[tfninja]

My Lindy HF100 have recently died due to the cup holder snapping, so I am looking for new headphones around the £90 - £120 bracket.

They will be used for games, music and movies in that order.

For the largest sound stage I am looking at open back headphones.
For music, I listen to everything from Nightwish to Portishead to classical, but tend towards the more symphonic stuff.

The phones will be powered by a Soundblaster Z

Some on my shortlist are::
AKG k701/2 (aesthetically these are my favourite)
DT990 Pro
AD-500x
Grado SR80e
SHP9500/00
HD518/598 (598 is actually cheaper)
Fidelio L2
Yamaha HPH-200

They're all within £20 of eachother. Please help me decide!

 

[serman005]

I would add an ATH-AD900x to your list. Also, the K701/2 and the DT990 Pro will need an amp in order to drive properly, FWIW.

 

[tfninja]

Those 900x are twice the price of everything else on the list. The SB-Z is meant to drive up to 600ohm, it should be good for any of these, no?

 

[serman005]

That is very surprising about the AD900x. It is $145 on amazon here in the US today.. The SB-Z will drive them, the question is with what degree of volume, macrodynamics, and bass authority. It just depends on how it is going to sound to you. If it were me, I would probably want a dedicated amp to of some sort to drive them to their fullest potential. It is not required, but it would enhance the sound quality IMO. That's just me and YMMV, of course.

 

[onevstheworld]

Addition to @serman005 's comment, the SB-Z also has a high output impedance (22 ohms) which may neuter the bass in headphones with impedances less that 80 ohms. If you do find that the case with whatever headphone you choose, an amp will solve that too.

 

[tfninja]

Addition to @serman005 's comment, the SB-Z also has a high output impedance (22 ohms) which may neuter the bass in headphones with impedances less that 80 ohms. If you do find that the case with whatever headphone you choose, an amp will solve that too.

So ideally I want headphones with >80 ohm impedance? The Lindy HF100 (Brainwavzx HM5) didn't have any problem with that I could detect. If anything, I was always turning the bass boost in SBX pro studio down, because the default setting was overpowering.

No suggestions yet?

The shortened shortlist is
HD598
SHP9500
AD-500x
AKG 701/2


But feel free to recommend something not listed.

 

[tfninja]

bump no recommendations at all?
I am having an especially difficult time because of the pricing... like on Newegg USA the shp9500s are $54 (like £40) but in the UK they are £139 ($190~) so when i see rave reviews for them, i think it is probably for the American price point. Likewise the Sennheiser 598 are $200 on Newegg but only £99 at Amazon UK. The k701 are $450 on newegg, but only £115 here. Then, i think i need something that needs >80 ohms, but all there seems to be is the dt770/880/990 that are also open backed, and I want more neutral sound..