Who here have cans alongside their systems?

[gus6464]

I was wondering if a lot of you guys have a pair of good headphones that you use from time to time alongside your systems or maybe in another room. I am talking something along the lines of Sennheiser, Grado, Beyerdynamic, AKG, or any other of those alongside a headphone amp.

 

[markw]

I switch off between a pair of Sennheiser 580's and Grado 80's and, on occasion, a pair of Senn 280's but I don't use a headphone amp. It's a cheap way to totally change an acoustic perspective without getting new speakers or a new room.

Is this what you're asking?

 

[gus6464]

Yeah I have been thinking about getting a good pair of headphones with a Little Dot MK II amp for the bedroom because it would be less of a hassle than speakers. I would like to hear some sennheisers, grados, denon, and beyer but I don't know of any local stores that carry them.

 

[Seth=L]

I use the Sony MDR-7506 cans with my Teac CR-H220 or the Magnavox CDB-650 for music listening. I hardly listen to music on anything other than my PC or headphones now.

 

[WmAx]

I was wondering if a lot of you guys have a pair of good headphones that you use from time to time alongside your systems or maybe in another room. I am talking something along the lines of Sennheiser, Grado, Beyerdynamic, AKG, or any other of those alongside a headphone amp.

I have several high quality headphones. But my main use is for portable purposes. Most of them I never use, or are not suited for portable use in the first place; I just ended up starting to collect them at one point.

My main portable unit is the Sony MDR-CD900ST. I have never come across another phone as well suited to high fidelity, long term listening on the go, as compared to these, and I have tried almost all of the highly regarded headphones under extensive evaluation. The CD900ST is the most realistic tonally for acoustic, classical and jazz. If you prefer death metal or rap, you may not like them so much, as they have a somewhat subdued treble range. Build quality is 1st rate, and better than most, regardless of price. Build quality is very similar to the MDR-7506 in appearance, though it is a completely different headphone. The MDR-CD900ST is sufficiently voltage sensitive as to not require an additional amplifier. The one downside is ear pad availability. I have not yet found a source for replacement pads(this phone was imported from the Japanese pro audio market). The 7506 pad will physically fit it, but is a different thickness, and this difference causes substantial tonal modification due to the differing ear to driver distance. A possible solution is to attempt to modify the thickness of the 7506 pad with pressure and heat, hoping that the pad survives and that density properties do not change so much as to drastically alter lower frequency response characteristics, but I have not attempted this yet.

-Chris

 

[Seth=L]

I have several high quality headphones. But my main use is for portable purposes. Most of them I never use, or are not suited for portable use in the first place; I just ended up starting to collect them at one point.

My main portable unit is the Sony MDR-CD900ST. I have never come across another phone as well suited to high fidelity, long term listening on the go, as compared to these, and I have tried almost all of the highly regarded headphones under extensive evaluation. The CD900ST is the most realistic tonally for acoustic, classical and jazz. If you prefer death metal or rap, you may not like them so much, as they have a somewhat subdued treble range. Build quality is 1st rate, and better than most, regardless of price. Build quality is very similar to the MDR-7506 in appearance, though it is a completely different headphone.

-Chris

Stop making me want more expensive headphones Chris.

 

[Brian_the_King]

sig

[10 characters]

 

[mazersteven]

I was wondering if a lot of you guys have a pair of good headphones that you use from time to time alongside your systems or maybe in another room. I am talking something along the lines of Sennheiser, Grado, Beyerdynamic, AKG, or any other of those alongside a headphone amp.

I really enjoy my headphones. At the present time I have both the Sennheiser HD600's and AKG 701's. I also have a HeadFive amp.

I have a short list of amps that I would like to purchase from Woo Audio, Ray Samuels, Headamp, and SinglePower.


http://www.wooaudio.com/products/

http://www.raysamuelsaudio.com/#

http://www.headamp.com/home_amps/index.htm

http://www.moon-audio.com/Singlepower.htm

 

[jamie2112]

Sony MDR-7506 phones...I have been using these in the studio and live for years..They are very flat and they block out external noise extremely well.

 

[Djizasse]

My cheap cans never lasted long, maybe that's why they're cheap

I would like to get flat response cans, do you know any that's not over 150USD? I would prefer full size, over the ears.

 

[jaxvon]

My cheap cans never lasted long, maybe that's why they're cheap

I would like to get flat response cans, do you know any that's not over 150USD? I would prefer full size, over the ears.

The best you can do for that price would be a pair of MDR-7506 or MDR-V6 with some equalization to compensate for some peaks. If you want an absolutely flat FR with the cleanest waterfall plot I've ever seen, talk to WmAx about a modifed Beyerdynamic DT-880 2005 Edition. It's $329, and a few bucks more with the mod (acoustical foam in the ear cup to damp high frequencies), but it would definitely quality as a headphone reference.

 

[jamie2112]

My cheap cans never lasted long, maybe that's why they're cheap

I would like to get flat response cans, do you know any that's not over 150USD? I would prefer full size, over the ears.

The sony 7506 is 100 bucks....

 

[mazersteven]

The best you can do for that price would be a pair of MDR-7506 or MDR-V6 with some equalization to compensate for some peaks.

Sennheiser HD 280 Pro
http://www.headphone.com/guide/by-manufacturer/sennheiser/sennheiser-hd-280-pro.php

 

[Haoleb]

I occasionally use a pair of HD280 pro's and Grado SR125's with a DIY clone of the Grado RA1 headphone amp. Although as of late the only time the headphones see much use is if I am away from home. And even then I dont bring the amp with me.

 

[mike c]

i use a Sennheiser HD555 (mazer recommended this to me) for necessity when someone is sleeping in the same room. i move it from my PC to the bedroom depending on where I need to watch or listen to something.

 

[fox]

I have Sennheiser 600's and AKG 501's along with an amp from Headroom. They aren't hanging next to the HT system but are always close by.

 

[WmAx]

Sennheiser HD 280 Pro
http://www.headphone.com/guide/by-manufacturer/sennheiser/sennheiser-hd-280-pro.php

The Sennheiser HD-280 lags behind the Sony MDR-7506 in regards to construction quality and tonal response accuracy. But this is the same for most headphones even at much higher prices. But most people are not looking for actual response accuracy most of the time, so far as I can tell, but instead, they are looking for their idea of what is 'accurate', which is often a very different thing.

-Chris

 

[WmAx]

My cheap cans never lasted long, maybe that's why they're cheap

I would like to get flat response cans, do you know any that's not over 150USD? I would prefer full size, over the ears.

The Sony MDR-7506 is tough to beat in terms of durability. It has a stainless steel headband frame, and uses thick stainless steel pivot joints at the main stress points. It uses a thick double-stitched padded headband cover and has metal alloy outer construction on most of it's main ear can sections. It used thick plastic composite material for the forks, which lead to the stainless steel pivot joint inserts mentioned earlier. The thick cable is securely anchored into the left side can through a very stout relief. The plug is made of alloy, and is of 1st rate quality, designed for extreme abuse. I have never seen a better quality plug available even after market.

The single vulnerable part of this product is the ear pad, which with heavy use, require replacement every 2 to 3 years. A pair of the pads costs about $20 shipped last time I had checked.

-Chris

 

[mazersteven]

but instead, they are looking for their idea of what is 'accurate', which is often a very different thing.

Are we really hearing accurate no matter which headphone, or which speakers?

The lack of accuracy starts with the microphone that record the original.

 

[WmAx]

Are we really hearing accurate no matter which headphone, or which speakers?

The lack of accuracy starts with the microphone that record the original.

I have used linear measurement mics(+/- 1 dB), set 4' apart, and stood between them, and A/B compared the live sound vs. the microphone response on the 7506 headsets, and the tonal response and detail is almost identical. I am hardly the 1st person to do this; I did it to repeat the experiences that John Dunlavy(the owner of the lat Dunlavy speaker company) that originally told of this experiment with this same headphone model, explaining why it was his first choice for live recording tracking/monitoring purposes.

So, I stand by the MDR-7506 as being extremely accurate, in absolute terms. If one wants absolute accuracy, then it is a very good choice, and unbeatable anywhere near it's price range compared to any other product that I know of in that range.

-Chris