[saytr79]

 The only Headphones i own are the ATH-AD700 with the ATH-AD900's on the way. I've used the AD700 exclusively for gaming and ordered the ATH-AD900 for the same reason. While doing research i ended up on Head-Fi and not only found the answers i needed in regards to the upgrade but have also read about the endless audio (music) possibilites out there. In my search i've found two Headphones that have piqued my interest... the LA7000's and the ATH-W3000's. While i've pm'ed and gotten a response from one of the community members i cannot reply as i have a "two PM per day" limit, hence my post. 
 
 If neither of these routes are advisable please feel free to share your thoughts.

 

[ZARIM]

These are very highend headphones(also expensive) and they required very good AMPs/DAC for PC use and both are very good sounding.

 

[Magick Man]

Might as well think about the Fostex TH900s too, though they are more expensive.

 

[fenom60]

I would recommend getting the regular Denon D7000 first to see if you like the sound. The D7000 can be had for around $600US and it has a lot of bass. The lawton modded D7000 from what i read is great sounding but for someone just started in Head-fi, it might be a wiser investment to begin with the stock D7000 and then move up to the LA7000 (the cost of full LA7000 mod can probably buy you another pair of D7000) . My W3000ANV is still in transit but from what i read, the sound signature is quite different than the D7000, the W3000ANV seems to be good in vocals and not that strong in bass, one Head-fier mentioned the W3000ANV is like a closed version of HD800 (which i have as well, its excellent). I believe D7000 is good for bass/pop/ techno/electronic type of music in my opinion. W3000ANV for female vocals
 
I used the HD800 and D7000 for gaming in Battlefield 3, they are both excellent in producing the position of players and where people are shooting from, the HD800 will lack the oomph you might want in games for the explosions, the D7000 i believe is better for gaming. 
 
If you are into bass/pop/rock type of music where its more enjoyable with more bass impact, i would recommend going for the D7000 as the price is very good currently (<$600US). And you can look at Audeze LCD2 ($995US, used < $850) as well and the new Fostex TH900 ($1970US, i am not too sure its worth the price tag)
 
And if you like W3000ANV($999new) sound signature, i believe you can  look at Beyerdynamic T1, HD800 (an excellent all rounder) as well
 
However, just as Zarim said you will need a good DAC+AMP for these headphones to bring out their full potential .
 
If you are looking for a starter DAC/AMP that is very good in terms of $ / performance i would recommend trying the Nuforce Icon HDP, I had one for half a year with an LCD2 and it was excellent sounding. It should cost around $400 new or $300ish used on here.
 
Hope that helps. 

 

[saytr79]

Quote:

These are very highend headphones(also expensive) and they required very good AMPs/DAC for PC use and both are very good sounding.

 
For what its work I have a HT Omega Claro Halo XT sound card w/ a built in Hi-Fi Headphone Amplifier but i assume this wouldn't qualify as a good amp / source. Feel free to share your thoughts.
 
Quote:

Might as well think about the Fostex TH900s too, though they are more expensive.

 
Hm, i will have to take a look. Have you had any experience with those ? Thanks Magick. 
 
 
Quote:

I would recommend getting the regular Denon D7000 first to see if you like the sound. The D7000 can be had for around $600US and it has a lot of bass. The lawton modded D7000 from what i read is great sounding but for someone just started in Head-fi, it might be a wiser investment to begin with the stock D7000 and then move up to the LA7000 (the cost of full LA7000 mod can probably buy you another pair of D7000) . My W3000ANV is still in transit but from what i read, the sound signature is quite different than the D7000, the W3000ANV seems to be good in vocals and not that strong in bass, one Head-fier mentioned the W3000ANV is like a closed version of HD800 (which i have as well, its excellent). I believe D7000 is good for bass/pop/ techno/electronic type of music in my opinion. W3000ANV for female vocals
 
I used the HD800 and D7000 for gaming in Battlefield 3, they are both excellent in producing the position of players and where people are shooting from, the HD800 will lack the oomph you might want in games for the explosions, the D7000 i believe is better for gaming. 
 
If you are into bass/pop/rock type of music where its more enjoyable with more bass impact, i would recommend going for the D7000 as the price is very good currently (<$600US). And you can look at Audeze LCD2 ($995US, used < $850) as well and the new Fostex TH900 ($1970US, i am not too sure its worth the price tag)
 
And if you like W3000ANV($999new) sound signature, i believe you can  look at Beyerdynamic T1, HD800 (an excellent all rounder) as well
 
However, just as Zarim said you will need a good DAC+AMP for these headphones to bring out their full potential .
 
If you are looking for a starter DAC/AMP that is very good in terms of $ / performance i would recommend trying the Nuforce Icon HDP, I had one for half a year with an LCD2 and it was excellent sounding. It should cost around $400 new or $300ish used on here.
 
Hope that helps. 

 
 It helps a great deal, thank you. A few questions though. I have a Fiio E17 and a Fiio L9 LOD cable on order .... should i cancel / return those for the Nuforce you suggested above ? Is the E17 inferior to the Nuforce Icon or do they simply have different applications ? The problem is i haven't heard any high-end headphones so i'm starting from nothing but at the same time i don't want blindly order one of the more pricier cans without getting as much information / feedback before hand.
 
 I understand that everyone's taste is different and what "sounds good" is subjective so i'm not looking for a definitive "this is better" but more or less a consensus on which way to go. Thanks again.

 

[ZARIM]

I think you have to mention your budget for portable and home(PC)use, fullsize headphones, Desktop AMPs/DAC and portable AMPs. I will recommend to buy reasonbable price AMPs for these headphones and which is start from $300 and goes up to $3000. The E17 is good for portable use but there are much better AMP/DAC for iPod use like HP-P, Solo+ALO MKIII but it's all depend on your budget.

 

[saytr79]

Quote:

I think you have to mention your budget for portable and home(PC)use, fullsize headphones, Desktop AMPs/DAC and portable AMPs. I will recommend to buy reasonbable price AMPs for these headphones and which is start from $300 and goes up to $3000. The E17 is good for portable use but there are much better AMP/DAC for iPod use like HP-P, Solo+ALO MKIII but it's all depend on your budget.

 
I was thinking of the Westone 4R's for mobile use but I would say the portable budget is 1800~ and my home budget is 4k~ . Based on some reviews i've read on head-fi the Westone 4/4R's seem to be very good IEM's but i'm open to suggestions.

 

[ZARIM]

I will recommend Custom IEMs for portable use like Westone ES5, JH13Pro/16Pro, UM Miracle and DAPs like Sony Zseries walkman, X series walkman, Cowon X7(for desktop quality sound experience).

 

[saytr79]

Quote:

I will recommend Custom IEMs for portable use like Westone ES5, JH13Pro/16Pro, UM Miracle and DAPs like Sony Zseries walkman, X series walkman, Cowon X7(for desktop quality sound experience).

 
 
Thank Zarim. So would you go with the same DAC/Amp recommendation with the DAP's listed above ? Is the iBasso in the same league as the DAP's you listed ? Per feedback and the ongoing TH900 thread it looks like i may go that route for home use. It seems that the Fostex HP-A8C is the recommended choice to drive the headphones but given that it hasnt been released there arent any reviews online (that i'm aware of).

 

[ZARIM]

The iBasso DX100 are supperior sounding than all above recommended DAPs because DX100 has highend dedicated built in DAC/AMPs. But the custom IEMs sound so amazing and offers desktop quality sound experience when pair with above recommended DAPs and DX100 will take it to the next level because higher resolution soundquality.

 

[eugenius]

Don't listen to these guys, leave the stock D7000 off that list and add the DX1000 instead of the W3000's.

 

[saytr79]

Quote:

Don't listen to these guys, leave the stock D7000 off that list and add the DX1000 instead of the W3000's.

 
I went from comparing the D7000 to the LA7000, then the W3000 to the LA7000, now the LA7000 to the TH900, why not add another, heh.  
 
Quote:

The iBasso DX100 are supperior sounding than all above recommended DAPs because DX100 has highend dedicated built in DAC/AMPs. But the custom IEMs sound so amazing and offers desktop quality sound experience when pair with above recommended DAPs and DX100 will take it to the next level because higher resolution soundquality.

 
So i dont need an additional DAC/AMP with the iBasso or the other DAP's you recommended ?  

 

[ZARIM]

The iBasso DX100 don't need AMPs/DAC help to sound better and others DAPs sound so good with CIEMs but you can add AMPs later. I will also recommend to buy two set of headphones like Grado RS1i for Rock, Jazz, Instruments and Beyerdynamic T1 with decent AMPs and DAC for desktop use.

 

[Sil3nce]

Don't listen to these guys, leave the stock D7000 off that list and add the DX1000 instead of the W3000's.

+1 amazing cans.

 

[Magick Man]

Hm, i will have to take a look. Have you had any experience with those ? Thanks Magick. 

Yep. I listened to them for quite a while, in truth I hogged them for a good part of the afternoon at the Moon Audio booth at the NC headphone meet.

They are, most likely, the best closed cans I've ever heard and there are very few open ones that I'd take over them (STAX SR-007, 009, and the near-mythical Orpheus). Yeah, they're impressive.