[thrive]

Hello everyone,

I will be moving off to college in a few months and need to get some new headphones. I've had the HD280 pros for 2 years now and loved them but unfortionately they are falling apart. The headband plastic is coming off day by day and the pleather earpads are pretty much destroyed. I will be using my computer to listen to music with a x-fi prelude soundcard. My budget is in the $300-500 range and I'm looking to go ampless. Up until a few days ago I was pretty much soley content with getting a pair of the sony SA5000's however I want to assess my options again. The denon d2000 and the AKG k701 are definitely on the list of headphones I'm considering. I listen to mostly trance/techno and like occasionally rock and classical....

If anyone has any suggestions please reply..

Thanks

 

[JayB18]

Are you looking for open or closed? The k701 definitely will need an amp. Not sure about the others.

 

[thrive]

i don't really know the difference between open and closed in the sense of audio qualities...i mean closed is better imo but open is fine too

 

[Dylanbenimble]

I dont actually have any first hand experience, but i started a similar thread a bit ago and can relay you the information i got from that.

The 701's would need an amp and cant really work out of a laptop. Alot of people were recommending the Grado sr225's and the Beyerdynamic DT770's for unamped use from a laptop. The denon's would work but you would be wasting alot of the potential without having an amp.

 

[Exediron]

The Denons don't sound bad straight out of a laptop, and would probably sound better out of the prelude (Haven't got one).

What is it that you're looking for in a pair of headphones? Going from your previous history (HD280), I'm going to assume that comfort and isolation are at least somewhat important. In which case, I would assume you wouldn't like the Grados, but that's just me.

The K701 can be run out of a laptop, but it's a complete waste, and the same probably goes for the prelude.

Going off on a wing here, but...

You could just get another HD280 and improve your source, if you liked the HD280.

 

[thrive]

their not going to be driven from a laptop, the cans will be used solely on the prelude + PC. The HD280 pros were very unconfortable so i want something that is very light and easy on the ears...with that said isolation is important in some regard because I will be in a dorm and it would be nice to be able to keep outside noise out and music from leaking out...

How do the sa5000 preform unamped?

 

[Zathan]

I think you should go with a nice pair of Denon D2000. Coming from Sennheiser HD280 you will most likely experience a feeling called an audio orgasmic sensation.

 

[Philco]

Beyer DT250-80. It's all you need, really!
They trounce the HD280 in every aspect except isolation.

 

[thrive]

has anyone here personally owned both sa5k and d2000 and can provide some insight as to isolation and sq unamped?

 

[Dobro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thrive /img/forum/go_quote.gif their not going to be driven from a laptop, the cans will be used solely on the prelude + PC. The HD280 pros were very unconfortable so i want something that is very light and easy on the ears...with that said isolation is important in some regard because I will be in a dorm and it would be nice to be able to keep outside noise out and music from leaking out... How do the sa5000 preform unamped?

If you want noise isolation you will need closed phones. Since you'll only be using these with your desktop PC and with your budget you might consider an amp as well. It would open up your HP options considerably.

 

[LedZeppelin]

For trance/techno, My friend's Audio-Technica ATH-A900 sounds great and feels comfy! it's close cans, ampless, directly from computer sound card.

for open cans, ampless, HD595 could be your choice, forget K701.

 

[LedZeppelin]

with $300-500 budget, I would go with a decent tube amp($100-$200), and DT-990($200-$300) to settle for now, and it also leaves a lot of room for upgrading.