Looking for Headphones

adwilk

adwilk

Audioholic Ninja
Sorry if a similar thread has been posted before...

I'm looking for the best value in a semi-portable headphone setup. Considering possibly an amp and then of course the actual part attached to the head. That is the technical term. No, I dont want to just get the bose qc. I was impressed but i'm not sure thats the best i can do. I want to keep it under 4 or 5 hundred and get a real set of audiophile HP's. I was hoping for somebody that could recommend something. I'm not looking for something heavy on the bottom end, but a really airy, open, although very flat sound. a recessed midrange and somewhat bright hi end is kinda my likes. If it enjoys walks on the beach and wont leave empty milk cartons in the fridge, that would be a bonus. Thanks guys...
 
M

markw

Audioholic Overlord
It sounds like Sennheisers might be your cuppa tea but you'll really want an amp to drive 'em. They are high impedance and a tough load on a portable device. ...and they like pina coladas ;)

AudioAdvisor has several amps , some as low as $150 or so.
 
mazersteven

mazersteven

Audioholic Warlord
adwilk said:
Sorry if a similar thread has been posted before...

I'm looking for the best value in a semi-portable headphone setup. Considering possibly an amp and then of course the actual part attached to the head. That is the technical term. No, I dont want to just get the bose qc. I was impressed but i'm not sure thats the best i can do. I want to keep it under 4 or 5 hundred and get a real set of audiophile HP's. I was hoping for somebody that could recommend something. I'm not looking for something heavy on the bottom end, but a really airy, open, although very flat sound. a recessed midrange and somewhat bright hi end is kinda my likes. If it enjoys walks on the beach and wont leave empty milk cartons in the fridge, that would be a bonus. Thanks guys...
Try asking your question over here,

www.headfi.com

All your headphone and amps question will be answered.

www.headphone.com

www.raysamuelsaudio.com

www.headamp.com


for $400-$500 I will recommend the AKG-701

http://www.headphone.com/guide/by-manufacturer/akg/akg-k-701.php
 
WmAx

WmAx

Audioholic Samurai
mazersteven said:
Try asking your question over here,

www.headfi.com

All your headphone and amps question will be answered.
Yes, at the link you posted, he will get answers, lots of them. But the overwhelming majority of the answers will be false, especially considering amplifiers and cables. :)

-Chris
 
Wid

Wid

Audioholic
Sounds like Grado would be the way to go. They have a real nice upper end and a pretty solid, not bloated, bottom. They are easy to drive from just about any device being a 32 ohm headphone.


Yes, at the link you posted, he will get answers, lots of them. But the overwhelming majority of the answers will be false, especially considering amplifiers and cables.
Ain't that the truth, there is more snake oil salesmen there than there was in the old west.
 
mazersteven

mazersteven

Audioholic Warlord
WmAx said:
Yes, at the link you posted, he will get answers, lots of them. But the overwhelming majority of the answers will be false, especially considering amplifiers and cables. :)

-Chris
Any different from this forum? :eek: :D
 
WmAx

WmAx

Audioholic Samurai
mazersteven said:
Any different from this forum? :eek: :D
Here, you will find people that will almost always point out the B.S. in a post. This is not often the case at head-fi, where people gladly discuss [with no opposition] the [probably] fictitious sound quality that their new cable or amplifier added.

-Chris
 
adwilk

adwilk

Audioholic Ninja
WmAx said:
Here, you will find people that will almost always point out the B.S. in a post. This is not often the case at head-fi, where people gladly discuss [with no opposition] the [probably] fictitious sound quality that their new cable or amplifier added.

-Chris

Exactly the reason why i posted here. I'm perfectly capable of using google and finding these sites that have been mentioned... Just like i'm capable of going to best buy. I come here to find valuable answers that are sometimes "out of the box". I'm not looking for something mainstream that somebody "heard" from a guy or review that the product was good, i want somebody who owns them, or has listened to them. I always seem to find really objective responses here.
 
adwilk

adwilk

Audioholic Ninja
Just curious... this isnt my plan, but could the Sonic Impact T-amp be used as a headphones amp? I dont really understand the differences between different outputs and stuff but was wondering if there was something you could use to go from speaker out to headphones in?
 
W

warpdrive

Full Audioholic
yes, you can theoretically use the t-amp as a headphone amp but the problem is, the modest t-amp is likely too powerful. Typical portable device headphone jacks only put out a very moderate power (dozens of milliwatts), and if you are not careful, you can damage the headphone unless you have some kind of step down device to bring the output power down.

As for headphone recomendations, I would recommend the AKG K701 (I own two sets of these myself) which has a linear and tight bass, airy highs, and overall neutral but detailed sound. These are considered a reference quality headphone as they are AKG's top model. They aren't really portable tough, but few audiophile headphones are designed to be used with the weak headphone outs of iPods. You want to use a headphone amp or a receiver/amp with a good quality headphone output at the least.
 
N

nm2285

Senior Audioholic
My vote is also for the k701s, but I wouldn't call them portable. Go on over to headfi and post your question. You'll get a ton of responses and many will be BS. However, from those responses, you'll get a few model numbers that could be interesting to you and probably basic sound signatures from each. I use that board anytime I need a headphone just due to the high volume of responses and the amount of experience the users have with headphones. Lots of sifting has to be done, though.
 
B

bitperfect101

Enthusiast
i actually started with headphones and moving up to speakers 2.0/2.1 setup. I've spent a little over a year on head-fi and worn/listened almost all major headphones from the great value koss ksc-75 at 9.99 all the way up to 12k sennheiser orpheus headphone/amp combo with an emm labs source.

so your looking at portable cans eh?

really portable like ipod going the gym? senn px100, koss ksc-75 or sporta pro.Are you gonna use them with an amp and just move them from like home to office? if you can, then you can expand your choices greatly. Get something like a heed can amp or a dark voice 336i if you like tubes.

any headphone once powered by a decent amp will sound good. Look at AKG 501-701 series, Senn 580,600,650 series, Audio technica A series a500-a900, Beyerdynamic DT770,880,990 series. These are the sweet spots to each respective company and represents the 'house sound' some go for neutrality like akg, some go for laid back darkness like the senn 650. These range from 150-450. Lots of these companies have flagship headphones but they are discontinued or out of the budget (+1000)

i personally dont like grados. They are pretty harsh and agressive with tons of listening fatigue. Also they clamp on your ears really hard and pinch them. Die hard fans will admit this but they say its worth it, because to them, its the ultimate sound, especially for rock. If your interested try out the SR 225

The most important thing i can say is, headphones are just like the speakers. You gotta audition them yourself to decided. They are cheaper than speakers to buy and try but less companies have 30 day trials, with the exception of todd the vinyl junkie. If you are in the SF bay area, the national meet in san jose is coming at the end of march. Every can under the sun will be down there including venders. Try em all and decide yourself
 
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