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Need recs for entry-level headphone setup


Nutty

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New to this forum and enjoying it very much. I do most of my listening with headphones and I'm not deaf yet. The AKG 501 and Etymotic ER-4S are my main headphones right now, sometimes the Sony 7506.

But I have to agree with Paul - the 501s are very neutral compared to the 580s and 600s. The only downsides are the 501 are rolled off in the low bass and are significantly less sensitive (they require more power to achieve the same volume).

As far as headamps go, crossfeed should be a major consideration. A crossfeed filter sends one channel into the other and vice versa in order to create a more speaker-like experience and decrease listener fatigue. I had a Meier Corda amp and the major benefit was the crossfeed filter, mostly with older recordings that had a wide stereo spread.

Also had a Musical Fidleity X-Can for a while before that and it worked fine as well, sans the crossfeed. I tried tube-rolling the X-Can - different tubes colored the sound in different ways but I found the stock tubes to be most favorable.

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Quite correct Gigolo - the AKG 501s are a fair bit less sensitive than other cans - although I've never found that to be an issue. I get ear splitting volume from my amp socket with volume knob at about the same level I use for bothering the neighbours with my loudspeakers. But you might struggle to get loud volume running the AKGs from a walkman.

I haven't noticed a low bass roll-off, but you could be right. Some of the Sennheisers do go deeper, but I find that subjectively, the presentation of the music with the Senn 580s is a bit too ballsy for my taste - sounds great, but not quite natural enough for me (unless I wanted to emulate the sound of a rock concert).

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Actually, if you go to the Headroom website, and take a look at the graphs for frequency response (not the 'normalized' ones) you'll see that the K501 rolls off in the bass sooner. The graphs seem to roughly corespond with what I hear while comparing the 600 and 501.

To be fair, there is no standard way to measure frequency response of headphones and there is no standard for what constitutes 'flat response' with heaphones (since headphones usually need to have less output in the highs relative to speakers) but the graphs are probably more objective than just comparing by ear to find frequency response differences.

But yes the AKGs are great with acoustic music and the bass does sound more natural overall than the 600s IMO.

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Thanks for the replies, everyone. I spent a lot of time researching the subject of audiophile headphones over at head-fi.org and completely forgot about this thread! I think I'm going to go with Beyerdynamic DT880 headphones, a Corda HA-1 MkII amp (with crossfeed), and eventually a Philips 963A SACD/DVD player. Anyone here own the Philips 963A?

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  • 9 months later...

I'm interested in getting a good set of headphones. I'm looking for something in the $300 - $500 price range. From what I've read on this board and others, the choice is between Grado and Sennheiser. I checked the internet but could find no listing for where these brands are sold. They're definitely not sold through Best Buy.

I'd never purchase headphones without being able to see/touch/listen to them first. Is there a list of stores/locations/cities where they sell Grado and/or Sennheiser?

Edited by wesbed
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I'm interested in getting a good set of headphones. I'm looking for something in the $300 - $500 price range. From what I've read on this board and others, the choice is between Grado and Sennheiser. I checked the internet but could find no listing for where these brands are sold. They're definitely not sold through Best Buy.

Bestbuy.com will have more Sennheisers soon, including the HD555 and HD595 ($169 and $289, respectively). Not quite as expensive as what you're looking for, but close. They won't be in store, however - too expensive for us to carry chain-wide.

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Glad someone dredged up this thread, I'd missed it but enjoyed perusing.

First, I was reminded of what a master BS artist mnytime was...I'm not sure what his actual occupation was, but I actually am an MD and I can tell you he was full of crap...decibels are decibels, whether the sound is eminating from a headphone speaker an inch from your ear or from a blazing Marshall stack or PA speaker 20 feet away. Crank either up regularly and you're going to damage your hearing over time. If Townsend actually believes he lost his hearing due to headphone use and that the over-the-top volume of the Who's countless gigs wasn't at fault, then old Trowser has fried more than just his hearing over the years! :P

Anyway, back to the topic at hand - I've enjoyed my Sony MDRCD3000 reference headphones immensely, had them now for a few months. Very true reproduction with minimal artificiality and they sound good at any volume (including lower). Probably the best headphone I've ever heard in terms of reproducing the feeling of depth and space. I'm not the only one who likes them, though they don't seem to get mentioned around here much (probably because few think "audiophile" when they think "Sony"), they've been very favorably reviewed against comparably priced Sennheiser and Grado models. I paid about $400 for mine new, although they list for quite a bit more (around $700). Very comfortable for prolonged wear also.

Here's a link to some reviews:

Sony MDRCD3000-reviews1

Edited by DrJ
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DrJ - First, I was reminded of what a master BS artist mnytime was...I'm not sure what his actual occupation was, but I actually am an MD and I can tell you he was full of crap...decibels are decibels, whether the sound is eminating from a headphone speaker an inch from your ear or from a blazing Marshall stack or PA speaker 20 feet away.

Hehe... now we know who to bother when we have a medical question. :P

vibes - The MDRCD3000's are now $499, as we're trying to sell out the inventory we have. This is a $200 price reduction from where we had them.

vibes: Have you listened to these 'phones? Can you recommend them? Are they worth the price tag? I'm having a problem, in my local area, that I can't find any high-end headphones in stores to listen before I buy. It doesn't seem smart to buy speakers of any type without the opportunity to listen first. I'd think, $499 at Best Buy, should buy a good set of 'phones.

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I've never listened to them, but DrJ owns them and seems to like them. I tried to get Sony to give me a sample, but no dice. They're not too liberal with free product. Fortunately, the guys at Sennheiser have been much kinder to me. B) Anyway, we had these at list price for a while and never sold even one pair, so that's the reason for the price drop. People just don't associate Best Buy with really high-end audio.

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This is the problem I continue to find with the high-end headphones. They are high-end so they cost more than the standard $29.99. As a result, the stores don't sell too many pairs. Therein, the stores don't carry these items on their shelves. Which makes it darned difficult to buy the product. You can't try-before-you-buy at an internet store.

I have a need, currently, for a set of high-end 'phones. I'm willing to pay the high-end price to get the desired product. Yet, stores don't have the product to offer. I did find, last night on the internet, a location in my town, a guitar shop, that says they sell the Sennheiser's. I don't know if the product is the higher-end or the lower-end of the Sennheiser product line.

I went to a specialty audio store last week. The owner of the store said people don't desire high-end headphones these days. He said he had no reason to tie up his money and store space in headphone inventory. :angry:

Edited by wesbed
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Wesbed:

Go check out the Headroom web site: http://www.headphone.com

This is a great user friendly website that can guide you to the headphones you are seeking. They are a small audiophile mail order company specializing in headphones and headphone amplifiers. They depend heavily on repeat customer business since they are serving such a small niche market. For this reason, they have excellent customer service and a very liberal return policy. They actually encourage people to buy a pair of headphones, try it for a couple of weeks and then return it for a full refund if they don't like it.

The Sennheiser HD-650s are currently the do-all and end-all in the headphone world. As others may have suggested already, you will need a pretty juicy amp. to power these headphones to anything approaching their full potential.

Personally, I absolutely love my Etymotic ER-4P/4S headphones. These are in the ear canal sealed headphones that isolate you from outside noise and provide incredible detail and deep, audible bass. With the amount you are willing to spend you could pick up the Etymotics and still have enough money left for a decent portable headphone amplifier.

Good luck in your quest.

Edited by ADR
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ADR:

This is an excellent website and offers much helpful information. Thanks. I'll take a look through it tonight. I know I can't make the best decision without some listening time on the new 'phones, but are the Sennheiser HD-650s a given as the one to get, if price is not a factor?

I have an old 1970s-isssue amplifier that I've been using for years (yeah, since the 1970s). I was going to replace the amp a few years back but found it was a higher-power amp than most of the newer, medium-priced models. Regardless of the power in my main stereo amplifier, if it's a hindrance to the sound of the 'phones, would a headphone amplifier be a solution?

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From everything I've heard - the HD-650s are pretty much widely acknowledged as being one of the top 2 or 3 dynamic headphones in the world.

A dedicated headphone amplifier is a must if you are considering getting the HD-650s as they are very power hungry cans. Without a headphone amplifier you would be better off getting some other set of cheaper headphones like the Grado SR-80s that would sound better without an amp than the HD-650s would sound without an amp. Of course - with proper amplification, the HD-650s are world class headphones. The Corda HA-1 would be a good amp. for use with the HD-650s. The HA-1 is designed and sold by a German gentleman named Jan Meier who is a big audiophile and headphone enthusiast. He started out building headphone amps. as a hobby/sideline business and they ended up gaining such an international following for their audio excellence that he know has a thriving full time business. The HA-1 will give you as good a performance at approx. $500.00 U.S. as the HeadRoom headphone amplifiers that cost twice as much. You can visit the web site for the Corda HA-1 here: http://home.t-online.de/home/meier-audio/

The Meier audio website also sells the HD-650 and he sometimes offers a package discount for buying the HA-1 amplifer and the HD-650 headphones together.

Enjoy your trip into audiophile headphones.

ADR

Edited by ADR
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First, I was reminded of what a master BS artist mnytime was...I'm not sure what his actual occupation was, but I actually am an MD ...

I don't think anyone will fall for that one any more. :D

-------

I too, have been looking for a good pair lately. Etymotic seem to be what I need, but I can't find a store in NY that sells them. I want to know how they sound/feel.

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All the phones being mentioned are compared with the Sony MDRCD3000's on the review links page I posted above, and the Sonys stacked up very favorably (in most cases they were preferred over the others).

Not trying to hard sell anyone, not like I own stock or anything, but I would strongly recommend that people not be put off by the fact that this is a Sony product, it's top notch and quite high end. I did personally directly compare them with the Grado RS1 and the Sonys won, hands down, for sound and comfort...RS1 won out only in the "cool looks" category, but that was of secondary concern! :lol:

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I did personally directly compare them with the Grado RS1 and the Sonys won, hands down, for sound and comfort...RS1 won out only in the "cool looks" category, but that was of secondary concern!

I do want to look good while I'm sitting in my bedroom BY MYSELF. ^_^

DrJ: The Sony's weren't exactly cheap were they? Generally, items of the same price level offer the same type of quality/features, with little differences here and there. In the same price range, I'd expect the Sony's to sound as good as their competition. Do you run your Sony's from a headphone amplifier? Do you recommend against the ear canal (>link<) type of headphones? It doesn't seem smart, to me, to have the sound right there in the ear, with no air buffer in between.

I have the same problem with the Sony's as I have with the other good brands. I have no way to listen to them before I buy. I live in Tucson, not what I'd call a small town, and I can't find anything of top-quality in the stores. It's always the plastic-packaged headphones for, at the most $69.99, hanging by all the Walkman look-alike contraptions (or by the chewing gum and Coca-Cola). :rmad:

Edited by wesbed
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I got my Sonys for around $400, they list for much more but you can easily find them for about what I paid.

I have not used a headphone amp. The Sonys are apparently easier to drive efficiently at low output than some of the other top end headphones...I bought them planning to use them only temporarily with just the headphone jack on my receiver, but have since decided to forget about a headphone amp all together since they sound so good without one. I'm sure there'd probably be an incremental improvement with a headphone amp, but it's not worth it to me right now, maybe sometime in the future.

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I do want to look good while I'm sitting in my bedroom BY MYSELF.  ^_^

Then you NEED these -

MDR-R10

mdr-r10.jpg

From the blurp-

Housing made from mature keyaki (or zelkova), a Japanese tree.

Greek lambskin covers the earpads, headband, and suspender; magnesium hangers reduce resonance. 50 mm, ultra-thin, bio-cellulose dome.

Plus they sound damn good. Some say - the best dynamic ears around. Of course, at $5K they better be.

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I wonder how much those things weigh...Mid-range Sony headphones, like the MDRV600 and MDRV700DJ ($100 and $150, respectively) feel like lead bricks on your head, when compared with similarly priced Sennheisers or Philips headphones. Sony gave me and the girl that works for me the V600 and V700DJ, and we both quit using them at work because they gave us headaches. The most comfortable headphones we've found in the $100-200 range are actually Philips headphones (the models we've tried in this price range sound excellent, too), but I don't know that anyone sells them. Philips told me they hired somebody away from Sennheiser to design their headphones, so it's not surprising that they would feel and sound great.

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I just got a used AKG K1000 ($250 instead of $700 new), which are dynamic "earspeakers" that need to be connected to an amplifier of at least 2x5W.

Manufacturer page

akgk1000.jpg

0020121000front.JPG

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue9/akg1000.htm

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/superioraudio...03/akgk1000.htm

Because nothing touches the ears and the headphones are very light, they are extremely comfortable (that was my top priority, my ears tended to sweat under the Sennheiser). I'm currently using them with a Rotel power amp but have ordered a NOrh SE9 tube amp ($400), which has been recommended by many users for these headphones.

The sound is very different from the Sennheiser HD580. The Senn's are laid back, warm and full but also veiled in the treble. The AKG's are rather lean sounding, with excellent impulse response and very precise imaging.

Edited by Claude
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Hi wesbed

The K1000's don't isolate at all, they are as loud as very small speakers with the bass level turned down.

The earpieces can be turned outside and fixed in that position, so that they don't touch the ears. This is a view from the back with the headphones fully open:

akg_k1000_2.jpg

Here are some reviews:

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/superioraudio...03/akgk1000.htm

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/akg/k1000_1.html

http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showthread....&threadid=37865

http://headwize2.powerpill.org/ubb/showpag...7&fdays=&stime=

http://db.audioasylum.com/cgi/m.pl?forum=general&n=269486

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue9/akg1000.htm

http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showthread....=&threadid=2590

http://headwize2.powerpill.org/ubb/showpag...fdays=2&stime=0

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  • 2 weeks later...

After some discussion with others at Organissimo and Head-Fi, I've learned that, in order to properly run a pair of Sennheiser 650s, I will need a headphone amplifier. I'm considering this headphone amplifier. >amp link<

Does anybody here have any other, yet undisclosed opinions regarding headphones and headphone amps?

Edited by wesbed
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