Headphone advice
- Thread starter Peez
- Start date
As for tonal balance compared to your speakers, I think this is going to be very much room dependant, so depending on whether you sit or or off axis, how much furnishings you have etc, you'll be up or down by more db than the different headphones are going to show. I've a feeling that when people say a headphone is bright, they really mean 'compared to the speakers I am using'. It's not an absolute scale, so i'd basically take it all with a good pinch of salt.
Personally I have two pairs of phones, some ATH-9000 electrets which are open back, and produce a very beautiful sound, and some cheap sennheiser HD-25s, which are closed back, and are obviously compromised in their presentation, but are light and robust, and travel with me on the train every day. By listening hours, the HD25s win probably 100/1, and I think they are great, but the ATH-9000s are obviously superior.
If I were you, i'd get a decent set of cans and use tone controls to match your speakers. A few db of boost or cut here and there will give you the presentation you want, and when you change your mind and decide that you want to listen to them flat, you'll not have compromised your choice of headphones on a whim to match their response ;-)
Personally I have two pairs of phones, some ATH-9000 electrets which are open back, and produce a very beautiful sound, and some cheap sennheiser HD-25s, which are closed back, and are obviously compromised in their presentation, but are light and robust, and travel with me on the train every day. By listening hours, the HD25s win probably 100/1, and I think they are great, but the ATH-9000s are obviously superior.
If I were you, i'd get a decent set of cans and use tone controls to match your speakers. A few db of boost or cut here and there will give you the presentation you want, and when you change your mind and decide that you want to listen to them flat, you'll not have compromised your choice of headphones on a whim to match their response ;-)
denniswaugh
pfm Member
I have recently purchased a pair of Audeze LDC-XC headphones and Woo Audio WA22 tube amp.
Fantastic detailed sound for a closed back headphone but you need a decent amp to realise their potential. Downside is the headphones are heavy
I also have a pair of Audio Technica ATH1000X (closed back) headphones which I used with a modified Bada PH12 tube/hybrid amp. A great fun sounding combination. The ATH1000X are so light and comfortable compared to the LCD-XC.
Again, the amp plays a major role in getting the best sound out of the headphones.
The LCD-XC offers more isolation than the ATH1000X.
I own Sennheiser 250, Yamaha HP3, Superlux and had many others but the LCD-XC and ATH are in a different league.
Fantastic detailed sound for a closed back headphone but you need a decent amp to realise their potential. Downside is the headphones are heavy
I also have a pair of Audio Technica ATH1000X (closed back) headphones which I used with a modified Bada PH12 tube/hybrid amp. A great fun sounding combination. The ATH1000X are so light and comfortable compared to the LCD-XC.
Again, the amp plays a major role in getting the best sound out of the headphones.
The LCD-XC offers more isolation than the ATH1000X.
I own Sennheiser 250, Yamaha HP3, Superlux and had many others but the LCD-XC and ATH are in a different league.
As a Harbeth M30.1 owner whose owned a lot of headphones over the years, these would be my thoughts:
- What exact flavour of frequency response the headphones have compared to your speakers is not as important as a lot of people assume - within reason - it's such a different experience listening to the music in the room Vs in the head that a slightly different response is not that jarring.
- Distortion will matter to you. You can't go from the clean smooth sound of Harbeths to anything remotely grainy and not have it sound awful.
- My personal favourite low-distortion home listening headphones have been the Stax SR-303 (new model is 307) with the basic amp and 507 leather pads attached (makes a huge difference). I had them for years happily and regret selling them. If you liked Stax before, stick with Stax - they are still the best IMO.
- There are a lot of good low distortion headphones out there now though - Audeze and Hifiman are both strong contenders... but Planar Magnetics are heavy - in my opinion too heavy for comfortable, relaxed listening.
- You could go a totally different way and look at IEMs - the IEM market has never been better. My person pair right now are the Sennheiser IE800 which sound wonderful. Going from the IE800 on a commute to the M30.1s at home causing no jarring, even though the IE800 are a bit more V-shaped and the Harbeths a bit more neutral. But there are a tonne of good options... not everyone will agree that IEMs are comfortable enough for relaxed listening though.
- What exact flavour of frequency response the headphones have compared to your speakers is not as important as a lot of people assume - within reason - it's such a different experience listening to the music in the room Vs in the head that a slightly different response is not that jarring.
- Distortion will matter to you. You can't go from the clean smooth sound of Harbeths to anything remotely grainy and not have it sound awful.
- My personal favourite low-distortion home listening headphones have been the Stax SR-303 (new model is 307) with the basic amp and 507 leather pads attached (makes a huge difference). I had them for years happily and regret selling them. If you liked Stax before, stick with Stax - they are still the best IMO.
- There are a lot of good low distortion headphones out there now though - Audeze and Hifiman are both strong contenders... but Planar Magnetics are heavy - in my opinion too heavy for comfortable, relaxed listening.
- You could go a totally different way and look at IEMs - the IEM market has never been better. My person pair right now are the Sennheiser IE800 which sound wonderful. Going from the IE800 on a commute to the M30.1s at home causing no jarring, even though the IE800 are a bit more V-shaped and the Harbeths a bit more neutral. But there are a tonne of good options... not everyone will agree that IEMs are comfortable enough for relaxed listening though.
martin clark
pinko bodger
The AKG550s are very good for this, very sensitive and although 35ohm cans, can be driven very acceptably by mobile devices and my macbook's h/phone output. I usually use them driven from a headphone amp though* They have very flat and extended bass, cracking dynamics and a very slightly toplit presentation that I find useful for clarity in the presence region at low levels or when listening for diy source/amp development (stethoscope-like)
Anyway, two years in with the 550s and while not perfect, they remain very good overall, very open-sounding for closed -back phones and certainly don't have a coloured enclosure 'sound'. The side benefit is that the isolation makes for convenient lower-level listining, which is comfortable (and safe!) for hours.
*most often a McCormack Micro integrated drive, had it for years and like it very much esp with a few simple tweaks to improve supply rejection.
thanks for this - very interesting comparison and contextualising of the 30.1's - i can't recall what my stax were like when other people were watching tv etc. - i don't recall it ever being a problem........
Beyers have been my companion 770, 880, 990pro, 990 premium for years lovely head speaks. I have gone for Orthodynamics which have a sweet edge and a very clean midrange... They are a bit heavy yes, I put that down to the wood and metal construction. Mine connect directly to the Devialet's pre output and are great onetime I have to pull the headphones off to be sure I am not hearing the main speakers... Very natural not at all headphoney.
I was less pleased with the audeze lcd3 on a price performance basis but the lcd2 is much of the lcd3 with a better price. The lcd2 is the keeper.
Hugely dorky to wear though... A home headphone.
Custom moulded 3 way IEMs are preferable for commutes and flying and I have spent 11 hour flights with them in with no problem. Expensive and easily chewed up by puppies.
I was less pleased with the audeze lcd3 on a price performance basis but the lcd2 is much of the lcd3 with a better price. The lcd2 is the keeper.
Hugely dorky to wear though... A home headphone.
Custom moulded 3 way IEMs are preferable for commutes and flying and I have spent 11 hour flights with them in with no problem. Expensive and easily chewed up by puppies.
you could try out also the Grado Statement series. I have an older GS1000 model and I'm quite happy. Sennheiser HD800 and similar do certainly use better drivers but at the end of the day... One point to check is the sound isolation. If you want to listen to music etc while someone else is doing something else / producing any noise, a closed design will give you more satisfaction. Most high-end hi-fi designs are nevertheless open or semi-open designs !
robs
should know how this works by no
thanks for that - funny enough i listened to these once in JL's, and they just weren't for me - good price though
I did like the RS1e's i heard driven by a Graham Slee amp - am seriously getting some more Stax at the mo in light of the advice so far
just to update all who joined this thread, i purchased a pair of Sony MDR Z7's - having read loads of mixed reviews i purchased them from John Lewis' after they told me i could take them back within 90 days if i wasn't happy / didn't like the sound - ran them in for a bit and can now report that I couldn't be happier with them driven straight from my Supernait headphone out - they have lots of detail, great separation, a lovely llush warmth and lush imaging - all in all chuffed to bits - they are "made in japan" and Sony's flagship, with build quality to match - they also do a Kimber cable upgrade for them but they are pretty special as they are to my ears.