Recommend a good set of headphones....

Gaidin109

Gaidin109

Gaidin109

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Been looking at Sennheiser HD555/595 or Sennheiser HD215, but tbh I dont know a lot about headphones.

I will be using them with a Asus Essence STX soundcard, Onkyo 606 reciever and of course my ipod.

Budget about £100 maybe a bit more, but less is more as they say.
Looking for good quality at a reasonable price so no hd650's or stuff like that. Cheers.......
 
Know what you are going through! I have Sennheiser HDR 130 wireless headphones that were ok with on-board sound but don't do justice to the Xonar Essence. Currently looking at either: Audio-Technica ATH-AD700 Open Back headphones at around £140 inc VAT (What HiFi? Sound & Vision voted "No.1 - Best for Sound") or perhaps Beyerdynamic DT770 Headphones at about £163

Know what you mean about the Sennheiser HD650 as well. Can't afford myself . . . . Still a good dilema to have!
 
take a look at the goldring DR150's, they're supposed to be pretty good and at £38 they're cheap. :)

Mine should arrive tomorrow, I'll let you know how they compare to HD-600's then they arrive...
 
markop2003 said:
First we have to know whether you want open or closed back.

Also what kind of music do you tend to listen to?
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open or closed whatever is more confortable, nothing too tight. Music, well everything from classical to heavy rock to hiphop so probably not much help there either.

The goldring DR150's look good for the price.
 
From what I've listened to personally: Goldring DR150 < Sennheiser HD595

From what I've read in A/B reviews on Head-Fi: Goldring DR150 < ATH-AD700. (Edit: Should be the other way round. DR150 generally better for everything but soundstage).

Absolute steal for the money. You'd be silly not to.
 
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Uriel said:
From what I've listened to personally: Goldring DR150 < Sennheiser HD595

From what I've read in A/B reviews on Head-Fi: Goldring DR150 < ATH-AD700

Absolute steal for the money. You'd be silly not to.
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So are you saying the Goldrings are better than the HD595's..?
 
sorry im i bit of a one trick pony with these reccomendations but ultrasone hfi780s easily driven and the sound is mindblowing ,they are closed btw.
amazing seperation ,sountstage and timbre/texture ,they have got me listening to genres ive never bothered with before
 
Gaidin109 said:
So are you saying the Goldrings are better than the HD595's..?
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Many people have said that DR150's sound nicer than HD595's over at head fi.

My DR150's arrived today, I haven't heard HD595's but I must say they're surprisingly close to HD-600's - amazing for £38. :) The bass is very tight, and there is lots of sparkle with the highs also....

I'm burning them in right now, and stretching the headband a little as I have ahuge head! :o
 
Gaidin109 said:
open or closed whatever is more confortable, nothing too tight. Music, well everything from classical to heavy rock to hiphop so probably not much help there either.

The goldring DR150's look good for the price.
Click to expand...

The only defniitvie thing i can take from that is you need good bass.

That rules out the Audio Technicas which are known for weak bass. Personally i love their bass there's not a lot of it but it's tight and precise also i've been testing them with techno and metal and they're fine... that seems to be just me though...

I was looking for closed backed ones around the price you're looking at recently and it came down to the HFI780 or AKG272. As AKGs are known to be hard to power though i think the HFI780 is the best for you in the closed back variety though i think Denon may have some cans worth looking at too.

As for open back i think we can rule out Grados as you wanted comfortable and the SR-60s and 80s sit on your ear not around them which i've always found gets uncomfortable after a while. AKGs again are hard to power as well as Beryers. Audio Technicas whilst great for positional won't have the bass.
Which leaves you with Sennheiser or if you beleive what people here say Goldrings, just pick the ones that fit your budget.
 
MikeHunt79 said:
My DR150's arrived today, I haven't heard HD595's but I must say they're surprisingly close to HD-600's - amazing for £38. :) The bass is very tight, and there is lots of sparkle with the highs also....
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Indeed. If the DR150s were Sennheisers they would be in the HD580 / HD600 'family', not the HD555 / HD595 'family'. The first time I tried mine I thought they were eerily reminiscent of HD580s. On pure sound quality, I'd put them above the HD595 but below the HD580. They're closer to the latter.

Translated to current Sennheiser prices, that would put them somewhere in the region of £120 to £160 ish! As you mentioned, that makes them pretty amazing for the price.

Edit: you mentioned using your balanced amp in another thread. Cable mod? The internal cables to the drivers are petty easy to get at.
 
Uriel said:
Edit: you mentioned using your balanced amp in another thread. Cable mod? The internal cables to the drivers are petty easy to get at.
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Right now I'm using the standard cable. I've seen a few photo's of the DR150's in bits and they do seem easy to mod, but I'm going to keep them standard for now.

I may rewire the DR150's later on, but the main reason I got them is because they don't need as much of an amp compared to HD-600's, so I think I'm going to keep my HD-600's as my home headphones up to the balanced amp, and I'm going to use the DR150's for my MP3 player, synth, netbook, etc. as they work better with a battery powered amp or even no amp. :) If I do decide to mod, I may buy a 2nd pair, this way I can compare how much difference the mods actually make and they aren't exactly expensive... ;)
 
Uriel said:
From what I've listened to personally: Goldring DR150 < Sennheiser HD595

From what I've read in A/B reviews on Head-Fi: Goldring DR150 < ATH-AD700

Absolute steal for the money. You'd be silly not to.
Click to expand...

D'oh! Sorry to cause confusion. I meant Goldring DR150 > ATH-AD700, as well as the HD595.
 
markop2003 said:
The only defniitvie thing i can take from that is you need good bass.

That rules out the Audio Technicas which are known for weak bass. Personally i love their bass there's not a lot of it but it's tight and precise also i've been testing them with techno and metal and they're fine... that seems to be just me though...

I was looking for closed backed ones around the price you're looking at recently and it came down to the HFI780 or AKG272. As AKGs are known to be hard to power though i think the HFI780 is the best for you in the closed back variety though i think Denon may have some cans worth looking at too.

As for open back i think we can rule out Grados as you wanted comfortable and the SR-60s and 80s sit on your ear not around them which i've always found gets uncomfortable after a while. AKGs again are hard to power as well as Beryers. Audio Technicas whilst great for positional won't have the bass.
Which leaves you with Sennheiser or if you beleive what people here say Goldrings, just pick the ones that fit your budget.
Click to expand...

you wouldnt be sorry with the hfi 780s they look and sound amazing are easily driven and superb build quality (there i go again maybe i need to try more headphones :))
 
I think I'll go with the goldring dr150's, after reading some reviews they seem a bargain at the price, and if there're not, well I havent wasted that much cash so win win...
 
Gaidin109 said:
I think I'll go with the goldring dr150's, after reading some reviews they seem a bargain at the price, and if there're not, well I havent wasted that much cash so win win...
Click to expand...

They're excellent headphones, don't let the low price fool you.

After leaving mine to burn in overnight, they do seem to sound a little nicer, if you like bass heavy music such as dubstep they seem to come into their own. :)
 
The Goldrings open up after a few weeks; mine were a little watery at first; but soon became a bit more full bodied and richer. Make sure you get a good lock around you ear; especially the lower back of your ear/head, as I tend to find that can 'lose' a lot of bass that way when trying to show my mates how to get the best out of thier first sets :)

If you don't have any good phones, I'd suggest resting them on the top of your head to adjust band length, and then put them firmly on your ears, around the back of your head. Then swivel them round to the top of your head; when they feel firm you've usually got a good ground on top of your head, and a decent lock at the back of the pad :)
 
I actually found mine were a little tight on my head, but then I do have a big head (size XL crashhelmet), so I left the DR150's on a clean football overnight, in order to loosen up the headband a little. They're more comfortable now, and there's still plenty of bass. :)
 
Gone ahead and purchased AKG K 601 headphones They are considered an exellent all-arounder with a slightly lighter and wider sound than the HD600 (so I'm led to believe). Underrated cans from what I have read on the Head-Fi forum.
 
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