[BoogieWoogie]

Hello, Contrary to the most users here in my country there aren't audiophile cans on stores so I can't go there and try them for my self.

All I can rely is your experience and impressions so I ask for your help deciding which HeadPhone to get without regretting.


"I own a MS1 that don't blow me away like I wanted and I came from a 20€ headphones, so this says pretty much everything.
Simply lacks clarity and sound immersion even in slow music, the sound isn't that good too when there's allot of instruments and "fast" music specially with rock it gets messy and the voice kinda dissipates and everything around gets a bit messy and feels distant ."

I'm looking for a new Headphone that meet this:

Home listening
Budget - 350-400$
Source-Laptop and Mp3 Player
Open
Music-Mostly mp3 V0 >280 bkps and some FLAC.
3D sound Total music immersion.
Clarity and instrumental separation.


I will add a description too so you can have an idea of the genre I listen :

At the moment of my life I see me listening more slow stuff some just with vocals and classic guitar , like radiohead,dead cab for cutie,Eddie vadder, Phish, bob dylan, joy division, pinkfloyd,jimmy hendrix,beatles mixing with rock and alternative rock indie with alot of vocal and isntruments like LedZepplin,Queens of stone Age,white stripes,bloc party, tv on the radio, arcade fire , of mont real, GMT, animal collective, arctic monkeys , Unicorns are people too.

And on a energetic days I listen some punk rock, ska like NOFX and ramones mixing with some metal like metallica,Rage againts the machine,megadeath,stonesour.

Hope you can help
Thank you .

 

[Acix]

You can save more money and just get the RS-1 used.
My second recommendation will be the K-271MKll used or new with a nice sound card.

 

[FallenAngel]

Upgrade your source, you will have much better results than headphones.

 

[BoogieWoogie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acix /img/forum/go_quote.gif You can save more money and just get the RS-1 used. My second recommendation will be the K-271MKll used or new with a nice sound card.

What about K701 ? I have ear good things about it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FallenAngel /img/forum/go_quote.gif Upgrade your source, you will have much better results than headphones.

I don't believe it would work since the majority here say they sound good straight from the mp3 and I have tested it on a recent Mackbook pro the result was the same. So i'm really going for a new pair of headphones.

 

[FallenAngel]

Garbage in = Garbage out. No matter the headphones, a bad source will sound bad.

Laptop onboard is generally terrible. No idea what "mp3 player" you have; some can be decent, most aren't that great.

 

[Drubbing]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FallenAngel /img/forum/go_quote.gif Garbage in = Garbage out. No matter the headphones, a bad source will sound bad. Laptop onboard is generally terrible. No idea what "mp3 player" you have; some can be decent, most aren't that great.

Absolutely. Buy headphones suitable for portable players, that budget is too ambitious to get value from the phones it will buy, using those sources.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoogieWoogie /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't believe it would work since the majority here say they sound good straight from the mp3 and I have tested it on a recent Mackbook pro the result was the same. So i'm really going for a new pair of headphones.

You've tested what on a Macbook your MS1 and cheap old phones? If they both sound the same from both sources, it tells you the source is crap.

The K701 is not suited to portable players or laptops or on board sound. This has been done to death in a recent long thread, it certainly is not a majority doing this. http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/too...o-amps-464354/

It will be seriously underpowered and lacking in everything it's good at. Unless you plan on upgrading your source and adding a well powered desktop amp, it isn't worth it for those sources.

 

[Acix]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoogieWoogie /img/forum/go_quote.gif What about K701 ? I have ear good things about it.

I don't think mp3's 280 bkps and the 701 are a great choice.

 

[BoogieWoogie]

I know that only the K701 doesn't work.

But by sources you mean an tube amp ? If so I pretend to buy one too.

As far the V0 mp3 I have read that the human hear can't difference v0 from FLAC but if this is wrong I can get FLAC easly.

 

[n3rdling]

Please allocate the majority of your budget on the headphone. There have been MANY posts of people running their JH13's out of an ipod and calling it stunning. You will get much better sound for your money with something like a Stax Lambda and SRD6 for about $300 and upgrading the source later on than you would by getting a used Opus or Pico or whatever source for that money and running iBuds. It's not even remotely close. I won't start a DBT discussion here, but there is a decent amount of people who say there is no audible difference between DACs or cables (if properly volume matched), yet I have NEVER seen somebody say there is no audible difference between different headphones.

 

[stang]

A source is where the music is coming from. CD player, iPod, computer etc. Get good headphones 1st but not one's like the K701 until you get a good source and amplifier first. I use my iPod touch and p-51 mustang with LOD as a portable setup but here at home I use my computer as a source. I use the on board digital which goes to my Zero DAC and then onto Qinpu A-3. Just received my ALO-780 but still miss my old Grado SR-225

Some day I will buy them again..some day. Anyway, as FallenAngel said, Garbage in = Garbage out. Headphones are most important IMO, a good source and amp wont change the sound signature as much as upgrading headphones to a higher model will do.

You've got a pretty good taste in music in my eyes, Grado's will be for you. No they do not need really expensive equipment like the K701 NEEDS but please don't feed them through a laptop's on board audio playing mp3's. Sounds like you don't like your MS-1's, how you are describing them is pretty much what Rock and metal sound best as IMO. You want everything in your face and detailed. The lack of clarity will definately be because:

a) Low end Alessandro's
b) Terrible source
c) No amplification

Sounds like you want the opposite of your current cans. A Beyerdynamic may be the one you're looking for. Audio Technica maybe (but bad for rock) and AKG (also pretty bad for rock). What you listen to is pretty a perfect match for the Alessandro's. I have no idea why you would want the K701 though, it's made for genre's pretty much the opposite of rock as it has a loud soundstage.

 

[FallenAngel]

I really don't think anybody would say there is no difference between DACs. There is a camp that says there is no difference between amps though.

 

[Azathoth]

Seconding the recommendation for a used Grado RS1. They're not as source-reliant as other cans from Senn, AKG in the price range.

 

[VALIENTE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BoogieWoogie /img/forum/go_quote.gif All I can rely is your experience and impressions so I ask for your help deciding which HeadPhone to get without regretting.

Happy New Year BoogieWoogie!
Maybe my review could help you a little.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/gra...g-k701-463718/

 

[etiolate]

hd595s are good for your circumstance... they will benefit from upgrading in the future also.

 

[crazyeyes]

I went down a similar road you are going down. I had Grado SR225's as my first full sized headphone and ran them straight from my iMac. I then bough the Sennheiser HD650's thought they were better but not a whole lot better.

Then I bought and apogee duet firewire interface that served as a DAC and amp all in one. While this wasn't the best amp for the HD650's it was much better than my iMac and me being stubborn decided to not get a better amp. Well I then traded my HD650's for AKG K702's cause I have always wanted to hear them and was looking for somethign with more of a soundstage.

Well just a month ago I got my C-2C as an early christmas gift. This really brought the K702's to life. I then borrowed a pair of HD600's from a friend and I liked them alot. I actually like alot of things about them more than the K702's but I missed the soundstage of the K702's. I also though the K702's while super detailed and amazingly resolving they just weren't as fun to listen to. So I sold them and bought the DT880 600 ohm. I just received those a couple days ago and I can say that I am really enjoying them. They are warmer but still very detailed, and have that fun factor that the K702's were missing for me.

Anyway the moral of my long drawn out story is that I wish I had upgraded my source and amp alot sooner than I did cause now I realize how much I was missing from the HD650's.

I am not saying better headphones won't sound better just saying that an upgrade in your source will make a huge difference in how well that headphone does what it is supposed to do. Meaning that the fact that you don't like how slow and sloppy your MS1's sound they may improve alot with a better source and amp. You may want to go that route first as you may be surprised how much better they sound and any other headphone you purchase form there will aslo benefit from the better source.

Just my $.02