[lazysleepyboi]

 
Quote:

Hey every1, new to the forums, not really an audiophile but want some really beast headphones. I almost brought myself some beats pro's, but then I stumbled upon this forum and saw the unanimous hate for them lol.. So i started fishing for some alternatives and as of right now i'm loving the idea of having these. I need some help from u audio gurus to decide whether they're right for me.
 
There's a few things that have me apprehensive about buying them, firstly i'm not planning on amping them (was just gonna rely on my ipod to drive them - i know i'm a noob ) and was wondering how they would sound. I take that they'll still sound better that un-amped beats? Secondly, all my music is bought from Itunes at 256kbps AAC are these headphones too detailed (i.e. unforgiving) for my music collection? Lastly, not a major issue though, I was wondering if the detachable cable was just a straight forward jack on both ends.
 
Thanks any help would be appreciated.
 
P.S as aforementioned i'm not too experienced with headphones and hardly an audiophile of any sort, so i'm fairly confident the sound will blow me away
 
 

I'll help you there =] welcome to the head-fi community, but i would stray away after this purchase if you want to save your wallet from becoming empty (i kid, not really). Anyways, your iPod should do fine with powering these headphones. Everyone here has different setups, and the Pro 900s work, but amps really open it up more. No matter what headphones you have, an amp will refine the sound and make it better. I would say get the Pro 900s first, and if you feel like getting an amp, get one later when you have some money to spare. These really do benefit from an amp, as do most headphones, but you don't have to power them with an amp if you don't want to. 
 
At first they may not sound as good as beats, but give them time. These headphones really require a lot of patience because they benefit from burn-in time. When you get these, just attach them to your computer and play a track over and over for 200 hours to let them burn-in adaquately. I've had these headphones for over a week, and i believe that i have 50 or so hours on them and I'm pretty amazed by the sound. At 20-30 hours you really begin to appreciate the sound, at least i did, and they really open up quiet a bit from there. Some users have said that they open up after 200 hours, but i'm pretty impatient (i know i'm a hypocrite -.-).
 
Since you bought your music off itunes, it should be fine. iTunes music is usually good quality, so you should be fine. If anything, you can always upconvert your itunes music to 320kps or FLAC. But in all honesty, you should be fine with what you got if you really do buy all your music, i know for some of us who can't really do that, we download our music and it varies a lot with quality when you blindly download.
The Pro 900s come with two cords. One is the 3.55mm jack (straight) to 3.55 (straight). The second one is 3.55 (straight) to 1/4 (straight). One side is the side you plug into the headphones and the other you plug into your source. The side that you plug into your headphones is a screw type of jack. You have to screw it in and if you don't screw it in properly, then the audio really sounds weird. Some people here have has problems with that, but i haven't. If you have anymore questions i'll be glad to answer what i can =] welcome to head-fi

 

[baglunch]

And buy them used, or spend a good long while burning them in.  Mine are slowly improving, but they started out harsh in the higher notes, almost absent the middle notes, and thunderous in the lower notes... like living above a dance club where someone regularly comes in your room and screams at you.  But in a good way, kind of.
 
It's getting better.

 

[LosMerengues]

Quote:

 
Whats your music taste? And if you are just going to use your ipod to drive these then your better off spending less money on a lower end ultrasone like the hfi-580. You just won't get the same commanding detailed sound that makes the pro 900 so special without an amp. They will still sound fantastic unamped but nowhere near your potential or what you paid for them.

Well I listen too pretty much everything but I guess it's predominantly classic rock/metal/hip-hop. Don't get me wrong i'm open to using an amp as i'll mostly be using them at home anyways, but occasionally (when on a long flight/car journey) I'll wanna take them with me, judging by ur reply that won't by an issue. Thanks for the advice though, i'll be sure to check out some lesser models.
 
I'm currently using apple's in ear headphone which I actually thought sounded pretty good (I know, the HORROR!! lol) and was wondering how much better headphones can actually get, it'll be interesting to see how far the rabbit hole goes as I familiarise myself with the audiophile world - daunting task

... 

 

[LosMerengues]

Sorry for double post, but just saw lazysleepyboi's reply. Well u pretty much answered everything thanks I might look into buying used coz i too am very impatient and it'll probably save me some cash that who knows, maybe I could by an amp with. Just one final question to any1 that has used this with their ipod for an extensive period, does it drain the battery uber fast? not a big deal just wondering.

 

[lazysleepyboi]

 
Quote:

Sorry for double post, but just saw lazysleepyboi's reply. Well u pretty much answered everything thanks I might look into buying used coz i too am very impatient and it'll probably save me some cash that who knows, maybe I could by an amp with. Just one final question to any1 that has used this with their ipod for an extensive period, does it drain the battery uber fast? not a big deal just wondering.

well i can test that for you when i actually get home. I have an ipod touch at home, and i haven't tried it with the itouch yet. I've mostly been using the headphones at home or with my cowon iaudio9 with an arrow amp, i haven't touched my iTouch in months! Anyways, if you buy off buyauthorized from ebay, you can get them for 350 usually. I haven't seen any used Pro 900s recently in the forums so maybe you'll get lucky. You really never know what people will put up until it's there. What worries me a bit about what you said is that you would take these for long flights. These headphones do leak even though they're supposedly closed. At low volumes you're fine and no one around you will hear you, but at higher volumes people can hear what you're listening to. Also, these don't isolate as well as you might be looking for. It isolates a good deal, but not so much that it'll block out the sound of an airplane's turbines. These headphones are better suited for home use and i think they should stay there. These headphones look really nice, but they're not exactly the type of headphones you want to bring to schools or to travel with. If that doesn't deter you off from getting these headphones, i say just get them from buyauthorized on ebay and plug them into a computer and let them sit for a week burning in. If you end up not liking the comfort in the end, then you can always sell it here for the same amount you got it for. 
 
If you're looking for something that's more portable, i suggest looking at IEMs since they're better in general for portability. If your budget still stands, i suggest some 1964 custom IEMs. They have a good streak going for them, and everyone that gets a custom IEM from them instantly falls in love. Good luck with your decision!

 

[baglunch]

I just got mine (like new) used off the For Sale forum, and there was at least one other guy selling his there, too.  Definitely give it a look for a week or so, never know what will pop up.  Also keep in mind that things scroll off the front page quickly, so go back several days and send people a message to see if theirs is still available.

 

[lazysleepyboi]

 
Quote:

I just got mine (like new) used off the For Sale forum, and there was at least one other guy selling his there, too.  Definitely give it a look for a week or so, never know what will pop up.  Also keep in mind that things scroll off the front page quickly, so go back several days and send people a message to see if theirs is still available.

the thing that i find a bit annoying is the burn-in time when you get it used. Some people know exactly how long they've burnt it in, and others don't. Even when they list, you always have to take it with a grain of salt and when you get it.....well you really don't know how many additional hours you should put in. Where do you draw the line on whether the sound is getting better or not? If no one told me the burn-in time for these, i would've thought they ended at 30-40 hours. Go figure that it's 200 instead =/ 150 more hours to go....... anyways, i think it's much more fulfilling if you know the sound before burn-in and after burn-in. I find myself appreciating them more than ever because of that.

 

[baglunch]

Quote:

the thing that i find a bit annoying is the burn-in time when you get it used.

I know exactly what you mean.  

 

[Voohoo]

Quote:

Hey every1, new to the forums, not really an audiophile but want some really beast headphones. I almost brought myself some beats pro's, but then I stumbled upon this forum and saw the unanimous hate for them lol.. So i started fishing for some alternatives and as of right now i'm loving the idea of having these. I need some help from u audio gurus to decide whether they're right for me.
 
There's a few things that have me apprehensive about buying them, firstly i'm not planning on amping them (was just gonna rely on my ipod to drive them - i know i'm a noob ) and was wondering how they would sound. I take that they'll still sound better that un-amped beats? Secondly, all my music is bought from Itunes at 256kbps AAC are these headphones too detailed (i.e. unforgiving) for my music collection? Lastly, not a major issue though, I was wondering if the detachable cable was just a straight forward jack on both ends.
 
Thanks any help would be appreciated.
 
P.S as aforementioned i'm not too experienced with headphones and hardly an audiophile of any sort, so i'm fairly confident the sound will blow me away
 
 

I second colmustard's suggestion to look at the Hfi-580s instead. I think you will be more than happy with those headphones and save quite a bit of $$. And they should sound totally awesome even without an amp. If you find yourself wanting to get more serious with audio, then at that point you can look into getting amps and higher-end 'phones like the Pro 900. But for now, as your first real set of cans, I highly recommend getting the Hfi-580. However, if you have the money to blow, and you really really KNOW that you want the 900s, then go and do what your heart desires, don't let me stop you, lol. 
 

 

[lazysleepyboi]

to answer your question about the ipod, yes it does power it. I had the volume up at 75% of the bar for the iPod Touch 1st generation, and it sounded ok, not great. The vocals really aren't brought forward, the bass in there and really good but there's a lot lacking if you go at it unamped. So my battery for my iTouch is pretty old so if you want to test how long your ipod will last, leave it playing overnight at 75% of the volume bar and see how long it lasts. That's as much as i can tell you in respect to my iTouch, hope that helps

 

[baglunch]

Today's status update:
 
Wow, getting better and better.  You people might not be insane after all.
 
Highs continue to calm down.  A lot less shriek-ey, less painful on the ears.  Still needs to calm down some more, and integrate with the rest of the sound more... but definitely coming right along.
 
Dare I call these musical?  Perhaps they are on the verge.  I am looking forward to what another night of burning does for them.

 

[power]

for all you neophites try \\ 

   

 

[Roller]

Quote:

for all you neophites try \\ 

  

Interesting stuff, I do like my share of psy. There's a lot of good stuff from artists like GMS, Electro Sun, Bizarre Contact, among many others.
 
Two days ago, the sound of my Pro 900 was horrible!

I didn't know what happened (I wasn't overly tired or anything) but it was very veiled and away, without me having done anything to the sound chain. I almost got desperate, but then I reminded of the claimed sound cycles that happened during burn-in, and the fact is that on the following day, the sound got better than it ever had been so far. The bass is getting almost creamy and the highs are feeling more and more like a fruit that's just ripe

One of my biggest concerns was that someone told me the Pro 900 did sound a little on the cold side, and while they did sound a bit like that when I first started to use them, now they're very pleasantly touching the warm side.
 
The boo-boo on the wallet is justified for appeasing the head-fier

 

[Dougeefresh]

If there's anyone using IEMs with your PRO 900, can you recommend a pair of IEMs similar in SQ to PRO 900? Hopefully in $200 range but not over $400 and no customs.
Bass emphasized with clean mid/high. I have looked in the IEM forum but too many types and most I read didn't fit the bill.
Thanks!

 

[shamrock134]

     Quote:

If there's anyone using IEMs with your PRO 900, can you recommend a pair of IEMs similar in SQ to PRO 900? Hopefully in $200 range but not over $400 and no customs.
Bass emphasized with clean mid/high. I have looked in the IEM forum but too many types and most I read didn't fit the bill.
Thanks!

I don't think any of my IEMs truly sound like the Pro900, but slightly similar I'd say Westone 3, JVC FX700 and Monster Turbine Pro Coppers.