Headphone appreciation thread

[MagickMan]

So the last few months I've jumped into the headphone hobby, it's not a stretch since I've been a HT/HA buff for a long time. I used to own some old crappy JVCs but threw them out after they broke, that's what started all this. I started investigating new gear and got sucked in, now I can't stop. Over this short period of time I've bought 7 (!) pairs of low to mid-range phones, which include:

-Sennheiser HD 598 (very smooth sound and comfortable)
-Shure SRH840 (amazing for classical/orchestral)
-Audio Technica ATH-AD700 (my jazz/blues phones, incredible mid-range)
-V-MODA V-80 True Bloods (had to have the Fangtasia logo, and they turned out to be damned nice)
-Superlux HD668B (cheap beater phones, excellent bass and great soundstage)
-Grado Prestige SR80i (modded them and now they're my favorite rock cans)
-Sony MDR7506 (a baseline set, very neutral)

I bought a DAC/Amp combo, a FiiO E7/E9 set and it's been great, effortlessly drives anything I throw at it. At some point I want to upgrade to a nice tube setup, but there's more I need to learn before making that leap.

Right now I'm seriously considering getting a set of Audez'e LCD-2 Planars, they cost a lot more than any of the phones I've already purchased ($950!) but damn they sound incredible. It almost pisses me off that I went and auditioned them at a fellow audio enthusiast's home, now I just look at my gear with disgust. (No, not really, j/k) Anyone else caught up in the hobby, how badly has it smashed your wallet?

 

[weez82]

Yeah headphones are great if you find ones that are comfy and sound good to you. I started out with the HD448's about 2 months ago. I like the sound they give me but I cant wear them for extended periods of time. So I wanted something with bigger ear pads and found a pair of HD 595's for $80 and I couldnt be happier. They sound great with the music I listen too and are fantastic for gaming. But most importantly they are comfy as all hell. I can wear these all day (and sometimes do).

HD595's + Astro MixAmp Pro for gaming
HD595's for most of my music needs
HD448's for my bass heavy music needs (hip hop, techno, some rock)

Im only 280 in the hole so far. Not too bad but I know the upgrade bug will get me soon

EDIT: I no longer have the senns, sold both. I now have BeyerDynamic DT 770 Pro 80. The hd 595's where too bass lite. Worked great for mw3 but not much else. And the hd448's started to hurt my ears. The 770's have the bass I like and are more comfy then both the senns I had. Im much happier now

 

[uhohs]

very smashed, though I've put a hold on purchasing stuff for the most part.

I never convinced myself to spend "big bucks" ($1k+ on a single item) on the higher end stuff, but I made up for that with quantity.

 

[Zorander]

I've been a headphone user (and consequently Head-fi member) since 2004 and been into quality audio even further long before. I've had my share of high-end headphones (still own the AKG K1000), midrange ones (love my HD650 & RS-1) and vintage models too (DT-880 & DT-990 from the 80's). My wardrobe section dedicated to store headphones (and DAC & head-amp) will expose me right away as a head-fier.

Headphones provide superb sound quality for their price and detail retrieval is generally better than speakers (with the transducers being so close to the ears). Being relatively small to speakers, you can also own a few and 'rotate' among them when you feel like something different-sounding.

p.s. Not going to even quantify the damage this hobby has caused to my wallet. I'm glad I have reached a point where I'm content with what I have (without going through the endless cycle of buying, trying & selling).

 

[Chapbass]

I think I'm pretty satisfied with my setup now. I also have the e7/e9 combo, which is AWESOME as I can keep my e9 at home and bring the e7 to work with me very easily.

One pair of headphoens for desktop usage (Senn HD650) and one pair for portable use (Etymotic ER-4P), and I'm set. I'd like to get the P -> S converter for my etymotics so that I can use the e7 with them, but other than that, I'm happy.


Which is EXACTLY why i have no interest (okay, interest, but I'm supressing it) of hearing other peoples headphones

 

[Insomniator]

Is there a reason to get 5 pairs of $150 headphones instead of 1 $750 pair?

Do even the best not perform great at every task?

 

[Pia]

I got bitten by the HP bug about a year ago, and have read and experimented a lot since then. What I have learned (of myself in relation to HPs):
Sound: it's absolutely worth it to buy good phones instead of bad phones, but when you get to good phones the returns are strongly diminishing. I find my Beyer DT-880s sound barely better than my Audio-Technica ATH-M50s despite the Beyers costing twice as much. Maybe I'm just sound signature agnostic? If I wanted to pursue "better" sound, I'd be looking into setting up my personalized HRTF in a FB2K plugin etc., not switching to different headphones.
Usability is critical: form factor, cord type/length, ergonomics, comfort have to be there or I simply won't use the phones.

My environments:
Home: DT-880 with AudioGD DAC/amp. The most comfortable HP I have had on my head. I suppose I'll be wearing these for the next decade or two. Currently used only sporadically for the occasional FPS game because of room ergonomics. I intend to set up a beanbag or equivalent for concentrated listening and reading with headphones at arm's length, then they will make more sense.
Office: need isolating phones that are quick to slip on and off. IEMs fail the latter and have the problem that people will try to talk to me without realizing I can't hear. My ATH-M50 looks too bulky to wear at the office, gets sweaty and has a long-ass cord. I can get a pair of AKG K81DJ for free and that should do it, provided I can pry them to be looser instead of clamping my head like a vice.
Mobile: isolation is critical (therefore IEM is a must) but sound quality doesn't matter much at all. I currently don't have a set, old ones broke and then I accidentally bought iPhone compatible Etymotics which don't work with my phone. I mean even the sound doesn't come out unless I continually depress the button on the headset. (Incredibly retarded that there is no standard for headsets...) I haven't tried a BT headset yet, but they would probably make sense for me. I only recently realized there are stereo BT headsets. Mono would be more compact and look better but obviously that's no good for music.

 

[hans030390]

I've been into headphones for 3 years or so now, though I started with car and home audio prior to that. Currently I'm rocking my modded Fostex T50RPs. I spent about $50 and took several hours to mod them, and they sound absolutely incredible. The only downside is that they need a lot of power to reach an adequate volume and sound their best.

I also have a pair of Denon D2000s that I modded into open-backed headphones. I'm pretty fond of those. I also recently purchased the Brainwavz HM5, which are clones of the Fischer Audio FA-003. I was personally not very impressed by their sound, though they are competitive in their price range. I might just be spoiled by my T50RPs.

I'm running these through my Auzentech Bravura sound card, which goes a great job all around. For portable usage, I have my S:Flo 2 PMP.

 

[blotto]

So far in the last three months I've gone from the HD555 to the Denon D2000 to the HD650. I just couldn't love the D2000s, I modded them and they were 99% great but I found the highs a touch harsh, I traded them for the HD650s and I'm very pleased with them, I hope I can avoid the upgraditis for a while, my wife will murder me if I spend another cent on sound, I just dropped a G on a new pair of towers for my HT.

 

[alkemyst]

Is there a reason to get 5 pairs of $150 headphones instead of 1 $750 pair?

Do even the best not perform great at every task?

Pay as you go. Many look back and would have done something else.

Also many have multiple sources that aren't linked to the same set so need more than one set for convenience.

I was actually looking at the HD598's just the other day. My wife and I have been sitting side by side lately and my music and her movies/tv shows are starting to clash at times. I have been the 'better man' and stopping listening to music as I can do it all day, she only gets her 'me time' at night.

However, being they are open cans I worry she will still hear.

I don't need to be able to hear my surroundings, and in fact I'd rather not when I am relaxing.

When I run I do use open headphones with only light open foam pads. Even then I have heard, looked at and have been waved on by driver who at the last minute because the guy behind him blew his horn for him stopping almost ran my butt over.

 

[JAG87]

Once you get a custom in ear monitor, there is nothing, I mean nothing that will match it. I've heard almost everything out there, HD800, Grado PS1000, Denon D7000, LCD2, and so on, everything falls short. On top of that, they have tons of pros: they don't need amplification and they are portable. Home, Office, Mobile? I do it all with one. I can't recommend buying headphones to anyone anymore. Get a custom and you'll be set for a long long time. My advice OP, buy a JH13 or 16, or the Westone ES5.

And sell your other gear, you won't need it anymore.

 

[MagickMan]

Once you get a custom in ear monitor, there is nothing, I mean nothing that will match it. I've heard almost everything out there, HD800, Grado PS1000, Denon D7000, LCD2, and so on, everything falls short. On top of that, they have tons of pros: they don't need amplification and they are portable. Home, Office, Mobile? I do it all with one. I can't recommend buying headphones to anyone anymore. Get a custom and you'll be set for a long long time. My advice OP, buy a JH13 or 16, or the Westone ES5.

And sell your other gear, you won't need it anymore.

I don't like IEMs of any type.

 

[MagickMan]

Is there a reason to get 5 pairs of $150 headphones instead of 1 $750 pair?

Do even the best not perform great at every task?

Playing, sampling, just enjoying new cans. What I don't like I can just give as gifts to friends. I'm probably going to get a pair of LCD-2s before long and a nice tube amp.

 

[Kaido]

I stopped at my Sennheiser HD-650 & Headamp amp combo. It got to the point where the cans were *too* revealing for my tastes - I just wanted to enjoy my MP3's and stuff at a higher level, no hear every snap, crackle, and pop in them! I got tired of having to find or rip lossless music and whatnot, so I downgraded to my current Sennheiser HD-280's and absolutely LOVE them. For times when I do want really excellent sound, I keep a pair of Etymotic 6i's around, but I prefer the comfort of my HD-280's. I also keep a nice Altoids CMOY amp if I need a little bit more boost on the volume side of things.

Headphones are awesome.

 

[Zorander]

Once you get a custom in ear monitor, there is nothing, I mean nothing that will match it. I've heard almost everything out there, HD800, Grado PS1000, Denon D7000, LCD2, and so on, everything falls short. On top of that, they have tons of pros: they don't need amplification and they are portable. Home, Office, Mobile? I do it all with one. I can't recommend buying headphones to anyone anymore. Get a custom and you'll be set for a long long time. My advice OP, buy a JH13 or 16, or the Westone ES5.

And sell your other gear, you won't need it anymore.

Interesting choice. As much as I love my AT CK10 (great upgrade over the Ety Er-6i I had), I wouldn't wear it at home. Too much fuss trying to get the right seal and I don't welcome the isolation at home either.

 

[MagickMan]

I stopped at my Sennheiser HD-650 & Headamp amp combo. It got to the point where the cans were *too* revealing for my tastes - I just wanted to enjoy my MP3's and stuff at a higher level, no hear every snap, crackle, and pop in them! I got tired of having to find or rip lossless music and whatnot, so I downgraded to my current Sennheiser HD-280's and absolutely LOVE them. For times when I do want really excellent sound, I keep a pair of Etymotic 6i's around, but I prefer the comfort of my HD-280's. I also keep a nice Altoids CMOY amp if I need a little bit more boost on the volume side of things.

Headphones are awesome.

I have a decent SACD/DVD-A setup with an Oppo BDP-93 as my transport. The local second hand media store sells hi-res discs at $5-12 a pop, so I've taken the opportunity to buy a lot of great albums. I do still listen to MP3s, but not that often.

 

[JAG87]

Interesting choice. As much as I love my AT CK10 (great upgrade over the Ety Er-6i I had), I wouldn't wear it at home. Too much fuss trying to get the right seal and I don't welcome the isolation at home either.

That's not a problem with a custom IEM. It's nothing like putting on universals, customs are a breeze to put in and don't have any kind of seal issues with the tips. In fact, customs IEMs are even simpler to put on than full size headphones. Example, I can take off my IEM and answer the phone with 1 hand, and when I'm done, I can put it back in with 1 hand. With a headphone, if I pull from one side I risk snapping the headband, when they are around my neck they are bulky as hell, when I want to put them back on, I definitely need 2 hands. The cable, oh the cable. Headphones have massive cables that tug. Almost all universals have pretty awful cables that can carry microphonics. Have you ever seen a cable on a custom?

It's as thin, flexible and lightweight as it gets. I don't even feel it when it's against my body while commuting or in the gym. Comfort wise, there is no contest.

And what about sound quality? I've still yet to hear anything that sounds anywhere near my customs (of course I'm lucky to own JH16s, I can't really vouch for anything in lower tiers). I find it funny that no full size headphone over 1K can top it. I was always convinced that with a custom IEM I'd be paying for comfort and portability while trading off audio quality. I never thought BA drivers could produce better sound than a top of the line dynamic driver, but holy hell was I wrong. The JH16 come with a little booklet that says "Welcome to the best headphone in the world". Maybe that's a bit exaggerated, but it's not far off.

I don't like IEMs of any type.

That's too bad. I used to be like that and now I wouldn't buy anything besides a custom IEM. If only I had known before, I could've saved a lot of time and money.

 

[dali71]

Playing, sampling, just enjoying new cans. What I don't like I can just give as gifts to friends. I'm probably going to get a pair of LCD-2s before long and a nice tube amp.

If you have the chance, I recommend you try out the HiFiMan HE-500s before you buy the Audez’es. I just built my new rig with the HE-500s, a Schiit Bifrost DAC, and a Schiit Lyr hybrid amp (with some Amperex USN-CEP 7308 tubes), and I couldn't be happier. I upgraded from Beyerdynamic DT-880s, an E-mu 0404 USB, and a Musical Fidelity X-Can V3, and I have to say that the improvement is astounding (as it damn well should be at this price). Cliché as it may be, I really am hearing things in my music that I've never heard before.

 

[Pia]

I used to be like that and now I wouldn't buy anything besides a custom IEM.

Here's something I have been wondering: does anyone on this thread add a HRTF simulation by signal processing when doing headphone listening? It seems like it would be even more critical to do that with IEMs since they eliminate all natural HRTF.

The engineer/consumer in me would like to see phones, MP3 players, desktop computers, etc. support a standard-format compensation profile, so I could manually calibrate my HRTF or have it professionally measured, then use it everywhere. Same profile standard could support speaker/space compensation as well, so that if you e.g. go from computer sound card to a HT preamp, you would just copy the profile over and have no need to re-calibrate.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Once you get a custom in ear monitor, there is nothing, I mean nothing that will match it. I've heard almost everything out there, HD800, Grado PS1000, Denon D7000, LCD2, and so on, everything falls short. On top of that, they have tons of pros: they don't need amplification and they are portable. Home, Office, Mobile? I do it all with one. I can't recommend buying headphones to anyone anymore. Get a custom and you'll be set for a long long time. My advice OP, buy a JH13 or 16, or the Westone ES5.

And sell your other gear, you won't need it anymore.

Yeah, customs can easily be your one and only headphones (although I'd still personally recommend some ok throwaway IEMs or something like KSC-75s for exercise).

I had some ES3X and they are very likeable, although I got rid of them for some stupid reason. I unfortunately am not in good enough shape financially to afford a newer set of customs at the moment. I'd really like to get either JH-13 or ES5s.

I'd take them over the current crop of high end headphones, but I really like isolation in headphones, and the soundstage doesn't really bother me (I actually liked the sorta ethereal sound that customs offer, its much better than normal IEMs, and the imaging is better than just about anything but HD800s), and the speed, imaging, detail, and everything else is just right up my alley.

I've been into headphones for 3 years or so now, though I started with car and home audio prior to that. Currently I'm rocking my modded Fostex T50RPs. I spent about $50 and took several hours to mod them, and they sound absolutely incredible. The only downside is that they need a lot of power to reach an adequate volume and sound their best.

I also have a pair of Denon D2000s that I modded into open-backed headphones. I'm pretty fond of those. I also recently purchased the Brainwavz HM5, which are clones of the Fischer Audio FA-003. I was personally not very impressed by their sound, though they are competitive in their price range. I might just be spoiled by my T50RPs.

I'm running these through my Auzentech Bravura sound card, which goes a great job all around. For portable usage, I have my S:Flo 2 PMP.

Yeah, in fact, modded T50s would be my recommendation. Get an integrated amp (especially a vintage one) and fed by a decent DAC, and for less than $500 you could get sound that would be incredible, and you could just stop right there and be happy. If the ODAC turns out good, and you get a deal on a nice vintage receiver, you could probably even get under $300.

I really thought about doing that, but the T50 is almost constantly sold out and I haven't researched enough on the T20 to make heads or tails of that situation (some say the older T20 is way better, but then they were saying that the only difference between the current T20 and T50 is a little bit damping on the enclosure, and since you're overhauling that anyway its moot).

I currently have W5000 drivers transplanted in an A700 frame, with W5000 earpads, and D2000 cable and cups. I think I spent like $200-250 all told, and with some modding I'm very pleased. I've been debating on transplanting them into a more portable headphone though (like ES7 or ESW9, maybe get a pair of the fakes since I'm not concerned about the drivers or cables, and probably would even change the earpads). I've been wanting to have them recabled (getting microphonics with the D2000 cable and my soldering job was not exactly stellar quality) and get custom cups made for them (I personally don't care too much what wood as I think I'd like to stain/paint them possibly do some design).

 

[darkswordsman17]

Here's something I have been wondering: does anyone on this thread add a HRTF simulation by signal processing when doing headphone listening? It seems like it would be even more critical to do that with IEMs since they eliminate all natural HRTF.

The engineer/consumer in me would like to see phones, MP3 players, desktop computers, etc. support a standard-format compensation profile, so I could manually calibrate my HRTF or have it professionally measured, then use it everywhere. Same profile standard could support speaker/space compensation as well, so that if you e.g. go from computer sound card to a HT preamp, you would just copy the profile over and have no need to re-calibrate.

Smyth Research was aiming to try to get their technology paired with a more mainstream company. I would love if Microsoft would integrate it into Windows (and would I assume get propagated to their game and mobile divisions).

Oh, and to answer your question, no I don't. The "headstage" of headphones doesn't really bother me much. It can be somewhat fatiguing with long sessions, especially with normal IEMs (not customs, which I generally find to be pretty non-fatiguing). I actually tried out CMSS-3D with Saints Row and Skyrim recently and it didn't really improve things. It was just different, kinda more spaced out, I could see some people preferring that sound though. It wasn't worse either really, which was nice. I had forgotten it was on and was listening to music and watched some movies as well. I didn't even really notice, so I think it was an ok option.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

I currently have a pair of Super.fi 5 EB's put into a custom-fit IEM shell as well as a pair of Ultrasone Pro 900s. Love them both!

 

[Oyeve]

MDR-V6, going on 27 years with the same set.

 

[cantholdanymore]

Almost got caught.
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2226311

 

[smoka]

MDR-V6, going on 27 years with the same set.

I second that one. Solid headphones for $50-$100.

I also own the Audio Technica ATH-A900 ($200) and V-Moda Crossfade LP ($150). The Audio ATH-A900 are a little more comfortable than the V6s for extended listening and the Crossfades have more punch for bass. I debated selling both and just keeping the V6s as they're all-around a great pair of headphones.

Almost got caught.
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2226311

Yes, headphones can be a nasty and expensive additiction. But at least they don't depreciate as quickly as video cards and CPUs

But you should definetly just get/keep what you need. I have 5 headphones ($500 value), 3 IEMs ($400 value), and 3 gaming headsets ($300 value). I probably should just have one of each.

HEADPHONES: Audio Technica ATH-A900, V-Moda Crossfade LP, Sony MDR-V6, Sony MDR-G75LW, and Philips SHS5200
IEMS: Westone UM2, Sennheiser IE7, and Sennheiser CX680
GAMING HEADSETS: Logitech F540 Wireless (XBOX 360), Sony Wireless Stereo Headset (PS3), and Logitech G35 USB (PC)