[Hey Meng]

How's it going Head-Fi. I bought Beats Pro just a while ago. Don't kill me! I know that's not the best decision especially around these parts, but if it makes you feel any better, I got em for 200. The only other decent headphones I had were the Sony NC40 years back. So I was actually very happy with these. I truly do enjoy listening to music with them. But I guess I want to keep moving forward. If all goes according to plan, I'll be able to sell these headphones for 200-250 and pull the trigger on a better set of cans. So that's where you guys come in! What am I looking for?
 
Well my budget will be pretty high (for me at least) for these cans. I'm willing to go upwards of $300. I'll say my budget stops at $400. That's twice as much as I paid for any headphones ever so hopefully I'll be happy with whatever it is I end up getting!
 
They have to be closed headphones. No exceptions. I'm gonna be using these every day on the way to school on the New York City Subway system. I don't want to bother other people and I don't want to be bothered by other people.
 
I prefer over ear headphones, but if there;s some set of amazing on ears it's not a problem for me.
 
I like comfy headphones as much as the next guy but I can handle the clamping pressure of the Beats Pro. I don't mind wearing these for 2 hours or more so I don't think it's the biggest deal in the world but it's always a plus.
 
What music do I listen to? Lots of Metal. Attack Attack!, Adept, Falling in Reverse. Lots of post hardcore stuff. I do enjoy some pop and dubstep but 85% metal/rock.
 
I guess that just about covers it then. Thanks guys!
 
Also just one quick question, I live in Brooklyn New York. I'd love to go somewhere to audition headphones for myself. Best Buy doesn't have much selection beyond Sony XBs. So any places in the Brooklyn/Manhattan area that does something like that?
 
Thanks!

 

[Swatcsi]

Denon D5000

 

[pyrokid]

For $200 the Beats Pros are actually not bad. They're generally considered to be better than the other beats. 
 
Open or closed? 

 

[ssrock64]

 
Quote:

Denon D5000

Seconded. You'll probably love 'em.
 

 

[Hey Meng]

 
Thanks for the replies. Do those require an amp?

 

[MrTwyst]

The thing with low prices on Beats is, the likelihood that they are counterfeit is pretty high. Counterfeit Beats are all over the place... super common.
 
Another frequently-mentioned alternative to Beats Pros are the Ultrasones, i.e. the Pro 900s.

 

[Hey Meng]

I should have mentioned I got my Pros from the Monster Cable outlet store refurbished so they were certainly not counterfeit.
 
This is very nooby but I really don't understand the concept of headphone amps. Can someone explain what they do, can I use them wiht an iPod on the go, and when I would need em. Sorry for the silly question.

 

[Swatcsi]

They give the power to the headphones to make them louder, because more powerful headphones require more power. As you move up to more expensive amps, they change the sound slightly, usually in a way that the listener likes.

 

[Hey Meng]

So I'm assuming a portable amp is one you can hook up to your ipod and can take on the go. Does the D5000 require an amp?

 

[MrTwyst]

I'll add to what Swatcsi says about making the headphones louder. They also add more definition, and different characteristics/sound signatures (depending on the amp) at different frequencies, as well as improved sound-staging.
 
For example, if you like a bass heavy sound signature, an amp will not only increase the volume, but also tighten up some of the characteristics of the instrument. A drum can go from having a nice thump, to a super-tight and snappier thump with an amp. 
 
You will be able to hear the placement of the different instruments better, as well as nuances in how the instruments sound... fingers across strings, more harmonic content in the notes played, etc.
 
Amps come in all sorts of ranges and for all sorts of functions. Even a cheapie $60 portable will often improve the sound... then the sky's the limit.
 
Incidentally, I did own a pair of counterfeit Beat's Pros for awhile. Sealed packaging, same build quality... trippy.

 

[MrTwyst]

D5000 doesn't "need" an amp. But a general rule of thumb is that even headphones which don't need an amp, sound better with one.
 
Headphones with impedance ratings of 150 or lower don't need an amp to be driven from the source. But with a 150 impedance, the improvement with an amp is even greater than a headphone with a 40 ohm impedance.
 
The Denons have a 25 ohm rating, so they are super efficient in that regard.
 
But even something like a Fiio e11 will improve their sound and give you some control over EQ with a gain switch and 3 bass settings.
 
Edit: Yes, a portable amp is usually one you can take with you, and is often the size of a half a deck of cards.

 

[Eric_C]

OP, before you get carried away thinking of what amps to get, consider 3 things:
1. Technically, you already have an amp. It's inside your phone or MP3 player, because without it, the electrical signal of your music wouldn't be loud enough for you to hear. Therefore when we're talking about amps, we really mean using an outboard/external amp instead of the built-in one.
2. It adds bulk, cables, and cost. To use an external amp, you should bypass your internal one, no? The way this can be done differs from device to device, so you should read up on this first. In any case, you may end up buying an amp, and then a special cable to bypass your built-in amp, and (in the case of portable amps) consider the added need to buy or charge batteries.
3. Read up a little on the science of things. Impedance (measured by Ohms) is not the only spec to consider when amping; amping for audio, at its most basic level, is about getting your music loud enough--therefore get familiar with "Efficiency" or SPL (sound pressure levels), as measured by dB/mW. Efficient headphones certainly won't need amping from a volume perspective. Coming back to impedance, some amps are likely to work better with low impedance headphones, and some with high impedance headphones--if you don't know which ones and why, you could buy the wrong amp.

 

[Hey Meng]

Just a quick question:
 
I always see people on head-fi talking about the quality of the music you're listening too. As far as I understand FLAC is a lossless type that is ideal. I've been downloading all my music off iTunes and wanted to know what the quality is like on those. And if it is not preferred, where can I get high quality music files for my iPod. I don't want to delve into high end headphones if my music isn't the proper quality, right?

 

[DrawTheLine]

Quote:

Just a quick question:
 
I always see people on head-fi talking about the quality of the music you're listening too. As far as I understand FLAC is a lossless type that is ideal. I've been downloading all my music off iTunes and wanted to know what the quality is like on those. And if it is not preferred, where can I get high quality music files for my iPod. I don't want to delve into high end headphones if my music isn't the proper quality, right?

It depends upon how long ago you purchased the music from iTunes. I'll link you to a particular page regarding their audio quality and how to upgrade your current music to their new standard. From what I've read they charge you $0.30 a song to upgrade a song with 125kbps and DRM to their new 256kbps without DRM. Generally speaking, you'll want music recorded at 192kbps or higher.
 
Itunes linky
 
Since you're using iTunes and presumably and iPod or iPhone, FLAC files won't really work for you. I suggest ripping CDs to your computer and choosing the "Apple Lossless" encoding option.  Your local library is a good place to start building your "quality" audio collection if you have a lot of cheap mp3 recordings and don't feel like paying for music you already own.
 
 

 

[ssrock64]

For MP3 files (as mentioned above), you want files that are over 192kbps. If 320kbps is available, that's the best MP3 format.
 
There's no doubt that FLAC, WAV, and Apple Lossless files are much better quality than simple MP3 files (being lossless), but they're gigantic. If your iPod is almost full, changing to a lossless format would require additional iPods to be bought. If a four-minute song is about 7.2 megabytes in 320kbps MP3 format, it may be around 40 megabytes in a CD-quality lossless file. Keep that in mind.