Please help a newbie in headphone recommendation

[Ny0ng1 0]

Hi (ablaze ask people to say hi )

 

i am practically new to audio and headphones. Willing to know and experience more but have little $$$ to back it up haha...

 

I started to have interest in headphone when i was reading about torchlights and other things at dansdat. Then through a few hyperlinks, i stumbled upon another review in the same site that reviewed dt880 here. And he present an analogy of headphone to speakers as motorcycles to cars.

he said: for the price of basic family sedan, you can purchase a super cycle that can out accelerate almost any street legal cars and a lot of racing cars haha...

 

since then, i try to source for a good and affordable headphone for my usage. I tried to post in hwz (my favourite forum) and the people there recommend me to go here. and here i am

 

okay, lets go into my situation.

 

i need a recommendation of a headphone. my usage pattern for headphone will be wide accross music, movie and gaming. Duration is long (2 hours at least to 6 hours, average 4 hours). Because of that i think i'll better off with a full sized circumaural headphone, umm... am i right?

the mp3s are coded at 128-192kbps.

It will be connected to my Audigy X-Gamer soundcard

 

After a few part timing job, I have about $100-150 spare budget for a headphone. I dont mind 2nd hand stuff at all... I've been buying and selling for hundred times in hwz anyway..

 

few hours after browsing the forum, i found a few models that may fit my price range:

philips hp890

sony mdr-7506 / v6

sony mdr-d66sl

grado sr80

audio technica ath a-500

sennheiser hd280

sennheiser hd200

 

some of them are higher than the budget but im prepared to go higher if necessary and if im lucky i may get them within the budget with a 2nd hand stuff.

I put in the sr80 since so many people here recommend it and it has a very good review all over the world altough its a supraaural can. Will it be uncomfortable for a 2-4 hours of listening?

 

so please recommend me on which hp should i go and why. or maybe you have any of them for sale for me, please let me know

 

im sorry for the lengthy first post and thank you in advance

[Ny0ng1 0]

is it wise to spend about $300 for a headphone for my kind of usage?

should i bite the budget and get a $280 dt880 2nd hand at classified ....

 

does the dt880 need an amp to be properly driven? is there actually an amp that cost <100?

also, i heard about cmoy some time ago and wondering if its any good...

[N@Z 0]

Welcome NyOng1!

 

IMO... answers to your questions above:

No - DT880 is a premium headphone so using it unamped on a non-dedicated source/mp3/gaming phone is overkill & won't realise it's true potential.

Maybe - If the price is right, everything else I say here goes out of the window!

Yes - think of the DT880 like HD580/600/650. Pretty hard to drive & won't show it's qualities unamped.

Yes - ask the DIY gurus here who can rustle up something for you for around

Yes - it's better than listening directly out of most headphone out but you'll need better for the DT880 to fully shine. An improvement nonetheless.

 

Based on your list above I say the 7506/V6 will be very suitable for your use. It works fine too unamped.

[av98m 0]

Get the ath a-500 or a-400. I have a pair of a-400 that I use as a general purpose headphone for connecting to laptops pc soundcars etc for gaming and watching downloaded movies. Very comfy, cheap(I think Ipaid $100 or $120, can't remember) and does a decent job. No point getting something really high end and plugging it into a soundblaster.

[Ny0ng1 0]

hi N@Z thanks for the reply

 

how about dt880 with the diy amp on a non dedicated source/mp3/gaming phone/computer ? still overkill?

 

just checked back on the pricelist sticky.. the 7506 is selling for $195 and the stock of $125 at mustafa is no more . Any place selling lower?

is grado sr80 really that uncomfortable for like 2-4 hours even with senn 414 pad replacement on? coz i think its easier to get a 2nd hand grado than a 7506 right

[Ny0ng1 0]

av98m: thanks for the recommendation.

 

any diff between a-400 and a-500?

[N3w_Typ3 0]

Well for Dt 880 to pair up with a amp and listen to a non dedicated source/mp3/gaming phone/computer

it maybe over kill for some and you may tend to find faults with MP3 as the formate is being compress and it is loss in the quality ( well if you don't mind go ahead ) .... so i suggest you try out first before making any purchase

 

i remember someone is selling grado Sr-80 in the classifed you can check it out there

For after a long wear it maybe uncomfortable is very subjective for one person.

 

I heard before the V6 is a very nice cans .. and you can fold it and bring it out well it means very portable !! and is worth the money. if you can wait ... wait for a second hand also look out for the condition! !!

[Blues 0]

I think Grado is not bad for computer sources.. infact if I remembered correctly I plugged kenshinz's sr-60 into my laptop soundcard and it sounds very nice, nicer than ksc-35 I think(a little). grado sr-80 should be even better.

Go for it

I've tried the V6.. good also,the bass is very punchy . But for overall sound quality I would have to give it to the grado. More refined

No point getting high end headphone for the laptop unless maybe you upgrade your soundcard and start listening to lossless format, but till then 128-192 I think the grado sr-80 should be great

[Ny0ng1 0]

hehe yes, all the review mentioned about the sound quality of grado sr60 and sr80 is still the best for the price range. the only problem is only the comfy... haizz... why cant we have the best of both world

 

so my top choice will be the v6 and sr80 now...

 

any comment for hp890, hd280 and the d66 eggos?

[Blues 0]

leave hd280 out.. it definitely has worse comfort than the grados.. the vice of death.. so they call it

Actually comfort factor.. it's a matter of getting used to. I think you can try bending the thing too make it doesn't clamp as hard too.. hrm

[Ny0ng1 0]

hehe ok point noted about the hd280

hmm i think i really have to try the grados myself and try the comfort.

[av98m 0]

av98m: thanks for the recommendation.

 

any diff between a-400 and a-500?

I honestly have no idea. The audio technicas are by a wide margin the MOST comfortable cans I own, unfortunately not the best sounding when compared to the DT-880s, but they're very decent sounding cans that can be driven without an amp.

[bpribadi 0]

Regarding the Grados, if you meant the headband mechanism comfortability, I think there is no problem with it. For comparison, the Senn HD600 / HD650 for me are much more uncomfortable. The Grado press evenly, and the HDs only press pretty hard on one side, so I found it not comfortable.

 

If you meant comfy of the sound, well it is depend on the source the material, no matter what headphone we talked about they are all back to the source and the material. You cannot expect bad recording sounds good don't you

 

But in general, sound wise, for me the one that makes listening not comfortable is metallic treble and boomy bass. Some headphone have those characteristic, so even with good source and material, still not comfortable for long listening.

Edited September 21, 2004 by bpribadi

[Ny0ng1 0]

yeah i mean the headband mechanism comfortability for long hours of listening. im afraid it will press my head flat flat haha...

 

thanks for all the recommendations guys, now its my turn to test them personally. Will test the V6, grado and a-500 before i make further steps.

 

but i will always open for 2nd/3rd/4th opinion incase anyone still have to say something

[Q00 0]

grados not suitable for gaming...open cans will not allow u to focus on the game itself unless yer in a very very quiet envrionment...

 

the v6 or a500 would do better....possibly hd-280 also...