Need some input and advice from all of you experienced audiophiles !

[Macedon223]

Hello all,
 
Ive recently become interested in the realm of high quality audio and would like to know what headphones would best suit me for my needs. Ive recently enrolled into pharmacy school and begin study in the fall '14 semester. So i really need a good setup to vibe out to and study for long periods of time. I don't mind sound leakage, as long as it isn't anything THAT bad. Now, Ive done a decent amount of research and i believe i am going to pull the trigger on some Beyer DT880's @ 250 ohm. I believe i'll couple this with the Schiit Vali/Modi stack and power that through my MacBook Pro. How would all of you more experienced/knowledgable persons rate this setup as an introductory one into the world of high quality audio. Also while i study, i tend to get more done while listening to the likes of Deadmau5, Pig&Dan, Armin, and other "EDM" and progressive house producers. How will the DT880's serve me for this type of music. Are they to "critical" ? If so, what are my other options for around the same price range with minimal sound leakage yet good "soundstage" ?
 
Thanks all for taking the time to help me out can't wait to see what you all say !

 

[zunehdrocks]

Open headphones will provide no isolation from noise coming in or out.

 

[zunehdrocks]

Open headphones will provide no isolation from noise coming in or out.

If you're okay with that, i think you'll like the soundmagic hp200 better for the genres you listen to.
http://noblehifi.blogspot.com/2013/05/soundmagic-hp200-review.html?m=1

 

[zunehdrocks]

  If you're okay with that, i think you'll like the soundmagic hp200 better for the genres you listen to.
http://noblehifi.blogspot.com/2013/05/soundmagic-hp200-review.html?m=1

It also has a lower impedence so you don't need a more powerful amp. The audioquest dragonfly or dragonfly 1.2 would wok

 

[Macedon223]

Thanks for the reply man! I'll get researching into the products you recommended. Also I thought the dt880's for "semi closed". Guess this doesn't help with sound leakage?

 

[zunehdrocks]

Thanks for the reply man! I'll get researching into the products you recommended. Also I thought the dt880's for "semi closed". Guess this doesn't help with sound leakage?

Well they will do better than the fully open but a large amount of leakage will still be there.

 

[zunehdrocks]

If you are considering closed
neutral:
yamaha mt220
beyerdynamic dt150
soundmagic hp100
focal spirit pro
 
fun:
yamaha pro 500 (price dropped from $400 to $250 in the US)
nad viso hp50

 

[Roy Munson]

Hello. I've spent extensive time with a DT880 250ohm powered with a Vali. I also happen to listen to mostly electronic music - house/techno/trance/DnB. I like the DT880 quite a bit but it wouldn't be my first choice for electronic music. I find the bass response and overall sound signature leaves quite a bit to be desired with electronic tracks. The sound signature for me is a little too polite especially when you start to hit the energetic part of a mix. The DT880 is also open and will leak sound.
 
You'll have to define a bit more what you mean by sound leakage that isn't that bad - open headphones in general will leak sound to the point where somebody a few feet away from you will easily be able to tell what you're listening to at normal listening volumes - some are worse than others.
 
Can you give a little more detail regarding the sound signature you prefer for electronic music? What are you looking for in terms of bass, mids, highs? You said you want a good soundstage - do mean accurate? tall? wide? all of the above? Is there anything sound wise that's a deal breaker for you? Do you have any experience with headphones that you can reference what you liked or didn't like about them?
 
As an initial suggestion I much prefer my Mr. Speakers Mad Dogs for electronic music compared to the DT880. They are sealed and isolate very well. They also sound great with the Vali. They aren't bass heavy but I wouldn't consider them bass light. They have really great mids and sound separation.
 
I have several other pairs of headphones that I can recommend or give you some insight for comparison, both open and closed. Figure out if you want an open or closed can first and go from there.
 
- Roy
 
 
 

 

[Macedon223]

Roy,
 
First off thank you for the great response man. I appreciate all of your insight. 
 
Now I’m going to apologize in advance for my ignorance in audiophile vernacular and terminology. When i said that i do not want any sound leakage which is THAT bad, i mean i would like a pair of headphones that would allow me to listen to them in a university library, yet still get the benefit of the “openness” that open headphones offer to the music that is played through them, as i was told this makes the musical experience a lot more enjoyable. Now if you’re saying that even at normal volumes a person will be able to hear my music clearly from only a few feet away, i guess open headphones are now no longer an option. 
 
You are going to have to pardon my ignorance on this one. You being well versed in electronic music will know the difference between Pig&Dan/Deadmau5 over some Skrillex crap. I guess there is less of a focus on bass and more focus on everything else ? For instance i would LOVE to have a pair of “cans” (can i say that now ?) that would take Deadmau5’s song Strobe, or 3-Geeza and just compliment the hell out of it, if that makes any sense. Deep House/Trance type stuff as you know aren’t that Bass centered so I’m not too worried about that. I just really want overall clarity and maybe even be able to hear something in those songs that i couldn’t hear before with inferior headphones. Once again I’m giving you a haphazard answer but its the only one i can muster lol. 
 
P&D-3Geeza: https://soundcloud.com/piganddan/3-geeza
DM-Strobe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84TYi3FOMlU
 
Thanks again !

 

[Macedon223]

Roy,
 
First off thank you for the great response man. I appreciate all of your insight. 
 
Now I’m going to apologize in advance for my ignorance in audiophile vernacular and terminology. When i said that i do not want any sound leakage which is THAT bad, i mean i would like a pair of headphones that would allow me to listen to them in a university library, yet still get the benefit of the “openness” that open headphones offer to the music that is played through them, as i was told this benefits the musical experience a lot. Now if you’re saying that even at normal volumes a person will be able to hear my music clearly from only a few feet away, i guess open headphones are now no longer an option. 
 
You are going to have to pardon my ignorance on this one. You being well versed in electronic music will know the difference between Pig&Dan/Deadmau5 over some Skrillex crap. I guess there is less of a focus on bass and more focus on everything else ? For instance i would LOVE to have a pair of “cans” (can i say that now ?) that would take Deadmau5’s song Strobe, and P&D’s 3Geeza and just compliment the hell out of it, if that makes any sense. Deep House/Trance type stuff as you know aren’t that Bass centered so I’m not too worried about that. I just really want overall clarity and maybe even be able to hear something in those songs that i couldn’t hear before with inferior headphones. Once again I’m giving you a haphazard answer but this is the best way i could explain it. 
 
*I tried attaching song links for you to get an ideas but i don’t have permission yet. 
 
Thanks again !

 

[Roy Munson]

Ah no need to make the audiophile thing out like its some crazy status. If you love music and how it sounds, in my book you're an audiophile. Welcome to the club
 
So first, college library - scratch the open headphones. You need something closed and something that isolates sound well. In my experience, open headphones sound different than closed. They have more of an airiness to them and tend to have larger soundstages. I find open cans don't quite do bass like closed cans do. That doesn't mean closed headphones are inferior, but rather different. I like both my closed and open cans.
 
I'm a big fan of Pig & Dan. I actually got a chance to see Pig spin a solo set about a year back and he was awesome. He really brought that dark dark ferocious techno sound. Love it. I'm not very familiar with Deadmau5's stuff but I checked out that strobe track so I have a point of reference. No I don't listen to Skrillex so we won't have to go there As for deep house/trance not being bass centered, they might not have big blow your windows out bass like some Trap tracks but you'd be surprised how many tracks have great basslines that really drive the track. You'll see what I mean once you get some nice gear.
 
The good thing for you, assuming you don't have much gear in the realm you're about to get into is you will absolutely hear songs differently and most likely hear them in ways you never heard before.
 
I highly recommend the Modi/Vali stack especially at their price point so I think you're good there.
 
Depending on how much you want to spend on headphones, based on the closed headphones I've had or spent a good amount of time with, you could look at the DT770, Mad Dog, or the AKG K550.
 
The K550 might come the closest to giving you that "open can" sound, but at the end of the day it's still closed and might come off sounding a little thin. The sub bass extends very low which is nice and the mids and highs are clean and very detailed. They don't have a ton of kick/thump/slam in the bass department but it's acceptable. I wish though they had a bit more texture in the mids.
 
The DT770 has very upfront bass and highs with the mids somewhat recessed. The bass is big and thumps but lacks some detail. For the price they are a great deal but for me the mids are just too lacking in texture and engagement. I love textured mids for electronic. It makes the tracks much more involving - at least for me.
 
The Mad Dog is my office headphone that I listen to every day. It's really a great headphone and I love it for electronic. The Mad Dog is a closed planar with great, lush, silky smooth textured mids, very clean and detailed bass which can sometimes lack impact, and laid back highs which are still detailed but never fatiguing. These have a relatively dark presentation but are also fairly neutral.
 
Other cans to consider which I haven't heard or spent short time with: Mad Dog Pro, Ultrasones (these are supposed to be great with electronic but I pulled the trigger on picking up any. You'd have to do some research on which model would suit you best), B&W P7. A lot of it comes down to how much money you want to spend.
 
- Roy

 

[Macedon223]

Haha thanks a lot man !
 
Pig&Dan are absolutely fantastic, one of the most underrated artists in their respective genre i feel. Lucky you got to see 1/2 of them live ! If you like the dark undertones and "mean" sound look into Deadmau5, he's your guy. His track Arguru is one of my favorites I'm sure you'd like it.
 
Looks like I'm going to definitely go with the Vali/Modi stack as it seems to be highly recommended for its price bracket. 
Yea i guess sound leakage is a bigger problem than i thought. However, if the sound quality of open cans outperform closed ones by a LARGE margin I'm honestly willing to go with open and just study in my dorm lol. Now i know that statement is trivial, but when you say that open headphones have an open aura about them, I find that very appealing. Guess I'm a little keen on soundstage now that i read up on it a little bit. 
 
If open cans aren't much more superior, then I'm willing to go with closed for the sake of using them in the library to study. In respects to the headphones you recommended I'm doing a whole bunch of research on each of them now. Quick ? on the DT770's, you're talking about the 80 ohm correct ? Heard those were popular for House/ general "EDM" because they have a little more bass. 
 
Btw kind and insightful responses from members like you add so much to these online forums. It honestly kept me as a member on this site and signed up 4 of my friends by me telling them how quick and how much help I've already received in such a short period of time.( got them hooked too (-: ) 
 
Looking up open cans too and I'm taking a liking to the HifiMan HE400's.

 

[Roy Munson]

I think open cans and closed cans are simply different rather than one being superior to the other. They offer different listening experiences. You'll have to listen to each and see which you prefer. Open cans though usually have the edge when it comes to soundstage simply due to them being open.
 
Yes I was talking about the DT770 80ohm. I think what you described is true. They're a solid choice for electronic because of the elevated bass response and energetic overall sound. Honestly, if you don't have much experience with higher end audio this might be a great can to start with as they're relatively inexpensive and if you want to upgrade at some point in the future you'll have a good basis for comparison.
 
I also own the HE400. They're great for electronic. They also have a pretty unique sound which some people like and some people don't. Sound separation is incredible and the bass performance for an open can at its price range is stellar. The soundstage is decent, I would say taller than it is wide. The mids are good and sound a bit distant rather than in your face. My only complaint is that the highs can be a bit sizzly at times which can throw off the listening experience. They've settled down a bit after burn in though, and the tube sound of the Vali should help tame the highs a bit but it doesn't completely go away. They aren't supremely comfortable, but I wouldn't consider them uncomfortable either. They're heavy. If you haven't owned a heavy headphone before it might take some getting used to. Planar Magnetic headphones tend to like lots of power. My HE400 sounded pretty good off both Magni and Vali but I don't think they really shined until I hooked them up to my Lyr. The HE400 also leaks sound.... a lot. They are absolutely not meant for commuting/use in public spaces. If you have roommates in a small dorm room they will absolutely hear everything you're listening to.
 
- Roy

 

[Macedon223]

Alright, ill take everything into consideration. Thanks again !