[kmhaynes]

Quote:

Originally Posted by swbf2cheater /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm going to try to get the 225i, as it's really all I've left to try in my budget range.

That's exactly what you are missing!

 

[andy43]

Ever try a Koss KSC75? They are my go-to headphones for when I want a very involving sound. I actually prefer them to lower-end Grado's.

 

[cck5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by swbf2cheater /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'll tell you what, I've had a secret crush on the 225is with the 414 yellow pads for a long time. The RS1 is too expensive right now, but it is something I have researched heavily and want desperately. I'm going to try to get the 225i, as it's really all I've left to try in my budget range ty for the vent everyone

the 225I with bowls sound amazing you wont be disapointed.

 

[Nachkebia]

You just need denon

 

[foaming at the ears]

Sucks that your quest is so disappointing so far. It's amazing that you're still inspired to keep the hunt on, but good for you, I guess.

I am with mchero and subtle on this... Is the Behringer Powerplay 4800 sufficient for all of your HPs? I wasn't able to find much of anything on it online, but I found the Pro HA8000 and it doesn't look like... a regular headphone amp or a very good one.

I know it sounds outrageous, but possibly try $200 on an amp upgrade (a used one in the FS section) instead of a new headphone? CKKIII is available, I believe, and I'm a fan of this amp. It's pretty powerful for the money.

 

[foaming at the ears]

Nevermind, I found it. So, it's a mixer/headphone amp, eh? Wish I could try it to give you a more comparative opinion.

What I mean to say is, maybe for a headphone amp in the $100 - 200 range, it might be better to get one that is dedicated to 1 output rather than the 4. You could still keep the ha4800 to "share" the headphone music experience, I suppose, but my guess is that at the HA4800's price point, its ability to power 4 headphones (a guess) might compromise its ability to power 1 headphone compared to an amp that is designed to drive just 1 HP.

Then again, you could just dislike all your headphones so far and the 225 (or another hp) is the one for you. good luck!

 

[subtle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by swbf2cheater /img/forum/go_quote.gif I use a Behringer powerplay 4800 amp. It's more than sufficient to drive anything I own.

It really isn't, however it doesn't sound as though you will be persuaded otherwise.

 

[HeyItsBattleKid]

You need to spend more time with your music. Honestly, I don't think you appreciate it enough. I would spend time either searching for new music, or really taking time to admire the sound you are already getting. About a year ago, I was in the exact same position, up until almost a month ago. I could easily distinguish the different type of sound that headphones were producing. What I didn't realize, is that each headphone was still producing a sound I wasn't WOW'd by, the music didn't make me move.

I started searching for new music and really dug into new genres and artists. All of my headphones started to come alive, because I realized what this whole "headphone intimacy" was all about.

I think you are someone that would enjoy a nice speaker setup more than headphones right now. For me, speakers force the music's atmosphere onto myself and driving it by sheer embodiment. Headphones take a patience like no other. You must be a good listener with headphones. With speakers, you just need to have the ability to be talked to, cause speakers do all the work.

If you need a headphone, I will say that HFI Ultrasones are a different beast compared to PROs. Otherwise, try hitting up some of the Grado stuff. You are probably wanting the "in your face" sound that speakers give.

 

[swbf2cheater]

The truth is the amp drives what i use it for just fine. No amp is going to change a headphone that lacks a forward presence to one that has what I am looking for. The amp has nothing to do with it, as ive said. It is a great amp for the cans I do use it for.

 

[jax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by swbf2cheater /img/forum/go_quote.gif The truth is the amp drives what i use it for just fine. No amp is going to change a headphone that lacks a forward presence to one that has what I am looking for. The amp has nothing to do with it, as ive said. It is a great amp for the cans I do use it for.

It has been my experience in over 30 years in the hi-end audio world, that the amp>transducer interface is a critical link in the chain. It definitely does have potential to make or break a system. In my far less thorough experience in the headphone world, this would also seem to be the case from what I've heard thus far. No, you will not be changing the core characteristics of the speakers/cans by the selection of your amp, but you certainly can optimize specific assets that the speakers have in the selection of the amp. That said, no experience with your specific amp or cans. I'd say stay happy! Sounds like a success story to me.

 

[yklee118]

Quote:

Originally Posted by swbf2cheater /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, I've just about had it. I only have 1 junk set that makes me happy in my entire inventory. It's a stock set of earbuds from an Insignia HD portable Radio. They literally smash everything I own including my HD650 and Ultrasone Pro 750. They are worth 10$ if that. They are punchy and powerful, it is the most crystal clear set I've ever used, the bass is just incredible on them. Now, I also own expensive earbuds of all types, the Shure, the turbines, some around $200.00 and up and some around $10 Why is it this stupid little set from Insignia are so awesome? The only downside to this is that they are inner ear buds and I hate that style, it just annoys me and I feel like a worm is inside me ears trying to eat my brain :[ But they sound incredible. I feel like I'm like the Collin Ferrel of headphones lol....getting with every girl you can ( headphones in my case ), testing them and using them, then tossing them away for a new one lol! but seriously, do they even make headphones that have a close sound much like inner ear buds do? People say Grado do, is that true or not? I just purchased the ultrasone pro 750, and I am not at all a fan of S-logic. It's precisely what I am not looking for and wanted to avoid. That distant, airy type sound. Not to say its not great because it is, but it is absolutely what I do not want. I'm very unhappy with my inventory *cries

I have one question and many solutions to help the problem that u have. Do you have any other headphone amps besides the E5 by Fiio? The amp makes a whole lot of difference especially with the Ultrasone Pro 750, Sennheiser HD650, The Audio Technica ATH-ES7, and some of the other headphones in your collection (headphones and not IEM). I personally own the Sennheiser HD650, Sennheiser HEV/BE90 Orpheus (I own both V1 and V2 while the latter features a balanced DAC 24-bit/96 by Burr Brown), Audio Technica ATH-W5000, Sennheiser HD280 Pro and 380-Pro, AKG K701 with stock cable, and several top-range Audio Technica earphones including the ATH-CM7, ATH-CM700, ATH-EC7, and ATH-EC700 Ti.

I also have a wide range of both portable and desktop headphone amps including the Fiio E5 (I got it to go with the Apple In-Ear current generation) and I must say the Fiio doesn't really have the voltage and current to drive the headphones in your collection. The earphones maybe, but those large headphones not so much. Just because you can hear it loud doesn't mean that the sound coming out will be to what the people of those manufacturers intended for them to sound. To give u an idea of the pairing between headphone to amp using my main sound system as source (Hovland H100 pre-amp stage output to headphone amp via Moon Audio Silver Dragon RCA to 1/8" mini-jack using CD and Lossless Audio).

Sennheiser HD650 with Cardas Cable upgrade <> Little Dot MKV desktop amp or Little Dot MKI+ portable amp when traveling using Lossless Audio from Ipod 3rd generation.

AKG K701 <> C&C XO+ or Little Dot MKI with LT1364 op-amp upgrade (both are portable amps).

These two examples allow for two distinct sounding headphones. Both offer very expansive, warm overtones with a hint of actually being there. Bass, Treble, and Mid-range are represented without any emphasis and I have the EQ set to flat. The Sennheiser HD650 are warm sounding headphones with a slight boominess to them. This is typical with this model of headphone. When coupled to a desktop or high-powered portable amp, the bass will compliment the other tones creating a more pleasureable listening experience. This is based on my observations. Upgrade the amplifier and it should alleviate certain concerns that u may have.

Hope this helps.

 

[subtle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by swbf2cheater /img/forum/go_quote.gif The truth is the amp drives what i use it for just fine. No amp is going to change a headphone that lacks a forward presence to one that has what I am looking for. The amp has nothing to do with it, as ive said. It is a great amp for the cans I do use it for.

Sorry but that amp does not drive your Sennheiser phones, nor the Ultrasones, to anywhere near their potential, and the amp and source certainly do have a huge effect on the sound you get out of your headphones. I'm not certain what you mean by "what you use it for", but if your purpose isn't extracting the maximum sound output from your headphones then I'm not really sure why you ever went beyond earbuds.

 

[yklee118]

Quote:

Originally Posted by swbf2cheater /img/forum/go_quote.gif The truth is the amp drives what i use it for just fine. No amp is going to change a headphone that lacks a forward presence to one that has what I am looking for. The amp has nothing to do with it, as ive said. It is a great amp for the cans I do use it for.

Are u absolutely sure. Because I have heard from many others out there that different amps provide a different listening experience. I can vouch for that since I have had many amps before reaching the level that I am at now.

 

[trevorlane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeyItsBattleKid /img/forum/go_quote.gif You need to spend more time with your music. Honestly, I don't think you appreciate it enough. I would spend time either searching for new music, or really taking time to admire the sound you are already getting. About a year ago, I was in the exact same position, up until almost a month ago. I could easily distinguish the different type of sound that headphones were producing. What I didn't realize, is that each headphone was still producing a sound I wasn't WOW'd by, the music didn't make me move. I started searching for new music and really dug into new genres and artists. All of my headphones started to come alive, because I realized what this whole "headphone intimacy" was all about. I think you are someone that would enjoy a nice speaker setup more than headphones right now. For me, speakers force the music's atmosphere onto myself and driving it by sheer embodiment. Headphones take a patience like no other. You must be a good listener with headphones. With speakers, you just need to have the ability to be talked to, cause speakers do all the work. If you need a headphone, I will say that HFI Ultrasones are a different beast compared to PROs. Otherwise, try hitting up some of the Grado stuff. You are probably wanting the "in your face" sound that speakers give.

I agree here. I've had to go through many different styles of music, styles of recording, before I began to appreciate the nuances that were already present in recordings. I never cared much for Dave Brubeck until I heard them on my Grados (which brought forward a lot of emotive elements of the individual instruments.) I never cared much for techno until I listened to it on my 650 (which luckily rolled off the piercing highs). Recently I rediscovered Diana Krall (still not really a fan...) on the R10 and found her to be semi-enjoyable. I'm probably not going to listen to Armin on the PS1 unless I want to have needles going through my eardrums and I'm probably not going to use to my CD3000 for Rihanna, but it's not to say I can't. The synergy simply doesn't work.

BTW, for the longest time I used a Gilmore Lite and DV337 as my main amps, from a MobilePre.

 

[swbf2cheater]

I understand your concerns, but again amps cannot force a headphone to do something it is not capable of doing, amps can only make the headphones shine due to what they are capable of. I've heard the pro 750s on a fantastic amp and the sound is not to my liking. I happen to enjoy the sound of the powerplay series, and it drives my cans just fine. It is the one i have set up in my room that I just like the most. Why? I dont know why, but I also feel the Sennheiser HD 485 to be vastly superior to the Hd 595. It's all preference.

I have a few amps. I've a EF2A, an A-600MKII, and a behringer powerplay 4800. I tested the pro 750s on a Presonus Hp4 and a buddies Fubar III. None of them made a difference in pushing the headphones to sound more forward or to my liking. Its just I do not like their sound. It has nothing to do with the amp. Through some of these amps, the pro 750s sound great. That bass is something special for sure, but I dislike the S-logic sound heavily.