[vvanrij]

Hi there,

My name is Victor and I live in the Netherlands. I have Bose tripod around-ear headphones, and I like the sound, but they always sound really close (annoying stereo spread) and are tiring.

The use will be for pretty much all music genre's (hiphop - classical - dance - relaxation, you name it) and even for computer use (game's). I looked and came out with Sennheiser 595-600-650 AKG 601-701 and BT880. Problem is probably the required amp, since I read that the 650 are really hard to drive and need a expensive amp.

I have a Denon surround receiver (5.1 5x 75Watt), I don't know if this is suitable to amplify headphones. My absolute max is 300euro total.

Thank you very much for your help,

Greetings,

Victor van Rij

ps the burning-in process for headphones ( I read your FAQ ), can you just use the headphones, and play when you want it (and turn off), or do you really have to let it play 24/7 for 300hours.

 

[maarek99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vvanrij /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have a Denon surround receiver (5.1 5x 75Watt), I don't know if this is suitable to amplify headphones. My absolute max is 300euro total.

It probably is.

 

[Jaska]

For the stated budget, I would personally just go for a Grado SR-225 and be done with it. No amp required, but down the road perhaps a nice addition.

 

[Bon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vvanrij /img/forum/go_quote.gif ps the burning-in process for headphones ( I read your FAQ ), can you just use the headphones, and play when you want it (and turn off), or do you really have to let it play 24/7 for 300hours.

You don't have to play them continuously. They will burn themselves in over time, many people just want to start their listening experience at the top with their phones at their best. You can just listen to them normally and hear them grow over time if your so inclined

 

[ClieOS]

My recommendation goes to Audio Techinica ATH-AD900 (or above, depends on how far your budget can get). AT's cans are great all-arounder, and most of them require no amp.

As for your other question: Burn-in is an accumulative process. Play and stop as you like.

 

[Bon]

You have a lot to spend however, a nice pair of senns or akg's and a decent amp in your price range would blow the bose away.
open or closed? its obvious to see which phones have the huge followings, 701's or hd650's for example. read up about them and try to test a few before buying if you can

 

[vvanrij]

Wow thats some quick reply's thank you very much. Well if the Denon receiver is indeed good to amplify good headphones, that would open up my possibility's. If I want to enjoy music from my PC I would probably have to look for a good soundcard (its for laptop, so external) to really enjoy the good headphones. Just looked up a website, (I am on vacation, don't have my receiver here) I think this is the receiver I have: Denon AVR1306

And so I have a max of 300euro to spend, and would really prefer open.

 

[outbreak123]

for 300 euro you could get Denon D5000, ATH-AD2000, IMO both can sound good unamped even tho will improve with dedicated headphone amplifier.

 

[vvanrij]

Euhm, they both seem to expensive when I look them up on the internet. Also the headphone has to be available here in the netherlands, hence I brought up the 650 and 701. So with my Denon receiver I would be able to get good sound from the HD650 and 701? So that would narrow it down much. But I read that both the 650 and 701 NEED amplification, so as an alternative, what would be the best headphone (again in the netherlands <300Euro) that would not need an amp. Sennheiser, AKG, Beyer Dynamic? It seems the HD595 doesn't need amplification, but I read some bad comments about it on this forum.

 

[Jaska]

The K701 is VERY hard to drive. I wouldn't buy it blindly on the assumption that your receiver will drive it well unless you have a chance to go to a hi-fi shop and try it for yourself with the same receiver. I doubt anyone here has actually listened to the two headphones in question with exactly the same model of Denon. I have listened to the K701 in local shops with integrated amps, and it sounded simply awful.

 

[vvanrij]

Well I'm mostly leaning towards the HD650 now, and will just be using it on my Denon amp then (connect my pc to the receiver). Seems like the best deal? Or would it be better to get a HD595 and a creative X-Fi for my pc? Or maybe an AKG 601 (does this need a amp?)

So its down to this

-HD650 on my Denon receiver
-HD595 on a X-Fi from creative
or maybe a AKG 601? or a Beyer the DT880 is only 250euro here (so 50 cheaper then the 650)

 

[Jaw007]

Sennheiser HD650's are good.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Victor, what kind of music do you listen to? If we knew, you'd get more specific recommendations.

I would give your receiver a chance at driving headphones. I'm not familiar with that model, but I had an older Denon receiver that drives headphones fine.

As for availability, you should check the For Sale Forum and the US eBay. Considering the exchange rate, 300 Euro will get you pretty far over here. You might be able to pick up two pairs, even.

 

[vvanrij]

Haha really? Well like I said in my previous post I listen too pretty much everything, but to narrow it done more:

Classical music (also vocal, messiah, mattheus passion), older music like Don McLean and acapella music (king's singers). But also film score (so good bass is important for me). I listen to much more kinds of music, but these are the most important for me to sound really great.

A good thing about the 650 is that I then have the best headphones so I can always later save up for a good soundcard, amplifier and maybe even change cables later. But if buy a cheaper headphone now, I'l probably replace it in a year or two, and that would be a waste. I'm just a little concerned on how the 650 will sound connected to a pc

 

[vvanrij]

Just wanted to give you the end result of my search, all be shocked:

The AKG 601

I listened to loads of headphones on different amplifiers and I just fell in love with this one. Shows again how subjective the perception of sound is

. Bought an external soundcard with optical output, so I can connect it digitally to my Denon receiver.

Now the 300hrs burn-in time I read on multiple places are required for these headphones, thats gonna take a long time, thankfully they already sound good now, so I listen to em already

Thanks everybody for your help!

Victor