[smilingassassin]

Hi guys, as the title says, I am thinking about upgrading my listening experience with a new pair of headphones along with a good sound card/dac/amp. Currently I am using Sennheiser HD 439 plugged into my PC's motherboard which has Realtek ALC892 chip in it. I am using this headphone for the last 2-3 years (!!) but the motherboard is fairly new. I am very happy with the sound quality of the headphone and its comfort level. I have speakers but I hardly use them, let's say, may be just 5 times a month! So, I am completely a headphone person. I use them for about 4-6 hours a day on weekdays and over 16 hours on weekends. I play games everyday but love music and movies too. I don't take my headphones out of home so I don't need portability. I wear spectacles, so too tight headphones are not welcome to me! I live in India where weather is generally on the hot/warm side, therefore I usually avoid leather/pleather type of cushions because they become very hot, humid and uncomfortable sooner than I want! That's why I went for HD 439 over HD 449 on the first place as 439 has cloth/valor (??) padding while 449 doesn't. I never used any dac/amp so I have no idea how much they can improve my listening experience! Kindly note that in India brands like Schiit are not available, even not all products from FiiO are available!
Now I am thinking about getting a new pair of headphones as well as a good sound card/dac/amp to boost my experience. I have spend some time reading/watch reviews etc. on several headphones, sound cards/dac/amp and finally came up with (after considering current Indian online/offline market and price) 4 headphones/headset that I might like!
1. Sennheiser HD 558
2. Audio Technica ATH-M50X
3. Beyer Dynamic DT 770 PRO (80 Ohm Version)
and
4. Sennheiser G4ME One. (Just because I play games!)
As for sound card, I like
1. Asus Xonar Essence STX
2. Asus Xonar U7
and
3. Creative Sound Blaster Omni very much.
For Dac/Amp I can only find Fiio E10K even if it's not widely available!
Now can you help me choose?
NOTES:
1. I like my Sennheiser HD 439 very much for all possible reason!
2. I am from India so I like Bollywood music, Rabindra Sangeet (i.e. Tegore Songs), Rihanna, Enrique Iglesias, Guiters etc. (But I don't mind listening to any kind of good music except Opera)
3. I watch many movies.
4. I play games very seriously!
5. India is hot and humid.
6. I wear spectacles, so comfort will be a big issue.
7. I will not spend huge amount of money any time soon after buying these because these things are pretty darn expensive in India man!
8. I love HD 439 but don't have any Idea if I will like open headphones like HD 558 or closed one like ATH-M50X.
9. I don't have a place to live demo these headphones from where I live
10. I will not take out my headphones out of my home.
11. Budget around $200 for headphones and $100-$150 for sound card!
Thanks for your help and time, if you need any more information, feel free to ask. Happy listening guys

 

 

[zunehdrocks]

  Hi guys, as the title says, I am thinking about upgrading my listening experience with a new pair of headphones along with a good sound card/dac/amp. Currently I am using Sennheiser HD 439 plugged into my PC's motherboard which has Realtek ALC892 chip in it. I am using this headphone for the last 2-3 years (!!) but the motherboard is fairly new. I am very happy with the sound quality of the headphone and its comfort level. I have speakers but I hardly use them, let's say, may be just 5 times a month! So, I am completely a headphone person. I use them for about 4-6 hours a day on weekdays and over 16 hours on weekends. I play games everyday but love music and movies too. I don't take my headphones out of home so I don't need portability. I wear spectacles, so too tight headphones are not welcome to me! I live in India where weather is generally on the hot/warm side, therefore I usually avoid leather/pleather type of cushions because they become very hot, humid and uncomfortable sooner than I want! That's why I went for HD 439 over HD 449 on the first place as 439 has cloth/valor (??) padding while 449 doesn't. I never used any dac/amp so I have no idea how much they can improve my listening experience! Kindly note that in India brands like Schiit are not available, even not all products from FiiO are available!
Now I am thinking about getting a new pair of headphones as well as a good sound card/dac/amp to boost my experience. I have spend some time reading/watch reviews etc. on several headphones, sound cards/dac/amp and finally came up with (after considering current Indian online/offline market and price) 4 headphones/headset that I might like!
1. Sennheiser HD 558
2. Audio Technica ATH-M50X
3. Beyer Dynamic DT 770 PRO (80 Ohm Version)
and
4. Sennheiser G4ME One. (Just because I play games!)
As for sound card, I like
1. Asus Xonar Essence STX
2. Asus Xonar U7
and
3. Creative Sound Blaster Omni very much.
For Dac/Amp I can only find Fiio E10K even if it's not widely available!
Now can you help me choose?
NOTES:
1. I like my Sennheiser HD 439 very much for all possible reason!
2. I am from India so I like Bollywood music, Rabindra Sangeet (i.e. Tegore Songs), Rihanna, Enrique Iglesias, Guiters etc. (But I don't mind listening to any kind of good music except Opera)
3. I watch many movies.
4. I play games very seriously!
5. India is hot and humid.
6. I wear spectacles, so comfort will be a big issue.
7. I will not spend huge amount of money any time soon after buying these because these things are pretty darn expensive in India man!
8. I love HD 439 but don't have any Idea if I will like open headphones like HD 558 or closed one like ATH-M50X.
9. I don't have a place to live demo these headphones from where I live
10. I will not take out my headphones out of my home.
 
Thanks for your help and time, if you need any more information, feel free to ask. Happy listening guys

 

People generally prefer open headphones for gaming (mainly for soundstage) but keep in mind they won't have any isolation

 

[zunehdrocks]

  Hi guys, as the title says, I am thinking about upgrading my listening experience with a new pair of headphones along with a good sound card/dac/amp. Currently I am using Sennheiser HD 439 plugged into my PC's motherboard which has Realtek ALC892 chip in it. I am using this headphone for the last 2-3 years (!!) but the motherboard is fairly new. I am very happy with the sound quality of the headphone and its comfort level. I have speakers but I hardly use them, let's say, may be just 5 times a month! So, I am completely a headphone person. I use them for about 4-6 hours a day on weekdays and over 16 hours on weekends. I play games everyday but love music and movies too. I don't take my headphones out of home so I don't need portability. I wear spectacles, so too tight headphones are not welcome to me! I live in India where weather is generally on the hot/warm side, therefore I usually avoid leather/pleather type of cushions because they become very hot, humid and uncomfortable sooner than I want! That's why I went for HD 439 over HD 449 on the first place as 439 has cloth/valor (??) padding while 449 doesn't. I never used any dac/amp so I have no idea how much they can improve my listening experience! Kindly note that in India brands like Schiit are not available, even not all products from FiiO are available!
Now I am thinking about getting a new pair of headphones as well as a good sound card/dac/amp to boost my experience. I have spend some time reading/watch reviews etc. on several headphones, sound cards/dac/amp and finally came up with (after considering current Indian online/offline market and price) 4 headphones/headset that I might like!
1. Sennheiser HD 558
2. Audio Technica ATH-M50X
3. Beyer Dynamic DT 770 PRO (80 Ohm Version)
and
4. Sennheiser G4ME One. (Just because I play games!)
As for sound card, I like
1. Asus Xonar Essence STX
2. Asus Xonar U7
and
3. Creative Sound Blaster Omni very much.
For Dac/Amp I can only find Fiio E10K even if it's not widely available!
Now can you help me choose?
NOTES:
1. I like my Sennheiser HD 439 very much for all possible reason!
2. I am from India so I like Bollywood music, Rabindra Sangeet (i.e. Tegore Songs), Rihanna, Enrique Iglesias, Guiters etc. (But I don't mind listening to any kind of good music except Opera)
3. I watch many movies.
4. I play games very seriously!
5. India is hot and humid.
6. I wear spectacles, so comfort will be a big issue.
7. I will not spend huge amount of money any time soon after buying these because these things are pretty darn expensive in India man!
8. I love HD 439 but don't have any Idea if I will like open headphones like HD 558 or closed one like ATH-M50X.
9. I don't have a place to live demo these headphones from where I live
10. I will not take out my headphones out of my home.
 
Thanks for your help and time, if you need any more information, feel free to ask. Happy listening guys

 

http://graphs.headphone.com/graphCompare.php?graphType=0&graphID[]=3741&graphID[]=2861&graphID[]=2231&graphID[]=713&scale=30
The hd439 seems to be a warm headphone with laid back treble. I think you'd be fine with the hd558, hifiman he300, and takstar hi2050

 

[Youth]

Bugdet?

 

[zunehdrocks]

  Hi guys, as the title says, I am thinking about upgrading my listening experience with a new pair of headphones along with a good sound card/dac/amp. Currently I am using Sennheiser HD 439 plugged into my PC's motherboard which has Realtek ALC892 chip in it. I am using this headphone for the last 2-3 years (!!) but the motherboard is fairly new. I am very happy with the sound quality of the headphone and its comfort level. I have speakers but I hardly use them, let's say, may be just 5 times a month! So, I am completely a headphone person. I use them for about 4-6 hours a day on weekdays and over 16 hours on weekends. I play games everyday but love music and movies too. I don't take my headphones out of home so I don't need portability. I wear spectacles, so too tight headphones are not welcome to me! I live in India where weather is generally on the hot/warm side, therefore I usually avoid leather/pleather type of cushions because they become very hot, humid and uncomfortable sooner than I want! That's why I went for HD 439 over HD 449 on the first place as 439 has cloth/valor (??) padding while 449 doesn't. I never used any dac/amp so I have no idea how much they can improve my listening experience! Kindly note that in India brands like Schiit are not available, even not all products from FiiO are available!
Now I am thinking about getting a new pair of headphones as well as a good sound card/dac/amp to boost my experience. I have spend some time reading/watch reviews etc. on several headphones, sound cards/dac/amp and finally came up with (after considering current Indian online/offline market and price) 4 headphones/headset that I might like!
1. Sennheiser HD 558
2. Audio Technica ATH-M50X
3. Beyer Dynamic DT 770 PRO (80 Ohm Version)
and
4. Sennheiser G4ME One. (Just because I play games!)
As for sound card, I like
1. Asus Xonar Essence STX
2. Asus Xonar U7
and
3. Creative Sound Blaster Omni very much.
For Dac/Amp I can only find Fiio E10K even if it's not widely available!
Now can you help me choose?
NOTES:
1. I like my Sennheiser HD 439 very much for all possible reason!
2. I am from India so I like Bollywood music, Rabindra Sangeet (i.e. Tegore Songs), Rihanna, Enrique Iglesias, Guiters etc. (But I don't mind listening to any kind of good music except Opera)
3. I watch many movies.
4. I play games very seriously!
5. India is hot and humid.
6. I wear spectacles, so comfort will be a big issue.
7. I will not spend huge amount of money any time soon after buying these because these things are pretty darn expensive in India man!
8. I love HD 439 but don't have any Idea if I will like open headphones like HD 558 or closed one like ATH-M50X.
9. I don't have a place to live demo these headphones from where I live
10. I will not take out my headphones out of my home.
 
Thanks for your help and time, if you need any more information, feel free to ask. Happy listening guys

 

When buying fiio products, be careful. There are many fake fiio products.

 

[bdraper89]

Hey smilingassassin, i don't think I'll be much help by way of all but the ATH-m50x's... Those I do have the privilege of enjoying. They are closed cans and pleather, so they will become uncomfortably warm with long listening periods. They have relativity low impedance levels, so they are easy to drive... I.E. they do not need an amp. An amp could help your listening experience, but is definitely not needed. By way of sound, they do not have much air space since they are closed, but they are tight and precise. They have a significant amount of mid/high detail. There are two models, one in a white box and the other in a blue box. The blue box has added bass definition. I personally have the white box and they bass is there but not accentuated by any means. If you're a bass head, the blue box is more likely in your favor. Being limited to your buying circumstances, I'm not sure where to get the blue box. The m50x's would serve you well, but might not be a perfect fit for your situation. Hope this helps and best of luck on your journey!

 

[smilingassassin]

  http://graphs.headphone.com/graphCompare.php?graphType=0&graphID[]=3741&graphID[]=2861&graphID[]=2231&graphID[]=713&scale=30
The hd439 seems to be a warm headphone with laid back treble. I think you'd be fine with the hd558, hifiman he300, and takstar hi2050

That's pretty useful, thanks

 

[smilingassassin]

  Bugdet?

Budget around $200 for headphones and $100-$150 for sound card! Actually budget is not that much of a problem if I can find the right thing in India 

But ya, that's pretty much my budget!

 

[smilingassassin]

 
When buying fiio products, be careful. There are many fake fiio products.

Okay, I will keep that in mind, thank you

 

[smilingassassin]

Hey smilingassassin, i don't think I'll be much help by way of all but the ATH-m50x's... Those I do have the privilege of enjoying. They are closed cans and pleather, so they will become uncomfortably warm with long listening periods. They have relativity low impedance levels, so they are easy to drive... I.E. they do not need an amp. An amp could help your listening experience, but is definitely not needed. By way of sound, they do not have much air space since they are closed, but they are tight and precise. They have a significant amount of mid/high detail. There are two models, one in a white box and the other in a blue box. The blue box has added bass definition. I personally have the white box and they bass is there but not accentuated by any means. If you're a bass head, the blue box is more likely in your favor. Being limited to your buying circumstances, I'm not sure where to get the blue box. The m50x's would serve you well, but might not be a perfect fit for your situation. Hope this helps and best of luck on your journey!

Ya okay, thanks for your insight and I was also guessing that M50X is not really very suitable in my situation like hot country and spectacles!

 

[bdraper89]

By the way, the isolation in the m50x's is awesome, but like you said, not suitable unless you take breaks

Ya okay, thanks for your insight and I was also guessing that M50X is not really very suitable in my situation like hot country and spectacles! :basshead: