Need help with 100$ to spend

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ghostchild

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 24, 2006
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Ok so a little background, I'm a newbie. I have a pair of Senn HD201, bought it because I didn't have much money back then. I just bought a digital piano to teach myself again. I have room mates that will laugh at me every time I make a fool of myself.... SOO.... With a budget can someone please list the possiblities my ranking for headphones goes a little like this...

1. COMFORT!! HD201 just sucked after longterm use... I've tried the audio technica A500 it was great.
2. SQ has to be good at least get some precise sound from it....
3. Durable cause I move around a lot I need them to no break one me in half a year..
3. All around headphone not just for my cr@ppy :{ digital piano playing...
4. Looks I guess is last..

Well a little more info about me... I listen to a lot of vocal music, play a little games, always on the go, most of al want to use these with my digital piano, money for a cheap amp is a no go for now at least until 2 years later. I just spent too much on my piano so I only have 100 to spend. I want accurate and durable cans. Most of all they haveto be VERY comfy.i play the piano for at least 5 hours on weekends and listen to music for half the day. Help me out guys, thanks so far

So go ahead a blast me a list guys. Thanks!

I am leaning towards some AKG 240s or ATH a700, are these good choices or are there better for my situation?

-John
 
Hey, you're in luck!
..looks like -this- guy has the same problem as you!

and yes... both are pretty well regarded headphones. May look into the D1000's too - skylab did a review over at headfi.

edit - reading through the other thread... last post - you do realize that he suggested k271's right? Not k701's. K701's need a whole lot of current to drive, and the headphone itself is over twice, maybe three times your budget - They're also completely open.
 
Not sure if they are out of your budget, but I use a pair of Audio Technica AD700s with my roland rd-300sx. To me they sound a lot better with my keyboard than my A900s with w5000 leather pads do, I would describe it as being more natural in that it made me feel more like I was back home playing on a real piano rather than listening to a recording with cups on my ears. If you decide to go the audio technica route, I would suggest the open AD series over the closed A series if your main intention is to get something for your digital piano. From my experience with the two models mentioned above, I would say that both are comfortable, with the advantage going to the AD700. Personally I disliked the way the stock vinyl earpads felt on the A900, not to mention I thought they made it sound like there were plastic tubes between the drivers and my ears which made me feel like I wasted my money. The w5000 pads make both sets sound better to me, but the money would be better spent on a better pair of headphones.

In terms of precision, they are okay but don't expect a flat frequency response out of them. Highs could be a little clearer but I feel like I got my money's worth out of them. They have a pretty good soundstage for gaming and work well for me when playing CS source. They can be somewhat thin and/or bright sounding with some sources (like my samsung t-9 mp3 player) when listening to music, but sound good through anything with a decent headphone amp. The brightness seems to help improve the main piano sound on my keyboard, which sounds dark to me unless I hammer the keys. The bass seems well defined, although there's generally very little "impact" (I like my bass strong, but not overpowering). A good way to describe it might be listening to decent set of 2.0 speakers versus 2.1 in that regard.

They seemed pretty durable over the past year and a half I've had them, but I wouldn't take them out with me since they are made of plastic and the design isn't exactly rugged. To be honest I don't consider them to be attractive either and they are pretty big. The sound through my keyboard makes up for it though, and if you can get a used pair for under $80 or a new pair for less than $120 I would say it's worth the money, although I can't guarantee it will sound good on your setup. I think I've seen them on newegg for a little over a hundred bucks so I would hope those prices are realistic. Hopefully my reply is more helpful than it is long...:confused:
 
The thing is the price of the k240 is around 90ish and the price for teh ad700 is 110ish, K240 sound accurate but less color, and as you have mentioned the ad700 is also good and can serve as an all around right?
 
I find the ad700s to be acceptable for a variety of musical styles, but there's probably another pair of headphones out there for less that may be more enjoyable depending on the type of sound you are after. I like listening to acoustic stuff with them, like guitar, piano or orchestral stuff. For other things like prog metal and most electronic styles I wish they had more bass but I have a friend that also owns a pair and he doesn't really feel that way. Both male and female vocals sound pretty good with them.

If you're looking for a pair of headphones that you can take on the go with you I would look somewhere else. They are too bulky for what I would consider practical and I wouldn't want to risk stuffing them in a backpack, not to mention they have a pretty long cord. The sound they leak would probably disturb other people around you, too.

Unfortunately I have no idea how the k240s sound so I can't say whether they are worth extra $20 in that regard. Some things that might steer you away from the ad700s would be lack of portability, sound leakage, looks and lack of strong bass. If those things are important to you I would look elsewhere, but if those aren't a problem I think you'll probably be satisfied with them.
 
keyChAin said:
I find the ad700s to be acceptable for a variety of musical styles, but there's probably another pair of headphones out there for less that may be more enjoyable depending on the type of sound you are after. I like listening to acoustic stuff with them, like guitar, piano or orchestral stuff. For other things like prog metal and most electronic styles I wish they had more bass but I have a friend that also owns a pair and he doesn't really feel that way. Both male and female vocals sound pretty good with them.
Click to expand...

I am now reassured because that's my cup of tea, as for portability I'll deal with them when I have to. Thanks!
 
So now onto the amp...

Audio technica AD700 headphones
TYPE Open-air Dynamic
DRIVER DIAMETER 53 mm
MAGNET Neodymium
VOICE COIL Copper-clad aluminum wire
FREQUENCY RESPONSE 5 – 30,000 Hz
MAXIMUM INPUT POWER 500 mW
SENSITIVITY 98 dB/mW at 1 kHz
IMPEDANCE 32 ohms
WEIGHT 280 g
CABLE 3.0 m (Single/Hybrid-PCOCC)
CONNECTOR 1/8" (3.5 mm) mini stereo, gold-plated
ACCESSORY INCLUDED Detachable 1/4" (6.3 mm) adapter

Swans M10 speakers
System Type : 1-way vented box active system Driver Configuration
Woofer : 5�
Frequency Range : 42-5kHz
Power Handling : 10-40W
Amplifier System
Frequency Range : 100Hz-20kHz
Rated Power : 8Wx2 RMS
Signal-to-Noise : >88dB
Distortion : THD < 0.01% ( 8&#937;?1KHz?1W )
Input Sensitivity : 600mV
Input Impedance : 22K&#937;
Separate Degree : >60dB(L?R)

Is there an amp out there to power these babies of mine? For classical music and piano. This is for computer use too, so all around might be good. T-amp yes? no?

Someone told me that the T-amp would blow my speakers.. Is that true? As for doubling as a headphone amp, since my headphones dont need that much power will the T-amp be ok? I need the amp to double as a speaker/headphone amp, since I'm low on funds. Looking at the T-amp since that around how much I could spend and the ratings are good. Thanks.

-John
 
T-amp 2 has a ok headphone out and is a GREAT speaker amp.

The T-amp 1 did not have a headphone jack. Thus, ppl hooked up headphones like the K1000 to them. The speaker amp would blow your headphones sure. After you recabled them to accept speaker cables lol.

For $50 the T-amp 2 is a GREAT deal. However, you will want to eventually get a better headphone amp/headphone combo.
 
But will it blow my speakers? I know it wont kill my headphones because my friend has the same setup. However the speakers are my main concern.
 
blow your speakers? lol

dude, the t-amp 2 is maybe 15 watts total power.

weighs like a pound.

no, your speakers are safe lol.
 
Alright so how to do connect my speaker to this amp? It has the spring clamp and my cables are all RCA.
 
ghostchild said:
Alright so how to do connect my speaker to this amp? It has the spring clamp and my cables are all RCA.
Click to expand...
What speakers do you own? If it's the swan M10 you referred to above, they have their own built-in amp and can't be powered by a T-amp.
 
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