However, my distinct impression, as I already said, is that they sound better from the non-dedicated amps. 
 
What you say about the D2000 got me thinking, I think I definitely need to look into this impedance matching issue more closely, if I only had more time to research it... but it's interesting, thanks. 
 
Quote:

I agree with what you are saying in regards to the Creek amp being capable of driving headphones, however I would argue that it is pointless buying a headphone such as the HD650 unless you are going to buy a good headphone amp in the future. The 650's wont sound any better than a £100 set if you are using the headphone out of your inegrated amp and may sound worse. My 650's sound dull and lifeless through any output of intergrated amp or cd player (I have a very powerful old denon amp and quality Marantz cd player with headphone out). The impedance of the 650's is 300 ohms and this will not be matched through the small components in most inergrated amps. They will be driven loud enough but dynamically they will sound dull. But, having said that if you havent heard anything other than the headphone out of your speaker amp then you may still think it sounds great!
 
I have a feeling that the "thump" you are hearing with the d2000's may be because they are being overdriven. They do have a big emphasized bottom end but they really shouldn't go "thump"! with piano pedals, again impedance has to be matched as the D2000's are very sensitive (25 ohm). They have the same volume level as the 650's but will sound distorted without a good amp powering them.
 
I say (Blacknile), if you are to go with the 650's which will give you a lifetime of pleasure, especially if you spend a lot of time listening privately then spend as little as £150 on a headphone amp (Creek OBH21 for e.g I have the Creek OBH21SE and it is brilliant). If you have a quality CD player like you do, then you might as well hear how good it sounds!                

 

[blacknile]

Hi all, just a quick update. I purchased the AKG K 240 MKII. I ended up returning them.  They were distinctly underwhelming.
 
My feeling is my system could not exploit them fully. In one sentence: good treble, good mids, but noticeably unfocused/disappointing base. To explain it better, my sensation is that the bass on these didn't grow "linearly" with the treble and mids. At low listening volumes, while I was perfectly happy with the mids/trebles, I got disappointing bass. I did get almost excellent bass, but in order to do that, I had to raise the volume so much that mids became overwhelming and treble became piercing. I actually experienced some ear "ringing" after trying these. This is a real pity, because I liked the feeling of space given by these. Also, they were very comfortable and light.
 
Another minus: detail. As I said in an earlier post, I tried briefly some Goldring DR150. Those had their own faults, but had a "sparkle" in the presentation that these lacked. Also, the bass was better, in the sense that I could hear that peculiar "thump" with the Goldring - an instantaneous visceral low sound that seemed to come from nowhere in particular (corresponding maybe with the bass drum). Nothing on these. I actually switched back and forth between the AKG and my old Porta Pro - I didn't hear THAT much of a difference really. Some more space, some more detail. That's all. I have a feel that  a dedicated amp might be needed to bring out the real character of these.
I'll keep searching.