[ipumuk]

Hello Head-Fi,

I am planing to get some new headphones for christmas.

They should be warm, bassy and without piercing or shrill high frequencies that occur in a lot of bad recordings. Both my current headphones are having trouble with that.

These are the phones I am looking into. In order of preference:

DENON AH-D2000 - 260 euro
AUDIO-TECHNICA ATH-AD700 - 170 euro
(Sennheiser HD 600 - 220 euro)

The prices listed are the ones I will probably have to pay in Germany.

My budget is $250 max. Source: Hotaudio Destroyer. Amp: z-audio lambda.

My favourite option so far is the Denon. Tt is supposed to have great bass. But I am not sure about the higher frequencies.

Which headphone at the given price range do you recommend? Other suggestions are welcome.

Thanks!

 

[azncookiecutter]

I'll cross off the Denons if you're concerned about the sibilance. With the D5000s, they do get pretty sibilant, especially with the wrong source/amp.

 

[MrGreen]

None of these are suitable (AD700 isnt warm, denon has piercing highs, HD600 isnt necessarily 'warm' compared to the HD650).
HD650
Shure SRH440


IMO.

The 770/80 is essentially what you describe (and I see you already have it).
If you're looking for something that sounds basically the same but better, the HD650 is it IMO.

Depending on how true the rumours of the new bass anemic HD650 are, you might need to get an old one.

 

[ipumuk]

the HD 650 look very tempting. but they are just too expensive at 280 € ...

are there cheaper alternatives?

 

[Landis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ipumuk /img/forum/go_quote.gif the HD 650 look very tempting. but they are just too expensive at 280 € ... are there cheaper alternatives?

Keep your eye on the for-sale forum! I'm not sure about shipping incl. to Germany, but there are many times that an HD650 shows up on there for under $250 USD.

 

[cswann1]

Yes, a used HD650 is a great choice. Just about everything on them can be easily replaced and ordered from Sennheiser.

 

[oqvist]

German Maestro 400 fit your bill. HD 650 is an alternative as well but it´s not very musical to my ears not even with good amplification. Forgiving it surely is though

I doubt the 435S would be too aggressive either or bright either. Personally I preferr that over the 400.

el cheapo solution fostex T50 rp

both the senns and fostex have a dark signature so you have to get into that.

 

[ipumuk]

thanks for the suggestions.

although the hd650 are a bit above my limit I will think about it. buying them used is not really an option though.

thank you for your input oqvist. unfortunately there is not enough information on the german maestro 435. i do not want to spend that much money on headphones that are not well known. but i am considering participating in your german maestro exchange program

any other headphones I should check out?

 

[Acix]

Warm sounding for me are the GMP 8.35/435, and the M-50.
Here more info about the GMP: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/ger...rogram-438831/

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/ger...indeed-406658/

 

[CountChoculaBot]

My D2000, with PIMETA, X-Head, Zero, and X-Fi sound card was *never* sibilant. It might have had some hint of it, but it most definitely went away with burn in. I bought it because my HFI-780's were maddeningly sibilant and bright, and in that respect it succeeded brilliantly. For the long time I had it, I forgot the word sibilant.

That said, I myself would still get something else. They were just boring as hell to me; no emotion or anything at all, or anything to elicit a smile. Out of your requirements though, they are non-sibilant and have awesome bass, coming from a bass head. They're more neutral than warm, from what I remember.

I wouldn't recommend the AD700 either. They don't really amaze. They're comfortable, and aren't sibilant, though. No bass.

 

[ipumuk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CountChoculaBot /img/forum/go_quote.gif My D2000, with PIMETA, X-Head, Zero, and X-Fi sound card was *never* sibilant. It might have had some hint of it, but it most definitely went away with burn in. I bought it because my HFI-780's were maddeningly sibilant and bright, and in that respect it succeeded brilliantly. For the long time I had it, I forgot the word sibilant. That said, I myself would still get something else. They were just boring as hell to me; no emotion or anything at all, or anything to elicit a smile. Out of your requirements though, they are non-sibilant and have awesome bass, coming from a bass head. They're more neutral than warm, from what I remember. I wouldn't recommend the AD700 either. They don't really amaze. They're comfortable, and aren't sibilant, though. No bass.

thanks for posting your impressions.

have you found a headphone that satisfies your needs?

 

[rhythmdevils]

dp

 

[rhythmdevils]

hd650 fits the bill perfectly. At this phase, I can't think of any reason to get anything else. If you don't like the 650's, then I'd say you should try alternatives. But that's just it, they're alternatives. Sennheiser pretty much dominates the warm sounding headphone market. Everyone else has to come up with a different sound to try to create a market for themselves

If you wanted a warm sounding phone with great mids, then I'd recommend the K240 sextett. but bass isn't really their strong suit.

 

[kayaker3057]

German Maestro = MB Quart, btw. So yes, they are pretty well known

 

[Ham Sandwich]

I have never considered my D2000 to be sibilant. If there is sibilance in the recording it will play it back, but it isn't played in a way that is annoying for me or would cause ear fatigue for me. The sound with the D2000 surrounds the ears the sibilance doesn't have the effect of being pumped directly into the ears (like say a Grado does). In that respect if find it forgiving.

The HD600 is more kind to sibilance than the D2000.

I'm using an AV123 x-head. A solid state amp.

What kind of music will you use the headphones for? The D2000 can be considered boring for aggressive rock due to the recessed and spaced out mids. They're in their element though for jam bands, Grateful Dead, classic rock, acoustic, classical, pipe organ, and lots of other genres.