[KingHova]

Hi,

I currently got the Beats Studios, and the sound is quite **** to be honest. The only thing they have going for them is design but I don't wear them outside the house anyway so I figured I might aswell ditch this piece of crap and move on to something with better sound quality.

My budget is $1000, and I mostly listen to rap, RnB and movie scores so I'd prefer something that isn't too accurate as far as sound goes. Having an emphasis on the bass would be great. Also, I'll be using the headset on my PC so I got no problem with purchasing an AMP/DAC if necessary as long as the entire thing remains under $1000.

I was thinking about purchasing the Sennheiser RS 220, because the wireless functionality seems pretty awesome. But I'm afraid I'll be sacrificing a lot of sound quality by not being able to add an AMP/DAC and they don't seem like great headphones for hiphop from what I've read.

Anyway, I'm open to suggestions, thanks in advance.

 

[davidsh]

I guess wireless isn't really audiophile quality in general, but form what i have heard senneheiser makes the best wireless headsets afterall
I would only choose wireless if i REALLY needed it

 

[Klesk]

If I were getting a wireless headphone, I'd probably try the UE9000, however it's bluetooth.

 

[KingHova]

I guess wireless isn't really audiophile quality in general, but form what i have heard senneheiser makes the best wireless headsets afterall
I would only choose wireless if i REALLY needed it

Yeah, from what I've heard the RS 220 is sort of a cross between the HD 600 and HD 650's. I don't really need the wireless functionality, but it's pretty great to not have to worry about cables all the time and be free to move around the house with them.

However, like I said, I'm open to suggestions so if you guys can recommend me a headphone combination that's under $1000 that's clearly better than the RS 220's as far as hiphop/sound quality in general goes I'll go for that

 

[davidsh]

Quote:

Yeah, from what I've heard the RS 220 is sort of a cross between the HD 600 and HD 650's. I don't really need the wireless functionality, but it's pretty great to not have to worry about cables all the time and be free to move around the house with them.
However, like I said, I'm open to suggestions so if you guys can recommend me a headphone combination that's under $1000 that's clearly better than the RS 220's as far as hiphop/sound quality in general goes I'll go for that

 
...Ill leave that part to the 'professionals'

Waiting for my first headphone amp atm.
 

 

[KingHova]

I've decided to go with the Denon AH-D600 and the Arcam RPac DAC/AMP. Total is 1050$ because I'm ordering off Amazon.co.uk and hardware prices are ridiculous here compared to the US.

I think this is a good choice? Should certainly sound better than my Beats Studios (although I admit, that's probably not very hard to achieve ).

 

[Taowolf51]

The new denons are considered by many to simply be more expensive Beats. I've never heard them personally, so I can't say whether that's true or not. Check the return policy and see if you can return an opened item. If so, listen to it for a week, then decide whether you like them or not. If you can compare them to other headphones, try the older Denon D5000's or some Ultrasone Pro 900s.
 
Normally, when you get into more expensive headphones, they *usually* trend towards balanced rather than bass-heavy.

 

[KingHova]

The new denons are considered by many to simply be more expensive Beats. I've never heard them personally, so I can't say whether that's true or not. Check the return policy and see if you can return an opened item. If so, listen to it for a week, then decide whether you like them or not. If you can compare them to other headphones, try the older Denon D5000's or some Ultrasone Pro 900s.

Normally, when you get into more expensive headphones, they *usually* trend towards balanced rather than bass-heavy.

Thanks a lot for the reply. I'll definitely return them if the sound quality isn't up to par (I believe Amazon has a 30-day return policy). However, what exactly do you mean with ''The new denons are considered by many to simply be more expensive than Beats''? Do you mean the D600 sound quality is comparable to for example the Beats Pro's? Because that's pretty dissapointing considering the Beats By Dre's are horribly overpriced.

Also, do you think the Arcam RPac is a good AMP/DAC choice?

 

[SoundFreaq]

The Ultrasone Signature Pro, my friend. Can be had for $850. Will blow the Denons out of the water. Nice isolation. Plays great from a portable player, but you can add an amp to make em shine. 

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

Hi,
I currently got the Beats Studios, and the sound is quite **** to be honest. The only thing they have going for them is design but I don't wear them outside the house anyway so I figured I might aswell ditch this piece of crap and move on to something with better sound quality.
My budget is $1000, and I mostly listen to rap, RnB and movie scores so I'd prefer something that isn't too accurate as far as sound goes. Having an emphasis on the bass would be great. Also, I'll be using the headset on my PC so I got no problem with purchasing an AMP/DAC if necessary as long as the entire thing remains under $1000.
I was thinking about purchasing the Sennheiser RS 220, because the wireless functionality seems pretty awesome. But I'm afraid I'll be sacrificing a lot of sound quality by not being able to add an AMP/DAC and they don't seem like great headphones for hiphop from what I've read.
Anyway, I'm open to suggestions, thanks in advance.

 
Heya,
 
I would have had you save your money and simply order something from this list of options to try:
 
AudioTechnica A900X
Beyer DT770
Beyer DT990
Denon D2000
Ultrasone PRO 750
Ultrasone HFI 580
Hifiman HE-400
AKG K550
AKG K267
 
Pair up any of them with a Fiio E10 (or E17 if you want portability).
 
Saves 2/3rds of your budget, basically.
 
If you wanted to go flagship for rap, I would say don't bother. But if you listen to a lot of very well recorded R&B and/or music scores, then perhaps it would be worth while to you to invest in a flagship level headphone. But I would still suggest you simply test the mid-fi waters first as they're leagues superior to Beats, yet cost the same. You're likely over-spending for the function, unless you just want expensive audiophile jewelry to listen to rap on (I'm being a little rude with that, but it's meant in good humor).
 
If you really wanted to go flagship level portable, I would have suggested you go Denon D7100 or Ultrasone Signature PRO. But even then, honestly, I would still recommend you simply look at the mid-fi options above first before spending a thousand dollars on a headphone.
 
Very best,

 

[formula1]

Quote:

Also, do you think the Arcam RPac is a good AMP/DAC choice?

 
Havent tried it personally, but its getting positive reviews here on Europe. Not sure how popular is on the US market..

 

[davidsh]

I've personally tried both the Denon AH-D600 and the AH-D400. Even though im not that experienced in hi--end audio yet, i can tell you i would put my money somewhere else.
I can tell you more about both headphones if you want.

 

[Taowolf51]

Quote:

Thanks a lot for the reply. I'll definitely return them if the sound quality isn't up to par (I believe Amazon has a 30-day return policy). However, what exactly do you mean with ''The new denons are considered by many to simply be more expensive than Beats''? Do you mean the D600 sound quality is comparable to for example the Beats Pro's? Because that's pretty dissapointing considering the Beats By Dre's are horribly overpriced.
Also, do you think the Arcam RPac is a good AMP/DAC choice?

 
It probably sounds better, but from what I've heard, they have similar problems (messy sloppy bass, frequency response all over the place, and poor measurements).
 
Here's a quick and dirty explanation of measurements and what they should look like (with examples of what Beats look like):
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/headphone-measurements-explained-square-wave-response-page-2
 
And here are the measurements of the D600:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/DenonAHD600.pdf
 
Here are the measurements of the D2000 (a cheaper headphone) for comparison:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/DenonAHD2000B2012.pdf

 

[KingHova]

Heya,

I would have had you save your money and simply order something from this list of options to try:

AudioTechnica A900X
Beyer DT770
Beyer DT990
Denon D2000
Ultrasone PRO 750
Ultrasone HFI 580
Hifiman HE-400
AKG K550
AKG K267

Pair up any of them with a Fiio E10 (or E17 if you want portability).

Saves 2/3rds of your budget, basically.

If you wanted to go flagship for rap, I would say don't bother. But if you listen to a lot of very well recorded R&B and/or music scores, then perhaps it would be worth while to you to invest in a flagship level headphone. But I would still suggest you simply test the mid-fi waters first as they're leagues superior to Beats, yet cost the same. You're likely over-spending for the function, unless you just want expensive audiophile jewelry to listen to rap on (I'm being a little rude with that, but it's meant in good humor).

If you really wanted to go flagship level portable, I would have suggested you go Denon D7100 or Ultrasone Signature PRO. But even then, honestly, I would still recommend you simply look at the mid-fi options above first before spending a thousand dollars on a headphone.

Very best,

I understand where you're coming from, and thanks for the reply. I'll look into the headphones you mentioned. The thing is, though, I do listen to a lot of different music. But still, a 1000$ headphone is maybe a bit too crazy for the music I listen to but it sure is tempting

I've personally tried both the Denon AH-D600 and the AH-D400. Even though im not that experienced in hi--end audio yet, i can tell you i would put my money somewhere else.
I can tell you more about both headphones if you want.

Well that sounds discouraging. I know the D400 has been met with some negative reception but reviews of the D600 sounded pretty good to me. Could you please explain why you dislike the D600?

 

[KingHova]

It probably sounds better, but from what I've heard, they have similar problems (messy sloppy bass, frequency response all over the place, and poor measurements).

Here's a quick and dirty explanation of measurements and what they should look like (with examples of what Beats look like):
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/headphone-measurements-explained-square-wave-response-page-2

And here are the measurements of the D600:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/DenonAHD600.pdf

Here are the measurements of the D2000 (a cheaper headphone) for comparison:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/DenonAHD2000B2012.pdf

Thanks for that. Those graphs don't tell me much though haha. But I see you own the Denon D7000, and the reviewer here is comparing it with the D7000 and saying that for the price the D600's are rather good. I guess that's definitely not true then?