[attika89]

Hy everyone!
I'm a new member of head-fi forum 'n I'm planning to buy my first quality headphone.
I'm from Hungary so sorry for my English if its not so good...
So the case is that I have a few headphones picked and I just dont know which one should I get...

The competitors are:

Denon AH D1001
Audio Technica ATH M50 (honestly these seems to be my favouite ones, but I want to get the best for the budget)
Sennheiser HD555/ HD595
Audio Technica ATH ES7

So mainly these phones fit the budget. The first three are nearly in the same price
I listen to every kind of music, but what i really like is for example: Nightwish, HIM, 69Eyes, ......, Anastacia, Madonna, Beyonce,M. Jackson, some acoustic and jazz thing, sometimes disco/trance.... so really everthing.

I'll use the 'phone un-amped with a Cowon S9

I hope you guys can give me some advice.....

Update: 10.24

The case is that I'm still confused...
I"ve read a LOT here in the forum, and I just could not get further...

The Denons are good, the A-Ts are good and the Senns are also good so I'm nearly there where I've started the whole thing...

Denon d1001K: well they seem to be comfy as everybody says, the SQ is also good, but I dont really know which one would be good for the Cowon S9. There is a mod thread here what shows you how to get more bass from the Denons and so on, but if its not nessecary I dont want to mess up with modding the phones that I buy (for a while)

A-T M50: These are my favourits since I first saw them. They are more practical/ better on the go then the Denons what are might be more comfy. More isolation, more/better bass (?), better soundstage, but better SQ then the Denons? thats what I really dont know....

Senn HD595: well they are open cans, what means (much(?)) better soundstage and maybe quality, they are very comfy, but barely no isolation...

I can get them in the same price!

 

[Galesden]

I think either the denons or the audio technicas would be a good fit since you are running them unamped and they are very fun phones. If i had to choose i would probably choose the denons for comfort sakes and because they might be easier to power than the audio technicas.

 

[Pariah1]

I've only got the HD 595's and I enjoy them. Very comfortable and lively/forward sounding. I have a Cowon D2 that runs them fine (I do have an FiiO E5 amp too though that I use now). But as these are my only "real" headphones I only have them to reference so know that I am pretty much a can newbie too!

PS: Nightwish rocks, and Madonna and MJ is always good!

 

[achow]

imho, the senns are out of the question.

unless you are willing to pair them up with a good amp, they will only under perform.

i liek Galesden's suggestion of Denon. it's good stuff.

Have you considered a nice pair of grados? SR 80, 125 will fit the budget

Personally, with that amount (i see 130 USD on amazon for the D1001) i would go for a pair of Alessandro MS1's

those babies are brilliant. although, again, they might need an amp

 

[Gbjerke]

Quote:

Originally Posted by achow /img/forum/go_quote.gif imho, the senns are out of the question. unless you are willing to pair them up with a good amp, they will only under perform. i liek Galesden's suggestion of Denon. it's good stuff. Have you considered a nice pair of grados? SR 80, 125 will fit the budget Personally, with that amount (i see 130 USD on amazon for the D1001) i would go for a pair of Alessandro MS1's those babies are brilliant. although, again, they might need an amp

555/595 needs no amp

 

[Pariah1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gbjerke /img/forum/go_quote.gif 555/595 needs no amp

That's what I'm thinking, they're pretty efficient aren't they? When I amped my 595's with the X-Head I do hear a difference over my integrated amp's out, but not a huge difference...

 

[Towert7]

I would prefer the Sennheisers over the others, mostly for their conservative sound signature.
I'd get the Senn HD595 from your list.

 

[DarthSilverice]

my $0.02

I would suggest you save up and get the HD600. Just to name a few major factors I noticed, It has much better bass, more revealing and better instrument seperation compared to the HD555 even UNAMPED. Of course the HD600 will sound even better with an amp but to me it made my HD555 sound like crap.

And of course, you know you will be upgrading so might as well buy a decent pair of headphones and put that money into an amp in the future.

 

[RallyMaster]

attika89: Do you plan to use this in a noisy environment such as on the subway/bus? If you do, the HD555/595 are out of the question. Considering, the fact that you want this plugged into a portable device (and to me, this means you'll be carrying it around a lot), I am inclined to say that finding a comfortable earphone is probably a better idea.

 

[fenixdown110]

achow is wrong about the Sennheisers. The HD-555 and 595 are both well rounded cans that sound great without an amp. Amps don't make much difference with them as mentioned previously above. An amp would only prevent distortion at high sound levels. You can also save up and get better cans right off. It doesn't have to Senns like everyone is suggesting. Audio Technica's and AKG's are great too. ATH-ESW9's and K701's are both great cans.

 

[attika89]

Thanks guys for the advices!
Theres one thing that I forgot to mention: I am planning to buy the 'phone in Hungary. The ones that I listed are cost about $225 here (40.000Ft).
But if I order something from abroad I have to pay the shipping, and if the customs get my package I'd pay an additional 30% to this f...ing state

So if I buy someting about $130 it would nearly the same if i get it from here....

And as a student I really cannot pay more than this for a headphone, so gotto choose from this price range...

-So as you said the Denon and the HD595 would be the best (from these)?
-What about the m50's?
I read that the ES7 is.. not that comfortable, and need a LOT of bun-in...
-The HD595's impedance is 50 ohms, right?

 

[fenixdown110]

A modified HD-555 would do the trick too.

 

[attika89]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenixdown110 /img/forum/go_quote.gif A modified HD-555 would do the trick too.

Yes I've read about it, but the HD595 also fits the budget so i'd buy that instead of modding the HD555.

But I'm still curious about the Denon though... its better than the M50s?

 

[attika89]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RallyMaster /img/forum/go_quote.gif attika89: Do you plan to use this in a noisy environment such as on the subway/bus? If you do, the HD555/595 are out of the question. Considering, the fact that you want this plugged into a portable device (and to me, this means you'll be carrying it around a lot), I am inclined to say that finding a comfortable earphone is probably a better idea.

I think I'll mainly use the 'phones at home, maybe occasionally on bus.
I have a Senn CX95 for noisy palces...and they are doing just fine

 

[attika89]

bump ^^