[Eqaluzed09]

Hello everyone. I've herd many things about this forum and done some browsing on it before and decided to join. I have a very nice home and car audio set up and decided its time to dive into the world of headphones. Christmas is just around the corner and I'm looking to get started. I am hoping everyone can give me some tips on what would be a good starting pair of headphones (over ear type). I want something that will be able to produce my music as accurately as possible for the price. I would like to stick to the price range of $200.00-$300.00. What would everyone suggest?

 

[Me x3]

Hi,
 
You should consider:
 
Closed Back:
Shure SRH-940 **
 
Open Back:
Beyerdynamic DT880 PRO 250 Ohm *
AKG K701 *
Sennheiser HD598 **
 
*This headphones need extra amplification (Fiio E10 is a great pick, and not expensive by any means)
**This headphones don't need extra amplification, but also improve with a good quality Dac/Amp like Fiio E10
 
Best Luck!

 

[TK277]

For the price range I feel like you'll get the best results from an IEM...most higher priced headphones benefit enough from an amp it's almost a requirement. The Westone 3 sounded like a full-size pair of headphones to me. Big sound in a tiny package (first thing I noticed about 'em), and it can be had for about $200 these days. For $300 I'd sell you my like-new ATH-CK100PRO, which are really good [/shameless plug]. For $330 to $400 you could import them brand new (it's the wait that's killer). It depends on the type of sound you're after. W3 are more of a fun signature that may sound more natural coming from consumer brands that emphasize bass. ATH-CK100PRO are definitely on the analytical side and present music much more transparently -- this sounds like a good quality, but everybody's preferences are different. Bad recordings will sound bad, for example. I remember when I first listened to them I was blown away by the detail. 
 
No matter what you end up choosing to buy at the end of your research, I've been in the audio game long enough to know one thing: you'll want to buy the best you can afford. 

 

[Eqaluzed09]

Ok thank you for the advice. I will defiantly look into these.

 

[Eqaluzed09]

For the price range I feel like you'll get the best results from an IEM...most higher priced headphones benefit enough from an amp it's almost a requirement. The Westone 3 sounded like a full-size pair of headphones to me. Big sound in a tiny package (first thing I noticed about 'em), and it can be had for about $200 these days. For $300 I'd sell you my like-new ATH-CK100PRO, which are really good [/shameless plug]. For $330 to $400 you could import them brand new (it's the wait that's killer). It depends on the type of sound you're after. W3 are more of a fun signature that may sound more natural coming from consumer brands that emphasize bass. ATH-CK100PRO are definitely on the analytical side and present music much more transparently -- this sounds like a good quality, but everybody's preferences are different. Bad recordings will sound bad, for example. I remember when I first listened to them I was blown away by the detail. 

No matter what you end up choosing to buy at the end of your research, I've been in the audio game long enough to know one thing: you'll want to buy the best you can afford. 

What I am looking for is the most natural/accurate sound I can get for my price range.

 

[Eqaluzed09]

I am leaning towards the Sennheiser HD598 with the Fiio E10 amp as suggested earlier. It would be within my price range and reviews seem very good. If I got the Shure SRH-940 (witch are also very appealing to me) I would probably not get a amp with them right away because of price. So not sure what would be better. The sennheiser with the amp or the shure without to start. And I guess what I'm looking for in more detail is something that gives me nice clean highs that aren't harsh and smooth mids and bass that is there but not too noticeable or overpowering

 

[TK277]

I really like the HD 598s. Even today, after upgrading several times over (I just don't use 'em anymore, except for right now to see if what you want matches up with them). They do have nice mids and I would agree that the bass is not overpowering in any way. A well balanced sound.
 
The 598s were my first pair of audiophile headphones...my first run-in with headphone burn-in periods, too. I wasn't a believer until a few days after getting the 598s when the burn-in opened up the soundstage.
 
I don't have experience with that FiiO amp but I'm sure it will do just fine. I went the Little Dot I+ route with the 598s. I like the way tubes look, haha. and sound.

 

[Eqaluzed09]

Hmm maybe the tube amp would be a better choice? It does look like a nice amp. I've never personally listened to anything with tubes before but from what I hear they add a good amount of warmth to the music witch I like. I'll have do some thinking on this. And what's this about burn in time?

 

[TK277]

I left 'em on overnight for a couple of days... you could probably find out for sure what the burn-in time is in the 598 appreciation thread somewhere on this site.
 
The Little Dot I+ isn't a pure tube amp -- it's a hybrid transistor-vacuum tube amp, but the sound is still affected by the tubes and it's fun to buy new tubes to see how the sound changes. You can open up the device pretty easily to change the op-amp chip too. There are a couple threads dedicated to tube and op-amp rolling here on head-fi. Plenty of opportunity to keep from getting bored. 

 

[Me x3]

Shure SRH-940 are detail monsters. They come with extra pads and a nice case. Hd598 are probably less detailed/analytical but have bigger soundstage. No case and no extra pads. If you are looking for a detailed presentation of sound then 940s is the way to go. And they will improve in the future when you get a Dac/Amp. If you are looking for a smooth/soft sounding headphone with very good soundstage and still quite detailed, 598+Fiio E10 is the way to go.

 

[Eqaluzed09]

Shure SRH-940 are detail monsters. They come with extra pads and a nice case. Hd598 are probably less detailed/analytical but have bigger soundstage. No case and no extra pads. If you are looking for a detailed presentation of sound then 940s is the way to go. And they will improve in the future when you get a Dac/Amp. If you are looking for a smooth/soft sounding headphone with very good soundstage and still quite detailed, 598+Fiio E10 is the way to go.

Not looking for too much detail where it seems to color the music (too bright) but some detail would be good. Still thinking from what everyone is saying the 598s are the way to go. So in your opinion will the Fiio E10 amp be better with set up or the Little Dot amp. I do like the idea of being able to change the tubes to change the sound to my liking. I guess another thing I haven't talked about much is source as this will be a variable in how it will sound as well. I will be using my iPhone 5c as a music source as well as my desktop PC that I built currently using the on board real tek audio but would like to add a sound card in the future. Seems like there are a lot of options here and a lot to take into consideration and to think about

 

[Me x3]

Well, Fiio E10 is not only a headphone amp, it is also a good quality DAC. So, when connected to your computer (laptop or desktop) - via USB - it will do all the job, taking digital files from your hard disk and converting them to analog signals which then are amplified in its Amp section.
If you get a Fiio E10/E07K/E17 then you don't even need a sound card.
If you also want to use your Fiio (as an amplifier only) with your smartphone you should get a Fiio E07K or Fiio E17 instead. Really similar to Fiio E10 but also portable.
 
Some extra information:
 
Here you have some FR graphs.
 
HD598

 
SRH-940

 
Best Luck!

 

[Eqaluzed09]

Well, Fiio E10 is not only a headphone amp, it is also a good quality DAC. So, when connected to your computer (laptop or desktop) - via USB - it will do all the job, taking digital files from your hard disk and converting them to analog signals which then are amplified in its Amp section.
If you get a Fiio E10/E07K/E17 then you don't even need a sound card.
If you also want to use your Fiio (as an amplifier only) with your smartphone you should get a Fiio E07K or Fiio E17 instead. Really similar to Fiio E10 but also portable.

Some extra information:

Here you have some FR graphs.

HD598



SRH-940



Best Luck!

Thank you for all of your help. The graphs really help to compare the two. And I had no idea that the Fiio was also a dac. This will defiantly help in my decision.