[framos917]

I recently starting using my on ear headphones (instead of ear buds) with my Sony mp3, ipad, and Samsung tablet. My headphones are a Grado sr60, and Sennheiser hd400 (yes, they are that old). I really enjoyed them. I wanted something more efficient and over ear, so recently purchased the Sennheiser HD380. Now I am hooked. I want to start improving incrementally, but am stuck on what to purchase next. I like to listen to music (jazz and chamber music) while I read on the computers or do my email. What be a good next purchase for an improvement? A headphone amp, different source for music (upgrade to Sony MP3), or anything else? Reasons would be to improve the sound, but also just a nice hobby and would just like to tinker and experiment. How did you proceed on improving your equipment?

 

[GREQ]

If you're happy with your current headphone and have no desire to buy a better one, the best thing you can do now is make sure you're listening to at least 320kpbs mps files. 
 
Anything lower than that and you'd be wasting your money on other things (amp/DAC or even better headphones).

 

[KG Jag]

Start with you weakest link.  In your case that appears to be your music files.
 
The Sony MDR-MA900 would be a good headphone upgrade.

 

[framos917]

Thanks, I tried that and made a big difference. Started converting some of my favorite music.

 

[randy98mtu]

Nice to find another person here using HD 380's!  You say you have an iPad, is your music in iTunes?  I play my music through my iPhone into a Nuforce ICON IDO.  It's a DAC/Amp made for iDevices.  I've been very happy with the setup.

 

[Makiah S]

  Thanks, I tried that and made a big difference. Started converting some of my favorite music.

Do not convert your current music into a higher resulition
 
Think of your music like a pie, 10% of the "whole" pie is 10% no matter what you to do it. Taking low bit rate music and transcoding it into higher bit rates will most often... add a lot of loseness and artifacts to the sound! Still do take a chance to find correctly encoded 320 mp3 encodes of your favorite music :3m as the upgrade in music is the easiest way to enjoy your headphones more ^^
 
If you interested in learning how to maintain and preserve the quality of your audio, check this site out! 
http://www.whatinterviewprep.com/
 
The knowledge section of the site is very informative , and helped me get the most out of my music.
 
Non the less, Once you get all your music at 320 mp3 I would say upgrade your mp3 to something like then Sansa Clip+ then ur headphones to  something like the Sony MA 900 or Audio Technica AD 900x or even the Senn HD 598... 

 

[MrTechAgent]

I have been purchasing mid-fi headphones recently , have owned the ma900s mentioned above but my recent purchase is the he300 by HiFiMAN (LATEST REVISION-3)  they are fairly efficient but with a nice setup they sing like they really do ... different signature compared to the ma900s , forwardness in the presence region coming smoothly up top , these are some good headphones they unfortunately had a bad start with bad early revisions ........ fantastic purchase as far as I am concerned

 

[Makiah S]

  I have been purchasing mid-fi headphones recently , have owned the ma900s mentioned above but my recent purchase is the he300 by HiFiMAN (LATEST REVISION-3)  they are fairly efficient but with a nice setup they sing like they really do ... different signature compared to the ma900s , forwardness in the presence region coming smoothly up top , these are some good headphones they unfortunately had a bad start with bad early revisions ........ fantastic purchase as far as I am concerned

Hmm yea I wish I was more farmillar with Hifiman Dynamic Headphones :/ I've only tried the HE 400 atm... still I LOVE hifiman Digitial Audio Players, and I enjoyed me He 400 so I can voach for the quality of Hifiman Gear! 

 

[MrTechAgent]

  Hmm yea I wish I was more farmillar with Hifiman Dynamic Headphones :/ I've only tried the HE 400 atm... still I LOVE hifiman Digitial Audio Players, and I enjoyed me He 400 so I can voach for the quality of Hifiman Gear! 

 
I was surprised my self  ..... I have done a quick impression video on my friends channel on YouTube , you can check it out if you are interested

 

[Makiah S]

 
 
I was surprised my self  ..... I have done a quick impression video on my friends channel on YouTube , you can check it out if you are interested

Ok holy crap dude... that's one heck of a PC build you have there... and what ever is on your white board... creds to you... and lastly... your accent... is pretty cool dude! That said... It's a shame I just left the sub $400 open headphone market. after trying a well wide range of headphones in the tier, I never found anything I liked more than my Dt 880, which I eventually fully balanced. That said a Dt 880 is a nice choice btw! It needs an amp how ever 

 

[MrTechAgent]

  Ok holy crap dude... that's one heck of a PC build you have there... and what ever is on your white board... creds to you... and lastly... your accent... is pretty cool dude! That said... It's a shame I just left the sub $400 open headphone market. after trying a well wide range of headphones in the tier, I never found anything I liked more than my Dt 880, which I eventually fully balanced. That said a Dt 880 is a nice choice btw! It needs an amp how ever 

Haha .... Ironically I bought the he300s because my dt880s got cancelled by Amazon international shipping , I am saving up for the 990 pro ..... like $150 that's a pretty nice price so is the dt880 for $200 the pro that is .... I think the pro's are worth getting after the dt premium lineup price increase

 

[Makiah S]

  Haha .... Ironically I bought the he300s because my dt880s got cancelled by Amazon international shipping , I am saving up for the 990 pro ..... like $150 that's a pretty nice price so is the dt880 for $200 the pro that is .... I think the pro's are worth getting after the dt premium lineup price increase

YUP the Beyer Pro series is the greatest baring in headphones imo. The Dt 990 at $150 new is a STEAL... literally! That said t hey do need amps but PFF you've got a full sized tower sittin in your room AND your building what looks like another PC so I'm sure you have an amp ^^ if not one of them lovely ATX boards should cover the price of a nice AGD combo unit :3
 
That said, the Beyer Pro series are very nice, but they need amps sadly [currently wearing my dt 880 ] 

 

[MrTechAgent]

  YUP the Beyer Pro series is the greatest baring in headphones imo. The Dt 990 at $150 new is a STEAL... literally! That said t hey do need amps but PFF you've got a full sized tower sittin in your room AND your building what looks like another PC so I'm sure you have an amp ^^ if not one of them lovely ATX boards should cover the price of a nice AGD combo unit :3
 
That said, the Beyer Pro series are very nice, but they need amps sadly [currently wearing my dt 880 ] 

If you look closely below the GPU there is a Xonar Essence STX , perfect for my needs has a exquisite DAC and a decent AMP very powerful too ......and that board lying is just for aesthetics LOL its dead , scavenged it from my older PC for the "MANCAVE" if you will

+ The Seasonic 80 Plus Gold Power supply is essential for fantastic power with a excellent clean signal

 

[framos917]

  Nice to find another person here using HD 380's!  You say you have an iPad, is your music in iTunes?  I play my music through my iPhone into a Nuforce ICON IDO.  It's a DAC/Amp made for iDevices.  I've been very happy with the setup.

I am enjoying the HD 380's , I was looking for a portable monitor type, with closed back for some noise cancelling. They work well. I am looking to get a shorter cable. The coiled cable is nice, but a 4 ft. lighter cable would fit my needs better. I am having a hard time finding the right angled, 2.5mm plug that goes into the headphone. Sennheiser only sells the whole replacement cable. I do listen to ipad with iTunes, however I also listen to a Sony MP3, and on a Samsung tablet using the Android app. My music collection consists of a dedicated external hard drive that I have ripped my CD’s to along with some music I have purchased off Amazon. I then just copy the music to each device when needed. Thanks for idea of the Nuforce ICON IDO DAC/Amp, it is also a good price point. I need to research, as I need something that will work with all 3 of my devices. Thanks Again.

 

[framos917]

  Nice to find another person here using HD 380's!  You say you have an iPad, is your music in iTunes?  I play my music through my iPhone into a Nuforce ICON IDO.  It's a DAC/Amp made for iDevices.  I've been very happy with the setup.

 
 

  Do not convert your current music into a higher resulition
 
Think of your music like a pie, 10% of the "whole" pie is 10% no matter what you to do it. Taking low bit rate music and transcoding it into higher bit rates will most often... add a lot of loseness and artifacts to the sound! Still do take a chance to find correctly encoded 320 mp3 encodes of your favorite music :3m as the upgrade in music is the easiest way to enjoy your headphones more ^^
 
If you interested in learning how to maintain and preserve the quality of your audio, check this site out!
http://www.whatinterviewprep.com/
 
The knowledge section of the site is very informative , and helped me get the most out of my music.
 
Non the less, Once you get all your music at 320 mp3 I would say upgrade your mp3 to something like then Sansa Clip+ then ur headphones to  something like the Sony MA 900 or Audio Technica AD 900x or even the Senn HD 598...

Very helpful, this will allow me to look at the whole process and start with source. I thought I understood compression, but obviously not enough. I was thinking of the Senn HD 598, however for this purchase I needed more portability for traveling and went with the 380. I was thinking of the Sansa Clip+ for another backup MP3. Do you prefer the Sansa over the Sony Walkman?