Headphone brands

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NaturalViolence

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 31, 2010
Messages
384
So at the moment I am compiling a list of potential headphones to take a look at. I do not yet know what my price range will be. I have been combing this forum for awhile now and whenever a thread pops up where someone is asking about headphone recommendations I keep seeing the same names showing up over and over, sennheiser, beyerdynamic, denon, grados, audio-technica, and akg. Especially sennheiser and audio-technica. A few models in particular:

$30
Plantronics GameCom 367

$40
Plantronics GameCom 377
JVC HA-RX700

$60
Sennheiser HD515

$80
Sony MDR-XB700

$100
ATH AD700
Sennheiser HD555

$130
ATH-M50
ATH A700

$175
AKG k271

$200
Denon AHD-2000
Beyerdynamic dt770
Sennheiser HD380 PRO

$250
Beyerdynamic dt880
Beyerdynamic dt990
Sennheiser HD595

$300
ATH A900

$350
AKG 702
Sennheiser HD600
Sennheiser HD650

$450
AKG 701

$600
Denon AHD-5000


So what brands or models/units should I be looking at, what have you used that you would recommend to others to try out?

I also have a second question. Is the headphone amp in an asus xonar essence STX sufficient for a beyerdynamic dt770 or denon AHD-2000, or would buying an external headphone amp make a huge difference?
 
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You missed the sony models, usually the MDR7506 or the cheaper yet similar V6. Other people like Grado models, but i'm not too familiar with them for specific models.

Also headphones should be bought based on intended use as they all have "character" such as flat response or more bass, or whatever. So are you going to use them for just movies and games, or are you going to be doing sound work such as movies or music, or something where an accurate response is important. An external headphone amp will just make things louder. I've never used a xonar but most onboard sound will get a pair of decent headphones without a stupid ohm rating to a painful loudness if you turn it up enough.
 
I am no means an expert, but if you look at my posts over the years, I have gone from totally zero knowledge to now owning a pretty nice setup thx to this board. And still learning!

I have owned the Senns. HD555's HD595's and HD650's.

HD555's no amp needed, though I did have a pimeta I purchased off eBay. They sound pretty good for some 100 dollar headphones. But I wanted something better.

HD595's did not need an amp either but I threw a $125.00 SS amp on them (forget name), and at the time I thought they sounded just a tad better than my HD555's. Slightly better high's and mids, but the bass was much better. Which isn't saying much considering the HD555's are no where near a bassy headphone.I only used em a few months before I sold em.

The HD650's I am in love with. These are the 1st headphones I have owned that I have not had to touch my EQ software. Between the cans and a nice budget amp, they have the sound I was looking for. As of right now using an A1 tube amp from Mav Audio. I mostly listen to old R&B, Motown etc. I can honestly say I hear the damn spit in the back of James Brown's throat on some of his songs! Absolutely need an amp. To get even more outta the headphones I am snagging a Mav Audio D1 DAC as well.

Depending on your budget, the three I have mentioned are great for their price ranges. But I find myself now looking for more and more music genre's to listen to so that I own the HD650's. I am 100% satisfied with these headphones.
 
Also headphones should be bought based on intended use as they all have "character" such as flat response or more bass, or whatever.
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I know. I'm just compiling a list right now, I want to know what headphones other people are using so I know what to check out. I haven't started the research stage yet.

An external headphone amp will just make things louder. I've never used a xonar but most onboard sound will get a pair of decent headphones without a stupid ohm rating to a painful loudness if you turn it up enough.
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Hmmm. Well from what I gathered from the general audiophile community (I'm still a noob obviously) was that high end headphones tend to need an amp to sound good since they need a lot more power than low end headphones. I noticed that for every headphone beyerdynamic sells they have a 30 ohm (maybe 32, can't remember), 80 ohm, 250ohm, and 600ohm version. According to reviews the higher impedence models produce better sound quality but require a more powerful amp to drive them. And many reviews for what I would consider medium end headphones state that the headphones need an amp to sound their best, if you stop using the amp is hurts you to think of how good they could sound.

@Gmok

Thank you for that post. Exactly the kind of post I was looking for. Now I just need to get some people in here with other headphones to add input.
 
NaturalViolence said:
Hmmm. Well from what I gathered from the general audiophile community (I'm still a noob obviously) was that high end headphones tend to need an amp to sound good since they need a lot more power than low end headphones. I noticed that for every headphone beyerdynamic sells they have a 30 ohm (maybe 32, can't remember), 80 ohm, 250ohm, and 600ohm version. According to reviews the higher impedence models produce better sound quality but require a more powerful amp to drive them. And many reviews for what I would consider medium end headphones state that the headphones need an amp to sound their best, if you stop using the amp is hurts you to think of how good they could sound.
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It would be wonderful if that were true. But what is true and anything louder automatically sounds better, and guess what headphone amps do... Its why the "loudness wars" have been happening (records released now are much much louder than they were before) because people like things loud. When people stop using something that makes something as loud...it sounds worse. Most of it in in peoples heads, and they like to find magical "hidden" differences that if you don't hear then simply you have "worse ears" or arn't in the coven of audiophilia or something...

The ohms rating has very little to do with sound quality, or shouldn't, infact it shouldn't have any. It is just a rating of how hard the headphones will have to be pushed to get the equivelent loudness. So a 600ohm pair will need more kick than a 32ohm model. So on the same amp the 32ohm will be louder. Thats the only difference. A higher ohm pair does have the advantage of being harder to distort, but wont be as loud. I'm using some 30 something ohm Sony monitoring headphones and I can easily get to 120dB without a headphone amp. I also use them in the various studios using various headphone amps,,,and they sound the same, I just have to have the knob lower. Simply, the lower ohms versions are designed for lower power amps, and the higher ohm versions are designed for higher power and so on.

The SONY MDR 7506s! they are becoming slightly old school but they be wonderous.
 
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@DeathPrincess
I get what your're saying. I do. But it seems very hard to believe. I mean you are basically saying that amps are almost always pointless since all they do is make things louder. Yet millions of audiophiles spend rediculous amounts of money on them because most of their high end gear needs them to sound good, and they all agree with each other on this. I mean I know that just because the majority believe it's true doesn't make it true but it's just hard to believe, from my point of view, that they are all wrong. And it makes logical sense that high end headphones/speakers would need powerful amps to drive them.
 
Perhaps what DeathPrincess is saying is that, as long as you are giving the proper amount of power to your headphones to achieve your desired listening level, a DAC would make more of a difference.

I suppose that is true, aside from differences in amps such as solid state versus tube. You can spend $10 or $10,000 on a headphone amp, but is your money best spent there?

I tend to think that on these low to medium-end headphones, an amp will make a small difference, but a DAC will make a larger one. The HD 650s will no doubt benefit the most from the amp, but to be honest, in listening to them straight from my Macbook Pro and then listening to them hooked up to thousands of dollars worth of gear at my local hi-fi shop, I wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be. My Grado 325is' hardly showed any benefit from an amp (I've tried them with a an amp from NAD, April Music, and an Asus Xonar Essence). But, using a DAC instead of the built in one in the Macbook Pro made a very nice change.

In the end, don't get too carried away with the "audiophile" stuff that you read on all of the forums. A lot of people are just regurgitating what they have read somewhere else, it's almost cool to act like a snobby audiophile on some forums. I know, because I've caught myself acting like that too.
 
NaturalViolence said:
@DeathPrincess
I get what your're saying. I do. But it seems very hard to believe. I mean you are basically saying that amps are almost always pointless since all they do is make things louder. Yet millions of audiophiles spend rediculous amounts of money on them because most of their high end gear needs them to sound good, and they all agree with each other on this. I mean I know that just because the majority believe it's true doesn't make it true but it's just hard to believe, from my point of view, that they are all wrong. And it makes logical sense that high end headphones/speakers would need powerful amps to drive them.
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Audiohpiles have bought junk like $3000 Monster cables because of some believed improvement in "sound quality".

I repost something from an audiophile forum which answers the question rather well.

No, that's completely incorrect and is possibly the biggest piece of misinformation that gets circulated around these forums. (about difference in sound quality vs ohms)

The sound level as I believe you mean the term, is dictated by the sensitivity rating, which is a measure of the sound volume output of a transducer per unit of electrical input power.

The ohm is a measure of electrical resistance, and to keep it simple, lower ohms in a headphone means that the driving amplifier tends to need more current output and higher ohm ratings mean that the amplifier needs to have greater voltage swing.

These two factors are NOT exclusive though. Low resistance headphones still need voltage swing from the amp and vice versa.

If you know your basic standard grade physics, then you can, by putting some imaginary figures through you head with regard to the formulae of interaction between voltage current and power, or resistance and power, or resistance or voltage or whatever you like, come up with patterns of numbers which illustrate this. Heres a rather convenient diagram of some of these interactions.

FormulaWheelElectronics.gif
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People like to "get" something other people don't "get" lots of the audiophile community, to be honest are full of people that want to hear differences in every single thing they do. The more money it is, the more betterer it is. Just because someone is an "audiophile" doesn't mean they are technically savy, or aware of lots of physchological effects of sound or not an elitist nut. There are lots of "emperors new clothes" issues and not many people want to be the fool, especially when theyve paid $1000s for things, I mean its expensive, it must be good, otherwise their investment was foolish and their no longer experts. Lots of people want to be in the know and able to hear differences so that their ears are "better". It is not to say if I fired up my spectral anaylsis I wouldn't find minor differences (unless they were poop quality or low end headphones, but thats usually a lottery anyway). But different copies of headphones of the same ohms will have minor differences too (also remember that a human has difficulty in noticing a change of less than 3dB) but they don't list batch numbers and soon. Also burned in headphones vs unburned etc. Lots of the way things sound is psychoacoustical, like the loudness issue I mentioned before and the fact that something distorted sounds louder. Your ears do not directly pump sounds, your brain interprets them. Try it for yourself, listen to a song, then push the amp up 3dB and listen again, it magically sounds better. We have sound quality improvment here.
 
First thing the OP should do is figure out how much he wants to spend and which headphones are comparable in certain price ranges

For example (Amazon Pricing)

100$
Senheiser 555
Audio Technica AD700
Sony MDR-700

200$
Senheiser HD595
Berydynamic dT770
Denon AHD2000

350$
Sennheiser HD650
beyerdynamic dt990 Premium
akg 702


400$
denon AHD-5000
akg 701

I use the Astro AMP (130$) simply for the higher volume and portability between my movie and gaming stations. Im no audiophile, but it is sure an improvement for PC-360-PS3 audio with my Sony MDR-XB700s over the junky Astro headset.
 
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@CJRP

I don't understand how a decent dac would make any difference. Lets say I have an ipod, which outputs analog. How would running it through a dac make any difference if all it can do it preamp it? And if I have a computer with a decent audio card or receiver how would that make a different over what I have already?

First thing the OP should do is figure out how much he wants to spend and which headphones are comparable in certain price ranges
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I plan to do the opposite. I am looking various good headphones for different price ranges and comparing them to see if the difference is enough to be worth the price. Whereas most people just pick a price and ask what headphones are good for that price range. Thank you for the list, it will be very helpful to me.
 
For cheap closed headphones I like the JVC HA-RX700 in the $35-$40 dollar range.
For nice entry level open phones, I love my Alessandro MS1's. They are equivalent to Grado 125's but only $99.
 
NaturalViolence said:
@CJRP

I don't understand how a decent dac would make any difference. Lets say I have an ipod, which outputs analog. How would running it through a dac make any difference if all it can do it preamp it? And if I have a computer with a decent audio card or receiver how would that make a different over what I have already?



I plan to do the opposite. I am looking various good headphones for different price ranges and comparing them to see if the difference is enough to be worth the price. Whereas most people just pick a price and ask what headphones are good for that price range. Thank you for the list, it will be very helpful to me.
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HD555's to HD595. Not worth it.

HD595's to HD650's. Worth it.

HD555's to HD650's. Absolutely worth it.
 
I'm surprised the ATH-A900 and AKG k271 aren't on the list.
 
From what I am understanding he is asking...Are the price differences between headphones (the ones that I have personally owned, are all I can comment on) worth the upgrade/price
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Yes. And thanks for your input.

I'm surprised the ATH-A900 and AKG k271 aren't on the list.
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Well the whole point of this thread was to gather info on what models/brands I should be looking at. So now they are. Feel free to list any more that you think should be on that list.
 
NaturalViolence said:
Yes. And thanks for your input.



Well the whole point of this thread was to gather info on what models/brands I should be looking at. So now they are. Feel free to list any more that you think should be on that list.
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Ok so Ive been reading a bunch on headphones

Good Article regarding the difference between the Berry DT880 and DT990
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/234214/beyerdynamic-dt-880-and-dt-990-review-pics

Good Sennheiser HD650 Review
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/141830/sennheiser-hd650-review

Cnet does some very good headphone reviews surprisingly, but only compares similarily priced sets. Many of the headphones on your list are reviewed and compared here.
http://reviews.cnet.com/best-full-size-headphones/?tag=rvwBody

Untill you figure out how much money you are willing to spend, trying to help you futher is a complete waste of time. Finding the difference in quality for all these headphones is nearly an impossible task and is way to subjective .

So if you are willing to spend 400$, finding out the difference between the 400$ and 300$ headphones is an easy task.

Take off the Sennhesier HD555s from the list, I have a pair as well as the Sony MDR-XB700s which are a big upgrade do to the punchier bass and distinction between insutrments (Sennhesiers have a lot of static where the Sonys are clear on 320kbps music).
 
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Alright. Almost ready to decide. Completed my list and started doing research. I'm now down to 4 choices. Sony MDR-XB700, ATH A700, ATH AD700, ATH-M50, or Denon AHD-2000. So I have a few more questions:

1. I know the difference between the ATH A700 and ATH AD700 is closed vs. open. But what difference does that make (pros and cons please)?

2. Would their be enough of an improvement to make the Denon AHD-2000 worth it compared to the others I listed ($200 while the other four are about about $100)?

3. Have any of you heard of the ATH-M50 or have any opinions on it?
 
revival!!

im actually curious to some of these answers and if you haven't decided yet i have the m50s. they are a good closed headphone and have solid bass production that is not overpowering like the beats. right now though im also trying to decide on another set of cans right around the 100-150 range. possible the ad700 or senn 595. i like how closed cans keep sound out but i want to try a decent set of open cans so i can hear the difference for myself.

also i keep reading contrasting opinions about why open are better than closed for gaming and vise versa. what is the real general consensus... i want to hear peoples opinions not the general statement of "its different to everyone". if its different to everyone then please let us know your opinion
 
I own the HD600s and they are exceptional for the price. Also, Don't look at the HD650 as a straight upgrade but more of a side-grade. Many people actually prefer the sound of the HD600 to the HD650. The HD650s are sometimes too laid-back or veiled/dark for some people and it really depends on the amp to bring their true potential out.

The HD600's are generally had for $300 online nowadays and not $350 so you might want to move them. I've even seen them for as low as $280 new from good sellers. Their price still fluctuates a bit.

http://www.ecomelectronics.com/prodinfo.phtml?id=257603&ref=froogle

Once you pass the HD595 you really need to start thinking about getting a headphone amplifier and possibly a DAC depending on your source. It really makes a huge difference from a headphone like the HD600 from my experience.

If you want to go the closed route, the Denon AH-D5000 are also exceptional. Your price is a bit off here too. Here they are for $417 new:
http://www.etronics.com/p-37435-den...212225272E6425253B38363D3A3578363637353330303
 
Corban227 said:
revival!!

im actually curious to some of these answers and if you haven't decided yet i have the m50s. they are a good closed headphone and have solid bass production that is not overpowering like the beats. right now though im also trying to decide on another set of cans right around the 100-150 range. possible the ad700 or senn 595. i like how closed cans keep sound out but i want to try a decent set of open cans so i can hear the difference for myself.

also i keep reading contrasting opinions about why open are better than closed for gaming and vise versa. what is the real general consensus... i want to hear peoples opinions not the general statement of "its different to everyone". if its different to everyone then please let us know your opinion
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I honestly used to prefer open cans for gaming...Since I have purchased the Denon 2k's I have gone pretty much a 180 in this regard. So I don't know if it's more of an open vs closed thing, or just a headphone to headphone thing.

AD700 vs Senn 595. Tough call. I will tell you now though...Heavy into bass? The 595's will not satisfy.
 
ive heard that a lot about the 595 and ad700's. how do the denon2ks fair in bass?

also are there any good open backed phones for under 200 that? i like to have the bass there but i'm not a "bass head" per say. i'm just slightly worried that ill buy the hd595 and be completely let down
 
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Oh, the 595 are absolutely great sounding cans. Sorry if my post sounded like they were not. They just do not have any emphasize on bass. They sound so crisp and sharp they may get fatiguing to some people. I DID tone them down on the highs with the EQ.

The Denon's 2k's are now my headphones of choice for all around use. For 200 bucks or so they are an absolute steal. (Remember they used to retail for about 450). I use them much more than my HD650's because I game so much.

Bass wise, the Denon's do an excellent job. They offer a very smooth deep bass. I can not bottom them out on any music I listen to.
 
what about sound stage thou? i've heard its way better with a set of open cans

(one thing im considering doing is buying the hd595 now and then get the d2k's in a couple of months to replace my m50's

then ill just use the m50s as a travel set.
 
DeathPrincess said:
...I'm using some 30 something ohm Sony monitoring headphones and I can easily get to 120dB without a headphone amp...
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Holy crap! I hope you're not wearing them when you get to 120dB.

As far as the "loudness wars" go, it's a crying shame what has happened to the dynamic range in modern CDs. While I am no "golden eared" audiophile, I have some pretty nice gear and I am consistently disappointed in what I hear from new CDs. I've looked at some of the waveforms and there are periods where the audio simply flatlines at the peak now. Absolutely horrible.
 
Corban227 said:
what about sound stage thou? i've heard its way better with a set of open cans

(one thing im considering doing is buying the hd595 now and then get the d2k's in a couple of months to replace my m50's

then ill just use the m50s as a travel set.
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I would get the Denon's 1st if I could do it all over again. (gamer 1st and foremost)

But really you can not go wrong with either set.
 
kk now im leaning towards the denons but for some reason the senns are still calling me lol. a lot of people are saying the denons have a great sound stage for closed headphones. how do the compare to the 595's?
and if i were to buy the denons first would i even want the 595s, or are they still better in some area's like classical music etc?

also does anyone have experience with the amazon warehouse deals? i was thinking about saving 50 bucks and buying the used one from amazon warehouse to keep these cans right at my budget
 
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The D2000 is better than the Senn 555 or 595. Both of the Senn models are ok. The 555 is probably older than you are, and the 595 is smallish, especially around the ears. The Denon is a larger, about a year old, around the ear headphone with a larger sound stage. It is a better all-arounder headphone than anything except the Beyer 880. This is in the under $300 category.
 
If you want to get them used then Dakmart is a good place to look. They have HD595 for $125 and even HD600 for $208.

Dakmart is a decent used seller because they are all factory re-certified to new condition and still come with a 1 year manufacturer warranty.
 
so you guys would recommend the beryer 880 over the denon d2k? i might ask for them as a Christmas present, and if so price wont be much of an issue.
 
The Denons are more about crowd-pleasing sound given a hi-fi patina. It's suited to people who would like appear to care, but ultimately aren't equipped to.

The higher-end Denons are particularly strong / bad (depending on your point of view) in this aspect. Compared to them for example, I think even the Beyerdynamic T1 is a bargain in terms of sound quality. The AH-D5000/7000 in particular has had the shortest in-ownership life of a high-end phone for me in the last few years.

The 880 is the opposite - it's not a crowd-pleasing tone, but it does have high technical capability. But I think it can be too antiseptic even for some music lovers who are equipped to tell differences in capability as opposed to those who consider bouncy plentiful lows and a bowl-curve EQ equivalent to high quality.

Personally I think there are better compromises than the 880 - the HD650 being one - but a choice for Denon is definitely a choice for the 'Sleepless in Seattle' of higher-enders.
 
And I completely disagree. I own the Denon 2000s and 7000s after owning many other high-end headphones (AKG, Sennheiser, Beyer, Ultrasone, etc) because I like the the sound they produce better than the others. Everyone has different ears and different preferences. Assuming because you dislike the Denons for some reason everyone should do the same is incorrect.
 
Yes I know many do. And I explained why they do above. Its not a matter of how many phones you own. You like it, that's fine - no-one's saying there's anything wrong with that.
 
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