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upgrading headphones

O

omz

Gawd
Joined
Jun 28, 2005
Messages
805
hey guys, i currently own a pair of Icemat Siberias and i use them for music, tv, movies, and gaming. they're a good pair of headphones and pretty good for the $60 pricetag however, i want to explore the more audiophile territory :)
so, i was thinking of upgrading these cans to something new and ~$100. i'd be willing to spend up to $150 + tax but can't afford more than that.
i was looking at the Sennheiser 555 or 595. the cheapest i found the 555 were $99 shipped.
also, i know that many other recommendations are teh beyerdynamic dt-770 (jsut a bit out of the max price range, but if they are completely worth it, i may look into it), the audiotechnica ad700, or some Grados.
the main game i play is counterstrike 1.6 (competitively meaning i need some good sound ;) ) but i am also planning to mvoe on towards dod, bf2, and cod2 sometime soon
as for the music, i listen to all types of music including hip-hop, rap, trance, dance, rock, alternative, pop, and many other types. however, if i had to narrow it down, it would be 40% hip-hop, 30% rock, 30% trance/dance.
a few thigns i'm looking for:
better bass - i have to turn up the bass on my audigy in order to get more powerful bass out of my siberias, however, my ears begin to hurt because the bass sounds extremely sharp...can't really describe it, but i know i'm not listening too loud :]
midrange - the mids sound a bit weak and quiet. it's hard to hear some of the stuff under everything else especially during rock
highs - highs aren't too much of a problem with any type of music except the trance/dance. i have tried listening to some trance on my friends 595s and i can ehar things i can't hear on my siberias, but it's not as much of a concern to me as midrange and bass.
thanks for the help guys!

edit:
1 mroe thing, i'm looking for an open headphone type, i live in a house wehre family memebrs consistently call me when i have my headphones on :rolleyes:
 
I own, and would highly recommend the 555's. I have them hooked to a cmoy (not that they need it) and they sound pimp. You wil not get super low bass from them. But they sound awesome otherwise. I play WoW and DoD source for HOURS and they never get uncomfortable. I bought mine at the guitar store (one down the street from my house) for 130. Positive you can get em online for under 100 bucks.

Open cans...Heh. You can hear more outside sound with them ON your head than off! :p

Nice phones for pretty short change.
 
Gmok Bonecrusha said:
I own, and would highly recommend the 555's. I have them hooked to a cmoy (not that they need it) and they sound pimp. You wil not get super low bass from them. But they sound awesome otherwise. I play WoW and DoD source for HOURS and they never get uncomfortable. I bought mine at the guitar store (one down the street from my house) for 130. Positive you can get em online for under 100 bucks.

Open cans...Heh. You can hear more outside sound with them ON your head than off! :p

Nice phones for pretty short change.
Click to expand...

thanks for the input bonecrusha :) although i'm not looking for super bass, i want stuff that's better than my siberias. also, how big are the earcups? the 595 earcups fit me nice and smooth whereas these ones are kinda small - i have some pretty big ears.
looks like i'm going to be buying them this weekend/early next week unless someone can make me change ;)
 
I say skip the 555 and get the 595 right away to avoid wanting to upgrade again in a short period of time. That is if you want the 5x5 series from sennheiser. You say you listen a lot of music with bass, the beyers might be better for you.
 
Go for a nice pair of Audio Technicas. AD700, or AD900, if you can afford it.

I have the AD700s and I absolutely love them. I actually upgraded from iCEMAT Black Siberia's too, strangely enough...

Anyway, the AD700s absolutely destroy the Siberia's. I bought the Siberia's when I wasn't a hi-fi junkie, and I thought they were really damn good...boy, was I wrong.

AD700s sound great unamped. I'd say their strength is pretty much...everything. Be warned though-if you're a basshead, and like super boomy bass, these headphones won't serve you well. The bass on these headphones is spectacular IMO, however. It's very light, airy and punchy-the music doesn't sound dry, like on crappy headphones, but it sounds just right-the bass isn't boomy enough to make the music sound bad. You start to appreciate your music more with these headphones. It's hard to explain, so you'll just have to listen to a pair to understand.

As for the mids and highs, well, they're nothing short of amazing. They outperform the Sennheiser HD595s in that department, if you ask me. Mids are slightly recessed, but that's just the way I like them-and highs are crisp and clear. At first, the headphones will sound very bright and harsh, but burn em in for ~80hrs and it goes away.

I'm at the 110hr burn in point so I haven't even reached the maximum level of sound yet, but seriously: I love these things, and would reccomend them to anyone and everyone.

As for comfort, they're easily the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn. They're kinda big, but they look sleek and sexy, so it's all good. They're open, so a lot of sound leaks out, but IMO nothing gets in. I usually have 3 fans blasting in my room, but with these headphones on, I can't hear my room fans OR my computer. They give very nice isolation.

I'll stop typing now and just show you a pic of these beasties:

ad700006yc4.jpg


ad700007wl3.jpg
 
A couple things. Would you buy used?

Audio technica's are great. I own the ATH-A900 myself (closed). I haven't had experience with their open headphones though,

Beyer's are good for bass, but I find them muddy without an amp.

I'd go with the 595's. DON'T buy the 555's. Save up if you must or buy used. Or you will want to upgrade very soon.
 
well, is the difference between the 555 and the 595 really worth the extra 50 bucks? (would have been 62 but shipdog ran out of the 555!)
if so, how do the 595 compare to the ad700 and dt-770s?
the 595s and teh dt-770s are both aroudn the same price range (160) while the cheapest i can find the ad-700s atm are $125 at amazon. personally, i'm getting bored of siberia/ad-700 style with the bars on the top and am going for more of a different look. however, the quality obviously comes first. :)
thanks for all the input so far guys
 
Senn headsets are just a fad that is plauging the gaming community. Mainly because popular professional teams such as Team3D and etc use them.

Of course I'm not saying they're bad. I own a Senn PC 150, HD 595, and PC 160. They are very good headsets but they tend to die out. The HD is still lasting quite strong which I'm glad cause I paid a big price when it first came out.

My sound card is a x-fi, so when I plug my headsets in, it's like i'm placed in the game itself. It's perfect for playing games that require to hear your opponent's movement. The 595 isn't that great in music. Bass sensitive. Too much boom if you get my gist.

I myself is looking ot upgrade also. I was planning to get the IceMat Siberia but I heard many unhappy users from them.

The AD 900 seems to catch my eyes. I think i'll eventually buy it.
 
well, i've decided to go for the extra cash (my friend said he'd take my siberias for $50) and now i'm deciding between the sennheiser hd595 or the beyerdynamic dt-770s
what do you guys think?
 
omz said:
well, i've decided to go for the extra cash (my friend said he'd take my siberias for $50) and now i'm deciding between the sennheiser hd595 or the beyerdynamic dt-770s
what do you guys think?
Click to expand...
DT770pro. Your previous comment about the bass will be solved. :D

^_^

They are not open, but still.... all the better for gaming.
As to your first post, avoid grados for gaming. They have no sound field to speak of.
 
towert7 said:
DT770pro. Your previous comment about the bass will be solved. :D

^_^

They are not open, but still.... all the better for gaming.
As to your first post, avoid grados for gaming. They have no sound field to speak of.
Click to expand...
closed :confused: :mad:
well, do they still let in a good amount of sound? i usually can hear my parents clearly even over loud music but again, that's on open headphones. also, do they 770s need an amp to shine?
 
inertial drift said:
The 595 isn't that great in music. Bass sensitive. Too much boom if you get my gist.
Click to expand...

Meh, my friend had a low-ohm 595 and it didn't impress me at all--particularly in the bass department. The bass was...just really empty & dry.
 
i listened to my friends hd595 and the bass was better than the siberias, but nto wayyy better. however, this was the day he got them without any burn in :)
one more thing, which if these headphones would be ebtter for electric guitar type of music? i'm listening to The Mars Volta at the moment and the highs seem a bit shorted out and weak. i listen to their music alot so between teh dt-770 and the 595s, which has the better highs? also, i'm leaning towards teh 595s mainly because they are open air cans.
thanks again for all the input
 
omz said:
closed :confused: :mad:
well, do they still let in a good amount of sound? i usually can hear my parents clearly even over loud music but again, that's on open headphones. also, do they 770s need an amp to shine?
Click to expand...
Oh, you didn't know they were closed........... :p
Yea, they are closed, and with them on your head you can still hear ambient stuff muffled.
But the second you turn on music at a resonable volume, it becomes very very hard to hear ambient stuff. If you must have open headphones, then pass on the DT770pro and check out their open cousin, the DT990pro.

As I tell most people though, if this is your intro into high end audio, any of these headphones will put a smile on your face. It's once you start trying out different ones and start liking certain sonic styles that you will begin to realize the flaws of all of these. :D
 
Your best bet is to try and find a local store that would allow you to sample as many headphones as you can and see which ones fit your needs the best. I currently have the HD280's, DT-770Pro's, and just got in some Grado SR225's. I don't use the HD280's at all anymore as the clamping force is too great and become uncomfortable after about an hour or so. I use the DT770Pro's for gaming and computer music & movies hooked up to a PA2V2. These are great headphones for gaming but at moderate volume seems to drown out most ambient sound. I plan on using the Grado's for my Ipod and portable DVD but am waiting to get an amp.

My two cents.
 
towert7 said:
Oh, you didn't know they were closed........... :p
Yea, they are closed, and with them on your head you can still hear ambient stuff muffled.
But the second you turn on music at a resonable volume, it becomes very very hard to hear ambient stuff. If you must have open headphones, then pass on the DT770pro and check out their open cousin, the DT990pro.

As I tell most people though, if this is your intro into high end audio, any of these headphones will put a smile on your face. It's once you start trying out different ones and start liking certain sonic styles that you will begin to realize the flaws of all of these. :D
Click to expand...
i checked out a few websites and googled the dt770 pro but they all came up with them as closed headphones. i also checked beyerdynamic's website and they also list teh 770 pro as closed :(
 
omz said:
i checked out a few websites and googled the dt770 pro but they all came up with them as closed headphones. i also checked beyerdynamic's website and they also list teh 770 pro as closed :(
Click to expand...
That's because they are closed.
If you want open, the DT990pro is the open version.
 
ah, totally misread teh post, sorry bout that :p :p
anyways, are there any big difference between open and closed headphones other than keeping the soudn in and not letting any outside sound in?
as it stands now, i'm down tot he DT770, DT990, or the 595
as for the bass situation, i'm not necessarily looking for boomy bass or speaker type bass.
as i said before, if i turn up the Creative bass control a bit higher, then i can get t eh bass level desired. however, after long hours of listening, the bass seems to hurt my ears and it begins to sound a bit harsh. i'm looking for something that will solve that.
again, thanks for everyone's input - it has helped a whole heap. kudos to everyone.
 
HD595, or better yet, Audio Technica A900 or AD900.

The DT770/990 are going to need expensive amps to drive them properly-without an amp, they will sound hollow and dull.
 
m3ta1head said:
The DT770/990 are going to need expensive amps to drive them properly-without an amp, they will sound hollow and dull.
Click to expand...


My thoughts exactly about using the HD 595s or ATH-A900s without an amp. ;)
 
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