newbie needs help

[dgps 0]

hi all,

 

have been reading this forum for the past few days......

 

i am keen to get started with headphones.....in preparation for moving to US in 2004...will be there to study for 1.5 yrs and therefore cannot bring my hifi barangs over....ass such headphone would be a good alternative there

 

from what i read at headfi forum, it seems that Sen HD600 would suit me more as i prefer laid-back, warm type of sound, i am very sensitive to bright sound and seems that Grado & Beyer (like DT880) are more to the bright side.

 

i listen to lots of female vocal stuff......

 

source for the time being would be my old Sony portable CDP..

 

say i have budget of about $700-800 what amp + headpone would u recommend? what amp would suit the Hd600?

 

thanks!!!!

[ablaze 0]

you gotta actually audition some of these other cans I think. they're not as laid-back as the HD600s, but most of them are definitely not BRIGHT per se. why don't you give Rameish a call , he's got a lot of different cans at home, that you can try. and of course, you can try out the Corda amps, the porta corda will fit nicely into your budget.

[Rameish 0]

dgps,

 

The Senn is a nice headphone if you like a laid back (somewhat veiled presentation). Howvever it really need an amp to shine. Less bright headphones would be Beyer DT-990 pro (I'm listening to it right now). Let me give you a brightness scale left to right.

 

Grado SR-325 (open), Grado RS-2, Grado RS-1, Beyer DT831 (closed), Grado HP-1, Beyer DT990, Sennheiser HD-570, Sennheiser HD-503-II (open) , Beyer DT-150 (closed), Sennheiser HD-600 (open), Beyer DT-250 (closed).

 

The Grado 325 is the brightest and the Beyer 250 darkest. Of course I'm just refering to one aspect of the music presentation. I have most of the the above cans with the exception of the HD-570.

 

Also give the PCII a go with the Senn HD-600. (I don't sell Senns yet :-) but at least you would know for sure. Also for portable use I would pick a closed headphone - keeps noise out.

 

At the end of the day you need to listen to the above headphones.

[ablaze 0]

Rameish won't agree, but a lot of people find the X-can V2 synergistic with the Sennheisers HD600, so you might wanna consider that

but then it'd be out of your budget..

 

hey, for a good deal, buy used equipment from head-fi. you could do a lot more with $800 than if you bought everything new

 

oh yeah, you didn't mention what kinda amp you need? portable? home use? or both?

 

if I were you, I'd get a really nice pair of cans like the Sony CD3000s and get a DIY amp like a meta42 or cha47 to tide me over, till I have enough for a solid amp then again..I ain't the "wisest" of people here, so take my advice with a pinch of salt!

[Rameish 0]

Ablaze,

 

No, X-cans with Senn is quite nice sounding. It's just not my cup of tea. I need resoultion and musicality. All I'm saying to dgps is that he's got to start listening rather than discussing. He may not find the Beyer too bright out of the 120 ohm jack of the PCII or HA-1 for instance. Or he may find that yes he likes the Senn HD-600. Without doing a side by side comparision he'll never know, that's all.

[ablaze 0]

agreed. take a listen

[Rameish 0]

One more thing dgps, if you decide to come to my place to listen to the Senn and compare it with others, please bring along your CDs and your PCDP. Please make sure there is no fungus growth on your CDs. Just clean them with Window Cleaner (the blue liguid stuff) - windex or kao doesn't matter Clean in a straight line from the center to the outer rim. DO NOT do in circles.

 

Of course you do this as your own risk - I've done this to over 300 CD - some almost 13 years old and there's no problem.

 

 

[jtfoo 0]

dgps,

 

Since you're going to the States, the HD580 can be had for USD150. But they only ship to USA address and American credit card.

 

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?...rtby=14&order=1

[dgps 0]

thanks to all who replied....i will consider before making any decisions...

 

 

thanks again!!!!

[Rameish 0]

dgps,

 

Yes you should consider all aspects. Put listening into that consideration as well please. Many here and at headwize and headi-fi made several mistakes to get where they are now. Each mistake costs money. Mainly because they did not have the opportunity to try out something before buying. Fortunately, that situation has somewhat changed since in Singapore.

 

My ultimate goal is to have a place where headphone fanatics can listen to almost any brand/model of headphone with almost any brand of amplifier. That of course needs the support of the headphone community as well. I can only do so much with the resources that I have. I am after all a headphone fanatic myself way before I became a dealer in anything.

 

So JT, as much as I am all for a good deal, please do try and support your local guy if he is giving you a good deal as well.

[Rameish 0]

Oh,

 

One thing for you to look at is gerG review of the DT-880 (he compares it with several other cans - pay attention to chart as well and look at other cans that do as well as the Senn HD-00 and DT-880 - I'm talking about the DT-250 (250 ohm). As I said in my oneliners about the Beyers I have, they do sound like the closed cans for the Senn HD-600 crowd - except in price.

[N@Z 0]

Rameish:

Interesting Brightness scale. I assume the HP-1's are somwhere in the middle i.e. Neutral.

 

dgps:

Some very good points raised here. I'd like to highlight the practical aspects besides sound quality, especially if you don't plan to spend more on future upgrades.

 

• Do you need closed or open - especially important if you need isolation from outside noise or not disturb others.

• Factor in cost of cables/interconnects - good quality, does not necessarily mean expensive but makes a noticeable difference nevertheless. Most 'premium' cables tend to be stiff so you might want the connectors to be the right angle type to prevent stress on the cables should you have your gear hooked up in a bag.

• Will you require the amp to be Portable or 'trans'portable - Definition: portable - battery powered; Transportable - mains powered/wallwart but small/light enough to be moved around. I actually prefer a combination of both, External powered but can use both a battery pack for portable & AC to DC transformer for static use.

• Since you will be going to the US anyway, if you can wait, another option to save you the trouble of carrying the stuff there, you could get a DIY amp like the META42 there. Getting Grados or Ety's should cost cheaper there.

 

Hope I didn't confuse you even further! Good luck.

[Rameish 0]

N@Z,

 

Yup the Grado HP-1 is as neutral as you can get. Don't forget they were/are meant for studio use.

 

The Beyer ugly duckling, DT-150 is slightly bassier (nothing like the 770 Pro though).

 

The DT-831 (out of the 0 ohm is actually the brightest headphone but the above scale reflects the DT-831 out of the 120 ohm jack) Most of the other cans were tried out on the 0 ohm. Will try out the RS-1 out of the 120 ohm tonight and report back. I have heard this of course but just to do an A-B comparison with the Beyer DT-831 again and with the DT-990.

 

Please note with one or two exceptions (like the DT-880 and DT-931) - these are the cherry picked bunch - so there are no lemons.

 

I'm having a tough time deciding which is my favourite closed cans - looks like it's going to be the ugly duckling that turns into a graceful swan.

 

If any of you get the chance do listen to them.

 

 

[ablaze 0]

MY favourite closed cans --> Sony CD3000