General Headphone Audio
- Thread starter garyfl
- Start date
Sennheiser HD280 Pros for me, 380 Pros for my brother, and DR150s for my Dad. I think the 280s are the nicest, when compared on my Xonar Xense with its inbuilt amp. The 280s and 380s sound identical, but the build quality of the 280's headband feels better.
Soldato
- Joined
- 17 Jun 2010
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Cool, let us know what you think!
I have:
1. Sennheiser HD580s; my first decent headphones bought about 10 years ago, but sadly now relegated to the loft as they go through cables way too quickly and at £25 a pop I decided some time ago that I couldn't afford to maintain them
Still, got them for £60 new so can't complain too much 
2. Beyer DT880s; bought these to replace the flaky Sennheisers and I immediately found them better. Probably my main 'hi-fi' headphones in use more or less every day. Excellent clarity throughout the range, good soundstage, great depth to the sound and they have that lovely transparency that good open cans give you. I really rate these.
3. Puretone Micro Monitor 3 (custom-moulded IEMs - see here); I use these for my music work as on-stage IEMs but they are also rather good for enjoying music when commuting. VERY sensitive and so slightly tricky to drive without having the volume knob at like 0.5%. They really benefit from a good headphone amp but finding one with sufficient attenuation is really tough, so I tend to use mixer outputs which have multiple level controls
4. Koss KSC75; just got these for a throwaway portableish pair of 'phones to try. Initial impressions are good - really wide soundstage, good upper-mids, decent clarity, though I find the bass a bit poorly-defined and the whole range could do with more 'depth'. Having said that, for £15 I doubt I'd find better!
arty
1. Sennheiser HD580s; my first decent headphones bought about 10 years ago, but sadly now relegated to the loft as they go through cables way too quickly and at £25 a pop I decided some time ago that I couldn't afford to maintain them
Still, got them for £60 new so can't complain too much 2. Beyer DT880s; bought these to replace the flaky Sennheisers and I immediately found them better. Probably my main 'hi-fi' headphones in use more or less every day. Excellent clarity throughout the range, good soundstage, great depth to the sound and they have that lovely transparency that good open cans give you. I really rate these.
3. Puretone Micro Monitor 3 (custom-moulded IEMs - see here); I use these for my music work as on-stage IEMs but they are also rather good for enjoying music when commuting. VERY sensitive and so slightly tricky to drive without having the volume knob at like 0.5%. They really benefit from a good headphone amp but finding one with sufficient attenuation is really tough, so I tend to use mixer outputs which have multiple level controls
4. Koss KSC75; just got these for a throwaway portableish pair of 'phones to try. Initial impressions are good - really wide soundstage, good upper-mids, decent clarity, though I find the bass a bit poorly-defined and the whole range could do with more 'depth'. Having said that, for £15 I doubt I'd find better!
arty
Associate
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- 1 Mar 2004
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- 859
- Location
- Cardiff, UK
Let us know how you get on, these are on my "watch" list... to be driven with my Zero amp.
Decided to sell on my HD 650s.
I still have HD 580s though, so they'll keep me warm in any times of smooth Sennheiser sound needs.
They're in the MM if anyone's curious. I know I'll regret selling them, but I prefer my D2000s for most things I use them for. That and I can imagine them being destroyed by kids when I have any, so the fewer headphones I have in use then, the better. It's been a good run with them, but time to wave goodbye.
I still have HD 580s though, so they'll keep me warm in any times of smooth Sennheiser sound needs.
They're in the MM if anyone's curious. I know I'll regret selling them, but I prefer my D2000s for most things I use them for. That and I can imagine them being destroyed by kids when I have any, so the fewer headphones I have in use then, the better. It's been a good run with them, but time to wave goodbye.
danza's HD650s are forsale in the MM atm!
Buy them before I do for gods sake!
It's definitely better to let them go to a good home if you find them gathering dust through lack of use. I've parted with quite a few headphones and IEMs recently to slim down my collection. Sad to see them go but it's nice that someone else can get enjoyment out of them for a bargain price.
I've also got a pair of custom painted HD 580s, some K340 electrostats and some Jecklin Float Ones.
Not sure on the others, but I'll be keeping the HD 580s as they were my first properly good cans (and I can turn to them for my Sennheiser sound fix). But I agree, it is a shame having unused headphones. I'm a bit of a hoarder though, and this happens quite a lot with me, although I used to be a lot worse!
Not sure on the others, but I'll be keeping the HD 580s as they were my first properly good cans (and I can turn to them for my Sennheiser sound fix). But I agree, it is a shame having unused headphones. I'm a bit of a hoarder though, and this happens quite a lot with me, although I used to be a lot worse!
I hate to think what my friends think about my headphone fetish as well. The problem with headphones is there's so much discussion and so many different models that it's hard to avoid the temptation to give another pair a go. It's nice having a couple of really good pairs, but a shame when they go unused for months at a time.
Headfi is 100% to blame I tell you!
The problem with headphones is there's so much discussion and so many different models that it's hard to avoid the temptation to give another pair a go. It's nice having a couple of really good pairs, but a shame when they go unused for months at a time.Headfi is 100% to blame I tell you!