[sgrossklass]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JaGWiRE I don't know why you guys are suggesting me 555's. I'm looking to spend some serious cash, for a pair that'll last me a few years, I still really like the 580. I am beginning to guess that resistance is for bass, and the higher the resistance, the more bass to expect.

Err... not quite. Assuming sensitivity per 1 mW of input power to be constant (e.g. 97 dB for the HD580), higher impedance means that a higher voltage swing is needed to drive cans, while the current requirements will be lower. Thus lower-impedance cans are better suited for portable devices operating off very finite operating voltages, at the downside of either requiring very large output coupling capacitors or a DC coupled output. Additionally, if you have an unbuffered opamp based amp (e.g. Cmoy), the opamp will struggle harder with lower-impedance loads, and output series resistors to keep cable capacitance off the amp will have more of an influence. (47 ohms are not significant with 300 ohm cans, but will have a noticeable influence on 50 ohm ones.) The Revo 5.1 has 5 ohms of output resistance on the headphone out, and with 50 ohm cans this would require 100µF, better 220µF output coupling caps for good bass response (and if you wanted to design for a cutoff freq of ~2 Hz to get rid off 'lytics nastiness, you'd need 1500µF caps - yikes), while with 300 ohm cans 47µF (220µF) would be fine. IMO the current HD5x5s and such are too low in impedance for home cans already.

Quote:

I really like the look of the 580, but none of you have suggested it, yet on the other parts of the forums they are really popular. Let me rephrase my question, what advantages do your headphone suggestions have over the 580, and what are the downers to the 580?

The 580 has the reputation of being fairly amp dependent and not really being worth it without one. However, a Revo 5.1 should drive it about as well as your average Cmoy, so I don't see why one shouldn't give it a spin. And then you still have quite a bit of scaling potential left, and you can even upgrade the grilles (to HD600 ones) and cables (try the HD650 one for a start).

 

[JaGWiRE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sgrossklass Err... not quite. Assuming sensitivity per 1 mW of input power to be constant (e.g. 97 dB for the HD580), higher impedance means that a higher voltage swing is needed to drive cans, while the current requirements will be lower. Thus lower-impedance cans are better suited for portable devices operating off very finite operating voltages, at the downside of either requiring very large output coupling capacitors or a DC coupled output. Additionally, if you have an unbuffered opamp based amp (e.g. Cmoy), the opamp will struggle harder with lower-impedance loads, and output series resistors to keep cable capacitance off the amp will have more of an influence. (47 ohms are not significant with 300 ohm cans, but will have a noticeable influence on 50 ohm ones.) The Revo 5.1 has 5 ohms of output resistance on the headphone out, and with 50 ohm cans this would require 100µF, better 220µF output coupling caps for good bass response (and if you wanted to design for a cutoff freq of ~2 Hz to get rid off 'lytics nastiness, you'd need 1500µF caps - yikes), while with 300 ohm cans 47µF (220µF) would be fine. IMO the current HD5x5s and such are too low in impedance for home cans already. The 580 has the reputation of being fairly amp dependent and not really being worth it without one. However, a Revo 5.1 should drive it about as well as your average Cmoy, so I don't see why one shouldn't give it a spin. And then you still have quite a bit of scaling potential left, and you can even upgrade the grilles (to HD600 ones) and cables (try the HD650 one for a start).

Okay, I have a revo 7.1, which should drive the 580's fine, right? My card was shipped to me in July, so it shouldn't be too different. Also, to switch between my speakers and headphones will be possible, if I use the m-audio rev sound card settings and select headphone and then 5.1 (assuming it's not taking headphones as stereo, instead of doing what i'de like an going to the headphone port.)

I think my uncle can build with me an PPA. Although i'm a little kid who knows little about electronics, he has some great soldering skills, and worked many years in I believe factories building cell phones & electronics, he has done some mods with me such as my modded xbox. I think with the design, he should be able to do it, he has an electrical engineering degree with his son I believe. (He's my dad's cousin actually, but we do a lot together, so he considers himself my uncle.) I will need to reread your top part of the post about resistance, because I know so little about this stuff, but I'll try to understand it after, and I'll try to get a buddy of mine to explain this better. Thanks anyway though, I take it CMOY is an amp, would I see a difference with the PPA to my sound card? Also, I should be able to hook my phones up to an amp like the PPA, and then have another cable or line out on the amp going to my headphone port on my card (1/8 3.5 mm), not an red/white RCA like I've seen before, correct? Or will I need red/white rca to 1/8"?

 

[JaGWiRE]

My sound card doesn't have a dedicated headphone out. Damn, and I remember thinking the 7.1 was better because of it's price. I wonder if there is any switch I could buy to switch between speakers and headphones, but my speakers have 3 plugs (black, green and orange I believe), shrug.

 

[nsjong]

C'mon man. SHORTEN THOSE POSTS! IT HURTS MY EYES!! *eyes a splode"

A900 is an easy winner here.

 

[JaGWiRE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nsjong C'mon man. SHORTEN THOSE POSTS! IT HURTS MY EYES!! *eyes a splode" A900 is an easy winner here.

Yeah, but I still don't know who creates the a900, or if the store sells it. I'm probably going to get the 580's and build a PPA now, but I don't know how to connect it to my pc. I wonder what the headphone port on my case is like.

 

[Cyrilix]

Lol, njsong..

Anyway, I was wrong about the silver output. Just because the silver on my Revo 5.1 is the headphone out doesn't mean it will be with yours.

Since there are a lot of reviews on the sound of DT880s, I will leave you to search and read them but on a side note...

I think the DT880s are just awesomely cool-looking (if you carry them around), and I love their comfort compared to my MS-1s (which weren't uncomfortable, but weren't particularly comfortable either -- just average).

Go for whichever one will lighten your wallet less and make your heart flutter more (in terms of looks). The sound on most recommended cans at this price point should be very good.

 

[JaGWiRE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyrilix Lol, njsong.. Anyway, I was wrong about the silver output. Just because the silver on my Revo 5.1 is the headphone out doesn't mean it will be with yours. Since there are a lot of reviews on the sound of DT880s, I will leave you to search and read them but on a side note... I think the DT880s are just awesomely cool-looking (if you carry them around), and I love their comfort compared to my MS-1s (which weren't uncomfortable, but weren't particularly comfortable either -- just average). Go for whichever one will lighten your wallet less and make your heart flutter more (in terms of looks). The sound on most recommended cans at this price point should be very good.

Yeah, this store doesn't sell beyers I think, so i'm stuck with the 580 which flutter my herat (LOL, yeah), they should all sound good to my virgin audionewb ears anyway. I wonder what the headphone port on my case is like (it's routed to onboard now, but I will re-route it to my soundcard) and we'll see how it works out. Does anyone know if headphone ports on the thermaltake tsunami case are okay? I'm not sure if it's different from the logitech, so I am begging for some comments here. I wonder how onboard would be if I used an amp, and enabled onboard and hooked my headphones up there.

 

[DevilDog]

Okay, the 580s are probably the best bang for the buck headphones around, but they will do better with an amp. You're planning on maybe getting an amp later so that would take care of that.
The 595s are more fun than the 580s, they're more upfront, it sounds like you're closer to the music. But I think that the 580s have more potential overall. It sounds like you may really want a lot of bass. I'm not sure the 580s would fit the bill, here. They are a dark sounding headphone and not the best for rock or hip hop. Great for jazz, though. The 595s are better for gaming IMHO. So, I think all of that may be why everyone isn't agreeing with you on your choice of the 580s. They are a great headphone, but they definitely are not for everyone.
If the store you're going to will let you try them out, compare the 580s to the 595s and pick the one you like better. They're two totally different headphones. I own 595s and 650s and they both have their place, that's how different I think they are.
Good luck.

 

[nsjong]

First, I'd suggest:

Sell your triports on eBay for AT LEAST $85 USD if you can't return them.

Have you checked out Audio Cubes . com?

A900's are great due to their comfort. Most people recommend it for gaming... I assume it's due to the soundstage.

 

[Soundscape]

thsi is just based upon what i've read:

the 580 is better suited for music, and the 555 and 95 are better suited for all around use; gaming/movies/music. the a900 is also probably a better all-around'er than the 580.

i say out of the oprions mentioned go with the 595 or a900.
the a900 will have significantly more bass, i believe.

 

[JaGWiRE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nsjong First, I'd suggest: Sell your triports on eBay for AT LEAST $85 USD if you can't return them. Have you checked out Audio Cubes . com? A900's are great due to their comfort. Most people recommend it for gaming... I assume it's due to the soundstage.

I've decided it probably won't be used for gaming, because unless I use my logitech decoder box's headphone port, I can't get it to my xbox 360 (well, I could use dual rca to headphone port that came with my 360's vga cable pack), but i'de rather not. So forget about the gaming.

I want to know how to hook them to my computer without losing too much sound. Would hooking them to my headphone port on the top of my case would be okay, and better then the logitech decoding box? THE PPA headphone amp works well with the 580's right? Cause i'm probably going to have my uncle build me one.

And shrug, if a900's are beyers, this store doesn't sell beyers. I like the 580's, and I think i'm getting them, but I will listen in the store.

Would the 595 work well with the ppa amp? Incase I do want an amp, would the choices be the same as if I had an 580?

 

[JaGWiRE]

Was speaking to my friend who used to post here (Alucard, not sure if he went by this name.) He said I could re-wire the audio port on my case, but it's probably not ideal for headphones with such a high resistance like hd-580's (same for my sound cards output green jack.) He recommended me get an x-fi platnium with the breakout box, because that is apparently equivalent to a pretty expensive headphone amp (is he lieing?) The x-fi also has a dedicated headphone port, but he told me to use the one on the breakout box as it is an hedaphone amp and is externally powered. Any comments on this? He does work at that computer store where I buy most of my stuff

, so I can't tell if he's lieing or not. I had been looking for a new soundcard other then the m-audio for some work under linux (m-audio has some pretty big problems with linux, like my video card, but my video card can be fixed with some tweeking.)

He also told me to bring my iPod, and test the phones out on it in the store, he said my computer would sound similiar, just probably not as loud, and a bit different.

BTW, any retailers in Canada that do sell the beyers that I could try out? Kromer radio & bay bloor radio don't sell beyer, just senn and grados.

 

[UezeU]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JaGWiRE I've decided it probably won't be used for gaming, because unless I use my logitech decoder box's headphone port, I can't get it to my xbox 360 (well, I could use dual rca to headphone port that came with my 360's vga cable pack), but i'de rather not. So forget about the gaming. I want to know how to hook them to my computer without losing too much sound. Would hooking them to my headphone port on the top of my case would be okay, and better then the logitech decoding box? THE PPA headphone amp works well with the 580's right? Cause i'm probably going to have my uncle build me one. And shrug, if a900's are beyers, this store doesn't sell beyers. I like the 580's, and I think i'm getting them, but I will listen in the store. Would the 595 work well with the ppa amp? Incase I do want an amp, would the choices be the same as if I had an 580?

A900s are Audio-Technica, available from audiocubes.com.

 

[JaGWiRE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by UezeU A900s are Audio-Technica, available from audiocubes.com.

Was bored, so I looked that up, thanks. I plan to buy these phones locally though, and I don't know any local places who sell them.

Out of curiousity, are you allowed to trade things here other then audio equipment? For example, I am looking at dumpin my psp, my nintendo ds, my stopwatch, my modded xbox (xecuter 3) and my gamecube plus probably my m-audio rev 7.1 and some other junk (almost all of this has been used very little, turns out I bought a bunch of gaming stuff I had no time to use) (Ontario only, probably want to do in real life trades, unless my dad gets around to figure out how to set up his paypal.) Would I be allowed to create a "PSP for XX audio equipment" thread?

 

[UezeU]

Locally = more of your money. Of course, for many in this hobby, it has no bearing.