Want cheap, decent headphone amp..

[pcslookout]

Originally posted by: WraithETC

Originally posted by: pcslookout

Originally posted by: ivan2

Originally posted by: pcslookout
Just a warning to anyone who wants to buy Sennheiser headphones they are very uncomfortable after long hours of use. I have a small skull too. If you don't mine that then go ahead. I know, I know you can get rid of the clamping affect by extending them over a set of books for a day or two but that doesn't really work. Plus whats the point of having really good headphones if you have to do that?

just curious which senn you have? i had the 480 (i think, 4got the model), only complain is that it gets warm but it never clamp.

I use to have the Sennheiser HD280 Pro but threw them away after many years of use. I will never buy another pair of Sennheiser headphones again. Sure they had good sound quality but they were very uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time. I now own one of the best headphones known to man the Denon AHD2000 headphones! Best comfort you can get out of headphones. Sound quality is purely awesome! My priority from now on is comfort, sound quality, and looks in that order. Never thought headphones could be so uncomfortable like Sennheiser headphones. Won't even risk trying the Sennheiser HD500 pros because I hear the same problems with comfort with them. Not like you can try headphones in a store for 2 hours or more.

I think your discomfort is a rarity. Most people don't find many Senn's all that uncomfortable. I have a large head and my 650's are fine. I have really big ear lobes though so 99% of headphones clamp on those but I doubt other people have this problem.

Ok but how long do you use your headphones for per a day max ?

 

[moonboy403]

Originally posted by: pcslookout

Originally posted by: ivan2

Originally posted by: pcslookout
Just a warning to anyone who wants to buy Sennheiser headphones they are very uncomfortable after long hours of use. I have a small skull too. If you don't mine that then go ahead. I know, I know you can get rid of the clamping affect by extending them over a set of books for a day or two but that doesn't really work. Plus whats the point of having really good headphones if you have to do that?

just curious which senn you have? i had the 480 (i think, 4got the model), only complain is that it gets warm but it never clamp.

I use to have the Sennheiser HD280 Pro but threw them away after many years of use. I will never buy another pair of Sennheiser headphones again. Sure they had good sound quality but they were very uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time. I now own one of the best headphones known to man the Denon AHD2000 headphones! Best comfort you can get out of headphones. Sound quality is purely awesome! My priority from now on is comfort, sound quality, and looks in that order. Never thought headphones could be so uncomfortable like Sennheiser headphones. Won't even risk trying the Sennheiser HD500 pros because I hear the same problems with comfort with them. Not like you can try headphones in a store for 2 hours or more.

Yes, the HD280 Pro clamps very hard against your skull but you need to understand that they're designed for monitoring so there needs to be noise isolation. Now I can assure you that other Senns(I'm referring to their open models) are much much more comfortable. It is also true that the D2000 is indeed a very comfy headphone, but there are plenty of other ones that are just as comfortable. I slightly preferred the Lambda to the D2000's comfort as the Lambda is lighter. Just last week, I had a chance to audition the Sony R10 and I'm confident to say that the R10 is head and shoulder above those two cans IMO.

 

[moonboy403]

Originally posted by: WraithETC

Originally posted by: sdifox
Why do you need a portable amp if it is going to be hooked up to a computer?

He doesn't need a portable one but most under $100 tend to be. Anyways he spent the money on better headphones so it doesn't matter now.

I personally don't think going all out on headphones is the best use of the money but this is more for headphones that are $300 + etc.

I mean why have something like the HD800 running out of your onboard sound. You become increasingly limited by your source/amplification the more you move up the headphone chain primarily because your trying to squeeze out that last 5% of sound quality anyways at that point.

Just like home theater a well balanced system that doesn't bottleneck itself is always a good plan.

The HD800 is a beast! It scales very very well with powerful amps.

 

[Deleted member 4644]

I also have an Onkyo receiver with a headphone jack. Would that tend to run these phones decently?

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: Deleted member 4644
I also have an Onkyo receiver with a headphone jack. Would that tend to run these phones decently?

That should do it. But why don't you just output digitally to your receiver+ speakers as opposed to headphones?

 

[darkswordsman17]

Originally posted by: WraithETC

Originally posted by: sdifox
Why do you need a portable amp if it is going to be hooked up to a computer?

He doesn't need a portable one but most under $100 tend to be. Anyways he spent the money on better headphones so it doesn't matter now.

I personally don't think going all out on headphones is the best use of the money but this is more for headphones that are $300 + etc.

I mean why have something like the HD800 running out of your onboard sound. You become increasingly limited by your source/amplification the more you move up the headphone chain primarily because your trying to squeeze out that last 5% of sound quality anyways at that point.

Just like home theater a well balanced system that doesn't bottleneck itself is always a good plan.

I agree to an extent, but I think midrange cans (K701/HD650/etc) unamped will actually exceed the quality of lesser headphones paired with an amp (where the combined price is the same as going with the higher end headphones). Sure, you're not getting the most from those, but you should end up with equal if not better quality. Plus, a lot of people actually have some solid amping available in a receiver or can get a vintage one for cheap to pair with it. I really think that in terms of impact on overall quality it goes speaker>source>amp (certainly things aren't that simple, but for the average person who just wants improved sound quality, I think that is the way to go).

For whatever reason, headphone amps are considered cool, and I see people neglect their source or go with low-end headphones just so they can get an amp and I wonder why. Sometimes I even see people go with lower end stuff and then throw in an interconnect that costs as much as any single component and I just shake my head.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Originally posted by: moonboy403

Originally posted by: pcslookout

Originally posted by: ivan2

Originally posted by: pcslookout
Just a warning to anyone who wants to buy Sennheiser headphones they are very uncomfortable after long hours of use. I have a small skull too. If you don't mine that then go ahead. I know, I know you can get rid of the clamping affect by extending them over a set of books for a day or two but that doesn't really work. Plus whats the point of having really good headphones if you have to do that?

just curious which senn you have? i had the 480 (i think, 4got the model), only complain is that it gets warm but it never clamp.

I use to have the Sennheiser HD280 Pro but threw them away after many years of use. I will never buy another pair of Sennheiser headphones again. Sure they had good sound quality but they were very uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time. I now own one of the best headphones known to man the Denon AHD2000 headphones! Best comfort you can get out of headphones. Sound quality is purely awesome! My priority from now on is comfort, sound quality, and looks in that order. Never thought headphones could be so uncomfortable like Sennheiser headphones. Won't even risk trying the Sennheiser HD500 pros because I hear the same problems with comfort with them. Not like you can try headphones in a store for 2 hours or more.

Yes, the HD280 Pro clamps very hard against your skull but you need to understand that they're designed for monitoring so there needs to be noise isolation. Now I can assure you that other Senns(I'm referring to their open models) are much much more comfortable. It is also true that the D2000 is indeed a very comfy headphone, but there are plenty of other ones that are just as comfortable. I slightly preferred the Lambda to the D2000's comfort as the Lambda is lighter. Just last week, I had a chance to audition the Sony R10 and I'm confident to say that the R10 is head and shoulder above those two cans IMO.

I was about to say it doesn't make sense to give up on Sennheiser due to the comfort of that one headphone. I'm not much of a fan of the Sennheiser sound (its good, just not for me), but I felt they were plenty comfortable and I did wear them for hours a day. Of course with the Denons you get excellent comfort couple with sound quality so I'm not going to fault you there.

 

[Deleted member 4644]

Originally posted by: sdifox

Originally posted by: Deleted member 4644
I also have an Onkyo receiver with a headphone jack. Would that tend to run these phones decently?

That should do it. But why don't you just output digitally to your receiver+ speakers as opposed to headphones?

I use CDs in the receiver when I use it. My gf and manager dont like the speakers heh

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: Deleted member 4644

Originally posted by: sdifox

Originally posted by: Deleted member 4644
I also have an Onkyo receiver with a headphone jack. Would that tend to run these phones decently?

That should do it. But why don't you just output digitally to your receiver+ speakers as opposed to headphones?

I use CDs in the receiver when I use it. My gf and manager dont like the speakers heh

don't like the speakers as in the looks? Your gf is also your manager???


[ATOT HAT]Pix or ban![/ATOT HAT]

 

[pcslookout]

So how many hours a day do you all wear Sennheiser headphones ?

 

[Thump553]

Originally posted by: pcslookout
So how many hours a day do you all wear Sennheiser headphones ?

I frequently wear my 600's several hours (3-4) at a stretch and, as I stated above, comfort is never an issue. But again, I stress to physically try out whatever headphones you are interested (or at least buy from somewhere with a no-questions return policy).

 

[pcslookout]

Originally posted by: Thump553

Originally posted by: pcslookout
So how many hours a day do you all wear Sennheiser headphones ?

I frequently wear my 600's several hours (3-4) at a stretch and, as I stated above, comfort is never an issue. But again, I stress to physically try out whatever headphones you are interested (or at least buy from somewhere with a no-questions return policy).

Wearing headphones for 3 to 4 hours is nothing. Try more like 6 to 8 hours +

 

[Chapbass]

pcs: the hd280's are a completely different beast than the595, 600, 650, etc. The 280's are incredibly tight, I too found problems wearing them for several hours at a time.


the higher end phones on the other hand are incredibly comfy and deserve another look.

 

[pcslookout]

Originally posted by: Chapbass
pcs: the hd280's are a completely different beast than the595, 600, 650, etc. The 280's are incredibly tight, I too found problems wearing them for several hours at a time.


the higher end phones on the other hand are incredibly comfy and deserve another look.

Ok but the problem is trusting that after having a pair. I read about the same problems with the 650 so I was not going to take that chance.