[Earwicker]

Hi Guys - Audiophool here, in need of advice because I don't know a great lot about headphones!!

I now use a Creative X-Fi Music soundcard as my primary source into an audiophile hi-fi system (sounds great with Foobar/ASIO as I'm sure you all know...) and I'm looking for some decent headphones to go direct from the PC; I don't envisage buying a headphone amp at this stage. My music collection is FLACed.

I've got some koss ksc75s and Sennheiser hd 280s and wish to improve - budget I'm thinking £75 - £150, but I'll stretch to £200 for something really special. The koss are a bit compressed, the Sennheisers are a bit dull and midrangey; I'd like a bit more sparkle and detail.

Not TOO bothered about external noise attenuation but some would be nice - that IS something I like about the Sennheisers.

Listen to classical music, not bothered about seismic bass, but I'm keen on detail, atmosphere and tonal accuracy.

The X-Fi drives the hd280s no problem louder than I'd want to go; I don't think it likes to go below 32 Ohms though...

Thanks!!

EW

 

[Gingerbread Man]

Maybe the Audio Technica AD900? They have a huge sound stage, and pinpoint imaging so I've heard, fairly neutral and 'forward'. I've also heard they sound great unamped.

 

[ZARIM]

Grado SR 325i, AKG K701, Denon D2000 and Ultrasone pro750 ect.

 

[gritzcolin]

I'd shoot for some Grado's. easy to drive and are built to sparkle.

 

[Gingerbread Man]

If I'm not mistaken, Grado's shine best with Rock and are a bit bright, OP said he listened to classical; and the K701s need decent amplification..

 

[lordmozilla]

the hd280 are real nasty in SQ. They are the only ones there i've tried and i'd stay away from them, they got good isolation but they really arent that nice

 

[Earwicker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordmozilla /img/forum/go_quote.gif the hd280 are real nasty in SQ. They are the only ones there i've tried and i'd stay away from them, they got good isolation but they really arent that nice

Yeah, I quite agree. I inherited them, I didn't choose them! The entry level Grados look nice, it's really a question of what will work best without an amp. The sound card seems to have pretty good drive capability, but obviously I don't want to go berserk!

Is there anything mid-market worth a look by Sennheiser? They're readily available at the right kind of price, the hd280s are clearly not the pick of the bunch... I could do with whittling it down to say five - from circa £70 up to £150 and see where that leaves me, I can't make much sense of the options at the moment. I think the main thing is to find something that's an easy load with good resolution and tonal accuracy - if they won't blow my head off or produce subterranean bass then not to worry...

Thanks guys!

EW

 

[carlineng]

Pretty much all Grados work well without an amp. The HD555 and HD595 from Sennheiser are both quite nice.

 

[Shiesty]

I hear the HD555 and 595 sound pretty dark and veiled. Probably not what you're looking for if you want sparkle.

 

[hawk]

Try HD485's i've had mine since November and they sound great no matter what I listen to on em[they shine best w/accoustic music]

 

[Chrispy]

If your paying in £s, rather than dollars, then I'd assume your not in the US. Go for Alessandros, b/c grados will be way overpriced

 

[Earwicker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hawk /img/forum/go_quote.gif Try HD485's i've had mine since November and they sound great no matter what I listen to on em[they shine best w/accoustic music]

They're cheap enough - anyone else have any experience of them? (Or comparable Sennheisers?) As I say, the attraction is they're plentiful thus cheap via Fleabay etc.

Chrispy - EVERYTHING is overpriced in the UK, that's how you know you've arrived!

carlineng - Thanks for that. I'd got it into my head that Grados really needed an amp...

I suspect the X-Fi will drive most phones to high levels, they seem to have been designed with can users in mind - are Creative's phones any good?

EW

 

[Cal3257]

for classical, u should probably go for the AT ad900 with your budget. my budget could only afford the ad700's which r not as good obviously. don't need an amp, great for classical, soundstage, detail, separation. Brighter and more sparkle than Seinnheisers.

i'm actually listening to some classical right now on my new ad700s, and as the reviews have said they are great for classical. i'm told the ad900's does everything the ad700s do but better =)

 

[lordmozilla]

if you think the 595's are dark you are seriously wrong. If anything they are bright. The 650's are dark the 595s are bright.

But anyways he said he likes some noise attenuation, 595's won't give him that

 

[Earwicker]

Those AT phones look great, I'll check out some prices...

Thanks!

EW