[NickG]

I have been lurking here for a week or so and have learned alot. Very few flames here compared to other audio forums on the net.

I recently purchased two headphones, Grado SR80s for listening at my computer at work, and Senns HD580 for use at home plugged into the HP outlet on my Onkyo 595 receiver. I like them both for their intended purpose except that the 580s sound great to me on everything except male vocals, where they sound warmer (umm less forward or detailed ) than female vocals or instrumentations. Everything else sounds fantastic on the 580s, truely wonderful. Is it me or do the 580s have a softening in the frequency range of the male voice? The SR80s sound just fine to my ears for male vocals but less refined than the 580s in all other aspects, which is fine and to be expected. I am wondering if you all might have some recommendations on phones that will have the refinement of the 580s but have a clearer mid range. I am trying to keep it under $250 USD and not have to buy an amp. The music I listen to alot include The Eagles, James Taylor, Billy Joel, Eric Clapton and I would be watching some movies too on DVD. You can see that male vocals comprise a lot of what I listen to. I would appriceate any suggested or comments. Thanks!

Regards, Nick

 

[Braver]

not gonna happen without using an amp unless you go Grado. with an amp, the 580 will clean up the midrange giving you the sound you're looking for. if you like the Grado sound and don't want an amp, why not get a higher model thant the sr80? $250 is only slightly short of the sr325.

 

[Russ Arcuri]

Quote:

Originally posted by NickG The music I listen to alot include The Eagles, James Taylor, Billy Joel, Eric Clapton and I would be watching some movies too on DVD.

James Taylor's live double disc "(Live)" sounds absolutely amazing through the HD580s. Get an amp. You won't be sorry. Male vocals sound just fine through my HD580s on both a JMT Altoids amp and on the headphone jack of my Integra DX-C606 changer.

Russ "The Peripatetic Audiophile"

 

[blr]

The most likely reason for this is the output impedance of your HPjack. Most of the recievers out there have output impedance of 220 ohms, which makes the phones sound warmer and somewhat softer. Get an amp.

 

[MacDEF]

Your 250 bucks would be better spent buying an amp to use with your current headphones -- they'll clean right up.

 

[NickG]

Thanks for the replys everyone. The the vocals on the 580s are starting to sound a bit clearer to me. Perhaps they needed some breaking in, or maybe it is my ears that needed some breaking in adjusting to the 580s sound. What amp would mate well with the 580s? It would not need to be portable, it would only be used at home.

Regards, Nick

 

[kwkarth]

There are a number of amps that do well with the 580's. The farther you go, the better the sound.

What's your budget?

 

[NickG]

Quote:

Originally posted by kwkarth There are a number of amps that do well with the 580's. The farther you go, the better the sound. What's your budget?

My preference would be to stay around $250 - $300 if that would get me something fairly good.

Nick

 

[jerikl]

I have a Creek OBH-11 ($200) that I use with my Senn 580's. It sounds great to me... but, I think my next amp will be an ASL MG Head DT ($320). There are tons of people who just love how upper end Sennheiser's sound with the MG Head... me being one of them (although I haven't listed to the combo much). My advise would be to go with that... or try to find somewhere you could listen to one to see how you like it.

Justin

 

[Braver]

great amps in the area around $300:

Corda HA-1 @ $325, solidstate with adjustable crossfeed
MG Head @ $320 (IIRC), tube amp
X-Can V2 @ $275 (or something), hybrid tube/ss

both tubed amps have some reliablity problems but should do very good with Senns according to most people here.

cheaper solution: Creek OBH11 @ $200. some mixed opinions on this one, but should be a great solution on a tighter budget. and should be a big step up from what you're using now.

even cheaper: PortaCorda @ $160. battery powered, crossfeed. no extensive reviews on this new one yet.

totally budget: a DIY or JMT-built tincan CMOY amp. battery powered, rest is optional I believe.

 

[kwkarth]

Of course I'm completely objective here, but you could also consider something like this; Super Great Deal

 

[RGA]

Go with the MG Head DT, Especially for Sennheiser http://www.divertech.com/mgheaddt.html

 

[vn412]

i say go with the creek. It will sound good with both of ur headphones (and pretty much whatever you purchase in the future) and it has possible upgrade possibilities.

Im reluctant to recommend the Headroom Little because there has been pretty much no opinion on the combo...however, I think you should investigate into this....many have said the Little is a GREAT amp and has GREAT upgrade potential

 

[NickG]

Thanks for all the amp suggestions. I am not sure which way I am going to go on the amp situation for my 580s. If there was somewhere in the Boston MA area where I could demo amps that would certainly be a big help, but I am not aware of anyplace around here that even sells them. Thanks again for the replys and suggestions.

Regards, Nick