Guyferd-which headphone for piano & classical musi

[burrrp 0]

hi

so which headphone did u get?

i am looking fer something similiar myself

 

burrrp

[Northern Oak 0]

AKG K501 is good for classical music as it has good clarity and sound stage, however it may sound a little flat and lean, thus this can really sucks when you feed vocals to it.

 

 

burrrrp ... excuse me.

[Blues 0]

I am so honoured that someone asks me for advice

 

buurp, I got myself dt880 . it works great for piano because the atmosphere is large and piano has depth to it. Just like the feeling of the real concert hall(depending on the recoding also).Definately very nice.

 

Mind telling us your budget?

Northern Oak' recommendation is also excellent. I've heard K501 and it's a great pair of phone. In fact I find that it's a little similar to 880.I think k501 goes for around 250 new. Can find dgps's pair at 200 I think( he's selling at the gear sale used subforum, check it out)

 

At <100 dollar range, there is sennheiser hd497, philips HP890 and koss ksc-55

At <200 dollar range I think you can try sennheiser hd280, not bad for piano too.

[Mackie 0]

I've just run in DT990 open cans and did a brief comparison with 880. Now I understand the existence of open cans even though semi-open ones like 880 do give a perfect balance in sound.

 

With classical music and any live large-scale performance, it's hard not to be bowled over by open cans (in this case, DT990). It has fantastic soundstaging and more 3D than the 880 in this aspect. Width aside, soundstaging depth is greater and on this note, the only detriment (subjective) is the cans can sound rather laidback to some. This finding is equivalent to sitting at the back rows in a concert hall where U can capture the entire atmosphere but close-up imaging is somewhat lacking.

 

Does it go well with jazz? Can it produce bass? My answers are yes and although laid back, I can't say the 990 is lean sounding. I'm already considering keeping the 990 solely for my classical collection!

 

Sorry for the delay guys but I'm still working on a review highlighting the strength and weakness of Beyer DT770 and 990, adding to my previous review of DT880.

Edited July 10, 2003 by Mackie

[burrrp 0]

thanks for the inputs

 

i willing tospend 350 on anew can.

 

i do have a sennhd600 and a grado sr60 (Marantz cd6000ose le/MG Head OTL)

while the senn sound wonderful on most music its the piano

music that i hate. it sounded like someone playing the piano in the

next room! everytime i put on a classical cd i have to crank up the volume a few notches. i prefer the grado on classical music though

you lose some details.

 

well, Mackie, your description of the 990 sounds like the senn.

backrow, at least you are in the same room .

which of the Beyer has a more upfront presentation , the in yer face

type?

 

 

[Mackie 0]

Sounds like U're the kinda person who will like DT931. I believe this is also one of Rameish's favourite. PM him and he will give U a better opinion than mine cos' I believe he has more experience in this pair of cans.

[Blues 0]

grados sound great for piano too.. and will put you right up there.. v near to the piano itself. Some like it some don't .. but since you perceive hd600 as 'laid-back', you might like the grados.

Another one worth trying is the etys.. though I don't think you can find them locally for 350. Perhaps if you look for 2nd hand, maybe just slightly more than 350. Great sound!!!!!

[headphonecrazy 0]

thanks for the inputs

 

i willing tospend 350 on anew can.

 

i do have a sennhd600 and a grado sr60 (Marantz cd6000ose le/MG Head OTL)

while the senn sound wonderful on most music its the piano

music that i hate. it sounded like someone playing the piano in the

next room! everytime i put on a classical cd i have to crank up the volume a few notches. i prefer the grado on classical music though

you lose some details.

 

well, Mackie, your description of the 990 sounds like the senn.

backrow, at least you are in the same room .

which of the Beyer has a more upfront presentation , the in yer face

type?

My sennheisers sounds great with piano music, personally the best cans for piano - the problem with the Senns are the cables and upgrading to a better source might also help. A properly recorded piano piece will have transients... and volume to it. I've found that few source or amps can truthfully reproduce this - you will know if you play the piano yourself - there is a big difference between the "upright" & the "grand".

 

Thanks

 

[N@Z 0]

I'm very surprised that your Senn HD600 + MG Head OTL combination still makes the sound of pianos very distant. This is not what I notice in mine but maybe my Clou cables compensates for that? But when swapping directly with the RS-1 it does bring the sound of instruments more "in yer face" which on certain CDs seems unnatural.

[Blues 0]

oh yes burrp.. does the sennheiser perform that way for all your piano cds?

sometimes some cds are not recorded well you know.. and I know the hd600 is a good can. Listen to them with another round of audiophile recordings and see if the 'fault' is still there.

[Rameish 0]

burrp,

 

If you're looking for somthing between the Grado sound and Senn sound then go for either the Beyer DT-880 or Beyer DT-931. Alternatively, go for a higher end Grado like the SR-225 at S$350 (I don't have his model but do have the SR-125 whcih is similar but not as good).

 

The Beyer DT-931 is one of my favourite cans. But I do use it out of the 120 ohm jack of my Corda amps. It has a bigger soundstage than DT-880 but can be a little bright sounding where the DT-880 is dark sounding.

 

My expereince with the DT-990 is that though nice it does not have the same level of detail as the DT-880.

 

I think you will probably like either the DT-931 or SR-225. Swing by when u have the time and give them a listen.

[Mackie 0]

burrp, further to Rameish's advice, I think U may consider closed cans which will give U a very upfront sound.

[Rameish 0]

For closed cans try the Beyer DT-831 (a bit too bright for me but very listenable) or the DT-150 very close to neutral. For a draker (much darker sound) try the Beyer DT-250 (either the 80 ohm version or the 250 ohm version). I lived with the 250 ohm version for about a month or so and found them to sound like a Senn HD-600 (not as good though). But, most closed headphones don't sound as good as their open counterparts. The DT-931 (open) vs the DT-831 (closed) and the DT-990 (open) and the DT-770 (closed) being case examples. The 2 pairs share the same drivers btw - ie 770 and 990 have same drivers and 931 and 831 have same drivers.