Easy to drive headphones

[aoaaron]

Sorry for making a second thread BTW guys. I feel like I've muddied my previous thread talking about home theatre vs headphones.

I bought a pair of decent bluetooth Sony's and I've realised that headphones can indeed match or better my home theatre setup in everything but that rumbling bass.

Everything seems a lot more delicate coming from a headphone and deliberate. My Home theatre setup .. I feel in total amazement at the sound which is produced but I can't appreciate it.



Anyway, I have:
1. ipad
2. iphone
3. macbook pro
4. gaming PC connected to an AVR

I'm after a headphone (open back probably as I'm in love with the idea of a proper soundstage) to hook up to most of these devices (not sure if my iphone x will lelt me do this so bluetooth will have to do).

I need something which is at least semi-portable. Although I do really like the idea of having a beautiful AMP and DAC, I just don't think its going to give me enough runtime with the headphones. My Gaming rig is connected to my home theatre setup which I think will most likely always take precedent over cans simply for comforts sake.

the main use will most definitely be my ipad or macbook pro in bed and the odd gaming session downstairs.

Therefore I think for at least starting out, I'd need a headphone which is easy to drive from an ipad or easy to drive from a very portable amp.

What're your guys thoughts on this and advice? As much as I REALLY want to delve into high end audio, I know I'm not at the stage where I can sit at my desk just appreciating headphones. I'm quite an on-the-go person. I have my Sony CH700Ns for when I can't find a headphone port but I'm still very eager to experience a higher end experience of audio fidelity.

 

[PapaLazaru]

What is your budget?

 

[aoaaron]

I'd say max around £300.

I'd rather get value for money if possible though. As these will be used more at home and less portably, I'm happy to go around 300.

I don't mind going lower at around £100 if the value lies there.



I really want
1. An amazing sound stage
2. A good bass

My main uses will be:
1. Non competitive gaming
2. Films / Anime / Tv
3. Music and soundtracks

 

[hornetstinger]

Gradoa are easy to drive

 

[PapaLazaru]

Have a look at the Philips Fidelio X2HR. Easy to drive, pretty wide soundstage and deep bass.

I found them too bassy for my liking, but they might be right up your street. My only other genuine recommendation after trying out a load of others are the Sennheiser HD660s. They are the only ones I still have and I cannot see myself parting with them.

Also the Audioquest Nighthawk Carbons. Again, so easy to drive, good bass, but they are now discontinued and seem to be hard to find. I did sell them on though.

 

[aoaaron]

Have a look at the Philips Fidelio X2HR. Easy to drive, pretty wide soundstage and deep bass.

I found them too bassy for my liking, but they might be right up your street. My only other genuine recommendation after trying out a load of others are the Sennheiser HD660s. They are the only ones I still have and I cannot see myself parting with them.

Also the Audioquest Nighthawk Carbons. Again, so easy to drive, good bass, but they are now discontinued and seem to be hard to find. I did sell them on though.

The X2HR keeps coming up but they are a bit pricey for what people say they're worth. Rainforest has them for £280, does that sound about right or should i wait for a price drop? I see on ebay the original X2s go for about half that price.

I really really want to experience a decent sound stage, would the HD660s or the X2s be better?

 

[PapaLazaru]

Having tried a ton of headphones, I firmly believe the 660s cannot be matched for the price. Tonally I find them perfect.

Another option which I completely forgot at the AKG K712. Wider soundstage than the 660s, bit more bottom end, decent tonally, but you may find you need an amp to make them shine.

I sold those on as well though!

 

[aoaaron]

Having tried a ton of headphones, I firmly believe the 660s cannot be matched for the price. Tonally I find them perfect.

Another option which I completely forgot at the AKG K712. Wider soundstage than the 660s, bit more bottom end, decent tonally, but you may find you need an amp to make them shine.

I sold those on as well though!

Hey!

My choices atm are between the 712, x2 and 660s.

I don’t have a dac or amp.

I want my headphone to be versatile ish .. like I can hook it up to my pc, Denon age, Nintendo switch, iPad in bed, MacBook...

Do you think the 712s would suffice or are the x2s more convienant ?

 

[Marsman]

K712 are not what you could call 'easy to drive'. It really depends on your preferred listening volume though. If you like the volume really loud, most of the devices you've mentioned would likely struggle. HD660 are lower impedance than the HD600/650; 150 Ohm IIRC, so are possibly easier to drive than the HD600/650.

Whether an iPad or Nintendo Switch would do the HD660 justice, I'm not too sure.

Philips Fidelio X2 would be the ideal choice, if you can find them for a good price. They seem more expensive now though and don't seem to be as easily available as they have been. I wouldn't pay £280 for them. I think £200 was a common price for them some time ago.

Pity Beyerdynamic don't do a 32 or 80 Ohm version of the DT990. DT770 are available in 32, 80 and 250 Ohm versions, but the DT990 are 250 Ohm only.

I think Sennheiser HD599 might also be worth considering; especially if above headphones are not ideal choice for one reason or another.

 

[Rroff]

Whether an iPad or Nintendo Switch would do the HD660 justice, I'm not too sure.

Personally I say no though they do much better from lower powered devices than the 600/650 they like all the 600 series love a bit of voltage. But they are nice for soundstage and tonality.

I'll try and get back with easy to drive suggestions but got to get going right now.

 

[EsaT]

I'm after a headphone (open back probably as I'm in love with the idea of a proper soundstage) to hook up to most of these devices (not sure if my iphone x will lelt me do this so bluetooth will have to do).

I need something which is at least semi-portable.

If you're going to use headphones away from home in environments with background noise, then open design isn't good.
Beyerdynamic DT770 would be very nice for closed design and its price for gaming capability with bass toned down using equalizer.
Did some testing with it in one shop with game sound recordings. (trying Amiron Home before it)

And of course full size headphones aren't exactly that compact and easy to carry.

 

[EsaT]

Pity Beyerdynamic don't do a 32 or 80 Ohm version of the DT990. DT770 are available in 32, 80 and 250 Ohm versions, but the DT990 are 250 Ohm only.

I think Sennheiser HD599 might also be worth considering; especially if above headphones are not ideal choice for one reason or another.

There have long been 32 ohm and 600 ohm versions of DT990.
It's only studio use aimed Pro version which is available only with 250 ohm driver.

And with experience from Sennheiser's HD500-series design in "handled with silk gloves" use, wouldn't put much of trust to design's durability in portable use.

 

[aoaaron]

Hmmmm moreso just portability around the house TBH!

I really like the idea of open backs because of the sense of immersion and soundstage. I'd like to experience it.

So I guess its between the:

Fidelio X2
DT 990 32ohm
Senny 599/660s...

God this is so difficult!



I want the headset to be a bit of a pickup and play headset. Doing EQing etc... I don't think it'll be fun when I to play on my Switch or something..

 

[Marsman]

There have long been 32 ohm and 600 ohm versions of DT990.
It's only studio use aimed Pro version which is available only with 250 ohm driver.

And with experience from Sennheiser's HD500-series design in "handled with silk gloves" use, wouldn't put much of trust to design's durability in portable use.

I forgot about the 600 Ohm; not that they'd be much use in this instance anyway. Didn't release there were 32 Ohm DT990. Not sure why I've never come across them.

 

[Rroff]

Hmmmm moreso just portability around the house TBH!

I really like the idea of open backs because of the sense of immersion and soundstage. I'd like to experience it.

So I guess its between the:

Fidelio X2
DT 990 32ohm
Senny 599/660s...

God this is so difficult!



I want the headset to be a bit of a pickup and play headset. Doing EQing etc... I don't think it'll be fun when I to play on my Switch or something..

For you uses I'd give the Philips Fidelio X2 some serious consideration - they have a decent open sound, don't suffer from being driven off a portable device, etc. unless its really low powered.

EDIT: Though availability doesn't seem to be great at the moment.

 

[aoaaron]

For you uses I'd give the Philips Fidelio X2 some serious consideration - they have a decent open sound, don't suffer from being driven off a portable device, etc. unless its really low powered.

EDIT: Though availability doesn't seem to be great at the moment.

Yeah they seem quite expensive. Rainforest has them for 280ish...

For that I can get the 712 and an amp... a lot of competition around the £300 range.

 

[Rvectors]

Lookup 1More Triple drivers. Silver version (2 active+1 passive) over ear headphones. Bass, soundstage and clarity. (from £170-190). Add in a DAC Amp DX3 Pro (with BT 5.0) around £170, for a great combo on a budget, both that offer performance above their sticker price... this is my next purchase once the piggy bank comes good.


I've just seen
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/senn...-and-gsx-1000-amplifier-bundle-bu-001-sn.html

£269 for both is pretty amazing.

 

[aoaaron]

Lookup 1More Triple drivers. Silver version (2 active+1 passive) over ear headphones. Bass, soundstage and clarity. (from £170-190). Add in a DAC Amp DX3 Pro (with BT 5.0) around £170, for a great combo on a budget, both that offer performance above their sticker price... this is my next purchase once the piggy bank comes good.


I've just seen
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/senn...-and-gsx-1000-amplifier-bundle-bu-001-sn.html

£269 for both is pretty amazing.

I got a dx3 pro. It’s failure rate is too high. And the one I bought from amazon failed. Not having physical buttons is also a really big pain in the butt, especially if the remote plays up. It’s a nice concept but they could have done with some actual physical buttons on the device tbh.

 

[Rvectors]

That's shame, knew it was too good to be true, there's always some downside. I haven't heard anything bad about the 1more's.

Given your note about the dx3, i may think about the GSX 1000, it's not that powerful but its properly portable, with one of the best trick surround algorithms. In theory I could feed it into another amp later on.

 

[aoaaron]

That's shame, knew it was too good to be true, there's always some downside. I haven't heard anything bad about the 1more's.

Given your note about the dx3, i may think about the GSX 1000, it's not that powerful but its properly portable, with one of the best trick surround algorithms. In theory I could feed it into another amp later on.

I'm sure there will be good units of the DX3Pro which are stable. The lack of physical buttons just made it feel a tiny bit gimicky to me. The remote was cool though. Its just the fact that you were so reliant on such a cheap little thing. also the fact it died quite quickly is concerning. I like my audio equipment to be rock solid in terms of performance... like my AVR... i can't be dealing with unstable amps which might become problematic in 12-24 months cos my whole point and faith in audio equipment is it usually lasts YEARS.

Also the fact its a chinese company so warranty, returns and repairs outside of amazon is going to be extremely difficult.





If you don't mind having separate units (which is probably better for inputs and upgradability anyway), I think its hard to ignore the JDS Atom. Its the best amp under <£300 and has actually pretty much cannibalised JDS's own lineup of amps to the extent they released a public statement saying to the effect "yeah the our cheapest amp is now better than our more expensive ones so i guess we have to release newer verisons soon". I did way too much research on audiophile forums for this stuff haha.

GSX 1000 looks interesting.. I personally went for a fiio Q1M2 simply because I like having the option to run it off no power as a portable amp with any device. The bass boost and high gain make even my Nintendo Switch sound good enough in portable mode.

For gaming, I have the D30/Atom which is just incredible. Its probably the best stack under <£200 for inputs, sound quality, distorsion and amplification [agreed with by audio science forums measurements].