marsbound2024
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2008
- Posts
- 45
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- 0
Hello guys, I am new here and certainly glad to be among the musically-inclined. I am probably by no means an audiophile, but I do have a sincere appreciation for music and its accurate reproduction. (Summary of questions at bottom, though the following "rant" might give you a good idea about what would fit me best perhaps). I listen to everything from Frank Sinatra and Aretha Franklin to Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and Chopin to Rammstein, Everygrey, and Papa Roach, to Infected Mushroom, Massive Attack, Astrix, Cosmic Gate and Orbital to Goldgrapp, Imogen Heap, Sia and Emilie Simon to Bebel Gilberto to Gustav Holst and et cetera. I essentially like most genres with the exception of most country music and most reggae.
I listen to ambient, electronica, trance, rock, metal, rap, classical, jazz, blues, etc, as you can tell. I am looking for a pair of headphones that I can use here at home as well as at work or on roadtrips. Actually, I am sort of looking for two sets--one for really good portability while retaining sound quality (such as the Sennheiser PX100s) and another for the best sound quality I can get for around $100. I am thinking of purchasing the HD555s. I've been doing some research over the past few days and am leaning to the HD555s previously from leaning to the HD280Pros and previously from that the HD202s for a replacement to my HD457s. As you can see, I am a big Sennheiser fan and would prefer to stay with them, but I am open to all suggestions.
I was worried because I would be using my HD555s for my mp3 players, including an iPod. I was comparing specs and the newest generation apparently has 32 Ohm in-ear phones and the HD555 is either 50 Ohm or 120 Ohm. Newegg advertises their set as 120 Ohms and that is certainly disconcerting for me. I am not sure what Amazon's are but I'd rather get as close to 32 Ohms as possible so that they can be driven ok. Of course I don't expect to get such a beautiful package for mp3 players with my HD555s and that is why I am looking at the PX100s to accompany them.
I am a twenty-year old, budget-conscious consumer and so I think of buying the HD555s as biting the bullet much less the HD595s which I'd like to have. I typically listen to music on my computer through my aged Logitech X-530 2.1 speakers driven by a Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic sound card. I rather enjoy the quality they seem to provide and herein I probably show my lack of audiophile status as I am sure most of you will disagree, but coming from basic speakers and integrated sound they sure do sound quite nice!
Anyways, now that my HD457s have developed a short in the cable connecting the left speaker (and I am out of warranty) I am looking for an upgrade. I'd rather have something a bit less dark and bass-oriented than the HD457s, but I must admit I rather enjoyed listening to heavy music on them. I would love to listen to my mp3s with the HD555s, I just want to make sure you guys think I would be able to get good results. Keep in mind, I was relatively satisfied with the HD457s and I read that most people really thought the HD457s were a poor set.
If I could customize the HD555s I'd request a 3-5 foot cord instead of the monster 10 footer and a minijack instead of the 1/4" jack. Of course I don't have this option unfortunately.
So, here I am. Someone who loves music and increasingly has an ear for what it should sound like. I am not there yet, but I do listen to music at least two hours a day, 365 days a year. Some days I listen to music for several hours. I listen to it on the way to and from work and while sitting at my computer or watching TV. It's hard to live without.
Questions:
SO, in your opinions, should I save my money and purchase only the PX100s and be satisfied since listening to music with mp3 players will be what I use headphones for most (I use my Logitech X-530s for my computer and rarely use headphones) and save my money? OR should I spend the extra $100 to satisfy my desires with the HD555 set as well since I really want to be able to close my eyes and "swim in the music." I really love musical environments and would like to see them accurately and deeply recreated.
My main concerns are: the 10 foot cable that I really don't need and wish there was a detachable extension cable instead (I think all this weight contributed to the wear of the cord on my HD457), the 1/4" to 1/8" adapter and not the other way around (seems ridiculous to pay around $20 for that Grado cable adapter that people rave about... it's just an adapter cable), the fact that these headphones are either 50 Ohm or 120 Ohm and most mp3 players can not drive them well.
Last question in this post: Is there a better mp3 player suited for HD555s than an iPod? Is the Zune a better choice to drive the headphones. I really love what I've read about them and I'd buy an mp3 player just to drive these headphones and not the other way around if I could.
Thanks for your time and patience!
Sincerely, Derek
I listen to ambient, electronica, trance, rock, metal, rap, classical, jazz, blues, etc, as you can tell. I am looking for a pair of headphones that I can use here at home as well as at work or on roadtrips. Actually, I am sort of looking for two sets--one for really good portability while retaining sound quality (such as the Sennheiser PX100s) and another for the best sound quality I can get for around $100. I am thinking of purchasing the HD555s. I've been doing some research over the past few days and am leaning to the HD555s previously from leaning to the HD280Pros and previously from that the HD202s for a replacement to my HD457s. As you can see, I am a big Sennheiser fan and would prefer to stay with them, but I am open to all suggestions.
I was worried because I would be using my HD555s for my mp3 players, including an iPod. I was comparing specs and the newest generation apparently has 32 Ohm in-ear phones and the HD555 is either 50 Ohm or 120 Ohm. Newegg advertises their set as 120 Ohms and that is certainly disconcerting for me. I am not sure what Amazon's are but I'd rather get as close to 32 Ohms as possible so that they can be driven ok. Of course I don't expect to get such a beautiful package for mp3 players with my HD555s and that is why I am looking at the PX100s to accompany them.
I am a twenty-year old, budget-conscious consumer and so I think of buying the HD555s as biting the bullet much less the HD595s which I'd like to have. I typically listen to music on my computer through my aged Logitech X-530 2.1 speakers driven by a Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic sound card. I rather enjoy the quality they seem to provide and herein I probably show my lack of audiophile status as I am sure most of you will disagree, but coming from basic speakers and integrated sound they sure do sound quite nice!
Anyways, now that my HD457s have developed a short in the cable connecting the left speaker (and I am out of warranty) I am looking for an upgrade. I'd rather have something a bit less dark and bass-oriented than the HD457s, but I must admit I rather enjoyed listening to heavy music on them. I would love to listen to my mp3s with the HD555s, I just want to make sure you guys think I would be able to get good results. Keep in mind, I was relatively satisfied with the HD457s and I read that most people really thought the HD457s were a poor set.
If I could customize the HD555s I'd request a 3-5 foot cord instead of the monster 10 footer and a minijack instead of the 1/4" jack. Of course I don't have this option unfortunately.
So, here I am. Someone who loves music and increasingly has an ear for what it should sound like. I am not there yet, but I do listen to music at least two hours a day, 365 days a year. Some days I listen to music for several hours. I listen to it on the way to and from work and while sitting at my computer or watching TV. It's hard to live without.
SO, in your opinions, should I save my money and purchase only the PX100s and be satisfied since listening to music with mp3 players will be what I use headphones for most (I use my Logitech X-530s for my computer and rarely use headphones) and save my money? OR should I spend the extra $100 to satisfy my desires with the HD555 set as well since I really want to be able to close my eyes and "swim in the music." I really love musical environments and would like to see them accurately and deeply recreated.
My main concerns are: the 10 foot cable that I really don't need and wish there was a detachable extension cable instead (I think all this weight contributed to the wear of the cord on my HD457), the 1/4" to 1/8" adapter and not the other way around (seems ridiculous to pay around $20 for that Grado cable adapter that people rave about... it's just an adapter cable), the fact that these headphones are either 50 Ohm or 120 Ohm and most mp3 players can not drive them well.
Last question in this post: Is there a better mp3 player suited for HD555s than an iPod? Is the Zune a better choice to drive the headphones. I really love what I've read about them and I'd buy an mp3 player just to drive these headphones and not the other way around if I could.
Thanks for your time and patience!
Sincerely, Derek