Sennheiser = King of Audiophile Headphones

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sco0oby

Limp Gawd
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Hey, I'm looking to upgrade my headset/headphones once I purchase a Creative X-fi soundcard in April. I currently use them for gaming, music (rock and hip hop with plenty of bass). I also would like suggestions that don't involve me buying an amp, which I know the sennheisers are famous for implying "best used with". I kinda narrowed my choices to either the:

1) Icemat Siberia
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16836508101
2) Sennheiser HD 485s - But I can get them for $69 flat.
http://www.sennheiserusa.com/newsite/productdetail.asp?transid=500266
3) Plantronics Audio .110 Headset
http://www.headsetzone.com/audio110.html

If you have any suggestions or comments, please feel free to leave them. Thanks in advance.
 
Sony MDR-V600s are worth a look... they get trashed around here but half of the people doing the trashing have never heard a set of them and just repeat what someone else says.

I have a pair, as well as some Sennheiser HD-280s, and the Sony cans blow away the Sennheiser, well, at least that particular model.
 
well, I'm kind of leaning toward the open ear models, where the headphones rest over your ears, not on. I've also been looking at Audio Technica's open ear headphones.
 
NulloModo said:
Sony MDR-V600s are worth a look... they get trashed around here but half of the people doing the trashing have never heard a set of them and just repeat what someone else says.

I have a pair, as well as some Sennheiser HD-280s, and the Sony cans blow away the Sennheiser, well, at least that particular model.
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I own a pair of MDR-V600's and I consider them to be very muddy. They aren't horrible by any means but once you listen to any of the upper end Sennheisers, AKG, Beyers, etc. I don't think anyone in their right mind would go back to using them.
 
Those plantronics .110 are no longer in production. Siberian Icemat people went to plantronics and said they look way too much like there version. The plantronics .100 got a kickass review on hardware.typefrag. I ordered these and should arrive tomorrow, i will post my findings on here after a day or two of use.
 
Yeah, I kinda did some half-hour research on some headphones. I eliminated the headsets from my list, as I am now currently looking for audiophile-type cans. I've looked at the Grado SR 60's, Sennheiser 515 or 485, and Audio Technica ATH-AD500. I wanted to know if anyone had any reviews on the sound quality comparison between those makes. Thanks in advance.
 
I have, but I already have the mic from my pc150. So what I'm planning to do is buy just a pair of cans, no mic needed. That's why I'm leaning toward the Sennheiser 485 or 515 after narrowing down my searches.
 
I didn't like the 485s that my dad just got. The bass is to boomy, it overpowers the rest of the music. What other Sennheiser models are in your proce range?
 
considering that i'm already getting an x-fi, I'm just looking for a nice set of headphones for less than $100.
 
r the plantronics .100 better than the .110? and are they better than the icemat siberias?
 
also, for the guy that said the .100's got a good review, im assuming you meant hardware.gotfrag.com not typefrag, right?

but in that review, they said the icemat siberias are better, but they cost more. they're using the cost of the combo version that comes w/ a usb sound card thingy though, if you get the headset alone its only like $55 at tigerdirect, so i think that would be better than the .100's.
 
actually,in the review, they said the .100 sound better, but not from a gaming stand point. i think this problem is overcome with the x-fi.going from an audigy 2 to an x-fi i can tell you the cmss-3d is better.This is from the review.

Going in to the qualitative audio test, I had high hopes that this headset would probably rival the amazing Siberia in audio quality. Sadly, it didn't compare to it. It in fact trounced it. I don't feel a bit overly dramatic when I say the Audio .100 provides the best sound I have ever heard, be it a live symphony performance, a 2500 watt speaker system, or any other headset. However, be warned: in order to take full advantage of it's audio powers, be sure to have a good audio card. Then they said this....

Onboard Realtek AC'97 just doesn't cut it with these headsets, and the difference is noticeable. What about positional audio, the gamer's main concern? Due to the lack of a USB sound device that can create a virtual 7.1 environment, ala the Siberia, it lags behind in this department. This is mainly because even my Audigy2 is outclassed in positional audio by the Icemat USB sound device. And then they said this....

Pros:
+Comfortable design
+Great, solid sound
+Low cost
Cons:
-Closed ear design bad for lans
-No option of USB audio, so positional audio lags behind other offerings

Rating:
9/10

It actually won the best overall gaming headset.
 
deathBOB said:
I didn't like the 485s that my dad just got. The bass is to boomy, it overpowers the rest of the music. What other Sennheiser models are in your proce range?
Click to expand...

EQ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyways if you think the HD485's are too bassy.. try the HD555's... it's better and not as bassy,.
 
beyer dt770pro.... no amp needed (but they improve w/one later), great for rock/hip hop, super comfortable and relativly inexpensive. I'd give them a listen at your local guitar center if you get a chance.
 
ivandal2 said:
beyer dt770pro.... no amp needed (but they improve w/one later), great for rock/hip hop, super comfortable and relativly inexpensive. I'd give them a listen at your local guitar center if you get a chance.
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To be honest, I found the DT770/80 lacking without an amp. I would not recommend using it without one.

If I were in the 65 dollar range, I'd opt for secondhand HD555's. I'm not entirely sure on how these run from a soundcard, but I'd expect them to perform much better than the ones you listed. Or, I'd save up a bit more and go secondhand HD595's, which run fine without an amp.

Or, go for the option a lot of people miss. Buy a HD201, and a simple amp for it. The money left over after the 201 should be well enough for you to build a cmoy.
 
i had the mdr-v600s and they weren't anything special. A month or so i tried to use them and a speaker must have gone out (blown).I actually got some cheap JVC and some shure e3c buds. the JVCs sound good for what they are, haven't even opened the shures though i might not. Even though i'm a fan of bassy headphones, the ones "audiophiles" recommend probably wouldn't be a good choice. However, i have yet to see a bad review of the grados so i think i may give them a try.

edit: and from what i read they would run well without any amping.
 
I <3 my HD-280's.

Seriously, i've never owned a proffessional styled pair of Sony headphones, or basically any other proffessional brand name headphone stuff.

I don't think I ever will...

The HD-280's stole my heart... Then ate my babies.
 
aZn_plyR said:
EQ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyways if you think the HD485's are too bassy.. try the HD555's... it's better and not as bassy,.
Click to expand...

They shouldn't need EQ, they should sound good out of the box, much like my HD555s do :D
 
infiniti029 said:
It's the Sony V6 or 7506, not the V600 dammit!
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Indeed, the V600 is made of cheap plastic and is much worse than the V6/7506.
 
I'll probably draw some fire, but the HD 202's are a very capable set of headphones and I actually switched to using them over some of my more expensive sets. When travelling, or any time that a more expensive pair could be in jeopardy the 202's get the job.

I'm not sure if they can still be had but a while back Radioshack was carrying a gold colored set of Koss cans that were some anniversary or some such edition that were pretty amazing. They were on clearance as of recently and were quite a bargain. The 485, 555, or 515's are also very capable. I agree with the person who wasn't too hot for the Grado's I've never liked them in any capacity.
 
no1 answered my question yet :(

are the plantronics .110's better than the icemat siberias? i know they had their whole design fiasco and ended up recalling them, but if you can probably still find em. *edit* ok i guess it'll b harder than i thought to find, they did a pretty thorough job with that recall :(
 
i just got the plantronics audio .100 in today, and all i can say is wow.comfortable,sound is amazing and getting better the more they break in,mic is very clear.awesome set of phones for the money.
 
hey guys, I wanted to thank everyone for this. But I think I made my decision to buy a x-fi card along with some sennheiser 515s in April (birthday). If anyone has any other recommendations for me to purchase, doesn't have to do anything with sound, then please post, thanks for everything.
 
The HD515's you can get for 75$US.
And for 119$us you can get a set of HD555. If I was in your position, I would try and read up on reviews of the HD555 and see if you can find any local places that have them on display! Great price, the the velour ear pads!

If you can find a local place that sells some beyerdynamic stuff, give those a listen to (the ones with the velour ear pads).

But, before you cap yourself out at ~100$, may I ask why you don't want to spend more money up front for an all together better headphone? Do you expect to have these for years to come? Or are these a temporary solution to something else? The reason I say, is that....... if you can afford it, just ploop down the money from the start and enjoy higher quality headphones. For just an extra 100$, you can get really nice heaphones in my view. One's that put things like the HD280pro's to shame. Well, I'm interested to see what you have to say.

Good luck, and keep us posted for sure!

~Hope this helps
 
towert7 said:
But, before you cap yourself out at ~100$, may I ask why you don't want to spend more money up front for an all together better headphone? Do you expect to have these for years to come? Or are these a temporary solution to something else? The reason I say, is that....... if you can afford it, just ploop down the money from the start and enjoy higher quality headphones. For just an extra 100$, you can get really nice heaphones in my view.
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Well, I just bought my computer during August 2005, so I really don't want to shell out much money just yet. However, I am purchasing a x-fi for my comp, which is 113$. I ready have a pair of PC150s, but I feel that I can get better sound by spending about 80$ (HD515). I don't want to buy a pair of cans that I will need an amp for them to reach their full potential, which might be the case for all of them. I also have the need to buy things that can help my computer performance wise, over showcasing with sound. I'm going to purchasing a video card and power supply in a few years, pref 3-4 yrs. So before I spend 100$ on a pair of headphones, I can also use that money to save up for later things to come that can help my computer perform alot better during the years. But right now, I'm just looking into the x-fi, and just buy a power supply and a video card later with the money I saved up.
 
do the x-fi some justice. Buy the 555's. I have a pair, and I can personally attest that they don't need an amp. You CAN amp them, and I'm sure they'll sound better. (the closest I've gotten is my Live! card) But I plug them into my iRiver H340 and they do just fine with no amp. They're the highest-end Sennheisers with a relatively low impedance, so no amp necessary, but anything coming out of an x-fi should be plenty amped to begin with even if you want, say, some HD650's or somesuch. :p My Live gets LOUD with these 555's, and the best thing is, no distortion! Even if they're about to rattle off my head. Seriously though, after CES, I really want an x-fi. CMSS3D and Crystalliser...Oh My GOD! It's just awesome. Do the sound some justice, please.
 
Vertigo Acid said:
Grados tend to have a very compressed sound stage, which is not ideal for gaming what soever
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I use Grado's and they hardly have a compressed sound stage.
 
I like my HD595 a lot. Just irritates me that I can't get my settings right with the soundcard. They seem to distort with bass at a higher volume. Such as in CSS during a shotgun blast or grenade/bomb explosion, just crackles on me.
 
I never heard the 595's but could it be that they just can't handle the bass put out by games at really high volumes? I know even my DT770s sometimes do that in BF2.. and these are supposedly bass monsters. (even though I think they could have a little more).
 
magnetik said:
I never heard the 595's but could it be that they just can't handle the bass put out by games at really high volumes?
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Sounds like they are clipping due to lack of power. Amp FTW, especially on the 120ohm models.

himmy said:
I use Grado's and they hardly have a compressed sound stage.
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Side-by-side them with a pair of airy sennheisers or ATs and I think your mind might change.
 
Considering I am an audiophile and compare everything I purchase(or even don't purchase, just demo), I still do not see where you are coming from.

In fact, headphones are terrible for imaging/sound stage. This is much more a property of speakers. Head phones shine over speakers in clarity, as you do not have walls and room characteristics deflecting sound, they go directly into your ears.

Sound stage is where speakers shine, where you can have a wall of sound, and with a high qualitty set up, sound seemingly coming from all around you when it is actually coming from just two speakers.

The only thing bad about Grado's is they can be a tad bit bright. Most non-audiophile's consider 'bright' to be 'more clarity,' though.

Of course, with audio, it is all in the users head. While I hate Klipsch(for music) and find them to be overly bright pieces of junk, there are plenty of audiophile's that love them and will tell me my Onix Rocket's are hollow sounding, where I find them to have an excellent sound stage with great clarity(so much so, I passed on speakers costing up to twice as much that I didn't think sounded as good).
 
Vertigo Acid said:
Sounds like they are clipping due to lack of power. Amp FTW, especially on the 120ohm models.

Side-by-side them with a pair of airy sennheisers or ATs and I think your mind might change.
Click to expand...

I had MisterX build me a buffed up cMoy. I believe my 595 are 50ohm. Plus the source is audigy 2 zs
 
threedd97 said:
I had MisterX build me a buffed up cMoy. I believe my 595 are 50ohm. Plus the source is audigy 2 zs
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What's the master volume on the Audigy?
 
meh, I would pretty much pair up a set of HD 515s with my X-fi, which will probably end up to around 185$, and that's fine with me. But I would rather go with the 485s and cutback a few dollars, making it 182$. But do you suppose that the 515s are a big difference over the 485s? Thanks in advance
 
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