Help Chiablo pick his headphones

Which Headphones should Chiablo buy?

  • Sennheiser HD555

    Votes: 1 4.0%

  • Sennheiser HD595

    Votes: 8 32.0%

  • Sennheiser HD580

    Votes: 10 40.0%

  • Other (post below)

    Votes: 6 24.0%
  • Total voters
    25
C

chiablo

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 6, 2005
Messages
387
I currently have a pair of Sennheiser HD202's. I'm looking to get a new pair of headphones. They will be running of of the X-Fi Platinum front bay port until I can get a dedicated amp for it (probably in a month or two.) My budget is $175 or less.

The pair I was looking to get originally was the HD580, I found them on newegg for $150 and the recommendation from headphone.com makes them very temping. But if there is a better pair out there, I'd be willing to try it.
 
What kind of music do you listen to? the HD580 won't be very good for fast paced music... or bassy music either..
 
I'l second the "what kind of music?" question, and also add, is gaming or music the higher priority?
 
For that price range the HD580 would be good from the Sennheiser line. You could also look at some AKG, Beyerdynamic, or Grado headphones in that range, those tend to be pretty popular. It also depends on what kind of music you listen to, gaming, what else you want to do. Some people swear by Grados for rock but others love Sennheiser for it too so if you can get out to a store that carries them and listen to them I'm sure that'd help. Also, check out the Head-Fi forums, there might be a headphone meetup in your area sometime soon and you could try out a ton of equipment.
 
It's going to be 90% gaming.

The music I listen to is Metal, Progressive Rock, and Industrial.

Bass is nice, but I know alot of headphone designers like to replace quality with excess bass.
 
wow, then the HD580 won't be best for you at all... they are too laid back like most other sennheisers and slow for rock... gaming. even though thier soundstage is wide.. the laid back treble are known to mask footsteps and such for gaming.. and bass is natural, no thump for explosions and stuff... probably look at som audio-technicas?
 
I love my HD580's. People here seem really down on them because they're not the bassiest headphones out there. If you're not in love with deafening bass I highly recommend them for their wide soundstage and accurate presentation.
 
Also, I'm looking for good prices. If I can't find the headphone I like for a decent price, then there's no real use in getting it.

Here's the current pricing I have found for the various headphones:

HD555 | $107 (I have the link at work.)
Sennheiser HD595 | $179.95 (outside of budget)
Sennheiser HD580 | $149.99
Audio-Technica A700 | $155

I'm leaning towards the 595's (for the sound quality and the 1/4" connector) however, I'd need to find them for under $150. Does anybody have a link to someone selling them for around that much?
 
I say get the 580. I've owned the 555 and heard the 595 and they arent anything like the 580/600/650 series. Atleast to me.
 
The Audio Techica A500/700/900 are recomended for gaming... They are also very comfortable.
 
I retract my 580 vote and would like to vote for the 595's if you will be gaming a lot. I have the 595's and they are fantastic, also for that metal and rock.
 
I have owned all 3 (Audiotechnica ATH-A900, Senn HD595, Senn HD580)

Get the Audio Technica for the 200 dollar price point if you are going to game.

If you are listening to music amped, HD580

I can't think of a reason to get the HD595 considering the sound from the ATH-A900 is equivelant or better in most modern music. Now if you are listening ot classical.... maybe the HD595.

Hey or get the Beyer Dynamic DT770. Lots of bass, good positional audio. Just a good can.
 
The Senn 595s are a fantastic all around headphone, all genres of music, gaming, movies. You can't go wrong with them. They also really do improve with an amp 50 ohms or not.
 
i'm goinig to have to second strikeout on this one. I'm buying for myself a pair of AT-900's really still considering the DT770's because I enjoy bassy explosions, but I hear that they have crap for a midrange, so probably am going to stick to the AT-900's. From what i've been reading today, another bonus for the AT-900's is that they do quite well unamplified.

Hope this helps your pick.

EDIT:
Here is a link for the auidiocubes.com sales site. I found the AT's for a decent price here:
http://www.audiocubes.com/category/...t/Audio-Technica_ATH-A900_Art_Headphones.html
 
Well, my order has been placed! And the final decision was...

The Sennheiser HD555's.

Yes, that's right... I got the headphones that recieved the lowest amount of votes.

How I came to this decision was as follows: I told my wife I wanted the HD595's for $200... she was not pleased. I showed her the other options and she asked me "what's different between the 555's and the 595's." So I tried my hardest to explain what the difference was, and failed miserably.

Also, according to Head-Fi, the 595's have a very bright sound to them and a less pronounced bass. The 555's will do nicely for what purpose I am going to use them for. Also, this gives me some financial leeway towards getting an amp later on.

Thanks for everyone's input and recommendations, I thoroughly researched each pair of cans you suggested. And if I had less willpower, I would be the owner of about 5 pairs of cans.
 
Sounds like a decent choice :) Now, what amp are you considering?
 
chiablo said:
I showed her the other options and she asked me "what's different between the 555's and the 595's." So I tried my hardest to explain what the difference was, and failed miserably.
Click to expand...
Have you listened to them? That might be why it was hard to explain the difference, ^_^.

Well, when you get them, feel free to post your pics of them as well as how you like them.

And most important of all, I hope you enjoy them for years and years to come!
 
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