[Meluq]

i have almost bought sennheiser hd650 + ibasso d4, but after seeing ppl describe the cans as "laid back" im now in hesitation. i have no chance of trying the level of headphones i want, its pretty hard to find stores that sell 20$+ headphones around here. i recently sold my hd550 and hd280 due to lack of overall quality and im using klipsch custom-2 and i like the sound of it despite the lack of a soundstage. my current source is laptop with standard onboard soundcard and my archive is mostly flacs and apes. so i need a headphone thats revealing, not so hard to drive and yet can scale with an amp upgrade, that doesnt have anemic bass and has a wide soundstage . i usually listen to death/black metal. despite searching the forums for a couple of weeks i couldnt find the thread that answers what i require

 

[Meluq]

im trying to avoid grado sr325 because my ears are kinda big and i think it would be uncomfortable wearing it without a pad upgrade,
afaik akg 701 and 702 are hard to drive so im trying to avoid them aswell since my budget is kinda limited
  
despite being low on post counts ive been around for a while and im the reader type and head-fi.org and its members have been most helpful so far
sorry for creating yet another hd650 amp thread on forums but again i couldn't find a post that helps answering my questions in mind

 

[HeatFan12]

Hello Meluq,
 
Will you still be acquiring the D4 or just onboard sound?

 

[Meluq]

yeah i will be replacing the dac even if i dont buy new headphones, just looking for the right combo with the cans and amp if the cans require one.

 

[HeatFan12]

Ok, so your source will be the D4 and you are looking for new headphones that can be driven by it?

 

[Meluq]

it doesnt have to be d4 but that was my plan initially, so dac suggestions are also most welcome : )

 

[KnightK]

Your requirements are
1) fairly easy to drive, but improves with amping
2) No anemic bass
3) wide soundstage
 
The Denons might be a good bet, ie D2000, D5000, or D7000. Also, there is a company, Lawton Audio, that mods them for even better sound, comfort, etc. You can try looking into reviews/threads of these using the search feature: LA2000, LA5000, LA7000. But, the stock ones might be pretty good for your use, too, FWIR auditioning them at Canjam.

 

[Acix]

Quote:

im trying to avoid grado sr325 because my ears are kinda big and i think it would be uncomfortable wearing it without a pad upgrade,
afaik akg 701 and 702 are hard to drive so im trying to avoid them aswell since my budget is kinda limited
  
despite being low on post counts ive been around for a while and im the reader type and head-fi.org and its members have been most helpful so far
sorry for creating yet another hd650 amp thread on forums but again i couldn't find a post that helps answering my questions in mind

You can use the K-702 with the Apogee Duet.

 

[Meluq]

Quote:

The Denons might be a good bet, ie D2000, D5000, or D7000. Also, there is a company, Lawton Audio, that mods them for even better sound, comfort, etc. You can try looking into reviews/threads of these using the search feature: LA2000, LA5000, LA7000. But, the stock ones might be pretty good for your use, too, FWIR auditioning them at Canjam.

getting the cans modded is out of question for me since im gonna get them shipped to a friend who has no clue on the topic

 

[violinvirtuoso]

Quote:

getting the cans modded is out of question for me since im gonna get them shipped to a friend who has no clue on the topic

You can buy them modded from Lawton Audio.

 

[Meluq]

 

You can use the K-702 with the Apogee Duet.

so i dont need an amp for k702 ? Apogee Duet doesn't seem like a good choice for me since i wont be recording anything at all unless its a perfect match with k702 

 

[Meluq]

denons seems uncomfy for my oversized ears as its both leather and circular. 

 

[eucariote]

For electric guitar/rock/metal my vote goes for uDac + SR225 (or RS-1, if you get them used).  Grados kill my Senns (HD600) on guitar-heavy music and they mate very well with the relatively warm sound of the the uDac, as compared to my iBasso D10 with stock opamps which has almost piercing highs with the Grados.  I like the SR225 even more than my D5000 and D7000 with rock and metal, but the latter do have more bass and soundstage.

 

[Meluq]

Thanks to everyone for your replies i now have a lot more topics to search about.
Quote:

For electric guitar/rock/metal my vote goes for uDac + SR225 (or RS-1, if you get them used).  Grados kill my Senns (HD600) on guitar-heavy music and they mate very well with the relatively warm sound of the the uDac, as compared to my iBasso D10 with stock opamps which has almost piercing highs with the Grados.  I like the SR225 even more than my D5000 and D7000 with rock and metal, but the latter do have more bass and soundstage.

Did you skip sr325 because it doesn't suit me or did you forget/didn't test it yet ? The kind of music i listen to is more then just metal, there is no basic vocals and its pretty fast/melodic, vocals all brutal and my current setup mixes the mids often, Are the grados capable of distinguishing them? 

 

[hahahigh]

The Denons are nice headphones and do very little wrong, but if you're looking for truly brutal vocals and a forward signature, the Grados may be a safer bet. The highs on the Grados were too harsh for my own ears - in that aspect, I am much more suited to the Denons - but the mids of the D7000s are a tad too recessed for me on some songs. They are very comfortable, though. That, you do not have to worry about.