[South_Korean]

since no one was interested in my last thread.... ill start it off with a better title and subject. well the subject is pretty much the same. and that is; what wouldbe the next step after 212 pros? i dont want to take a huge leap to the beyers. maybe something inbetween?

 

[DevilDog]

It helps to have more information. Such as type of music you listen to. You use a computer, the type of soundcard in it might be helpful, also the type of files and bit rate are important.
Are you planning on getting an amp or upgrading anything else in the near future? What don't you like about your current headphones? How much are you willing to spend?
And, in the end, you really shoud try to get out and listen to as many different setups that you can. There's an unbelievable amount of info on this board available using the search function so it helps to be able to take what others say on here and what you hear for yourself.

 

[South_Korean]

lol thanks, and i know.

As from my recent posts you guys can figure out that im a bass head. i listen to a lot of rap and rocl. i know, a weird combination a lot of people say. im not sure what kind of sound card it is, but i remember the name being audigy audio B400 or something. my current setup is a computer no-name brand, sennheiser HD212 pros, sony d66sl eggos, EX51's and altec lansing 2.1 speaker system. hope that helps. i will also be willng to spend around 150 or more, if needed.

 

[Emon]

Sounds like your sound card is an Audigy or an Audigy 2, which for your current headphones, is a pretty good source. You may consider a Chaintech AV-710 for about 25 USD. You've probably heard of it, judging by your post count you've read quite a bit. It has excellent Wolfson DACs on the first 2 channels (the rest are average or crappy DACs). You may also consider a cheap amp, since the AV-710 has only line outs and isn't amped at all. A CMoy or a low end PIMETA would be within your budget.

 

[cmirza]

Well, do you want the upfront, aggressive sound of the Grados? Then the MS-1s or SR125s would be good choices. Do you like the more laid back sound and bigger soundstage that Sennheiser has? The HD555s would be good. You could even find HD580s for $150 if you search around. Those are my suggestions as someone else who listens to rock and rap. I'd also try to squeeze an entry level amplifier into the budget, as all of the above headphones (HD580s especially) benefit from an amp.

 

[South_Korean]

hmmm, i actually looked at the sennheisser HD555's. i was wondering if i should have gotten them instead of the HD212's...

hmmm, the grado sound seems to be very popular around here. although their lowest end headphones starts at 150 canadian and isnt the most refined unless you get the RS-1's, im not so sure ab out those. future planning is always a good thing; as someone said to me, as soon as i get the MS-1's, ill probably spend on a PS-1/2 and buy their amp to power it.... and i looked, thats expensive stuff

. i look more into the HD555, in the mean time, please more opinions will help me become more confident in my purchase.


Edit: p.s. that sound card for 25 usd, is it made by creative? and how much of a difference will i hear? oh god, will that annoying hard drive noise go away?!

 

[Oink1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by South_Korean Edit: p.s. that sound card for 25 usd, is it made by creative? and how much of a difference will i hear? oh god, will that annoying hard drive noise go away?!

The AV710 is produced by Chaintech - and worth every penny/cent/(insert local currency here...) May be a bit of a hassle to source but well worth it. Have you considdered holding on to the Senns and seeing how they fare with an amp? - you may be pleasantly suprised

 

[Joey_V]

You want the 555s..... you will get the 555s.... Joey says so...

Seriously, the 555s are a good set of phones. They will surpass the 212 no problem.

 

[South_Korean]

hmmm, i looked at the frequency charts and compared them, the bass and mids are significantly lower, but i really want to be a true audiophile and hear good quality sound. the bass that the 212 produce is somewhat fatiguing now

.

p.s. so this means itll be hard to find the sound card? and its not that i hate the sound and need an amp, i want larger sound stage also, the 212 sometimes sounds compressed and then fired into your ears.


what about the 515, are they really bad compared to the 555?

 

[sgrossklass]

If you've got HD related noise on the outputs now, make sure you don't have an internal CD audio cable connected (or if so, mute the input). It may also help not to have a POS power supply. BTW, if you've got a Creative card, you should have system info software from them that'll identify your card. Software like UnknownDevices with a halfway current pcidevs.txt should also do. If you shouldn't be able to find the AV-710 (though that should be less of an issue in Canada than here in ol' Europe) or have no means of decent-quality amplification, you may want to give the SB Live! 24-Bit a look. That'll still require good-quality software resampling as it only supports either 48 kHz or 96 kHz (to be switched manually) natively, but it can drive headphones quite well and probably is the best you can get for recording in that price range.

Re: the HD515, IMHO these are more decendants of the old HD570. They are generally regarded to be further away from the 555 than those from the 595, and they're the only current generation can that still fits the Stefan AudioArt Equinox cable. (Pricing also is quite similar to the 570s here.) If you look at the Headroom graph, you'll see a resonance peak in the frequency response and impedance plots at about 2.5 kHz, which would probably be heard as coloration. Possibly this was even implemented intentionally to cover up a "hole" in the FR (570s had a reputation for sucked-out mids). IIRC the guys at Headroom like the 485 better than the 515, but note that this model isn't really circumaural. You see, it isn't without reason that the HD555 is so popular.

 

[South_Korean]

sorry about changing my mind a lot guys. so i guess the 555's are a good choice. with an amp?

 

[Jahn]

man, your other threads did get interest, it's just that we ran out of ways to keep saying the same thing lol - it's to the point you just have to make up your mind. but for posterity, i said the DT770/80 and a big fat amp would fit your needs

 

[hentai]

Quote:

Originally Posted by South_Korean sorry about changing my mind a lot guys. so i guess the 555's are a good choice. with an amp?

oh yea and when you get the hd555 , joey V or someone else will ask you to get hd650

then when you get hd650 , someone will convience you for a cable upgrade. Then youll be wondering how others like akg k1000 , rs-1 will sound like

 

[Tech2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by South_Korean sorry about changing my mind a lot guys. so i guess the 555's are a good choice. with an amp?

or without.

I used mine (50 ohm version) for a while un-amped and they sound pretty good. I'm no audiophile, so I don't toss around words I don't really understand to describe what I'm hearing, but with an amp my 555s seemed to open up and sound "fuller". I don't know how else to describe it. That, and the fact that the phones might clip (distort) unamped at higher volumes, if the source cannot provide enough current.

 

[South_Korean]

well you could consider yourself an audiophile since you needed the HD555 to enjoy your music

.

Jahn: i think i may get the DT's some other time. i wanna take it step by step.

Tech2: when un-amped, do you have to use higher volumes on the computer or portable?