Headphones

Tommy B

Tommy B

Tommy B

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Joined
23 Nov 2004
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I'm a music freak. I always have the volume turned up and pretty much have music on whenever I'm at the PC. However, I'm off to Uni in September and I'm not taking my Hi-Fi gear with me.

I'm used to very good sound quality and I'm searching for some headphones. I've never owned a pair of proper headphones, only inner-ear ones and other cheapy ones for iPods/MP3 players etc.

I have a budget of about £90-£120. Are there any pairs in that price range which are a must have?

Cheers,
 
Grado SR 125 if you prefer forward "rock" presentation
Sennheiser HD-600 for jazz, easy listening, classical, opera (more laid back/softer sound)

Sennheiser will require a headphone amplifier.
 
I prefer closed cans:

Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro's 80Ohm version. I have owned these in the past, and they're my favorite.

I currently have a pair of Audio Technica ATH A900 which are pretty sweet, though just outside your price range. I don't think they sound any better than the Beyer's.
 
The A900's are not out of range if you go to audiocubes. I love mine but can't comment on the other recommendations except for saying they are all highly respected headphones.

What music do you listen to mostly Tommy?
 
Hi,

Thanks for the replies. I'm reading up some reviews now. Shows what I know as I would have gone for Bose headphones.

I wish it was a simple as me listening to only one genre of music, but I don't. I listen to everything equally athough I guess genres I listen to slightly more are trance, jazz, classical and rock. Yep, 4 completely unique and different sounds :D

I like a good bit of bass though, although not dominating bass which makes it sound like a chav ghetto blaster. I like it so that, if the song has a loud thump then the speaker/headphone wil produce a dthump, not so that the speakers produce a loud thump from piano keys being struck.

Cheers
 
EQUATION RP-21, just picked up a few from a well known auction site for 45 notes... check out reviews on headphone forums, highly recommended studio quality cans get em while you can as they're pretty rare in Europe atm...

Also dont be tempted by the RP-22's even if you have the budget the 21's are more accurate and have plenty of bass...
 
Dont discount earphones - Some very good ones about - I have a Pair of Westone UM2's and Sony EX90's! Both are surperb. Also both are cannal phones.
 
if you consider earphones then have a look at the Shure SE310's. they are £150, but they are excellent! i have a thread somewhere with my review of them!
 
I own the 770Pros and I do find the bass slightly too much at times, its a real bass head phone. Perhaps a better option would be the Sennheiser HD25-1 still loads of punch on the bottom end but the mids are better than the beyers.

If you want to save a few pennies then the Denon AH-D1000 (~£60) or the Equation Audio RP-21 (~£50) as already suggested are a great alternative.

As for the IEM discussion, don't bother unless you need real portability or isolation as they simply don't provide the same level of performance as proper cans, in regards to bass (weight and slam) and also soundstage.
 
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I like the sound of the Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pros (By that I mean from reviews, I haven't actually listened to music with them :D) although what's the difference between the 80 and 250 Ohm versions.

Also, I will be able to plug these into a normal jack-out like the one on most MP3 players?

Cheers
 
The lower impedance cans are easier to drive, usually if you have an amp that will drive them properly...for pure sound quality the higher impedance cans are the ones to go for as it will generally smooth out the sound.

However, there are exceptions and its generally considered that the 80ohm Dt 770Pro's are just better all round than the 250 or 600ohm versions.

And yes you will be able to plug them directly into any MP3 player, but be warned, they maybe considered quite easy to drive for this type of can, but you are going to struggle to get any amount of volume or decent sound quality out of a unamped/portable source. With a weak source something like the HD595's would sound 100x better.
 
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The source will be my Terratec Aureon USB sound card, or even the laptop's headphone jack.

As I said, when I'm back at home I'll have all my Hi-Fi gear and won't use the headphones at all.
 
Tommy B said:
The source will be my Terratec Aureon USB sound card, or even the laptop's headphone jack.
Click to expand...
I'm using my DT 770 Pros with my laptop's onboard soundcard right now and they sound fantastic. The only problem is that the sound card is on its last legs and crackles/pops every so often.
 
Hen_Dawg said:
I agree with the rest of your post but that^^ is a bold statement
Click to expand...
Well my DT770's sound like rubbish coming out of my laptop (soundmax sound card) and my mp3 player:

1. There is about half the amount of bass and it lacks any detail.
2. No slam to speak of.
3. The main weakness of this can ie the recessed mids, are even worse.
4. Complete lack of volume even with everything maxed, but then I do like to listen loud.

In fact my £20 K26P's sound far better unamped than the beyers, it sounds like i'm exaggerating this point, but please believe me I'm not, unamped i'll go for my K26P's everytime. Plugged into my Corda move its a completely different story.

In my opinion if you get these cans it would be criminal not to get an headphone amp, and with something as good as the go-vide at just over £30 why not? http://www.go-vibe-headphoneamp.com/

I think its a complete waste to buy these otherwise, as cheaper 32ohm cans (ie RP-21's) are going to simply outclass them in all departments if using a weak source.
 
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Bigsy, what amplifier would you suggest that can run off the mains? I'm looking to get one for my DT 770 Pros at one point, but i'm finding it difficult locating a cheap amplifier which can be shipped to the UK and can run of them mains. If necessary, i can just get a portable one like the Go-Vibe 6, or a cMoy amp, and just recharge the batteries. There's also good amplifiers like the Total Airhead and Total Bithead, which i'd like to get, but i can't find them anywhere in the UK.
 
You can get a 12V or 24V DC adaptor for a go-vibe and you won't get much better price to sound quality ratio than that.

I have a Meier Corda Move running off a 12v DC adaptor, I can't praise it enough, it supplies great bass so paired with the DT770's is a bassheads wet dream. Also my laptop had such a noisy headphone out the onboard USB DAC is god send.

Its not cheap granted, but when you think that you are getting a portable amp in the same league as a Tomahawk or Hornet with a onboard DAC it turns out to be excellent value. I paid £130 and it took 5 days delivery from Germany.

Edit: Don't know if you've seen it but there is a great round up of all the main contenders here (inc the Move and Go-vibe 6 down the bottom): http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=216903
 
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