All Rounder Headphones

Jordash91

Jordash91

Jordash91

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2 Oct 2012
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Hi guys,

Been looking at replacing my headset for a while now. Not really sure what route to go down, have read lots of threads and have spent a lot of time looking at reviews.

Basically my budget is around £300-£350, could probably stretch a little more but would rather not.

I have seen that a lot of people have recommended the Fidelio X1 which is a lot under budget which is nice, but then I've seen others recommend the K612 Pros. I only have the onboard sound card and will pay for an amp if needed.

Cheers guys!
 
Open or closed what headphones do you have atm?

For Open
an allrounder seems to be the AKG Q701 K702 or K712 seems to be great for music and superb for competitive gaming.

They come in under budget but you should use a nice DAC and Headphone amp or sound card to go with as on board will be a bit underwhelming with such nice pair of headphones.
 
TwsT said:
Open or closed what headphones do you have atm?

For Open
an allrounder seems to be the AKG Q701 K702 or K712 seems to be great for music and superb for competitive gaming.

They come in under budget but you should use a nice DAC and Headphone amp or sound card to go with as on board will be a bit underwhelming with such nice pair of headphones.
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Hey, thanks for the response.

I currently have the Plantronics RIG which I won in a competition - so it put a delay on my search. I'm not entirely sure on the difference between open/closed so I will quickly read up on that.

Do you have any recommendations on DAC/Headphone Amp - I've seen quite a few mentioned but not sure what sort of budget I should set aside for this.
 
well for the upto 300 mark all in you're probably best off looking at sound cards over DAC's you'll get more bang for buck so to speak.

Creative Z is your best starting point really £49.99 ish it will amp most headphones with ease and has all the features gamers will want.

After the Z really it's a big jump to the STX at around £120 more for audio but still has virtual surround for Gaming.

To match an STX with a DAC and AMP combo you're looking at 150 upwards

I don't know enough about the cheap alternatives to offer an example.

All in solution the O2DI from epiphany acoustics is a reasonable shout although aesthetically it's not ideal it's an award winning DAC with a perfectly capable headphone amp that I have been using at work for the best part of 7 months now. but that will cost £179.99 which would not leave you enough for a £200 pair of headphones.

Schiit Audio DAC and AMP will set you back in the region of £200

One option you could look at is a cheap sound card (or your on-board) and a headphone amp to boot. then at a later date you can buy a DAC to go with the headphone amp. (a separate headphone amp will cost between £50 and the earth. :)


All that said and done In my honest opinion provided your motherboard can power the headphones (as in their impedance isn't ridiculous) you should focus your funds on the headphones first. A good pair will last you years you can always buy a headphone amp or a DAC later.
 
As you need an all rounder, I'm thinking this means music, movies and gaming, to get the best overall sound you'll need an improved source too, so.....

Sound card: Asus Xonar Essence STX (£135)

Yes it's expensive but it has an excellent DAC and a decent quality headphone amp that provides more than enough power for most headphones.
It's roughly equivalent to the FiiO E09K/E17K external amp & DAC which costs a fair bit more.
On top of this you have all the Dolby processing for surround sound gaming and movies through headphones, which you lose if you go for an external USB Amp & DAC.

Headphones:

AKG K612 £110 (total: £245):
Good all rounder that punches well above it's weight

Beyerdynamic DT770 £125 (total: £262):
Being closed back, these don't have the huge sound stage of the AKGs but do have a much stronger bass response, which some can find a slightly "boomy" due to internal reflections. Nevertheless a strong all rounder at this price point.

AKG K702 £165 (total: £300):
Basically a Q701 without the torture bumps. With a very easy mod (open them up and remove a sticky pad) these can be transformed into a great all rounder with a huge sound stage. Without the mod they are somewhat bass light.

Philips Fidelio X1 £177 (total: £312)
Large sound stage with some bass emphasis but a very popular all rounder. The bass can sound poorly controlled due to low damping factor with most (if not all) sound cards. They are better suited to use with amps that have an output impedance of below 4 ohms (Sound cards start at 10 (the STX)).

Sennheiser HD600 £220 (total: £355):
You get a step up in sound quality with these reference quality headphones. No treble emphasis or sibilance here, so long listening sessions don't become tiring. Instead you get a very natural (not neutral) sounding headphone.

Philips Fidelio X2 £220 (total: £355):
These are reported to be quite different from the X1, less bass heavy and more neutral and with better detail retrieval. They have proved to be good enough to take a place on the Innerfidelity wall of fame.
 
What's your definition of an all rounder? If you are looking for a headphone that can do games, movies, music and treble, mids, bass, imaging, soundstage and detail well. Also perform every genre then only a couple do it with the least amount of trade offs. The K712 and the Annie. The K712 has one trade off, it's mids. The mids are pushed back but you gain in other areas. The Annie has lush, intimate mids but you loose out on the stage perception and treble extension.

HD600 isn't far off but it's kind of thick sounding for gaming and detailed listening. The HD650 isn't an all rounder at all but is fantastic for what it can do and I can kind of bear it for other applications.
 
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Yes but the Annie and the K712 eat up the whole budget and would you honestly want to drive the Annie or the K712 from motherboard audio?
Seems a little unbalanced to me.
 
I don't find them terribly inefficient to be fair, they obviously need more to reach their peak. As he gets lower in price headphones have too many trade offs making them suitable for specific things. I forgot toe toon the MA900, anything that has a headphone jack can drive them and they are pretty balanced. The trades for those are less refinement but otherwise are perfect in the price range.
 
I don't just mean driving power, the actual sound quality from most motherboards comes nowhere near an STX.
 
By all rounder it's mainly games and music with a few TV episodes here and there. I watch all of my movies on my TV.

Sorry, being a bit slow. I did a quick google of 'The Annie' but was unable to find what you mean, can you explain this to me a bit further?

I can go a bit higher than my stated £300-£350 if it means for a better experience.
 
The Annie refers to the Anniversary model of the AKG K702. Basically a tuned K702 with memory foam ear pads.
There were only a limited number made and I'm not sure you can even buy them new any more.
 
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I can only find them around the £350 mark... Think that's a bit TOO much :)

Are there pros and cons for each a DAC vs Sound Card? Where I've read some people argue a DAC is better, but a few people have argued that sound cards are preferred?
 
A proper dac will poop all over a soundcard
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... massively exaggerated much? :D

The STX has a very good DAC that is as good as anything you can connect externally in it's price bracket.
 
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rids57 said:
The Annie refers to the Anniversary model of the AKG K702. Basically a tuned K702 with memory foam ear pads.
There were only a limited number made and I'm not sure you can even buy them new any more.
Click to expand...

The Annie is the Q701. The K702 is more trebly and dryer sounding than the Q701 stock. The Annie pads on the Q701 go well with the Q's more smooth and friendly nature.

I've yet to try K701 foam in my Q to see if that is the difference though.

The Q's have a more controlled soundstage where the K701 has an open wide stage. The K702 even though it's meant to be the K701 measures differently but sounds similar with a soundstage that's in between the K701 and Q701. It's weird really.

I just wish AKG disclosed more about changes. The K712 pads and foam on the K701 sounds like the K712 but with a tiny hint of dryness where as the K712 is pretty warm but trebly. K701 pads & foam on the K712 sounds super airy but not as rounded in the stage with a colder and dryer tone.
 
Then why is the Annie listed as the AKG K702 65th Anniversary edition?

The Q701 shares drivers, chassis and pads with the K702, so short of the little "Q" badge on the ear cups and possibly differences in foam, there is nothing sonically different between them.

You and many others say they are smoother, while a lot of other people say they don't sound any different.

Is anybody actually right or is it all just down to people's ears? :D
 
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I don't know but they are 100% not the K702. Quite a few people have also had similar findings. Plus K702 has been around longer than the Q's so it makes sense to put it under the K702 name...#Moneygrabbing ;)
 
As far as I am aware, the Annies just have different ear pads from the K702 and the 'cream of the crop' 702/701 drivers.

Personally I still prefer the HD 6xx range over the AKG's any day of the week, yes they loose out in sound stage size, but in terms of timbre and general enjoyment the Sennheisers are still superior imo.
 
How to HD600/650 compare with the more neutral beyer models DT150/250? I know the 250 sounds more well rounded vs 770 in the mid range. My only experience with sennheiser is HD25 and HD480. The AKG K series are all quite nice sounding albeit a bit on the bright side and very comfortable but dreadful for noise isolation. (both from external noises and your music leaking out around you)
 
Ninja Pirate said:
As far as I am aware, the Annies just have different ear pads from the K702 and the 'cream of the crop' 702/701 drivers.

Personally I still prefer the HD 6xx range over the AKG's any day of the week, yes they loose out in sound stage size, but in terms of timbre and general enjoyment the Sennheisers are still superior imo.
Click to expand...

I prefer the 600 series to most of the AKGs for pure music listening for sure. The Annie though has those amazing mids along with that warm lush tone which puts them on par or slightly better for enjoyment for me.
 
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