Looking for the best headphones!!

[BS911]

I'm looking for the best headphones I can get for the $150 - $300 price range. I just sold my Sennhesier HD500's and just purchased the Bose Triports and haven't been overly impressed with either pair. So now I come to you Anandtech to help me in my search for the ultimate headphones (in my price range )


Thanks!

-BS911

 

[onza]

grados or sennheisers.. i cant even spell it too many letters.

 

[Howard]

http://headphone.com/layout.ph...p;productID=0020080595

 

[Gurck]

Sennheiser 595s if you don't have an amp, 650s if you do.

 

[BS911]

I will be running these straight off of a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 if that has a influence on your best pick!

Thanks for the responses so far!

Are the Sennheiser 595's really that much better than the 500's? The 500's were "ok" but did not blow me away by any means!

 

[konakona]

look for a pair of used hd-580, should be around $100~$120. with the remainder, get yourself a good amp (for that price, you could probably get a lower grade ppa or that chinese hybrid amp)

if you are not big into EAX gaming, you might wanna consider upgrading to better cards for music... AV-710 only goes for ~$25 shipped, while EMU-0404 can be had for about $100.

FYI, my rig consists of :
hd-650 + headphile silver/silver dragon
headphile silver RCA-1/4 interconnect
ppx3-6cg7 + 3xRCA cleartops
EMU-1212M
OneAC CP-1107

oh yeah... in case you havnt heard of it, head-fi is one of better places on the internet when it comes to asking headphone related questions.

 

[BS911]

Thank you for the advice Vanilla.

I've got from having a Bose Acoustimass surround system and then a Klipch Promedia Ultra 5.1 speaker set to pretty much nothing because I can't play any music/games loud because of my new apartment. I'm looking for some headphones to make up for this as I need some good quality sound!

 

[konakona]

i suggested hd-580 as they are considered the greatest bargain in the audiophile world which snugly fits your budget. the only catch is these phones are not easy to drive and hooked up straight to your sound blaster, they will sound quite horrible. be sure to drop by head-fi and check out what amp options you have; head-fi FS forums is very nice, i got most of my equipment from there and had 0 problems so far.

depending on the genre of music and your tates for acoustic traits, you may prefer other phones from grado labs or beyerdynamic. be warned tho, grados are not the most comfortable phones to wear.

 

[BS911]

Originally posted by: Howard
http://headphone.com/layout.ph...p;productID=0020080595

So the 650's wouldn't work well off of my Audigy 2? I think the 650's are over the $300 mark but if they are worth it I would get them!

 

[konakona]

they are definitely a step up from hd-580; as others have pointed out, i noticed overal cleaner sound, riddance of midbass hump and highs are much smoother. however, both will sound anemic from audigy. hd-580 with cmoy will sound MUCH better than hd-650. granted, cmoy is not an ideal amp to go with hd-580/600/650. not to put down METAs by any means, but these headphones require amp equal to or greater than METAs level. source matters too! if you are serious about your music and still wanna play EAX games, consider running two soundcards in one box.

 

[BS911]

Let me ask you this:

I have the Klipch Promedia 5.1 Ultra's hooked up to my PC right now and the control unit has a headphone jack built into it. Is there any chance that this unit acts as a amp and would enhance the sound to the headphones over being hooked up straight to the sound card itself?

 

[Gurck]

650s will all but require an amp, which of course adds to your cost. Head-fi.org posters generally love the 595s, though as with anything there are a few detractors. They'll sound fine hooked up to just your sound card. And yes I have a brand bias

 

[Howard]

If you're any good with soldering, you could build your own headphone amp.

 

[BS911]

Originally posted by: Howard
If you're any good with soldering, you could build your own headphone amp.

Not good with soldering. I am unfamiliar with headphone amps...can you send me a link to a couple good ones please?

 

[everman]

It doesn't make sence to buy a very nice pair of headphones, and then run it straight to the sound card without an amp. I'd definitly reccomend it.

 

[BS911]

Originally posted by: everman
It doesn't make sence to buy a very nice pair of headphones, and then run it straight to the sound card without an amp. I'd definitly reccomend it.

Until tonight I didn't know there was such a thing as a headphone amp...if that's what I need for good sound I'll definately get one!

 

[konakona]

headphone amps can be real expensive... can you say blue hawaii?

http://www4.head-fi.org/forums...y.php?s=&amp;forumid=3 <- this is a good source of information.

i am very partial to singlepower amps but unfortunately they are quite a bit out your price of range... i also have a DIY zen i am not using. altho it is not in the same league as the ppx3, sounds great in its own light.

 

[BS911]

Does this look like a good deal?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA...amp;fromMakeTrack=true

 

[Howard]

http://sound.westhost.com/project70.htm

http://sound.westhost.com/project24.htm

Now I'm wondering if you know how to interpret those schematics...


A pre-printed PCB can be found here for project70 (the DoZ headphone amp):

http://sound.westhost.com/purchase.htm

 

[konakona]

last update in 2000? sounds kinda outdated. a lot happened in last 4 years in DIY headphone amp scene. i havnt progressed much after my first cmoy, but there is better (or more popular) build coming out every now and then. i could look up some links too, it just sounded like he didnt want to get into DIY.

 

[Anubis]

Grado SR-225s

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: Anubis
Grado SR-225s

How are they without an anp?

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: Muadib

Originally posted by: Anubis
Grado SR-225s

How are they without an anp?

they will work but be better with an amp, i dont have an smp but I also dont run them off a soundcard, a stereo receiver is a better amp then a sounc card, i use my sr-80s on teh comp

 

[Fausto]

Originally posted by: onza
grados or sennheisers.. i cant even spell it too many letters.

Yep. Which is better depends on which flamewar thread you consult.





ie- go listen for yourself.

 

[DigDug]

Audio-Technica ATH-a900s are one of the best deals is headphones, and clearly the best under $200 headphone out there. Further, they don't need an amp to sound their best. Take a look at headfi.org where I'm a frequent and regular member.

Grados are much to shrilly for me, and cause headaches. Sennheisers require a good amp to sound good, otherwise they sound muffled and muted.