Audiophiles, recommend some headphones

[twinrider1]

Would need to know the rest of your system and what kind of music you like to hear.. Also, it comes down to personal taste. Do leather and wood bits float your boat? Or do they need to be extra durable? Prefer open or closed?

 

[dpodblood]

If you're looking to upgrade go to the HD700 or HD800. If you're looking to Sidegrade look at the DT880. The DT880 is in a similar class to the HD600, but will be a bit brighter.

 

[olds]

Hifiman HE1000

 

[CurrentlyPissed]

thays what they call a myth....

Lol okay.

 

[CurrentlyPissed]

If you're looking to upgrade go to the HD700 or HD800. If you're looking to Sidegrade look at the DT880. The DT880 is in a similar class to the HD600, but will be a bit brighter.

Dt880s will not be brighter than hd600s they will be much more heavy similar to the 770s. 600s are known for their highs and clarity and also their lack of bass. You will notice alot more punch with the 880s. Definitely not brighter.

 

[uhohs]

I don't know what dt880's you've listened to but mine is considerably brighter than my hd600, hd650 and more sibilant than my k701's.

Personally I prefer the k7##stuff and hd600/650 over the dt880.

 

[marincounty]

Look into planar or electrostatic headphones. I think hifiman and Oppo make some decent planars, Stax makes awesome electrostatics.

 

[Exploder87]

We can't help this guy properly until he tells us what he's using to drive his headphones.

 

[brianmanahan]

We can't help this guy properly until he tells us what he's using to drive his headphones.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

This brand new little baby is on fire right now.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/784602/chord-mojo-the-official-thread

 

[TechBoyJK]

Beyer Dynamics DT770 Pro.

/thread

Best value for the money. Read reviews.

http://www.amazon.com/beyerdynamic-dt770-pro-250-ohm/dp/b0006nl5sm

Very comfy and wonderful sound. I got out of the market as soon as I bought mine because they're flat out good enough.

 

[CurrentlyPissed]

Beyer Dynamics DT770 Pro.

/thread

Best value for the money. Read reviews.

http://www.amazon.com/beyerdynamic-dt770-pro-250-ohm/dp/b0006nl5sm

Very comfy and wonderful sound. I got out of the market as soon as I bought mine because they're flat out good enough.

Dt770s certainly are a great value. But woukd be a fowngradr from hd600s. I dont think thats the direction he wants to go.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Yeah OP you need to offer up a bit more info. Is portability a concern at all? What about isolation? Is there any aspect of your HD600s you find lacking? Are you wanting similar sound signature or something different? Any amp setups, and/or what will you be using them out of?

Denon AHD2000 or Denon AH-D5000

Very comfortable headphones with awesome sound quality.

They've been out of production for a few years. Not sure if Fostex is still making theirs (actually now that I think of it not sure if the Fostex are similar to the Denons, but Fostex was making those for Denon).

if you really want tospend two grand on headphones, you would go to a showroom and test them yourself. also, head-fi would be a better forum for that.

There's not that many showrooms for headphones although there are more now than probably ever before. I think there's an AudioCubes in New York, and if you're in Montana (or rather a certain area of Montana) there's HeadRoom and I believe there's a few sprinkled around here and there in other places (want to say LA, maybe Portland are two places that I seem to recall having boutique headphone stores).

Beyer Dynamics DT770 Pro.

/thread

Best value for the money. Read reviews.

http://www.amazon.com/beyerdynamic-dt770-pro-250-ohm/dp/b0006nl5sm

Very comfy and wonderful sound. I got out of the market as soon as I bought mine because they're flat out good enough.

There's a lot better value these days (if you're after value the KSC-75s are still tough to beat, and there's a few other cheap headphones that can sound really good with a little bit of modding). Personally I don't even think the 770 Pros are good headphones as their bass muds up the mids too much and I really don't like Beyer highs. They're ok, but even in that class there's better headphones now (like the Audio-Technica ATH-M50/M50X).

 

[MagickMan]

Hifiman HE-560

Or got to head-fi.org and ask.

 

[MagickMan]

thays what they call a myth....

No, it isn't. There really is such a thing as output impedance affecting driver performance, it's called damping factor. Listen to low impedance (<20 Ohm) IEMs through an OTL tube amp (>32 Ohms) and hear for yourself.

 

[darkswordsman17]

This brand new little baby is on fire right now.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/784602/chord-mojo-the-official-thread

Hmm, I'm needing a portable (really more transportable, but full portable wouldn't be bad either) DAC/amp, might have to consider that. Also need to find out how WinMobile handles DACs.

I've been somewhat waiting for the new version of the Creative E5 to come out. It is due in November I believe (they announced it like several months back which is weird, especially since it's suppose to be mostly the same but with better software than the current one, and be $50 cheaper).

Those new Shure electrosat IEMs look interesting (I think Stax dropped it big time with their portable ones, as while they sound good the fit is terrible compared to real IEMs).

This could be interesting too.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/785553/gra...ac-amp-review-first-impressions#post_12017933

 

[darkswordsman17]

No, it isn't. There really is such a thing as output impedance affecting driver performance, it's called damping factor. Listen to low impedance (<20 Ohm) IEMs through an OTL tube amp (>32 Ohms) and hear for yourself.

It is true that impedance mismatches can create problems (although some people actually seem to enjoy the results, can't say it's a good idea though), but saying that he wouldn't tell a difference between his HD600s is bogus. That doesn't even mean they'd be better, but he might also would enjoy a "worse" headphone more. Sound signature differences are often quite apparent on headphones because of how close they are to our ears, enhancing detail. Price certainly doesn't guarantee quality either, and there's plenty of people who really like the HD600 that were not impressed with the HD800 and especially HD700 due to the treble.

 

[MagickMan]

It is true that impedance mismatches can create problems (although some people actually seem to enjoy the results, can't say it's a good idea though), but saying that he wouldn't tell a difference between his HD600s is bogus. That doesn't even mean they'd be better, but he might also would enjoy a "worse" headphone more. Sound signature differences are often quite apparent on headphones because of how close they are to our ears, enhancing detail. Price certainly doesn't guarantee quality either, and there's plenty of people who really like the HD600 that were not impressed with the HD800 and especially HD700 due to the treble.

That doesn't have much to do with damping factor (unless a person enjoys not being able to hear large sections of the audio spectrum).

 

[pcslookout]

Looks like someone got jealous.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Hmm, I'm needing a portable (really more transportable, but full portable wouldn't be bad either) DAC/amp, might have to consider that. Also need to find out how WinMobile handles DACs.

I've been somewhat waiting for the new version of the Creative E5 to come out. It is due in November I believe (they announced it like several months back which is weird, especially since it's suppose to be mostly the same but with better software than the current one, and be $50 cheaper).

Those new Shure electrosat IEMs look interesting (I think Stax dropped it big time with their portable ones, as while they sound good the fit is terrible compared to real IEMs).

This could be interesting too.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/785553/gra...ac-amp-review-first-impressions#post_12017933

I am waiting for both an AK120ii and 240 to be sent to me for testing. I want to decide between those 2 and the QP1R that came out recently. Running my K10's out of a DX90 right now, the QP1R is a decent sound upgrade for me. The Mojo seems nice, but I don't do stacks due to portability.

 

[darkswordsman17]

That doesn't have much to do with damping factor (unless a person enjoys not being able to hear large sections of the audio spectrum).

And damping factor won't magically make all headphones sound the same which is what the original comment stated.

Also, damping factor won't necessarily make things unhearable (in fact it can do the opposite and actually boost certain frequencies, it will cause frequency response issues, with different headphones being impacted differently, which is why you pay attention to impedance curves). Take some ultra low impedance headphones and plug them into a high output impedance device, you'll still be able to hear most of the sound spectrum (do frequency range sweeps and/or test tones to verify), but it will cause wonkiness in the sound and it won't sound as good as it should but the character/tone of the headphone will still show through. There's a lot more factors than just output impedance (and it is often overblown, although the flipside, a lot of audiophile stuff really is not technically proficient). Don't get me wrong, minimizing output impedance, especially with low impedance headphones is a good idea but for most headphones it won't cause that much craziness.

I am waiting for both an AK120ii and 240 to be sent to me for testing. I want to decide between those 2 and the QP1R that came out recently. Running my K10's out of a DX90 right now, the QP1R is a decent sound upgrade for me. The Mojo seems nice, but I don't do stacks due to portability.

To each their own. Personally these audiophile players wouldn't lessen any stacks (I'm not doing it for that anyway, it'd be for stationary listening at my desk at work and for taking on occasional trips along with other stuff, and use with PC too) for me since I'd need to carry it and a phone anyway and I couldn't stand to pay that much money for the awful software and in my opinion not very appealing design/ergonomics.

I thought about getting a Schiit DAC/amp group, but I don't really want to leave it at work (or plug it into my work computer, and I haven't gotten a Surface Pro yet like I plan to), and since I'd like to be able to take it with me other times I'd like it to be small so I can fit it and several other items in a not too bulky satchel/bag/whatever.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

So, people answering do realize that you would select headphones for each genre of music right?

Pop, rock and hip hop? There is nothing sonic about those genres. Just pick out expensive headphones that have good bass reproduction for Pop and Hip Hop. For rock, you don't need bass as much so a second set of cans for that.

Seriously though, the OP doesn't need good headphones for listening to the genres in all likelihood. I doubt the OP would have any appreciation for what they are buying.

On that note. OP, what is your source and what are you using for an amp and if applicable, what is your DAC?

 

[gus6464]

HD800 is pretty big upgrade from the HD600. HD700 not so much. As for pure nirvana the best setup I heard at canjam this year was the HD800 with the Enigma Athena A1.

 

[MagickMan]

And damping factor won't magically make all headphones sound the same which is what the original comment stated.

Also, damping factor won't necessarily make things unhearable (in fact it can do the opposite and actually boost certain frequencies,

and when those frequencies become over-boosted, making you turn down the gain, what happens to the rest of the frequency range? You can't hear it, which is why it's inaudible in the first place.

Anyway, it's been proven that output impedance matters, all headphone jacks aren't the same. So this:

thays what they call a myth....

is crap, as I said from the start.

Do you need a $2000 headphone amp? Hell no, that's nuts (more power to you if that's your thing, though). But something like an Objective2 or FiiO E18 is a good investment; it'll be consistent, won't introduce unwanted noise, and will drive just about any open cans to ear-splitting volume, while still being able to handle even the lowest resistance IEMs.

 

[moonbogg]

These are a few bucks extra, but probably worth every penny. They look shiny. I'd buy them for that reason.

http://www.amazon.com/HIFIMAN-HE1000-Planar-Magnetic-Headphone/dp/B00Y9XT3SE