[habiosanwa]

Hello, I'm new here, although I've been lurking for a while. I'm an expat living in Tokyo and for my birthday I was thinking about buying a pair of good headphones and a new audio player (instead of my 1GB 3rd gen iPod Shuffle), only... my birthday was in November and despite 3 visits at a good headphone shop, I haven't been able to choose.
 
My requirements are a bit tricky to meet I believe, because I want good isolation for when I commute (Tokyo is noisy; I tried some sound cancelling ones but wasn't satisfied) and I listen to many kinds of music: can be rock, prog metal, j-rap, k-pop, jazz, disco... basically anything that isn't growl metal, electronic or club music. Put simply, I like melodic music -- so I'll probably need fairly neutral cans -- and my favourite band is Dream Theater.
 
The headphones that most appeal to me right now are the Beyerdynamic DT1350, which I'll have to try once more to check if the treble is too strong for me. I tried the B&W P5 and liked them at first, but they have a bit too much personality. I liked the sound on the Shure 750DJ, but they just look odd on my head.
A problem with the beyers though is their relatively high impedance, 80 ohm, which is barely enough to drive my small Shuffle. I wanted to buy a Nano (the small square one) and I expect it to have more or less the same output power. I have three questions:
 
1) I'm not a big fan of Apple and I'm picking the Nano for its 16GB and competitive price (the Sony ones cost more and look inferior in quality). Do you have other suggestions for a small, not too expensive player? Keep in mind I live in Japan.
2) Assuming I'll need a portable amp, what would you recommend? I've set my eyes on the FiiO E6 for size and sufficient power, since it shouldn't be too hard to drive 80 ohm.
3) Although I've pointed the beyers for their design and build quality, feel free to give other suggestions!
 
Thanks for the kind attention you're giving to this "audiophile" noob

 

[habiosanwa]

Please forgive me if I break any rules, but is it allowed to *bump* once in a while?

 

[soundstige]

Yes, it's perfectly allowable to bump every once in a while.
 
I've looked over your post and hopefully I can help.
 
1) The current generation iPod Nano is a fine choice, and should power headphones a bit better than a shuffle, I believe. There aren't really any competitors at that size and feature range.
 
2) FiiO E6 is okay, and will drive the 1350 just fine, and match your Nano in stature, however...
 
3) In fact, I do have another recommendation. Look into the Sennheiser HD 25-1 II headphones. http://www.head-fi.org/products/sennheiser-hd-25-1-ii-professional-headphone . I've tried them out and they are excellent for the price range (USD $200 MSRP, $140-150 in shops). They have a fairly flat presentation, and are really fast and energetic -- great for melody-driven music. They are small, light, and on-ear just like the 1350. And just from glancing at reviews, they get better ratings overall. On top of all this, they have a low impedence, 32ohm, and can very easily by driven by the iPod Nano or even your shuffle, without an amplifier!
 
Hope this helps
 
Quote:

Please forgive me if I break any rules, but is it allowed to *bump* once in a while?

 

 

[habiosanwa]

Quote:

3) In fact, I do have another recommendation. Look into the Sennheiser HD 25-1 II headphones. http://www.head-fi.org/products/sennheiser-hd-25-1-ii-professional-headphone . I've tried them out and they are excellent for the price range (USD $200 MSRP, $140-150 in shops). They have a fairly flat presentation, and are really fast and energetic -- great for melody-driven music. They are small, light, and on-ear just like the 1350. And just from glancing at reviews, they get better ratings overall. On top of all this, they have a low impedence, 32ohm, and can very easily by driven by the iPod Nano or even your shuffle, without an amplifier!
 
Hope this helps

Thanks soundstige, of course it helps a lot and your confirmations tell me that I did my homework after all
I knew someone would surely recommend the HD 25-1... the thing is, I don't like their design and their build much and, although I agree that the sound rocks, I find them a little uncomfortable. Sound is important, but I need to wear those cans and have a some decent isolation too.

 

[soundstige]

Have you tried velour earpads for them? That relieves quite a bit of the pressure on my ears, I found.
 
Quote:

Thanks soundstige, of course it helps a lot and your confirmations tell me that I did my homework after all
I knew someone would surely recommend the HD 25-1... the thing is, I don't like their design and their build much and, although I agree that the sound rocks, I find them a little uncomfortable. Sound is important, but I need to wear those cans and have a some decent isolation too.

 

 

[habiosanwa]

Quote:

Have you tried velour earpads for them? That relieves quite a bit of the pressure on my ears, I found.

I tried them on at a shop and they have leather earpads... I'm afraid I need the isolation. But I'll give her another shot next time I pass by the earphone store in Akihabara, thanks

 

[Danneq]

I suppose you have found your way to E-earphone in Akihabara? Of course Yodobashi is great, but they have even more headphones in the E-earphone store. http://gigaplus.makeshop.jp/gcom1420/ShopInfo/ShopInfoAkiba.html
 
I just love that place! They've got used headphones as well that you can get for a lower price. It is difficult to find the first time you go there. If you haven't been there before, exit the Chuo line station towards Electrictown and then cross the big road (Chuo dori). Follow it down away from the station until you pass a tall black building on your left side. Turn left and right into the first parallell street to Chuo dori and the E-earphone shop is opposite to a Sofmap store. The building is called Rock 2 building and E earphone is on the 5th floor.
 
Anyway, if you have already been there, the description is not necessary. 

 
You should check the Audio Technica ES10 out as well, however they are a bit more expensive and do not isolate as well as the HD25. I bought mine at a Yodobashi store in Shinjuku October when I went to Japan. They cost 30.000 yen at Yodobashi. You can try out all three and compare.
I think that the ES10 works well on the subway and Odakyu line...
 
I'm envious of you living in Japan. I want to go back! I just lived there for 1 year to study Japanese and now I'm forgetting it fast despite the fact that my wife is Japanese... If I could get a job there, I'd much rather live there than in cold and dark Sweden. I hope you enjoy your life there. When it comes to headphone and electronics shopping, Japan is the best place to be!

 

[ExpatinJapan]

Hey Danneq, hows things?
 
To habiosanwa:
For Japan, get an iPod touch 4G, then you can watch movies too on a larger screen and ebooks etc.
I started with a nano, then a 5G, now a touch. spend now and save money later.
 
Also apps like flacplayer, AVplayer, Equalizer, EQu are also useful.
 
Are you going to be mainly riding the above ground trains or the subway underground?
 
The Beyerdynamic DT1350 seems to be popular , I find the ATH-ESW9 match my touch quite well.
 
I sometimes use my portable amps(with LOD), but not so much anymore, kept two, gave the other two away.
 
I like trying out my headphones somewhere noisy like bic camera store, then I know how well they are going to isolate out and about.
 
 
 

 

[ExpatinJapan]

Also check out this portable headphones thread
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/433318/shootout-96-portable-headphones-reviewed-v-moda-m-80-added-11-27-11

 

[Danneq]

Quote:

Hey Danneq, hows things? 

Fine, thanks! Missing Japan a bit. Sweden is okay, but there's not much life in the streets here, even in Stockholm, compared to the Tokyo area... The only good thing about not living in Japan is that I don't go to Yodobashi and BIC Camera all the time. Instead I waste money on Ebay. 

   Right now I'm on a vintage earbud fix. I've bought pairs of Sony MDR-E282 (made 1985-1990), MDR-E464 (1988-1991), Sony MDR-E484 (1988-1995) and Aiwa HP-D9 (1990-1995). All of them on Ebay.
 
They're all great earbuds and can easily compete with modern models. You wouldn't know of any place in the Tokyo area where you can find vintage headphones and stuff like that? I'm looking for two other Aiwa earbuds (V9 and V99). Hopefully they'll turn up on Ebay...

 

[yd2zhang]

I'm pretty sure the HD-25's are 70ohm not 35, but still drivable out of a nano.

 

[habiosanwa]

Thanks a lot, guys. In the end... I gave in to the HD 25-1 II. I spent three hours inside E-earphone, tried the beyer DT1350, the Phiaton MS400, the AKG K181DJ... but simply none of them are as aggressive as the Senns. Iron Maiden packed a punch and convinced me, in spite of the rugged look.

 

[DarkSleip]

The P5's have an impedance of 26 ohms, so the shuffle (I don't know about the nano) will make them sound too bassy and muddy.

 

[DarkSleip]

The E6 corrects that issue

 

[MartinDF]

You would be crazy to get european headphones in japan, when you can get japanese brands for prices europeans would kill for. If you're set on headphones instead of IEMs, go to a store and try out the ATH-ES88 by Audio-Technica, the Denon D1001, Superlux HD661, Audio-Technica ATH-M50, Panasonic RP-HX700  and go crazy with whatever else you can find.