Recommend me a set of headphones

[alco23]

If you are using these mainly for gaming you might want to consider the Sennheiser HD280pro's. And add an additional clip on mic.

[FFC]

Audiotechnica ATH-AD700

+

Zalman Clip on Mic


You'll shit bricks after you listen to them in comparison to the price you pay for other headphones.

[Mongolian]

Originally Posted by FFC

Audiotechnica ATH-AD700

+

Zalman Clip on Mic


You'll shit bricks after you listen to them in comparison to the price you pay for other headphones.

This is what i use and couldn't be happier. They're a little light on bass but insanely comfortable.

[NRGU]

bah, i'm using these, and the clarity in the bass more than makes up for any lack of 'doof doof'. Personally I hate bass heavy music, so these are awesome =D

[Liam.]

But if ur gonna spend up to 500 - get http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...arch&Q=*&bhs=t those, and a clip on mic, i know i will be once i have the money

[Snufkin]

But if you get the DT880, you'll need a good quality dedicated amp, otherwise they won't sound any better than the AD700.

And I do mean good quality, not a portable amp, or a cmoy, or the cheapest desktop amp you can find. You're just wasting your time if you take that path and only fooling yourself.

[flagger]

Originally Posted by Snufkin

But if you get the DT880, you'll need a good quality dedicated amp, otherwise they won't sound any better than the AD700.

And I do mean good quality, not a portable amp, or a cmoy, or the cheapest desktop amp you can find. You're just wasting your time if you take that path and only fooling yourself.

What about a normal receiver/amp with headphone out? (like this). Or do you mean a proper dedicated high end headphone amp?

[Snufkin]

I mean a proper dedicated headphone amp, most receivers/amps etc have headphone jacks maybe worth 20cents in them. If you underpower headphones that need a good amp they sound flat, lifeless and boring.

I know plenty of people who've bought the DT880/HD650/K701 etc thinking they will sound OMFGAWESOME~~~~~!!!!1one from their HT amp only to be extremely disappointed that their ~$150 headphones sound just as good, sometimes better. When you add a decent headphone amp (~$600-$1000) it's a completely different matter.

If you don't want to get a headphone amp, don't buy headphones that need a dedicated amp. There are plenty of models that fall into that category.
(It cracks me up when I see people recommending the Beyer DT770pro, purely because they're known for having heavy bass. The funny part is no matter which version you get, including the 80ohm version, you're not going to get massive bass unless you feed plenty of power, via a good headphone amp, to them. And even then there are models that will do better in regards to heavy bass, without the midrange SUCK that the 770pro has, or the harsh treble, without needing amplification, but people just don't want to listen )

And even if you DO want to budget for an amp, headphones that need amplification are NOT better than models that don't need amplification. Personally, I'd pick the Alessandro MSPro (which don't need an amp) over just about every sub-$1000 headphone that does or doesn't need amplification, except for gaming in which case I wouldn't bother spending more than $200. Games aren't exactly hifi.

I think it's pretty amusing how some people choose headphones, in many cases it's just bragging rights.

[flagger]

Originally Posted by Snufkin

stuff about amps

Thanks for that. I've always thought that was the case, but wanted it clarified, and this seemed like a good thread for it. Hence why I've always bought low impedance phones from you Snufkin as I swap a lot between my big speakers and headphones on my computer setup and unfortunetly a dedicated headphone amp just can not figure into the equation.

[Snufkin]

Low impedance isn't always the only thing to look out for. The AKG K701 is a relatively low impedance headphone, but they really, really need amplification to sound good.

A headphone amp will make a difference to pretty much all headphones, but that difference could be as little as ~5% (or less) in some cases, depending on the headphones, the headphone amp and what you were running the headphones from previously.

But like I said before, there are a lot of people out there completely unimpressed by their headphone setup because they just don't know any better.
Just buying the most expensive headphones you can afford is a really stupid thing to do because it's such a personal thing.

There's no point buying expensive champagne when you prefer beer to champagne, and there's certainly nothing wrong with liking beer more than champagne.

[TMM]

^^Indeed. Also remember, just because your source/amp can drive your headphones LOUD doesn't mean it can drive them WELL.

[CAPT-Irrelevant]

Ok I've made up my mind and am going for the Genius HS-04V. It's basically the same design as my current HP set, but with extra venting for airflow, and costs alot less than what I paid for. The circumaural (thanks for Tenoq for giving me a new vocab entry, never heard of that word until now) dimensions seem a little bigger than my HP set which is good, hoping it is, otherwise if it's the same size, no biggy.

The HP headset I paid $80, while the HS-04V only costs ~$20-25. I called prestige about my problem with the wiring going weird, they told me repairing it is unethical but have noted it as still being covered, so they're getting a rep within the next few days to come to my house and pick them up, in exchange I'm getting a cheque refund via mail.


Thanks for the ideas overall.