[Akiat]

Hi there !

First of all, a little presentation ! So I'm Akiat, a French 27 years old guy. I'm interested about hi-fi since some years but only in spectator mode

Today I would like to buy a good headphone, with a budget of 300-350€ including a portable DAC/amp.

Yes, portable because I want to take it for travels but also to use it on my different computers.

I have a restriction, I don't want to buy a headphone with leather on it, to respect my ethic for animals. (I hope you guys will respect my choices )

It's a little frustrating because the Fidelio X2 had everything that I wanted, low impedance, comfortable, beautiful, detachable cable and a great sound. But... Leather...

So I decided to take a look at the DT-990. It's not bad at all, but its impedance request a good DAC/amp and I need your help for this.

I would like something that is small but with a great sound quality, and which is possible to use on a smartphone if possible.

I saw the Fiio E17K, do you think it's a good choice ?

Do you you have any other recommendations about another headphone or DAC/amp or both ?

I hope my English is not too bad and I thank you in advance for all your future advices !

Have a good day

Akiat

 

[EthanB]

I like the Sennheiser HD600s alot (and there isn't any leather on them), they are some of the most neutral headphones you can find, but if you prefer a bit of a warmer (more base) sound, the hd650s are also good. For a portable amp to go with them, the E17k would work, though a less expensive one like the Q1 would also work, and the Q1 with the 600s would only be slightly above 350 euros.

 

[buke9]

Hi there !

First of all, a little presentation ! So I'm Akiat, a French 27 years old guy. I'm interested about hi-fi since some years but only in spectator mode

Today I would like to buy a good headphone, with a budget of 300-350€ including a portable DAC/amp.

Yes, portable because I want to take it for travels but also to use it on my different computers.

I have a restriction, I don't want to buy a headphone with leather on it, to respect my ethic for animals. (I hope you guys will respect my choices )

It's a little frustrating because the Fidelio X2 had everything that I wanted, low impedance, comfortable, beautiful, detachable cable and a great sound. But... Leather...

So I decided to take a look at the DT-990. It's not bad at all, but its impedance request a good DAC/amp and I need your help for this.

I would like something that is small but with a great sound quality, and which is possible to use on a smartphone if possible.

I saw the Fiio E17K, do you think it's a good choice ?

Do you you have any other recommendations about another headphone or DAC/amp or both ?

I hope my English is not too bad and I thank you in advance for all your future advices !

Have a good day

Akiat

Though not a small headphone the HE-400S is very good and very easy to drive. The 990's might have a bit more bass but are very bright to me. If your looking for portable I don't think a open headphone is the way to go unless you want to use a phone around the house.

 

[atarione]

+1 on open headphones not being the way to go for mobile (out in public use) .. leaks too much sound out disturbs others and also leaks sound in disturbing the music.
 
 
some closed headphones ::   DT770 (there is a more mobile friendly DT770 i 16Ohms version available here in America
 
https://www.amazon.com/Beyerdynamic-DT-770-i-Headphones/dp/B017TAZ3SM/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1485217534&sr=8-4-fkmr0&keywords=dt770+i
 
 
also the ATH-M50X or M40X are quite nice closed portable friendly headphones..     no animals should have been harmed by any of these...unless the truck delivering them hits a squirrel =\  (poor squirrels)

 

[Akiat]

Thank you guys for your good advices.
 
I'm sorry I did not express myself very clearly. I have a closed headphone for listening music in train / plane. What I would say was that I wanted to bring it with me when traveling, to be able to listen to it once arrived. And I would like to listen it from different places in my home, so the bigs AMP and DAC are difficult to fit this requirements.
 
I really want an open, maybe semi-open headphone because I do not want to have this isolation / confinement sensation.
 
Do you think the HE-400S is much better than a DT-990? It's a little expensive for my budget, and I have read some reviews that say it's not robust.
 
I forgot to say that I listen every type of music. I think the Fidelio X2 has the almost the signature that I want. I would like something almost neutral but with a little fun also, with a bit of warmness.
 
Thank you again for all your answers,
 
Akiat
 
EDIT: The HD600 and 650 are expensive in France, 290/350€ just for the headphone, and I also read that the manufacturing quality was not great
 
EDIT: For the DAC/amp, is the Fiio E11K (A3) Kilimanjaro 2 as good as the E17K ? (Because it is much cheaper).

 

[Akiat]

Just a precision: If I can have a big upgrade for 400/450€, I can push my money limit (with amp/dac) (DAC is mandatory because I will listen on bad audio sources like a laptop, a computer without dedicated sound card or smartphone (OnePlus 3T).

 

[EthanB]

The e11k would also work, however it is only an amp, not a dac/amp. The HD600 and HD650 aren't the best built pair of headphones, but as long as you aren't tossing them across the room, you'll be fine. The same can be said for the he-400s. 

 

[BDT770]

You can get the DT 770/80 ohm and a fiio will be able to drive it. The only thing is they are closed back.
A small fiio dac can drive the dt990 pro 250 ohm, but the battery (inc ase you use one with batteries) will drain faster and it won't fully properly drive it, so it won't work at full potential. You need a higher ohm amp, but they are worth it, they sound good, if you want open back sound and sound stage and so on.

 

[serman005]

  Thank you guys for your good advices.
 
I'm sorry I did not express myself very clearly. I have a closed headphone for listening music in train / plane. What I would say was that I wanted to bring it with me when traveling, to be able to listen to it once arrived. And I would like to listen it from different places in my home, so the bigs AMP and DAC are difficult to fit this requirements.
 
I really want an open, maybe semi-open headphone because I do not want to have this isolation / confinement sensation.
 
Do you think the HE-400S is much better than a DT-990? It's a little expensive for my budget, and I have read some reviews that say it's not robust.
 
I forgot to say that I listen every type of music. I think the Fidelio X2 has the almost the signature that I want. I would like something almost neutral but with a little fun also, with a bit of warmness.
 
Thank you again for all your answers,
 
Akiat
 
EDIT: The HD600 and 650 are expensive in France, 290/350€ just for the headphone, and I also read that the manufacturing quality was not great
 
EDIT: For the DAC/amp, is the Fiio E11K (A3) Kilimanjaro 2 as good as the E17K ? (Because it is much cheaper).

I would say that the HE400S is more neutral, to my ears, than the DT990, which is a bit peaky in the treble. I have had no build-quality issues with it in the year I've been listening to mine and I don't baby mine. I treat them the same way I treat my Sennheisers. Carefully, but not overly so.  They are built about as well as my HD598 and HD600 are. One other advantage of the 400S is that it folds flat, which could be helpful for travel.