[m0ar]

Hello!
 
First off; my apologizes for hurling another one of these thread at you but unfortunately I have no idea of what products I should be looking at.
 
I have been thinking about getting a pair of decent headphones for listening at home, as a complement to my ViSang R03 and PortaPro (Kramer+quarter mod) that I use on the move. The two most important aspects are SQ (of course) and comfort, and my budget caps at $100 for this. The only decent source I have, is a Clip+ which will have to suffice for now until I get the economy to get myself decent hifi equipment. Other than this I have my laptop, but no DAC. This will not have to fit withing the $100 but will be invested in later, please let me know if you can recommend any DACs with good value for me.
 
Back to the headphones: I would like the sound to be on the warmer side, a wide soundstage and they should be able to deliver crisp, detailed highs without stepping too far from the natural sound. My preferred style of music is very wide and includes IDM, classical piano, jazz, rock, reggae, shoegaze and much more.
 
Any help or input from you guys would be very helpful!
 
Thank you,
Edvard

 

[Dubstep Girl]

sennheiser hd 555 perhaps?

 

[m0ar]

Quote:

sennheiser hd 555 perhaps?

They look interesting, above the planned budget but that's no biggie.
 
If it's really a dealbreaker I'd gladly hurl up to $150 if it really makes a good difference.
 
 
More input will be highly appreciated!
 
 

 

[maslinar]

Get sennheiser hd 555.

 

[m0ar]

Looks like the HD 555 is a good contender! I just read about the Sony MDR-V6 as well, how are they for my needs? As I have no experience with full size headphones I'm stupid enough to think that cheap means no good; am I wrong?

 

[jackwess]

Quote:

I'm stupid enough to think that cheap means no good; am I wrong?

 
Not necessary. 
 
The MDR-V6 soundstage is not good enough for the kind of music you like. 
 
 
 

 

[Penpal]

hd 555

 

[aninfidel]

Audio-Technica ATH-M50 maybe?
 

 

[Tilpo]

[...] The only decent source I have, is a Clip+ which will have to suffice for now until I get the economy to get myself decent hifi equipment. Other than this I have my laptop, but no DAC. This will not have to fit withing the $100 but will be invested in later, please let me know if you can recommend any DACs with good value for me [...]

If you want to get a decent DAC for little money check out the FiiO E7. The only disadvantage is its relatively low output power, but it should still be enough for the HD 555.

I agree with getting the HD 555 as well. My brother has them too, and I must say that they are quite good considering their price.
Additionally their driver sensitivity is quite high (112dB @ 1Vrms (source)) , so there will be no problems driving it from weaker sources either. Even the Clip+ should do a fine job, although they might be a little short. At a maximum output of about 489mV (source) they will get a maximum of 106dB's out of the HD 555, which is a little on the low side.

 

[aninfidel]

Why do you need the dac? As for the amp the clip+ is it quite strong, but maybe a fiio e6 if you need more power.
 
If you're looking for a portable rig you might want make sure the headphones don't leak too much sound. The hd555 for example is an open phone.
 
 
 
 

 

[m0ar]

 
Quote:

 
Not necessary. 
 
The MDR-V6 sound stage is not good enough for the kind of music you like. 
 
 
 

Okay, thanks for the input!
 
 


Quote:

Audio-Technica ATH-M50 maybe?
 

Looks interesting. What do you others think?
 

 
Quote:

If you want to get a decent DAC for little money check out the FiiO E7. The only disadvantage is its relatively low output power, but it should still be enough for the HD 555.
I agree with getting the HD 555 as well. My brother has them too, and I must say that they are quite good considering their price.
Additionally their driver sensitivity is quite high (112dB @ 1Vrms (source)) , so there will be no problems driving it from weaker sources either. Even the Clip+ should do a fine job, although they might be a little short. At a maximum output of about 489mV (source) they will get a maximum of 106dB's out of the HD 555, which is a little on the low side.

Will I earn something from amping these headphones when using the clip, or is the real gain in using it with the laptop?
 

 
Quote:

Why do you need the dac? As for the amp the clip+ is it quite strong, but maybe a fiio e6 if you need more power.
 
If you're looking for a portable rig you might want make sure the headphones don't leak too much sound. The hd555 for example is an open phone.
 
 
 
 

The DAC will also be used with my laptop, which has got a worthless on-board sound card. If I can also gain anything with using this with the clip+, that's just better. As stated in the first post, this is for use at home since I'm more into IEM's when I'm on the run!
 

 

[jackwess]

The M50's soundstage will disappoint you as well. 
 
Check the AD700's, they can be found for around $100. 
They are bass light though, do you like bass? 

 

[aninfidel]

Regarding headphones, you should really listen to them yourself, try them on for comfort, etc. I'm not fond of Sennheisers lower end models, and from what I hear you get a lot for the money with the M50s. I think the clip+ is enough to drive them as well.
 
For the laptop Fiio is coming out with E10 which looks interesting. Don't think the clip needs a dac or that it even has a digital out. 
 
 

 

[aninfidel]

Quote:

The M50's soundstage will disappoint you as well. 
 
Check the AD700's, they can be found for around $100. 
They are bass light though, do you like bass? 

There is a thread regarding ad700 and m50: http://www.head-fi.org/t/443501/ath-m50-or-ad700
 
If you are interested in them, m0ar, you should prob listen to them and decide which one has the sound you like better.
 

 

[m0ar]

Quote:

The M50's soundstage will disappoint you as well. 
 
Check the AD700's, they can be found for around $100. 
They are bass light though, do you like bass? 

Okay, thanks. I like bass and unfortunately it's very important in some of the genres that I listen to. Will they do a decent job with some EQ-tuning?
 


Quote:

Regarding headphones, you should really listen to them yourself, try them on for comfort, etc. I'm not fond of Sennheisers lower end models, and from what I hear you get a lot for the money with the M50s. I think the clip+ is enough to drive them as well.
 
For the laptop Fiio is coming out with E10 which looks interesting. Don't think the clip needs a dac or that it even has a digital out. 
 
 

Yes, the plan is to find a dealer nearby when I've decided for a few models to try. The thing is that I live in a pretty small town in Sweden, but I've got some stores dedicated to hi-fi quite near, so it shouldn't be a problem.

 
Quote:

Quote:

There is a thread regarding ad700 and m50: http://www.head-fi.org/t/443501/ath-m50-or-ad700
 
If you are interested in them, m0ar, you should prob listen to them and decide which one has the sound you like better.
 

Right now I feel that the HD555 will fit me needs better, since from what I read it has better bass.