Upgrading from HD-555s

[ropeadope]

Hey hey, I missed you guys (*actually doesn't know anyone here*).

Been a long time since i've posted. My HD-555s finally broke, after years of dropping them. They've been cracking for a long time but a few days ago it broke and now the left side phone is hanging by a wire. I've been able to re-tape it the last few days and it's a good temporary fix, but I think I'm going to have to get some new headphones pretty soon. I really liked my HD-555s for all the time that I had them, at least since I got my Headsave Classic amp

. Part of me wants to get HD-595s for a slight upgrade, another part of me wants to try a new kind of headphone...something different. What do you think?

Well, I think this is a hell of a bad time to be broke

- I can start saving up though. Max price budget would probably be $300, but I'd much rather stay under $200.

Here are the phones I've been looking into a little bit: HD-595s, HD-600s, HD-650s, AKG 701s (heard they are a HD555 lover's dream), someone said GOLDRING DR150s are better than HD-595s, but I've never heard of Goldring or anyone talk about them much. I think that's about all I'm looking at right now. But of course, I'm looking for input and opinions, since you guys are the pros here. I'll be sticking with the same amp (headsave classic v2) so keep that in mind. Not sure if it could power higher end phones or not *shrug*.

Any input would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

[size=xx-small]P.S. How do I have 118 PMs here? o_O - I must of spent a lot more time here than I thought[/size]

 

[oulker]

I moved from HD555 to Audio Technica AD700 shortly and I am currently happy with them.

Since you have an amp, you may want to consider HD580 (if you can find them of course) as well.

 

[ropeadope]

I've tried HD580s before and hated them *shrug*. Maybe it was just a certain pair.

 

[AudioCats]

I think you should give an audition to the electrostatics at this point, since you are not too far into the dynamics yet.

Baby stax (001) system can be had for under $200 used, that will definitly be a step up from the 555's (sorry, I hated my 555's).

 

[ropeadope]

electrostatics? Dynamic systems? What's all this jibba jabba?

Ok ok, i'll search. It'd be much better if someone explained it to me though

 

[ropeadope]

Bump.

I couldn't really find out what electrostatic headphones or dynamic systems are exactly, just a crapload of threads discussing about them

- Any head-fi word guide around? Lots of crazy stuff people bring up here and I don't know what the hell they're talking about.

 

[adamse]

Its different ways of making sound.

 

[HFat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ropeadope /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've tried HD580s before and hated them *shrug*. Maybe it was just a certain pair.

Explaining *why* you hated them would go a long way in helping us guess what else you'd hate.... or love.

 

[ropeadope]

No way I could go into detail about why I hated them, as I listened to them less than a minute and that was at least 2 years ago. They just sounded horrible, I don't know why. I've always wanted to try another pair of 580s as I keep thinking now I just got a bad pair or something.

Quote:

Originally Posted by adamse /img/forum/go_quote.gif Its different ways of making sound.

That explains...nothing

 

[ropeadope]

I would like it if someone could give me more information on what Audiocats is talking about above. Either reply or PM me with linkage.

 

[BassheadJazz]

I think that the 701s would be a terrific upgrade from your current headphones. The other Senns would be an upgrade, but not as much as the AKGs. The electrostatics are an alternative to the other headphones, and while a lot of people generally like them, they're a bit harder to come by. Basically the difference is that in electrostatics the sound wave is caused by the oscillating membrane via the changing electrical signal. Anyway, long story short, all of the headphones mentioned would be upgrades, more or less, but I think your best bet would be the 701s.

 

[SilverTrumpet999]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ropeadope /img/forum/go_quote.gif I would like it if someone could give me more information on what Audiocats is talking about above. Either reply or PM me with linkage.

Let's see if I can clear these waters slightly:

There are different ways of producing sound. The majority of headphones and speakers use what are called "Dynamic" drivers - this is where the amplified signal goes to an electromagnet, which forces the driver in and out like a piston. The piston moves the air, approximating the sound of the original recording. While this is the dominant way to produce sound, there are other methods.

One such other way is with an electrostatic driver (Stax is all electrostatic AFAIK, Sennheisers that start with HE instead of HD are electrostatic, and there are several other examples out there in headphone land). Electrostatic drivers are similar to planar speakers (Magnepan, Martin Logan without the bass drivers, others) in that they have an exceptional ability to image and have excellent transparency. Because they reproduce sound completely differently they do sound different, and "to each his own" has never been more true. However you pay a price for going electrostatic; most require very large amounts of bias voltage to function (not going into the physics here) and almost all of them require a step-up transformer (the Baby Stax mentioned above is an exception, I believe). Suffice to say that where the dynamics are like pistons, these reproduce sound by rippling a physically larger, rigid material.

Those are the two extremes. In the middle there are hybrids (AKG K340, maybe another couple) and orthodynamics. Hybrids are fairly self-explanatory, and orthodynamics are made along similar principles as electrostatics without requiring the step-up box. Both of these middle-ground approaches tend to be quite difficult to drive.


So ends my basic introduction. Hopefully this is helpful, ropeadope!

 

[AudioCats]

when I said "electrostatic and dynamic systems" I meant "electrostatic system" and "dynamic system". Sorry about the confussion.

What I was saying is, once you move above the 555 level, basically all the phones will require headphone amps. A $150 Senn580 will require at least a $100 amp to drive, so this 580 + amp system (which is dynamic type headphone + normal headphone amp) will be $250 total.
Meanwhile electrostatic phones will require amps too, but of different type, they have to be driven by electrostatic amps. The Stax 001 system (which is electrostatic type) consist of the headphones and a little portable electrostatic amp, and the whole thing is $250 new and <$200 used.
Will you like a electrostatic better than a dynamic ? I don't know. An audition is the only way to figure it out. I like the electrostatic sound a lot (yes it is very different from the normal dynamic phones). The electrostatic has a lot of details and is super clean, but the sound can be bland and unimpressive (depending on the phones of course). It literally took me two full weeks to start to appriciate my ESP7's sound, the more I listened the more I liked it. (vs. the more I listened to my HD555 the more I hated them).

again, an audition is the only way to figure out which way you might want to go.

 

[AudioCats]

Baby Stax 001 system

 

[krmathis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AudioCats /img/forum/go_quote.gif IBaby stax (001) system can be had for under $200 used, that will definitly be a step up from the 555's

x2 on the SR-001 mk2