[maxgander]

Hi all, I'm looking for a pair of headphones, over ear, good sound. I'm no audiophile. I've looked at dre's, sennheisers, bose. I need your opinion. My budget is about 300-350. Have heard the dre's are muddy, and fragile. Although I have listened to them and I think that they sound amazing. I listen to Rock, Alternative, Rap, literally everything. 
 
Thanks, maxg

 

[1Time]

Welcome to Head-Fi. 
 
What equipment will you be plugging your new headphones into? 

 

[maxgander]

I do not have any amplifiers or anything. Just and Iphone or myl aptop.

 

[Riku540]

Let's just do you a favor and trim Dre's and Bose off the list...
 
Now that that's done also what will your listening environment be like? At home or on the go?

 

[maxgander]

Sounds good, and I will be listening mostly at school and at home. 

 

[Riku540]

Since school is in the mix I would narrow it down to closed and possibly portable cans. Audio-Technica ATH-A900's are very easy to drive without an amp the only downside in your case is that they are huge, so they won't fit easily in a backpack full of books and are likely to draw attention to you.
 
Beyerdynamic DT 770's are also a good choice if you opt for the 32 Ohm version, though they are not as efficient as AT's and will sound better with an amp regardless. Since both of these are below your budget I would consider investing the extra cash into a starter DAC/Amp. Your music will only sound as good as your rig's weakest link.

 

[maxgander]

Alright, so what is the real advantage of an amp?

 

[Riku540]

Surprisingly not volume. It boosts the quality of the audio signal and gives it more power to your headphones. The result is better sound staging, tighter quicker bass, crisp trebles, superb instrument/vocal separation, the list goes on. Think of you headphones as a really nice sports car. Would you fill it with regular gas? I don't think so. You'll want the best gas for best performance.

 

[maxgander]

Cool, this is really helping me. Are the AGK headphones note worthy? And if you could pick an fairly cheap priced amp what would you pick? One that would be suitable for my budget. And is an amp something that I really need or can i plug my headphones into my ipod and go?
 
Thanks so much, maxg

 

[maxgander]

oops, i meant AKG

 

[Riku540]

AKG's are fantastic; I just don't have any personal experience with them so I can't really comment. K 701's are pretty popular here though they are open headphones which means that they will be quite noisy to the people around you and not keep background noise out which is not desirable for public use. They are also not very efficient and will need a decent amp to be driven. Generally the higher you go in the headphone world the more and more demanding your headphones will become in regards of a proper amp.
 
Need? With efficient phones like AT's, probably not. Will any and all headphones benefit from an amp? Absolutely.
 
If you're not really serious about amps but are curious there are some cheap solutions such as the Fiio E5 and cMoy's you can find on eBay which are ~$20 and ~$40 respectively and are portable. I can understand the unattractiveness of carrying one around and making portability a lesser convenience which is why in my personal opinion I'd just get a leave-at-home one that will give you much more performance in the first place. NuForce uDAC-2 is a good bang for the buck which is both a DAC and Amp in one.

 

[maxgander]

sweet, thanks alot.