Headphones, which one do you recommend?
- Thread starter eljr
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Just like speakers need to be combined with the right amp, you need to buy a headphone and amp combination. I settled on the Deware CSP2 and Beyerdynamics DT880 600 Ohm cans. Combo is about $1300.
Great sound but don't let anyone tell you what you should like.
Great sound but don't let anyone tell you what you should like.
onepixel
.
I got the Grado RS-2i last year, along with a headphone amp. It's made a huge difference and I'm quite pleased. My experience before the headphone amp was that I was hearing a lot of extraneous background noise. Especially in quiet passages or in between tracks.
The Grado RSs will have less bass than the HD-650s, but in most cases won't be lacking. I can hear all kinds of wonderful detail in the music.
The Grado RSs will have less bass than the HD-650s, but in most cases won't be lacking. I can hear all kinds of wonderful detail in the music.
Arkay
Lunatic Member
Your budget will allow you to get some really nice cans. For my money (and ears):
1. For open-backed earphones: Stax earspeakers. Omegas are really nice, in particular. These are very expensive, though, and may not come within your budget unless you get a deal on a used pair.
2. For closed-back earphones: Denon AH-D7000. These are right up there with (and in most cases, beyond) the best open-backed ones. If you are buying headphones, you owe it to yourself to give these a listen. Really, REALLY good-sounding cans, plus better isolation. Extraordinary!
:thmbsp:
There are a few other seriously good "honorable mentions" among the TOTL, $1,000-plus offerings, but personally, I like the above two the most. That opinion was formed after repeated listening sessions using a variety of CDs and headphone amps, including A/B testing against most other brands' TOTL cans, at a local headphone-specialist dealer's demo room. I settled on the Denons as just the all-around best, and the outright best by most measures. But since everyone hears differently and has different preferences, of course, YMMV.
1. For open-backed earphones: Stax earspeakers. Omegas are really nice, in particular. These are very expensive, though, and may not come within your budget unless you get a deal on a used pair.
2. For closed-back earphones: Denon AH-D7000. These are right up there with (and in most cases, beyond) the best open-backed ones. If you are buying headphones, you owe it to yourself to give these a listen. Really, REALLY good-sounding cans, plus better isolation. Extraordinary!
:thmbsp:There are a few other seriously good "honorable mentions" among the TOTL, $1,000-plus offerings, but personally, I like the above two the most. That opinion was formed after repeated listening sessions using a variety of CDs and headphone amps, including A/B testing against most other brands' TOTL cans, at a local headphone-specialist dealer's demo room. I settled on the Denons as just the all-around best, and the outright best by most measures. But since everyone hears differently and has different preferences, of course, YMMV.
eljr
Koyaanisqatsi
Principally rock. Cream, Hot Tuna Grateful Dead type rock where.
I like to call my style "intense acoustical."
However you describe the Wilson sound. Loud yet extremely revealed.
eljr
Koyaanisqatsi
Your budget will allow you to get some really nice cans. For my money (and ears):
1. For open-backed earphones: Stax earspeakers. Omegas are really nice, in particular. These are very expensive, though, and may not come within your budget unless you get a deal on a used pair.
2. For closed-back earphones: Denon AH-D7000. These are right up there with (and in most cases, beyond) the best open-backed ones. If you are buying headphones, you owe it to yourself to give these a listen. Really, REALLY good-sounding cans, plus better isolation. Extraordinary!
There are a few other seriously good "honorable mentions" among the TOTL, $1,000-plus offerings, but personally, I like the above two the most. That opinion was formed after repeated listening sessions using a variety of CDs and headphone amps, including A/B testing against most other brands' TOTL cans, at a local headphone-specialist dealer's demo room. I settled on the Denons as just the all-around best, and the outright best by most measures. But since everyone hears differently and has different preferences, of course, YMMV.
What is the advantage of open back ear phones?
What is the advantage of a separate headphone amp?
olblueyez
Cables Matter,,!!!
Open headphones make for a larger "out of head" type sound and closed headphones tend to be more focused inside your head. For you I would recommend open since you don't seem to be worried about sound leakage.
The advantage of an amp is being able to drive the headphones we are discussing properly. Plugging HD650s or the Victor DX1000 or a beyerdynamic DT880 into an ordinary receiver is the same as driving Wilson speakers with an AVR from BestBuy, you will never realize most of the potential your new headphones have to offer. If you are less inclined to buy an amp there are headphones better suited for your purposes and with lots to offer too. Do you have a nice preamp for your Wilsons with a headphone jack?
The advantage of an amp is being able to drive the headphones we are discussing properly. Plugging HD650s or the Victor DX1000 or a beyerdynamic DT880 into an ordinary receiver is the same as driving Wilson speakers with an AVR from BestBuy, you will never realize most of the potential your new headphones have to offer. If you are less inclined to buy an amp there are headphones better suited for your purposes and with lots to offer too. Do you have a nice preamp for your Wilsons with a headphone jack?
eljr
Koyaanisqatsi
I have a McIntosh MCD301 Cd player which has a built in headphone amp but I can't seem to find specs on the phono amp. I would imagine this should be adequate to drive the headphones but I am uncomfortable not knowing the specs.
carbonman
It's All About The Music
The headphone amps in the newer McIntosh CD players are really good. I have a tweaked PPA headphone amp and had an MCD201. My Beyerdynamic DT880's and DT831's sounded very similar through either headphone output. I sold the MCD201 so only use a dedicated headphone amp these days. IMO the headphone amps in the McIntosh CD players are better than those in their older preamps.
olblueyez
Cables Matter,,!!!
I would say go with something fairly easy to drive like a Grado or Sony or AudioTechnica and stick with the Mac CD player and you should be good. Some of the higher end ATs are super nice, the models not sold here in the USA but people do carry them. Grados are uncomfortable so if long sessions are what you want then maybe that isn't the way to go. If it were me I would look for a set of used AudioTechnica L3000's, amazing headphones and they should work out super nice with your Mac gear. The AD2000 would be nice if you have an average sized head. Average size meaning your on the hat sizing measure somewhere and not completely off on the big side like me or super small.
http://www.audiocubes.com/index.php?cPath=23_36
These JVC's are closed with leather pads so they may get a little warm during long sessions but the general concenses is that the bass is super and they sound very natural. The beautiful wood cups dont hurt much either. Seems like they would be a nice match for a tuff Mac rig. The next model down gives up some of the bass color and presents things a bit more neutral but im sure they both sound fantastic.
http://www.audiocubes.com/product_info.php?cPath=23_36&products_id=1375
This stuff will definitely keep up with the rest of your gear but the prices rise pretty fast, what the hell, maybe you spend a little more than you planned. This is the only official Stax dealer for the US and Canada BTW. http://www.yamasinc.com/stax.htm
http://www.yamasinc.com/authorized.htm
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olblueyez
Cables Matter,,!!!
It is a model that is not imported to the US but some places will buy them (Its all legit) and sell them or some places will ship them from overseas. The thing is you as a retailer cant buy them from AT of USA but a retailer can buy them from Japan if they are so inclined. Its one of the biggest head scratchers in the US headphone market why AT USA wont bring in their top models to the US. Audio-Cubes has been around a long time and I have bumped into gillions of people at Head-Fi.org who use them and its a good outfit. Might be some reviews on the AD2000 over their too. As for being discontinued, its news to me but even if it were true who cares, they don't release new high end models very often. I will say based on the price, they are the same street price they have been for about 3 years, 700. Notice the AT headphones have a mini plug with a screw on adapter, thats because they are easier to drive than some of the others and you could get away with using an ipod or something of that nature if you wanted too.
KDSound (The consumer division of AT) has a current Asian catalog available for download, it has the AD-2000 as their current top of the line open headphone. Some of the closed headphones and some of the lower end open models have been replaced recently as you can see they have added an (X) to the model numbers. It will take a long time to download, maybe start it before you hot the sack. http://www.kdsound.co.kr/brand/catalog/200809catalog_audio-technica.pdf
If and when they do have a newer version it will be expensive as hell and stay that way for quite some time.
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thehof
Active Member
(click pic for more info)
Check these out, it's a pro modified Denon D2000 which is super easy to drive so great for your CD Player. They come to you with added sound deadening, custom wood cups (they have several choices for wood types), Jena Labs cable (arguably some of the best headphone cable around), and better ear pads, all inside of a brand new pair of D2000s. And it fits in your budget pretty well, I'm not sure if you could get much more bang for buck new.
tubeboob
Super Member
Having $1,500.00 for a pair of headphones is wonderful, just a lot out of my league price wise.
But to my recommendation, let me refer you to Sam Tellig of Stereophile fame who highly recommended the Audio Technica ATH AD700, which garnered a Stereophile Class "A" rating and costs less than $100.00.
I bought a pair, and can vouch for their effectiveness.
There's a review here in the headphone forum.
You may get audio bliss for less than $100.00.
Cheers.
But to my recommendation, let me refer you to Sam Tellig of Stereophile fame who highly recommended the Audio Technica ATH AD700, which garnered a Stereophile Class "A" rating and costs less than $100.00.
I bought a pair, and can vouch for their effectiveness.
There's a review here in the headphone forum.
You may get audio bliss for less than $100.00.
Cheers.
eljr
Koyaanisqatsi
Your general lack of info makes recs so hard. I'll give you a quick rundown of options:
-assuming you have a suitable power amp: Stax SRD-7 + Lambdas (404s)
-assuming no power amp: Stax 717 + Lambdas
- Headamp GS-1 + ATH-AD2000s. They're really my favorite headphones under $1000, and I've heard many: Stax, Grados, Senns, AKGs, Beyers, Darth Beyers, Denons, Markl Denons... pretty much everything you can think of. W5000 is not recommended, as it doesn't fit most people's heads right.
- alternative dynamic amps include Trafomatic Head One, Yamamoto HA-02 (only for AT phones), Woo 6 SE or DIY offerings (high end designs by Gilmore, amb, or Cavalli are popular)
- Headamp Pico Slim + JH13 or JH16 for right around $1500 all in. Custom IEMs if you're down with that kinda thing.
-assuming you have a suitable power amp: Stax SRD-7 + Lambdas (404s)
-assuming no power amp: Stax 717 + Lambdas
- Headamp GS-1 + ATH-AD2000s. They're really my favorite headphones under $1000, and I've heard many: Stax, Grados, Senns, AKGs, Beyers, Darth Beyers, Denons, Markl Denons... pretty much everything you can think of. W5000 is not recommended, as it doesn't fit most people's heads right.
- alternative dynamic amps include Trafomatic Head One, Yamamoto HA-02 (only for AT phones), Woo 6 SE or DIY offerings (high end designs by Gilmore, amb, or Cavalli are popular)
- Headamp Pico Slim + JH13 or JH16 for right around $1500 all in. Custom IEMs if you're down with that kinda thing.
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olblueyez
Cables Matter,,!!!
I have never had a chance to try the W5000 woodies and based on what other people have written about the sound signature I am not sure I would like them. I get the impression they are mid-centric and a bit light in the bass department. That model is a standard US model though so you may be able to audition a set. They sure are pretty though. For me, in that price range and with closed cups the JVC/Victor DX1000 and take a chance I would need to buy an amp at some point.
These are thoughts based on what I have read so if you are attracted to the W5000 please seek them out and see what you think.
Maybe if you contact AT USA and ask who the Rep in your area is then you could contact him and see when and if he could let you sample some headphones. Or at least recommend where you can go to audition some.
I think the Stax headphones are great, but they are electrostatic headphones. You will need an amp (electrostatic) to drive those headphones. IMO Things to consider for headphones selection. 1. Comfort 2. Portable 3. Sounds. how are you listening to music, i.e. are you moving around a lot or just sitting in front of a computer. If this is for home listening, then I would recommend getting a really good headphones for the money (AKG 701, Senns hd 800, etc..) and drive those from an intergrated amp if you have one. I found most vintage integrated amp basically uses the speakers out for headphone jack (padded down with resistors) and the sounds is great. Better or on par with most dedicated headphone amp. For a portable system, i would suggest Ray Samuels Audio portable headphone amp. Because listening to music through headphone is more sensitive to background noises, and distortions, I suggest you get a good source (portable).
thehof
Active Member
I would definitely suggest a dedicated headphone amp for whatever you do, I've had about 4 vintage receivers, and now have a integrated going to a power amp driving my headphones and it's still not as good as a dedicated amp. If i had up to $1500 to spend on a headphone rig, I would dedicate $600 to a Woo Audio 6, that amp will drive just about whatever you throw at it and sound TERRIFIC.