Talk to me about headphones...

MadCow809 said:
Like I said, I've got a small 1gb mp3 player. So is it an overkill to buy a $150 headphone just to play music off a mp3 player or PC with onboard sound?
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No, you should use 20 dollar earbuds on a 300 dollar MP3 player like everyone else does. :rolleyes:
 
MadCow809 said:
...is it an overkill to buy a $150 headphone just to play...a mp3...
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YES. Mp3 is a lossy format, and especially when you get down to the really compressed rates like 128kbps, all sorts of audio artifacts begin to pop up. Ever see a Youtube video involving an audience, and the audience claps at some point? Sounds like someone rubbing the underside of two cymbals together. I don't understand why we're in this craze of HD video, but crappy, lossy, low-fi compressed audio is just fine.

If you want to spend money on good headphones, do yourself a favor and play uncompressed CD-quality wavs through it (like all that I have on my iPod) or some lossless format if you're tight on memory.
 
I use FLAC whenever I can.
 
nsx_23 said:
I use FLAC whenever I can.
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Problem is that I don't have any good FLAC/high quality mp3 p2p sites. And I will need a phone/mp3 player that supports FLAC as well.
 
There are plenty of FLAC files out there these days.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the headphones will always net the biggest gain in sound quality, but source and file format also have a big effect on the final sound.

Which headphone models are you now leaning towards?
 
nsx_23 said:
There are plenty of FLAC files out there these days.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the headphones will always net the biggest gain in sound quality, but source and file format also have a big effect on the final sound.

Which headphone models are you now leaning towards?
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The Beyerdynamic DT770 that Crazjeeper suggested. I'm looking into some of the Sennheiser stuff as well
 
If you have any chance of listening to these cans in comparison, you should. It will at least give you a general idea of which direction every manufacturer takes.
 
the Interceptor said:
If you have any chance of listening to these cans in comparison, you should. It will at least give you a general idea of which direction every manufacturer takes.
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That might be a little bit difficult.. I'm considering on buying the headphone through online stores.
 
Maybe you have an electronic store not too far away that offers to listen to headphones, no?
 
The beyer is probably a good choice, though I still stand by my suggestions of Ultrasone :p
 
The Beyers are probably not a good choice :p, unless you are willing to spend money on a decent headphone amplifier. They need amplification to perform and probably wouldn't sound so good off a portable mp3 player or even a regular soundcard. But have a look at nsx_23's suggestion of the Ultrasone, they seem to be easy to drive and may perform much nicer then the DT770pro 80ohm without amplification.
 
BlitzR said:
The Beyers are probably not a good choice :p, unless you are willing to spend money on a decent headphone amplifier.
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What about a decent, $100ish soundcard?
 
Most soundcards won't have the required juice to drive something like the Beyers, or any full sized can for that matter, and the often distort the sound. Even the relatively easy to drive Ultrasones will require some kind of amplification to really sound great. Otherwise you're essentially wasting its potential.

This is why IEMs are much better on the go. They don't take a huge amount of juice to sound their best, and most designs these days are actually very comfortable.
 
The chaintech cards are quiet good.

But if you're blowing $100+ on a soundcard, why not consider: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ZERO-24-192-...ms=65:1|66:2|39:1|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:50

Or the updated version: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/09-NEW-EDITI...ms=65:1|66:2|39:1|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:50

And here's a very comprehensive review: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f5/review-zero-24-bit-192khz-dac-headphone-amp-pre-amp-269458/

I have the original version which I then tweaked by swapping op-amps, capacitors, etc. I reckon it sounds nicer than most soundcards I've tried and easy op-amp rolling means you can tweak the sound to your liking with different op-amp configurations by simply ordering free op-amp samples from manufacturers.
 
MadCow809 said:
SENNHEISER HD 595 6.3 mm stereo (3.5 mm Adapter) Connector Circumaural Stereo Headphone
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I have a pair of Sennheiser HD 202s. They sound awesome in comparison to my old Sony MDR P180s, but they're so uncomfortable. They really squeeze my ears to the point where it gets quite painful where the Sony ones just sit there unobtrusively. I therefore tend to use the Sonys. Those HD 595s look like a different design to the ones I have though, so it may be a moot point.
 
I think the 595s will be far too plain and boring for the OP's liking.
 
Sorry, I'm pretty indecisive when it comes to gadgets : p

what about this one?

Sony MDR-NC60
 
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