Upgrading from MDR-V600 ?

[Remi M.]

Well My Sony MDR-V600 headphones are on their deathbed. Just as well I guess. I want to upgrade to something better.

My Hi-fi Setup is as follows:
I have a PC with a nforce chipset (dolby surround encoding on the fly) as a source.
It's hooked up to Technics DSP sh-ac500d, which in turn is hooked up to a Technics SA-AX6 Reciever.
The speakers are a 5.0 Paradigm setup.

I listen to allot of different media:
DVD's
Games
Rock
Electronica
Metal
Ambient

I'v been looking at getting Sennheiser hd280's. Will there be a significant difference over my current headphones?
I am willing to get something better, but it seems that anything better means open headphones. I have never used open headphones. I use headphones mostly to not disturb other people in the house at late hours. I always thought that open headphones would be to laud for others when I listen to them at the volume I prefer (laud).
If someone suggest better closed headphones than the sennheisers I would apreciate it.
I am willing to spend the money on more expencive headphones if needed.

Thank you

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Honestly, the Sennheiser HD280s are a significant upgrade from your dying Sony MDR-V600s. I have never really liked the MDR-V600s to begin with; in fact, I've thought of them as el-cheapo $20 headphones with a highfalutin package, highfalutin claims and a highfalutin price tag. Though the Sennheiser HD280s lack a bit on the extreme highs and the heart of the low-end, its sound is a far cry from the severely bloated, extremely muddy low-mid range and virtually nonexistent upper mids of those MDR-V600s.

 

[commando]

I agree with the birdman above. I had V700s for a couple of years, thought they were great, and didn't realise how much I was missing until I tried decent cans.

If you like the V600s you won't like the 280s. If the V600s are like the V700s, they have strong boomy horrible bass, and poor horrible veiled treble. The 280s are the opposite: clear highs (that are sometimes a bit harsh), and feck all bass.

I suggest you go straight to the A500s, available from audiocubes.com and a couple of other places, mainly audiocubes though. They cost a little more than the 280s but they're so much better it's not funny. Not that the 280s are bad, I just think they're not right for you. The next step up are A900s, but with your setup I think that'd be wasted.

One caution: I listened to loud music for years, and one day the ringing in my ears didn't go away. I've had tinnitus in both ears since then. Keep the volume level reasonable, to protect your ears. You'll kick yourself (like I did) if you develop tinnitus. You never realise how valuable silence is, and i'll never have silence again

 

[Bolt San]

You can pretty much only go up.
I like Sennheiser HD202s more than V600s, and they're like 15 bucks and are pretty much hailed as crap.
That being said, I like my 280s, and although they have the exact flaws Eagle_Driver mentioned they are a billion times better than V600s.

 

[Remi M.]

Hehe, thanks for the words of wisdom commando. But I guess I dont listen to music THAT laud. As I find the volume level at most clubs uncomfortable. I also have my hearing tested yearly due to my ocupation. So far I still ahev perfect hearing.

I forgot to add than I wear glasses and need headphones that are comfortable to wear for long periods of time.

 

[Lisa]

Do you listen in the same house or in the same room too?

 

[georgefe]

I am in a very similiar situation actually. My pair of Sony MDR-V600's have reached the end of their days. I wish I was less nieve when I bought them in the first place.

I am about to upgrade to some HD-590's. I was wondering whether I will be able to tell the difference. Like will I all of a sudden have much better sound? I understand the need to amp this pair of headphones and I have an old Marantz 2250 that I might use and I have a lot of time coming up so I will at a minimum fool with building a CMoy.

Also, I was going to buy them here. They would be refirbished and have only a 90 day warranty *gasp* Is this is a really bad idea?

 

[commando]

Quote:

Originally Posted by georgefe I was wondering whether I will be able to tell the difference. Like will I all of a sudden have much better sound? I understand the need to amp this pair of headphones and I have an old Marantz 2250 that I might use and I have a lot of time coming up so I will at a minimum fool with building a CMoy.

Oh yes, you will notice a world of difference. The clarity will be much better, the bass will be better ballanced (ie quieter) but higher quality, and the comfort will blow you away.

 

[catscratch]

Well if the V600 is anything like my old HD500, then the improvement will be huge on all levels - even unamped. The 500 was advertised as having strong bass (should be advertised for bloated midbass) but it's nothing in the bass next to my 590's. As far as the rest - mids, highs, soundstaging, etc... Well, the 500's are not headphones. The 590's are. Up until I heard them, I didn't realize that. Once I had heard them, I haven't even touched those 500's since.

I am referring to the 590's amped, but I used at the time a speaker amp with a headphone jack, and even though it was a pretty good speaker amp, it could never really compare with a quality dedicated headphone amp. The 590's do need, and benefit significantly from amplification, no matter what Sennheiser sells them as. They're playable unamped, and sound decent, but it's nothing next to what they're capable of.

You will hear a huge difference the second you put them on.

P.S. - remember to burn in. The 590's need this much more than most other cans that I've come across. Let them play to themselves for about 40 hours before you judge their sound - it will improve by at least twice as much in that time period from their out-of-the-box sound. Also, you might want to consider putting a few books in between the earcups when burning them in. Headphones are designed to operate against the pressure of your ears, and we had a huge debate a few weeks back over whether or not playing them without anything between the earcups can damage the membrane. I don't know who won the debate in the end, but better safe than sorry

[Grammar? 30 hours no sleep! I don't need no stinking grammar...]

 

[Remi M.]

I read up some more after all of your recomendations. I think the audio technica A900's are right for me.

Commando, why do you think these would be wasted on my setup? Is it because of the amp and DSP or is it the PC as source?

Do I need a dedicated Head amp?

 

[Kirosia]

Nothing wrong w/ pc as source, just that you probably will need to upgrade your soundcard. (I.e. chaintech, EMU)

 

[commando]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Remi M. I read up some more after all of your recomendations. I think the audio technica A900's are right for me. Commando, why do you think these would be wasted on my setup? Is it because of the amp and DSP or is it the PC as source? Do I need a dedicated Head amp?

It's a combination of all three. In your place i'd get A500s or A900s and keep the rest of the setup as it is. It's too easy to get up in the gear side of this hobby and forget about the music.

Get the A500/A900, walk away happy, and never come back to this place - seriously