Headphone Thread.

[Binge]

Going to go with the panasonics. Going to be $30 into the audiophile world, a small step in comparison to other headphones. I just hope it doesn't end up like keyboards, robbing me of my money.

If we are shooting for the $30 price range I would go with Tascams.

http://www.amazon.com/TASCAM-TH02-B-Closed-Back-Stylish-Headphone/dp/B00B1N06PO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389234296&sr=8-1&keywords=tascam+headphones

Why are the red on white ones $10 cheaper? Nobody likes those colors? (Then how come RA is so awesome?) http://www.amazon.com/TASCAM-TH02-B-Closed-Back-Stylish-Headphone/dp/B00B1N06PO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389234296&sr=8-1&keywords=tascam+headphones

My friend said that after 80 hrs of burning in the panasonics, they sound really really good.
Why do you prefer the tascam over the panasonic? What aspects are better? Want to make an educated purchase and buy something good for me.

Thanks for all the help on finding headphones, means a lot after using $6 headphones for a while.

#1) burn in should not be an issue.  Usually it is your ears adjusting to the sound your headphones are producing.
#2) most headphones are factory "burnt in"
#3) them Tascams are flat as all hell.  There's a gnarly 8k peak I think... but from what I understand the panasonics are bass machines without really providing accurate bass.  Possibly pleasant but not hi-fidelity.  Not all hi-fi is flat but the majority of neutral headphones (praised for being neutral) will allow you to hear the music as you have it recorded and you will also be able to hear the nuances of your equipment.

[CommunistWitchDr]

#1) burn in should not be an issue.  Usually it is your ears adjusting to the sound your headphones are producing.
#2) most headphones are factory "burnt in"
#3) them Tascams are flat as all hell.  There's a gnarly 8k peak I think... but from what I understand the panasonics are bass machines without really providing accurate bass.  Possibly pleasant but not hi-fidelity.  Not all hi-fi is flat but the majority of neutral headphones (praised for being neutral) will allow you to hear the music as you have it recorded and you will also be able to hear the nuances of your equipment.

I personally wouldn't go with  the Tascams for the fact they're on ear alone. Even if they sound nicer than Panasonic or Superlux or whatever else is competitive at that price point, pretty much any on ear design save for portapros is just terrible for more than a few minutes of listening for me.

[Binge]

They are not on-ear sir.

[davkol]

Gonna get OEM IE80s next week. They're great value for about $30, according to reviews.

[LONGZILLA]

Anyone have experience with closed-back headphones with velour pads?

I stinkin' love how comfortable my HD598's are with the velour pads, but need a pair with closed-backs for the office to minimize sound-leak.

[tjcaustin]

Anyone have experience with closed-back headphones with velour pads?

I stinkin' love how comfortable my HD598's are with the velour pads, but need a pair with closed-backs for the office to minimize sound-leak.

I hear that you can get velour pads for a shure headphone to fit on m50s.  Other than that, you might look into shure, as I think they have a few pair of closed back with velour as well.

[Moosecraft]

Beyer DT770 have velour aswell

[LONGZILLA]

Beyer DT770 have velour aswell

Anyone have experience with closed-back headphones with velour pads?

I stinkin' love how comfortable my HD598's are with the velour pads, but need a pair with closed-backs for the office to minimize sound-leak.

I hear that you can get velour pads for a shure headphone to fit on m50s.  Other than that, you might look into shure, as I think they have a few pair of closed back with velour as well.

Thanks for the suggestions, I just needed a place to start! Discovered an audio store with a decent selection of headphones on the way to the office, so maybe I'll go check them out in person.

[demik]

Anyone have experience with closed-back headphones with velour pads?

I stinkin' love how comfortable my HD598's are with the velour pads, but need a pair with closed-backs for the office to minimize sound-leak.

i loved my dt770s when i had them.

and tbh, i regret selling them. they were comfortable and even though i like these mad dogs, i liked the bass better on the DT's

[Yzeets]

I know this is a little off-topic but does anyone know a good iPod repair place online? I broke the screen  on my classic ordered a new one, installed it and now i'm just getting a white screen. it work's fine I can hear music I just can't see anything, so I guess I might as well send it in before I break it some more

[luminor]

i'm on the fence for Sennheiser HD 650, it will cost me a lot to get amp/dac to power the heaphones nicely...

[Moosecraft]

i'm on the fence for Sennheiser HD 650, it will cost me a lot to get amp/dac to power the heaphones nicely...

Lower cost option for the hd650 I would say philips fidelio x1. A bit of the same sound but doesnt require as beefy amp

[LONGZILLA]

Sad, the audio store had lots of open headphones from Grado/Audio-Technica to test drive but didn't have any Beyerdynamics or Shures or closed-back headphones for that matter.

i loved my dt770s when i had them.

and tbh, i regret selling them. they were comfortable and even though i like these mad dogs, i liked the bass better on the DT's

Found some DT770/250's on clearance for $133 shipped, did you have the 80's demik?

[Binge]

Longzilla, what sort of sound signature do you want from a new set of cans?

[LONGZILLA]

Longzilla, what sort of sound signature do you want from a new set of cans?

I'll mostly be listening to upbeat stuff to keep me awake at the office, so something with accurate bass/midranges but nothing too aggressive/taxing to listen to for long periods of time.

[demik]

Had the 250s

[Moosecraft]

Longzilla, what sort of sound signature do you want from a new set of cans?

I'll mostly be listening to upbeat stuff to keep me awake at the office, so something with accurate bass/midranges but nothing too aggressive/taxing to listen to for long periods of time.

I personally find bassy headphones to be a bit fatiguing over longer sessions and these days mostly use AKG Q701.

[Binge]

Longzilla, what sort of sound signature do you want from a new set of cans?

I'll mostly be listening to upbeat stuff to keep me awake at the office, so something with accurate bass/midranges but nothing too aggressive/taxing to listen to for long periods of time.

You can't go wrong with this,

http://www.amazon.com/Over-Ear-Headphones-ComfortMax-Cushions-Earpads/dp/B0093PVTPS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391123208&sr=8-1&keywords=NVX

[davkol]

Picked up the IE80s yesterday. I got them here and they're pretty good value for the price (around $30). Koreans went crazy about them and sound quality is supposedly very close to IE80s from official distribution. To be honest, I have no idea (these are my first IEMs since CX400 in 2010), nor do I really care. I just wanted something rather clean for listening in bed or when wearing a hat or a helmet.

I guess I'll spend some time finding cheap tiny foam eartips (with worldwide shipping) now, because my ears are... tiny.

[ComradeSniper]

How does a Schiit Magni and a pair of AD900X sound (literally, huehue) for listening to rock? Open to other amp/headphone suggestions, my budget is roughly $300.

How critical is a DAC?

[tjcaustin]

How does a Schiit Magni and a pair of AD900X sound (literally, huehue) for listening to rock? Open to other amp/headphone suggestions, my budget is roughly $300.

How critical is a DAC?

If you can bump overall budget to $400, the hifiman he400s are on a closeout sale and are worth every penny of the current $299 price tag.  Amazon still has a handful and they look to still be in stock direct through hifiman, too.

DAC is probably third of importance in my mind, but worth the upgrade at some point.  I would do headphones > amp > dac

[ComradeSniper]

How does a Schiit Magni and a pair of AD900X sound (literally, huehue) for listening to rock? Open to other amp/headphone suggestions, my budget is roughly $300.

How critical is a DAC?

If you can bump overall budget to $400, the hifiman he400s are on a closeout sale and are worth every penny of the current $299 price tag.  Amazon still has a handful and they look to still be in stock direct through hifiman, too.

DAC is probably third of importance in my mind, but worth the upgrade at some point.  I would do headphones > amp > dac

Thanks for the help! I imagine the orthodynamic drivers are a big improvement. I think I may end up going with those.

[Air tree]

Okay everyone, I got a $400-$450 Budget for a pair of headphones and a Dac. What would you recommend? I listen to rock, Classical Pretty just a wide range of music. I'm looking for a pair of open headphones with some bass but of course nothing over doing it that would ruin classical for me. I game and Listen to music about 50/50 so that could be a factor.


I also need something super comfortable. I'm going to be wearing these for long hours. Other than that I don't really know what else to say!

[sth]

i just bought a pair of sennheiser hd25 aluminum. i will never buy another headphone.

[HPE1000]

i just bought a pair of sennheiser hd25 aluminum. i will never buy another headphone.

Dey so tiny

[sth]

i just bought a pair of sennheiser hd25 aluminum. i will never buy another headphone.

Dey so tiny

i love them i do think i'm going to get them anodized in black to look like the original plastic version.

[LONGZILLA]

How does a Schiit Magni and a pair of AD900X sound (literally, huehue) for listening to rock? Open to other amp/headphone suggestions, my budget is roughly $300.

How critical is a DAC?

If you can bump overall budget to $400, the hifiman he400s are on a closeout sale and are worth every penny of the current $299 price tag.  Amazon still has a handful and they look to still be in stock direct through hifiman, too.

DAC is probably third of importance in my mind, but worth the upgrade at some point.  I would do headphones > amp > dac

Dang wish I could try the HE-400s somewhere, curious if they're comfortable enough for long usage to see if I should just wait for the HE-400i

[Binge]

How does a Schiit Magni and a pair of AD900X sound (literally, huehue) for listening to rock? Open to other amp/headphone suggestions, my budget is roughly $300.

How critical is a DAC?

If you can bump overall budget to $400, the hifiman he400s are on a closeout sale and are worth every penny of the current $299 price tag.  Amazon still has a handful and they look to still be in stock direct through hifiman, too.

DAC is probably third of importance in my mind, but worth the upgrade at some point.  I would do headphones > amp > dac

Dang wish I could try the HE-400s somewhere, curious if they're comfortable enough for long usage to see if I should just wait for the HE-400i

The price for the 400s are going to be significantly less than the 400i by about 100+ USD.  If you want to wait, you will probably be rewarded from what I am hearing.

[tjcaustin]

Okay everyone, I got a $400-$450 Budget for a pair of headphones and a Dac. What would you recommend? I listen to rock, Classical Pretty just a wide range of music. I'm looking for a pair of open headphones with some bass but of course nothing over doing it that would ruin classical for me. I game and Listen to music about 50/50 so that could be a factor.


I also need something super comfortable. I'm going to be wearing these for long hours. Other than that I don't really know what else to say!

I would say hd600/he400/mad dogs and either a schiit modi or aune t1 for the DAC.  I think the hd600 is the most comfortable of the three, but the mad dogs are very nice as well.  The he400 have the best sound (to me), but are heavy to most people.  I have a huge head, so I didn't notice as much.

[Dude]

I went on a bit of a spending spree recently.  I got a pair of HD 650's to replace my HD 580's that I've had for the past 10 years.  I also ordered a Bottlehead Crack amp to drive those, but while I'm waiting for them to ship I'll continue to use my ODAC/O2 with them.

I also wanted a nice closed pair of headphones for when I'm in an environment where a set of open headphones isn't appropriate.  I purchased the Mad Dogs, and they are extremely nice especially for the price.  I am strongly leaning towards upgrading them to Alpha Dogs (I'm on the waiting list), mainly because I hear the difference between them is so large & worth the extra $300, and I love having the best 

[Lanx]

so i guess these
ATH-AD700X

is the replacement for my AT adh-700

i guess since i moved, i must have snagged something and the right ear doesn't work, unless someone has some advice on how to fix that, guess i'm going with those, or someone have any ?other suggestions? the price range is... well i'm just happy with the old 700 so if price/performance and to me most importantly comfort (i wear them 8hrs a day) is just as good, why not try new things.

[tjcaustin]

so i guess these
ATH-AD700X

is the replacement for my AT adh-700

i guess since i moved, i must have snagged something and the right ear doesn't work, unless someone has some advice on how to fix that, guess i'm going with those, or someone have any ?other suggestions? the price range is... well i'm just happy with the old 700 so if price/performance and to me most importantly comfort (i wear them 8hrs a day) is just as good, why not try new things.

Crack it open and check the solder points? 

Send it to me and I'll crack it open and check the solder points?

If you would just rather have new, the ad700x is a good choice.

[Lanx]

actually just did that, apparently the wires just "spun" around the swivel a lot and stripped it, so i sent two wires up the cable, solder it, and now works. took 2 hours.

[ianxblog]

Pioneer SE-M290.

Love them.

[stancato9]

Does anyone know where I can get a balanced cable for the HE400s for a decent price?

[tjcaustin]

Does anyone know where I can get a balanced cable for the HE400s for a decent price?

How decent is decent?

Your cheapest option, if you have soldering tools already would be to modify the OE cable by replacing the SE 1/4" end with a 4 pin xlr or 2 3 pin xlr ends.

If you want to keep your single-ended cable and have a balanced as well, you could buy a run of cable you'd like (canare quadstar is nice), a pair of the hifiman ends and xlrs and make a full cable.  Assuming, again, that you have soldering gear.

From there, you could also order one off mimic cables for approximately $55 depending on what sleeve you want.

[Sniping]

I posted a pic of my balanced cable on the amp/dac thread. Got it for $55 from modulor (guy that runs the jergpad GB) at 5 ft length with a 2 color braid. I'm not sure if he's going to be doing more cables in the future but you should ask him, I'm very satisfied with mine.

[Binge]

I would really really truly recommend going with mimic cables.  The ones I've bought have had top quality sleeving and connector ends.  When I get a more mobile setup for the summer, I will be getting some custom headphone cables and an interconnect wire for a C5D.

Cables I've bought from mimic-

2x USB-A male to USB-B male
2x rca male to rca male
1x 1/8" phone male to R/L RCA male

[davkol]

Just got Sennheiser HD 250 Linear II in the mail. So far, I'm quite impressed.

Anyone have any experience with HD 540 Reference by chance?

[bumgrapes]

I own two pairs of headphones currently.


HD 25-1 ii for when I DJ


HD 25-SP ii for gaming (Retired from DJ business when I got the 25-1 ii's)



Would love a pair of these strictly for gaming

[JPG]

Hi all, I need an advice. Here's my situation and what I am looking for: I recently bought some Soundmagic HP100 and I like them a lot. They were my first pair of real decent headphones. But now I want a second pair to have one at home and one at job.


Ideally, I would like a pair of good quality closed headphones with 80+ impedance (so that I am not limited when looking for an amp since many have 5-10 ohm output impedance and my HP100 have 32 ohm impedance and from what I have read it's bad if you follow the 1/8 rule). I am them to be neutral/balanced. But in closed headphones, the choice is limited from what I have found.


I have lately been interested in getting the DT880, but they are semi-open and I am not sure yet if I would use them at home or at job. At home, sometime there's some noise (laundry), but it's not that much of an issue. But if I decide to get them at job, well I don't want to disturb my coworkers (they are like 4-5 feet away from me). My model F is already enough


I aim for a budget of 150-250 ish ideally (shipped to Canada). So I would like a lot to know if there's other good choices out there and I would also like to know how bad the sound leak would be for coworkers if I decided to bring them to work.


Thx all!

[LONGZILLA]

Hi all, I need an advice. Here's my situation and what I am looking for: I recently bought some Soundmagic HP100 and I like them a lot. They were my first pair of real decent headphones. But now I want a second pair to have one at home and one at job.

Ideally, I would like a pair of good quality closed headphones with 80+ impedance (so that I am not limited when looking for an amp since many have 5-10 ohm output impedance and my HP100 have 32 ohm impedance and from what I have read it's bad if you follow the 1/8 rule). I am them to be neutral/balanced. But in closed headphones, the choice is limited from what I have found.

I have lately been interested in getting the DT880, but they are semi-open and I am not sure yet if I would use them at home or at job. At home, sometime there's some noise (laundry), but it's not that much of an issue. But if I decide to get them at job, well I don't want to disturb my coworkers (they are like 4-5 feet away from me). My model F is already enough

I aim for a budget of 150-250 ish ideally (shipped to Canada). So I would like a lot to know if there's other good choices out there and I would also like to know how bad the sound leak would be for coworkers if I decided to bring them to work.

Thx all!

You mentioned the DT880's interested you, perhaps the Beyer DT770 (32 or limited edition) or Custom One Pros

[Binge]

Hi all, I need an advice. Here's my situation and what I am looking for: I recently bought some Soundmagic HP100 and I like them a lot. They were my first pair of real decent headphones. But now I want a second pair to have one at home and one at job.


Ideally, I would like a pair of good quality closed headphones with 80+ impedance (so that I am not limited when looking for an amp since many have 5-10 ohm output impedance and my HP100 have 32 ohm impedance and from what I have read it's bad if you follow the 1/8 rule). I am them to be neutral/balanced. But in closed headphones, the choice is limited from what I have found.


I have lately been interested in getting the DT880, but they are semi-open and I am not sure yet if I would use them at home or at job. At home, sometime there's some noise (laundry), but it's not that much of an issue. But if I decide to get them at job, well I don't want to disturb my coworkers (they are like 4-5 feet away from me). My model F is already enough


I aim for a budget of 150-250 ish ideally (shipped to Canada). So I would like a lot to know if there's other good choices out there and I would also like to know how bad the sound leak would be for coworkers if I decided to bring them to work.


Thx all!

FA-003Ti rebrand +1, https://secure.vividcluster.crox.net.au/jaycar2005/productView.asp?ID=AA2065&w=headphone&form=KEYWORD

[PointyFox]

Hi all, I need an advice. Here's my situation and what I am looking for: I recently bought some Soundmagic HP100 and I like them a lot. They were my first pair of real decent headphones. But now I want a second pair to have one at home and one at job.

Ideally, I would like a pair of good quality closed headphones with 80+ impedance (so that I am not limited when looking for an amp since many have 5-10 ohm output impedance and my HP100 have 32 ohm impedance and from what I have read it's bad if you follow the 1/8 rule). I am them to be neutral/balanced. But in closed headphones, the choice is limited from what I have found.

I have lately been interested in getting the DT880, but they are semi-open and I am not sure yet if I would use them at home or at job. At home, sometime there's some noise (laundry), but it's not that much of an issue. But if I decide to get them at job, well I don't want to disturb my coworkers (they are like 4-5 feet away from me). My model F is already enough

I aim for a budget of 150-250 ish ideally (shipped to Canada). So I would like a lot to know if there's other good choices out there and I would also like to know how bad the sound leak would be for coworkers if I decided to bring them to work.

Thx all!

You mentioned the DT880's interested you, perhaps the Beyer DT770 (32 or limited edition) or Custom One Pros

I don't like DT880s.  They are sonically inferior to HD600/650 due to weak bass impact and over-amplification of sounds around 8.5 kHz. They don't seem to block much outside sound, so the "semi-open" feature is pretty meaningless.   The DT770s have the same bump around 8.5 kHz.  Makes people sssound like sssnakesss.

I've never heard any "audiophile" closed full-size headphones I thought were at least decent.  Great isolation, sound quality and value can be had with in-ear modules however. 

[linziyi]

Prelude

So I found myself mysteriously drawn into the headphone business a couple months ago, and got myself a first pair of "decent" fullsize headphone according to a head-fi-er's advice --- the fischer fa-003 --- it was praised for its unmatched neutrality and soundstage at its price level. However I was quite disapointed by the sound it produced, so I went on and did some research online, reading reviews, surfing reddits... Eventually I realised that my ears are the most reliable advicer I can ever have, so I decided to sample some headphones.

 

I went to B&H 9th avenue in Mannhattan following other people's suggestions, with a pair of ears long wanted to experience the "hifi" sound, I begun my jounery...

 

Music

Baptised by classical music through all my life, and being a piano player myself, my ears just cannot bear the noise and disturbance created by pop music, so my catagory is very limited, but I am hoping to enjoy some ragtime or jazz later on. The tracks I used in this sampling are: BWV 537-Bach, La Campanella-Liszt, Pastorale-Beethoven, Nocturnes Op.9 No.1-Chopin. All flac 690Kbps, source from a nexus 10.

 

HD 600

One of the most praised headphone from what I read, my expectation for this one is huge, and ready to be blown away by it. The comforte is unparalled, the headband so light and the velorpads so soft that I hardly feel it on my head, and the open back design makes my ears feel so fresh after so many years behind the closed back headphones. The organ works from Bach sounds very nice but I think a little more bass would be perfect. The Liszt etude is my track to test the treble, it sounds a little bit dull compare to a real piano, which has a very clear, bell-like sound. It is the symphony by Beethoven really pulls this headphone apart from the others. The different instruments are extremely distinguishable and clear, and I can clearly hear the notes from the drums and double basses in the right wing compare to a sea of bassy vibration produced by my previous headphones. Overall the headphone is great, but I expected a lot more imaging from a open back headphone.

 

AKG 701

The AKG 701 called to my attention for its supreme soundstage mentioned by numerous people. While the soundstage is much, much bigger than that of the HD 600, I find its sound signature much to my disliking, too "spiky" for classical music in my opinion, maybe good for more modern musics.

 

HD 800

The model they had in store is broken, the wire connected to the right driver is exposed and disjointed, but it doesn't stop me from realising its glory---OMG THE SOUNDSTAGE IS AMMMMMMMAAAAAZZINNNGGGG!!!!!!!!! It has got almost double the soundstage of the AKG 701 and the sound of the HD 600, but much more lucid, penatrative, and crystalline. The trebles are exactly what I want them to be, and the bass is just the right amount --- warm, but not muddy. I can only imagine the sound coming out of this with proper amplification and properly working wires.

 

DT 990 pro

I heard mixed review about this one, my brother says it is too "soft", and some people says it is not very good. It is bigger than what I've thought, but very comfortable nontheless. Listening to the Beethoven symphony, I discovered that the instruments are less separable than the HD 600, everything kind of all jumbled up together. Bass is adequate compare to the ones I heard before, and treble not as clear as the HD 600. However the soundstage is greater than that of the HD 600, considering it it being a third of the HD 600's, I still think this is a good deal.

 

HE 400

I sampled this one in another store as the B&H doesn't have an opened one. It is not as heavy as people on the Internet described it to be, in fact, it is almost the same as any other headphones for me. The first thing that caught my attention is the bass. It is very different from the other headphones, quite difficult to describe using the "sound dictionary" I have right now. I find the treble very unlikable for the musics I listen to, too low to even call it "treble" in my point of view. The soundstage is quite limited from what I heard, but a little more open than that of the HD 600. All in all, not a headphone for me.

 

Conclusion

The headphoens I sampled this time are all without proper amplifications, for the source I used is merely a tablet (not to mention wire and DAC, which I have no idea how they affect the sound). I am planning to attend the next head-fi meetup in NY, looking forward to test some other headphone and make my final decision of buying one!

 

P.S. Please excuse me of any misuse of terminology and point out the areas I can improve on, it is a new field I am stepping in and need quite a lot guidance, thanks very much for reading!

[pillows]

I'm no audiophile but I have a

Sony MDR-V6 with Beyerdynamic pads

I'd take pics but uh- my SD card is in the other room
If anyone is interested in buying a pair, the ear pads wear out fast, so better to replace them with the Beyerdynamic EDT 250 Velour pads.
In terms of audio quality, uhh read the reviews on Amazon? I have poopy ears and I think I'm going deaf.

I use them for gaming, just like any other headphones, I can hear them footsteps in CS
Occasionally wear them for music..

Only gripe I have with them is they pinch a little if you wear glasses (I have moderately thick rimmed glasses)

[PointyFox]

Prelude

So I found myself mysteriously drawn into the headphone business a couple months ago, and got myself a first pair of "decent" fullsize headphone according to a head-fi-er's advice --- the fischer fa-003 --- it was praised for its unmatched neutrality and soundstage at its price level. However I was quite disapointed by the sound it produced, so I went on and did some research online, reading reviews, surfing reddits... Eventually I realised that my ears are the most reliable advicer I can ever have, so I decided to sample some headphones.

 

I went to B&H 9th avenue in Mannhattan following other people's suggestions, with a pair of ears long wanted to experience the "hifi" sound, I begun my jounery...

 

Music

Baptised by classical music through all my life, and being a piano player myself, my ears just cannot bear the noise and disturbance created by pop music, so my catagory is very limited, but I am hoping to enjoy some ragtime or jazz later on. The tracks I used in this sampling are: BWV 537-Bach, La Campanella-Liszt, Pastorale-Beethoven, Nocturnes Op.9 No.1-Chopin. All flac 690Kbps, source from a nexus 10.

 

HD 600

One of the most praised headphone from what I read, my expectation for this one is huge, and ready to be blown away by it. The comforte is unparalled, the headband so light and the velorpads so soft that I hardly feel it on my head, and the open back design makes my ears feel so fresh after so many years behind the closed back headphones. The organ works from Bach sounds very nice but I think a little more bass would be perfect. The Liszt etude is my track to test the treble, it sounds a little bit dull compare to a real piano, which has a very clear, bell-like sound. It is the symphony by Beethoven really pulls this headphone apart from the others. The different instruments are extremely distinguishable and clear, and I can clearly hear the notes from the drums and double basses in the right wing compare to a sea of bassy vibration produced by my previous headphones. Overall the headphone is great, but I expected a lot more imaging from a open back headphone.

 

AKG 701

The AKG 701 called to my attention for its supreme soundstage mentioned by numerous people. While the soundstage is much, much bigger than that of the HD 600, I find its sound signature much to my disliking, too "spiky" for classical music in my opinion, maybe good for more modern musics.

 

HD 800

The model they had in store is broken, the wire connected to the right driver is exposed and disjointed, but it doesn't stop me from realising its glory---OMG THE SOUNDSTAGE IS AMMMMMMMAAAAAZZINNNGGGG!!!!!!!!! It has got almost double the soundstage of the AKG 701 and the sound of the HD 600, but much more lucid, penatrative, and crystalline. The trebles are exactly what I want them to be, and the bass is just the right amount --- warm, but not muddy. I can only imagine the sound coming out of this with proper amplification and properly working wires.

 

DT 990 pro

I heard mixed review about this one, my brother says it is too "soft", and some people says it is not very good. It is bigger than what I've thought, but very comfortable nontheless. Listening to the Beethoven symphony, I discovered that the instruments are less separable than the HD 600, everything kind of all jumbled up together. Bass is adequate compare to the ones I heard before, and treble not as clear as the HD 600. However the soundstage is greater than that of the HD 600, considering it it being a third of the HD 600's, I still think this is a good deal.

 

HE 400

I sampled this one in another store as the B&H doesn't have an opened one. It is not as heavy as people on the Internet described it to be, in fact, it is almost the same as any other headphones for me. The first thing that caught my attention is the bass. It is very different from the other headphones, quite difficult to describe using the "sound dictionary" I have right now. I find the treble very unlikable for the musics I listen to, too low to even call it "treble" in my point of view. The soundstage is quite limited from what I heard, but a little more open than that of the HD 600. All in all, not a headphone for me.

 

Conclusion

The headphoens I sampled this time are all without proper amplifications, for the source I used is merely a tablet (not to mention wire and DAC, which I have no idea how they affect the sound). I am planning to attend the next head-fi meetup in NY, looking forward to test some other headphone and make my final decision of buying one!

 

P.S. Please excuse me of any misuse of terminology and point out the areas I can improve on, it is a new field I am stepping in and need quite a lot guidance, thanks very much for reading!

Excellent reviews.  You seem to have nailed the characteristics of the various headphones perfectly.  I'm sure the HD600 would have more bass impact with proper amplification.  Bass suffers the most with a weak amp.

[HPE1000]

Might be a dumb question and it doesn't completely match the thread but I listen to music most of the day and 99% of the time I only have one side of the headphones on my head. They are dt770s and don't hurt pushing one side off, mainly because want to hear what is around me during the day at times, I don't like feeling trapped(?) while I have my headphones on, but I dont like speakers or open headphones because I play music loud at times.

SO, to the point, after probably a year or so of doing this, my hearing is slightly different between the two ears. My left ear, which is the ear I actually listen to the headphones on all the time seem to pick up sound "better". Bass feels stronger in that ear, and overall it feels as if I can pick up more detail in that ear. Meanwhile my right ear, which never has the headphones on them feel dead(exaggeration, but best description I could give) in comparison. Not as much response to the bass and it just doesn't sound the same.

Does this seem like prior hearing damage in my right ear or that my left ear has just become accustomed to headphones all the time? IDK lol, it's not that big of a deal to me but I just wonder...

[PointyFox]

Might be a dumb question and it doesn't completely match the thread but I listen to music most of the day and 99% of the time I only have one side of the headphones on my head. They are dt770s and don't hurt pushing one side off, mainly because want to hear what is around me during the day at times, I don't like feeling trapped(?) while I have my headphones on, but I dont like speakers or open headphones because I play music loud at times.

SO, to the point, after probably a year or so of doing this, my hearing is slightly different between the two ears. My left ear, which is the ear I actually listen to the headphones on all the time seem to pick up sound "better". Bass feels stronger in that ear, and overall it feels as if I can pick up more detail in that ear. Meanwhile my right ear, which never has the headphones on them feel dead(exaggeration, but best description I could give) in comparison. Not as much response to the bass and it just doesn't sound the same.

Does this seem like prior hearing damage in my right ear or that my left ear has just become accustomed to headphones all the time? IDK lol, it's not that big of a deal to me but I just wonder...

It's normal to have differences in hearing between both ears due to anatomical variation; e.g. having one ear canal smaller or angled differently than the other. 

[JPG]

Hi all, I need an advice. Here's my situation and what I am looking for: I recently bought some Soundmagic HP100 and I like them a lot. They were my first pair of real decent headphones. But now I want a second pair to have one at home and one at job.

Ideally, I would like a pair of good quality closed headphones with 80+ impedance (so that I am not limited when looking for an amp since many have 5-10 ohm output impedance and my HP100 have 32 ohm impedance and from what I have read it's bad if you follow the 1/8 rule). I am them to be neutral/balanced. But in closed headphones, the choice is limited from what I have found.

I have lately been interested in getting the DT880, but they are semi-open and I am not sure yet if I would use them at home or at job. At home, sometime there's some noise (laundry), but it's not that much of an issue. But if I decide to get them at job, well I don't want to disturb my coworkers (they are like 4-5 feet away from me). My model F is already enough

I aim for a budget of 150-250 ish ideally (shipped to Canada). So I would like a lot to know if there's other good choices out there and I would also like to know how bad the sound leak would be for coworkers if I decided to bring them to work.

Thx all!

You mentioned the DT880's interested you, perhaps the Beyer DT770 (32 or limited edition) or Custom One Pros

I don't like DT880s.  They are sonically inferior to HD600/650 due to weak bass impact and over-amplification of sounds around 8.5 kHz. They don't seem to block much outside sound, so the "semi-open" feature is pretty meaningless.   The DT770s have the same bump around 8.5 kHz.  Makes people sssound like sssnakesss.

I've never heard any "audiophile" closed full-size headphones I thought were at least decent.  Great isolation, sound quality and value can be had with in-ear modules however.

Hum, what's the difference between HD600 and HD650? Also, they don't seem to be in the same price range, more like double the price...