[skn]

Hello everyone, as the title says i'm about to make a late xmas present to myself, and I am in a dire need of some propositions. Looking through the forums helped and confused me at the same time. I'm looking for closed type headphones since i will be using them outside a lot, and will be used mostly without an amplifier, so a high impedance is a slight problem. I listen mostly to rock/metal and classic, with some jazz and dance here and there, and will also use them for some gaming(scarce though) and movies. It won't kill me if the bass doesnt make my ears bleed, as long as it's there, and I tend to be very annoyed by bad tremble.

I'm thinking between the ESW9, D2000, A900, perhaps DT660, and anythng else you might suggest.

Thanks for your time and advice, in advance

 

[noremedy]

Have you considered IEM's they are far more portable, and closed offering decent isolation.

 

[zergslayer69]

One issue with IEMs is that you need to get the perfect seal to get optimal sound. Whereas headphones you just throw them on. Just something to keep in mind. And no seal = horrible bass. That's one reason I am thinking of getting rid of my Shure 530s. I can't seem to get good bass on it.

 

[member1982]

Closed headphones wont have a better isolation than say IEMs and are massive. I mean REALLY big.

ESW9 is the portable one that you have listed still fairly big.
while all the others are fairly big overear style.

if u dont mind the style and poor isolation then yes go for them.

IEMS however would be perfect for portable players, they have lower impedance and can be terrific to bring out the details in the music.

 

[Deiz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by member1982 /img/forum/go_quote.gif headphones wont have isolation and are massive. REALLY big. ESW9 is the portable one that you have listed still fairly big. while all the others are fairly big overear style. if u dont mind the style and poor isolation then yes go for them. IEMS however would be perfect for portable players, they have lower impedance and can be terrific to bring out the details in the music.

The first generalization applies to open circumaural headphones. It only applies partially to closed circumaurals, open supra-aurals, and is completely wrong when it comes to closed supra-aurals.

Quote:

Originally Posted by skn /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hello everyone, as the title says i'm about to make a late xmas present to myself, and I am in a dire need of some propositions. Looking through the forums helped and confused me at the same time. I'm looking for closed type headphones since i will be using them outside a lot, and will be used mostly without an amplifier, so a high impedance is a slight problem. I listen mostly to rock/metal and classic, with some jazz and dance here and there, and will also use them for some gaming(scarce though) and movies. It won't kill me if the bass doesnt make my ears bleed, as long as it's there, and I tend to be very annoyed by bad tremble. I'm thinking between the ESW9, D2000, A900, perhaps DT660, and anythng else you might suggest. Thanks for your time and advice, in advance

I'm inclined to tell you to stay away from circumaural headphones for portable use. They're far too large for even large pockets on cargo pants, so unless you carry a backpack around with you, you'll have no place to stow them.

There are, of course, "small" circumaurals which end up being nearly supra-aural on those with larger ears.

In the name of portability it makes sense to go with something supra-aural, like the HD-25-1 II. It won't isolate as well as, say, a DT660, but you'll still have decent isolation from the outside world.

There's also the HD280, which can fold up to become fairly compact.

A few things to factor in, for portable use: Single-entry cables are ideal. Being able to fold your headphones is nice, but it's rather rare with higher-end headphones. The former you find more on "professional" headphones, the latter is mainly found on portable-intended products like the PX100, and on oddballs like the HD280.

 

[peanuthead]

Denon D2000 sounds surprisingly good without an amp.

 

[Benaiir]

DAKmart

Senn HD600, but I think it needs an amp. I'm really a newb at suggesting because I never tried a great set of headphones (But I will in a couple days)

 

[skoolage]

D2000 will probably sound the best and be easiest to drive out of those.

 

[member1982]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deiz /img/forum/go_quote.gif The first generalization applies to open circumaural headphones. It only applies partially to closed circumaurals, open supra-aurals, and is completely wrong when it comes to closed supra-aurals.

hehe once again i wanted to make a point but didnt fully put it forward... even with closed it wont have a better isolation than IEMs for public transport. Although overall its just about the volume... 20db isolation most iems are higher.

ALso the headphones the TC metioned have poor closed isolations as well the ESW9 and D2000.

 

[Argyle Shepard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by member1982 /img/forum/go_quote.gif ESW9 is the portable one that you have listed still fairly big.

Fairly big relative to what? ESW9's are tiny to me. It's why they call them ear suits

 

[skn]

Hey everyone, Happy new year and best wishes for 2009!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deiz /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm inclined to tell you to stay away from circumaural headphones for portable use. They're far too large for even large pockets on cargo pants, so unless you carry a backpack around with you, you'll have no place to stow them. There are, of course, "small" circumaurals which end up being nearly supra-aural on those with larger ears. In the name of portability it makes sense to go with something supra-aural, like the HD-25-1 II. It won't isolate as well as, say, a DT660, but you'll still have decent isolation from the outside world. There's also the HD280, which can fold up to become fairly compact. A few things to factor in, for portable use: Single-entry cables are ideal. Being able to fold your headphones is nice, but it's rather rare with higher-end headphones. The former you find more on "professional" headphones, the latter is mainly found on portable-intended products like the PX100, and on oddballs like the HD280.

Size isn't much of a problem, as I always have a backpack with my digital camera in, a couple books, cables etc. Also, I don't think I'll start messing with cabling yet, not until I do some extra reading at least.

I am not very fond of things inside my ears, so I avoided IEMs, despite them being more suited for portable situations. I'll also use them at home occasionally, so I'm kind of looking for something good all-around(probably asking too much, lol).

On Senns, yes, they look very good to me, was thinking for the HD595, but the majority need an amp. As for the HD280, I know my mp3 can drive a set of 32ohm headphones quite decently and quite loudly, but I think 64ohms is just pushing it. Nevertheless, I will still have them in my revised list.

Thus, in order of preference now, I have the ESW9/D2000, DT660, and HD280. I will dig in a little bit more and pick one in the next days.

One last thing, how do they fare in terms of comfort/weight? Are the 300+grams obvious to the user or the headband etc make up for it?

Many thanks again for helping, and enjoy the new year!

 

[Deiz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by skn /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am not very fond of things inside my ears, so I avoided IEMs, despite them being more suited for portable situations. I'll also use them at home occasionally, so I'm kind of looking for something good all-around(probably asking too much, lol). On Senns, yes, they look very good to me, was thinking for the HD595, but the majority need an amp. As for the HD280, I know my mp3 can drive a set of 32ohm headphones quite decently and quite loudly, but I think 64ohms is just pushing it. Nevertheless, I will still have them in my revised list. Thus, in order of preference now, I have the ESW9/D2000, DT660, and HD280. I will dig in a little bit more and pick one in the next days. One last thing, how do they fare in terms of comfort/weight? Are the 300+grams obvious to the user or the headband etc make up for it? Many thanks again for helping, and enjoy the new year!

A quick primer: You need to consider both sensitivity and impedance. A PX100 (32-ohm headphone with 114 dB sensitivity) will output 134 dB out of a 100 mW headphone jack. On the other hand, a pair of 32-ohm, 98 dB sensitivity Grados will output 118 dB, roughly a third of the PX100's volume, from the same headphone jack.

Likewise, you can find highly efficient high-impedance headphones that will do just fine out of an iPod. The HD595 is widely considered to be the ampless king of the upper-end Sennheisers.

From what you listed, weight and clamping force come into it. As a reference, I consider my HD650s and DT770s to be very comfortable - The former weighing 260g with a clamping force of 2.5N, the latter weighing 270g with a clamping force of 3.5N.

Denons clamp enough that you notice they're there - But they may fall off if you're jogging or something. The D2000 weighs a rather hefty 350g. The ESW9s are very light at 170g, but AT, like Denon, doesn't publish contact pressure. I'd imagine it's quite low, since they're folding headphones. The DT660s are abnormally heavy, for Beyers, at 350g, with a clamping force of 2.5N.

Onto the HD280s, they're light, at 220g, but they clamp like a vise (6N). I have a big head and can't wear a pair for more than a few hours.

 

[smeggy]

I just got a Fostex T50RP to add to my many phones and they're quite nice. Semi-open studio phones, fairly light, not too tight with very nice smooth mid/treble. Decent bass too. Sensitivity is a little low but nothing my DAP can't handle.

Full-size circum, single cable entry and made to withstand punishment.