Newbie needs help! Experts please help :)

[Senn 0]

Hi guys,

 

i need some expert advice here as i am rather at loss of which headphone to get and thought i needed some advice from experts out here.. i will try to be as detailed as possible.. please bear with me.

 

all my points, would be in numerical priority

 

Main usage :

 

1. To connect to computer sound card for music,movies..etc

2. To connect to my electric guitar amp. for guitar practice

 

Criteria :

 

1. Comfort and min. heat buildup(will be wearing for long hours)

2. Quality of sound

 

Narrowed Choices :

Senn HD 590 / Senn HD 580 / GRado 225 / AKG K501

 

Main Genre of music :

1. Instrumental

2. Rock

3. Moods

 

I was thinking more to HD 590 / AKG K501.. what do you guys think?

any other good headphones that you gusy think is suitable for me to recommend?

 

my budget is around $300, but if a headphone is really worth the extra buck.. i would consider them paying slightly more.. i hope to buy a good headphone that would last me for some good long years

 

can anyone suggest which headphone should i get from the list or recommend any other?

i tried doing some research myself but i thought i would need more expereinced opinions..

 

btw, i have no intentions in the near future to buy a headphone amp. the only amp i will connect it to is probably my guitar amp.

 

or do you guys have any better and more comfy recommendations for me since i dont intend to use a headamp?

 

I will be going down SLS tmr.. pls reply fast if possible..

 

thanks

Edited October 5, 2003 by Senn

[fishball79 0]

Well not wanting a headphone amp really limits your selection to only grados. Everything else you mentioned will benefit alot from the headamp. Another choice would be Sony MDR-CD3000 but thats $600+

 

There are portable ones available, some even fit into tin candy cases like the old strepsils'!

They would cost an extra $50 to 100++ depending if your making it yourself or buying off someone.

[Senn 0]

hmm.... after more reasearch.. i have narowed down my choices to :

 

Senn HD 590 , ATH 900 , Grados SR225

 

anyone else can help me beter make my decision?

[N@Z 0]

Out of your list the Grado is definitely out as you might have comfort issues after wearing it over an hours. I don't forsee any problems with the other three.

 

Take out the K501 & possibly the HD580 as well, depending on how powerful you guitar amp's headphone out is.

 

Which leaves you with the HD590 which I have no experience with.

 

My only concern is the durability of these headphones since they are geared more for audio. Might I suggest Pro headphones, such as Beyerdynamic DT770pro (bass monsters!) or DT250 (more balanced sound). Both are closed headphones & can be had in either low or high impedance.

 

I'd choose the DT250 since it won't give a larger than life bass sound which is quite important if you want the guitar's tonal character to remain true to it's natural sound. The added bonus being, it should work fine with your computer soundcard's output for both music & movies (although, the DT770s are alot more impressive for movies due to the bass hump but music will suffer due to the recessed mids.). The only drawback is that it might slightly exceed your initial budget.

[N@Z 0]

Just saw your latest post, I've no experience with the AT headphones other than the W100. Thats out of your price range.

 

My assumption here, based on the headphones you listed, is you need the headphones to be of the 'open' variety. Presumably to be able to follow some music in the background? So the Beyers might not meet your requirement.

[Senn 0]

Just saw your latest post, I've no experience with the AT headphones other than the W100. Thats out of your price range.

 

My assumption here, based on the headphones you listed, is you need the headphones to be of the 'open' variety. Presumably to be able to follow some music in the background? So the Beyers might not meet your requirement.

hullo, thank you for replying..

 

about the closed/open design for background music.. im actually quite flexible about it..

 

how much do the DT 770 cost??

 

btw, do you know where in SG i can go test out the Audio-Electornica ATh-900 phones.. would like to at least test it out..

 

and also the ATh-A900 is a closed earphone.. does that mean it would have heat buildup?

[N@Z 0]

You're welcome. Again, not sure about the AT headphones, maybe other members can comment about it.

 

I'm not sure about the street prices for the Beyers in Singapore as they are not listed in our Local Headphones Prices thread yet. Mackie had used pair of DT770pro & DT990pro for sale a while back, not sure whether it is still available though. If your only option is new & you don't mind waiting a little while, why not join the Beyer Powerbuy being organised right now.

[Senn 0]

N@z: hehe thanks Again.. for replying

 

btw, is it all closed design headphones would have heat buildup?

[N@Z 0]

Generally they would have more heat build up than open. By how much it all depends on how much your body generates heat, the ambient temperature, how big the driver's internal enclosure & how long you have them on.

 

As an example my body's metabolic rate is quite high (hence my thin body no matter how much junk food I eat!) hence I generate a fair amount of body heat & it will affect me more than others. In some cases even on open headphones. The DT250 seems alot hotter on my ears compared with the DT770pro since the latter has more room for my ears. Bare in mind, athough the ATH W100 has large driver enclosures I still find them hot as part of the pleather earpads sit on my ear lobes & makes it hot after less than a hour's use.

 

If this is a big issue for you, you should choose a headphone with the earpads going around you ears & not touching it. This is not too much of a big issue for me as I need to take off my headphones some time or another during any long listening sessions thus reducing the effects of heat build up.

[Huma Dragonbane 0]

I've tried the 570's and the 590's. Honestly in terms of comfort and sound I prefered the philips HP890. The one I'm using now. Totally comfortable and in my opinion sounds better than the 590. (If I were biased, I'd have chosen the 590 because of the design but if it comes down to sound quality, 890) Plus it's only $80++ and has it's own stand.

[Rameish 0]

You need:

 

1) an easy to drive headphone

2) Comfortable

3) Not too pricy

 

The AKG K-501 are not all that easy to drive

The Grado can be a little uncomfortable - for some

 

My pick for you would be 1) Philips HP-910 (cleaner and better sounding than the HP-890)

The alternative would be a Grado within your budget (very easy to drive but some people find them a bit uncomfortable).

 

An unknown model (to me) that many in head-fi have found to be great are the Beyer DT-531. Maybe u should ask the question there. If these sound anything like the DT-931 then I can gladly recommend it (don't know how easy or difficult to drive though).

 

Happy hunting.

[fishball79 0]

Personally I'm fine with grados... more i use them for prolongue period longer i can 'tahan' them. On average now i can keep em on for 2-3hours no problem.

[voxel 0]

for long time wearing and the quality of sound for instru/rock/mood, I think AKG K240S is quite suitable.

also it's AKG'S low impedence monitor headphone, semi-open, very good for guitar practice. u may have a try...

[fishball79 0]

Aren't the 240s difficult to drive? Saw a pair at Cash Converters for $10 a long time ago

[Senn 0]

Hi guys,

 

thanks for the replies.. just came back from a round of testings.. hehe, i didn't manage to test out the ATH-A900 but the rest i did. i got to say the comfort of HD 590 was superb..but i didn't really like how it sound compared to the DT 770

 

but i dont think the HD 590 is a good run for my $$ since i personally feel its just 'another of the good senn cans' .. nothing that outstanding for me to want it badly..

 

 

i have done more resaerch and have more questions to ask..can you guys give me more details regarding..

 

Sony CD3000

 

some of my top factors that affect :

 

1. i need it to be easy to drive( prefably from a soundcard/guitar amp)..not so much into headamp

2. comfort..

3. good all rounded phones for wide variety of music..

 

also, may i ask where can i get the CD3000 headphones locally (somewhere where i could test it out?) and how much do they cost in SGD$??

 

i suppose its going to cost alot, is it really every dollar for the buck? if i really spent it on this, its going to be like a 'one to last 10 years' headphone.. what do you guys think?

thanks

Edited October 5, 2003 by Senn