[stv014]

Quote:

and the only other way is get a better amplifier.

 
Or better headphones, for example HD600 instead of the HD595.

 

[kornel221]

I had the hd600, i bought them used for 150€ and i could compared them to my hd595( i did them the soundstage mod ) , and in my impression the hd595 sound better ( after making the mod the sound stage now is huge and i love it for me it is the most important thing in headphones  , bass is better too but i dont like the boomy bass it tide me XD , especially after long time listening) , i tested them with fiio e9 and pro-ject amplifier and in both cases my hd595 had better sound , so afer one week i sold them.
 
I think that it could be because of type of music i listen to , its mostly rap music , i tried the hd600 with some jazz and classic songs and  was better with that type of music
 
Again sorry for my englis.

 

[WiR3D]

Quote:

I had the hd600, i bought them used for 150€ and i could compared them to my hd595( i did them the soundstage mod ) , and in my impression the hd595 sound better ( after making the mod the sound stage now is huge and i love it for me it is the most important thing in headphones  , bass is better too but i dont like the boomy bass it tide me XD , especially after long time listening) , i tested them with fiio e9 and pro-ject amplifier and in both cases my hd595 had better sound , so afer one week i sold them.
 
I think that it could be because of type of music i listen to , its mostly rap music , i tried the hd600 with some jazz and classic songs and  was better with that type of music
 
Again sorry for my englis.

E9 is ok for what it is, but its not for every headphone, Pro-ject makes good turntables not  good headphone amps. AFAIK the HD600/HD650 really need a great amp.

 

[kornel221]

Yes i know that , as i told i installed the new driver for my xonar and it improved notably sound quality for now i am happy with this easy step , in near futrute i am thinking in get akg k601 or k701 then i will buy new amplifier , i have in mind some valve amp like little dot i think it also will make a good match with sennheiser

 

[loserica]

Quote:

Yes i know that , as i told i installed the new driver for my xonar and it improved notably sound quality for now i am happy with this easy step , in near futrute i am thinking in get akg k601 or k701 then i will buy new amplifier , i have in mind some valve amp like little dot i think it also will make a good match with sennheiser

 
Amplification is extremely important for headphones like HD600/650/AKG K701. Don't You think the K701 without a powerful headphone amplifier! I heard more than a year and a half K701 and in my case, only Jan Meier's PREHEAD put them really worth (on the high-gain output!). It was sinister to put K701 or HD650 on the built-in amplifier of Xonar Essence. It could, overall sound was ok., but the music was not there.

 

[stv014]

Quote:

I had the hd600, i bought them used for 150€ and i could compared them to my hd595( i did them the soundstage mod ) , and in my impression the hd595 sound better ( after making the mod the sound stage now is huge and i love it for me it is the most important thing in headphones  , bass is better too but i dont like the boomy bass it tide me XD , especially after long time listening) , i tested them with fiio e9 and pro-ject amplifier and in both cases my hd595 had better sound , so afer one week i sold them.
 
I think that it could be because of type of music i listen to , its mostly rap music , i tried the hd600 with some jazz and classic songs and  was better with that type of music

 
Well, the HD600 was only a random suggestion, and may not be what sounds best to you (especially for rap music). Contrary to what the others say, I do not think the E9 was a major limiting factor. But it does usually take some time to get used to the sound of new headphones.

 

[gcwebbyuk]

Which Op amps would you guys recommend for Grado SR80i phones?
 
I have posted today about my experience with 3 x LME49860NAs.  I found there was a lot of sibilance on voices, and crashy splashy cymbals.
 
I have since swapped back to the stock ones, and the sound is very similar.
 
Through my AudioEngine A2s the sound is just fine. 

 

[bcschmerker4]

Quote:

Which Op amps would you guys recommend for Grado SR80i phones?
 
I have posted today about my experience with 3 x LME49860NAs.  I found there was a lot of sibilance on voices, and crashy splashy cymbals.
 
I have since swapped back to the stock ones, and the sound is very similar.
 
Through my AudioEngine A2s the sound is just fine. 

After reading the online specification sheet for the SR80i, I suspect an underdamping problem for the package, as the ST and STX' stock Texas Instruments® TPA6120A2 headphone amplifier has a source impedance of 10.7Ω at the Headphone jack, versus 32Ω@1kHz for the SR80i.  The ST and STX can drive an offboard headphone amplifier, e.g. the Grado® RA1, through the dual RCA jacks ("2 Speakers").
 
I happen to be on the hunt for a headset myself and have narrowed my primary search to 250Ω models from AKG® and beyerdynamic®, as I expect to need good damping for monitoring Webcast audio signals; the 200Ω Heil Sound® Pro Set™, available in my area from the Ham Radio Outlet®, is my fallback option.

 

[WiR3D]

Quote:

Which Op amps would you guys recommend for Grado SR80i phones?
 
I have posted today about my experience with 3 x LME49860NAs.  I found there was a lot of sibilance on voices, and crashy splashy cymbals.
 
I have since swapped back to the stock ones, and the sound is very similar.
 
Through my AudioEngine A2s the sound is just fine. 

mmm opamps are mainly to sort out other types of sonic preferences, butI can firmly tell you to AVOID the AD797, also grados are not like Denons from my reading and are not really affected by impedance mismatches - just like my AKGs. Which is why tubes are often recommended. But the defacto nowadays are LME49990 and THS4032 (the latter being a push from me) and those are the most detailed and balanced. 
 
 
 

After reading the online specification sheet for the SR80i, I suspect an underdamping problem for the package, as the ST and STX' stock Texas Instruments® TPA6120A2 headphone amplifier has a source impedance of 10.7Ω at the Headphone jack, versus 32Ω@1kHz for the SR80i.  The ST and STX can drive an offboard headphone amplifier, e.g. the Grado® RA1, through the dual RCA jacks ("2 Speakers").
 
I happen to be on the hunt for a headset myself and have narrowed my primary search to 250Ω models from AKG® and beyerdynamic®, as I expect to need good damping for monitoring Webcast audio signals; the 200Ω Heil Sound® Pro Set™, available in my area from the Ham Radio Outlet®, is my fallback option.
 

Like i said the first point is moot. also IME with my AKG K242HD it really does not give a rats what the output impedance is. ANd I'm quite sure the 55ohm driver is a slightly modified version of their previous driver.

 

[ZorgDK]

Why don't you like the AD797's, WiR3d? 

 

[stv014]

Quote:

Which Op amps would you guys recommend for Grado SR80i phones?
I have posted today about my experience with 3 x LME49860NAs.  I found there was a lot of sibilance on voices, and crashy splashy cymbals.
I have since swapped back to the stock ones, and the sound is very similar.

 
Grado headphones are known to have a typically bright sound with emphasized upper mids and treble, and rolled off sub-bass. You will not fix it by "rolling" the op amps, try using an equalizer instead.
 
Quote:

Through my AudioEngine A2s the sound is just fine. 

 
Which makes it even more likely that the Grados are the problem

 

[stv014]

Quote:

Like i said the first point is moot. also IME with my AKG K242HD it really does not give a rats what the output impedance is. ANd I'm quite sure the 55ohm driver is a slightly modified version of their previous driver.

 
From the impedance graphs it looks like output impedance does make a difference with the AKG K24x/K27x 55 Ω drivers, more so in fact than with the Denons. But you probably do not like the sub-bass boost of the Denons, and want to minimize it in any possible way, while the bass response of the AKG's is less objectionable to you with or without the small extra boost from under-damping.

 

[gcwebbyuk]

I had a play with the Grados, and put a piece of tissue paper between the driver and the ear cushion (I had been using the GS1000/PS1000 type cushions).  This seems to have calmed down the brightness.
 
I am going to borrow a set of the stock SR80 cushions from my Dad, and try them (I buggered mine up trying a few mods from the Grado Mods thread before buying the doughnut type).  If they work, then I will keep the stock for listening from my PC and the doughnuts for listening on my iPod etc.

 

[gcwebbyuk]

Original pads seem to have tamed the Grados.  Listening to the same track I tested with before - Rope by the Foo Fighters sounds just right.
 
They are still quite bright, but not too much.  I have the LME49860NAs back in and sounds very good!

 

[iamthdecider]

Hi guys,
 
I recently purchased the xonar essence stx for my new computer and have installed the drivers for it. I am using HD650s in the back headphone jack and the sound output is extremely low even at the highest audio gain setting. When I plug the headphones into the motherboard sound output jack they are actually quite louder than when plugged into the soundcard.
 
Anyone have any ideas as to what could be causing this?