Starter headphone set up to blow my mind?

[koi]

I use Audeze classic headphones with a Arcam head amp

Not a massively expensive set up but sound well good enough for late night listening especially FM radio.

 

[notevenclose]

So will start with my AKG K550 for now

Was looking at the Chord Mojo any thoughts on that?

I'd have thought the combination of AKG and Chord could strip paint at 1000 yards with a less than immaculate source.

 

[notevenclose]

Tried the AKG K550 straight out the iPhone 7 - someone please tell me the iPhone 7 DAC is awful - because they sounded awful

I suspect your AKGs are a bit too revealing in context, AKGs not exactly being shy retiring types themselves.

A friend of mine swears by the Meze 99 Classics as being very forgiving of iPhone replay but perfectly good enough to float his boat listening late night at home when the kids have been sedated (he has Hegel/Kef LS50s).

 

[htm_1968]

I use TIDAL on my iPhone quite a bit. For semi-serious listening I have a pair of Audeze Sines with a lightning connector and inbuilt DAC and headphone amp that are very, very good. I also use an Audioquest Dragonfly DAC to drive a pair of Sennheiser Momentum headphones via an Apple camera kit. The Dragonfly is also great for driving IEMs when I am out. Both the Audeze and the Sennheiser/Dragonfly setup are perfectly acceptable and would represent a useful starter setup.

I also have a Stax setup on my main system which is more enjoyable than the iPhone systems but sees very little use as I tend to prefer to use my loudspeakers than my earspeakers.

 

[Ayya Khema]

with your budget, id say a ifi micro ican se as a amp for its Xbass feature. Paired with a HD800 modified. modification are quite simple. SDR to make the hd800 act like a hd800S meaning the SDR reduce the 6khz peak. then add what its called the SBAF hd800 mod. this helps bring in the mids and make the treble more tolerable. those mods, in combination of the Xbass on the ifi amp is close to state of the art. I sold my focal utopia headphones cause I preferred my modded hd800 + ifi amp.

 

[jamington2004]

Thanks. Really can’t be bothered with modifying stuff though - if they aren’t right straight out the box I should look for something to else

 

[echann]

Headphones are horrible and if you’re not careful you’ll end up joining Head-Fi.

I've already made that mistake. It's cost me thousands!

 

[jamington2004]

Just found an old pair of official iPhone ear buds - wired with 3.5mm plug

Loads better than the AKG! I guess the amp in the phone just can’t drive those bigger drivers properly? Or maybe the free apple ones are just better than I assumed

Only listened for a few mins but instant impression of AKG was ouch! Instant impression of apples ones was great - especially the bass

Have a train journey from to Portslade Liverpool tomorrow - at least it will make me dip my toe in the water. Maybe I will buy a portable headphone amp while I am there to compare the difference on the way home on Sunday

 

[Ayya Khema]

Thanks. Really can’t be bothered with modifying stuff though - if they aren’t right straight out the box I should look for something to else

The original HD800 are excellent stock.

the hd800S version is sennheiser trying to fix the original hd800 6khz peak by implementing in the hd800S a resonator right in the midle of the HD800 driver.
HD800 and HD800 use the same driver.

the Hd800S wouldnt need any modification. but some prefer the hd800 bass better then hd800S.

 

[Thetiminator]

I’ve been right up the headphone ladder. The first step into the real high end which can give you a better sound than decent speakers is the Senn 800’s. A little bit leaner than some but not as bad as some make out. The upside is airiness, soundstage, detail and sometimes spine tingling.
I had the 800S’s too and preferred the original 800, the S version lost a lot of the originals magic ime.
Looking at £4k to a marginally better sound. I had the Utopia’s which you could describe as very slightly better in hifi terms, but not half as enjoyable.
I have Shure 845’s in ears and they’re superb too, but the Senns are much better...

 

[foxwelljsly]

Have a look at the NJC Reference Headphone amp - build and performance are well above the price-point. It's a bit of kit I really do regret selling.

This, with Sennheiser HD650's or HD600's (not sure if the 600's are still available), will give you an indication whether cans are for you before you dive in for anything really expensive. You may well find the setup is good enough for keeps.

 

[foxwelljsly]

Tried the AKG K550 straight out the iPhone 7 - someone please tell me the iPhone 7 DAC is awful - because they sounded awful

EDIT - just found out the DAC is in the tiny Lightning port to 3.5mm adapter. So as it’s not made by Devialet we can safely assume it’s utter pants being so small!!!!!

not sur if it’s worth pursuing a headphone DAC amp with them, or wait till I listen some better ones!

plus they were really uncomfortable - could feel my ears pressing against the hard plastic driver cover

You're never going to get any magic with those, and I doubt it's worth throwing money at a headphone amp to get more out of them. I concur with the comfort issue, but thought they were OK for the price and quite efficient for large headphones, but very much nothing special. I far prefer on-ear closed back sennheiser SP25s for use with the phone or tablet - they sound superb with an iPad, but are smaller on-ear cans, and can feel a bit tight. Combine with a Dragonfly USB DAC for a fantastic portable setup for around £200 new.

Sennheiser 600/650 open backed cans are in a totally, totally different league, though, and as comfortable as cans can be with their velvet pads.

 

[Thetiminator]

If you buy a 2nd hand pair of Senn 800’s (or any other popular make and model) and sell them on again, you’ll probably lose very little, if not even get your money back...

 

[jamington2004]

Yeah will probably do that and maybe a Chord Mojo - any votes for other portable headphone amps? Even though I would probably use them 99% at home would be good to have the portable option

 

[Bourneendboy]

Yeah will probably do that and maybe a Chord Mojo - any votes for other portable headphone amps? Even though I would probably use them 99% at home would be good to have the portable option

Dragonfly Red and HD600's

 

[krenzler]

My "everyday driver" is the Dali IO-4. Surprisingly good sounding for a bluetooth headphone. No cables, no fuss. One caveat is that you might not be able to go as loud as you want on certain quietly mastered albums (like non-molested albums from the 80's) but that goes for all bluetooth headphones I think. Most music go plenty loud. Tried the IO-6 (with ANC) first but the IO-4 (without ANC) is the better deal as the passive cancellation from the cup design is very good and you only really need the ANC if you're flying regularly. Also the battery life is better on 4 (60 hours). Heard the top Sony wireless but the Dali is so much better.

HD800 is my gaming / movie watching headphones at my desktop PC (with a dedicated amp/DAC). I do use it with EQ (APO equalizer with Peace plugin) to bring the sound signature closer to the Harman target response curve. Stock I find it too bright and tiresome with most music. The huge soundstage and precise imaging is perfect for gaming and movie watching and the low clamp makes them very comfortable (but not as secure as HD600/650). SuperDupont Resonators has been ordered and is on its way. HD800 is a journey and not for plug-and play.

HD600 and HD650 (or the newer HD660S) is a good place to start. Well-judged allrounders that may not wow at first listen but do little wrong. Bass does drop off relatively quickly below 100Hz. The nature of the open design. HD650 is a bit fuller (more midbass) where HD600 brings out vocals more (elevated upper mids). 600/650 being 300 ohms benefit from a good amp whereas HD660S (150 ohms) is easier to drive from anything.

Audioquest Nighthawk/Nightowl Carbon. This is from far out left field and highly personal. A type of love them or hate them cans. They measure wonky and can't be recommended blindly. New stock is sold at half original retail price now as AQ is no longer in the headfi business. Supremely comfortable and easy to drive. Sound signature is comfy too without ever becoming fatiguing. Some bass bloat and treble roll-off. Closed Nightowl slightly less so being a bit tighter with less bass-bleed into the mids. Suede pads and a tight sounding amp helps too. Stock cables are terrible though... This is not a recommendation.

 

[chartz]

The best cheap headphones I have listened so far are Philips Fidelio X1.
It buried anything I compared it to. I think it was HFW’s favourite at some point.
They are discontinued but the similarly cheap X2 can still be found (X2HR).
Then you have the X3 I haven’t listened to but look here.

 

[starbuck]

Philips X2HR are my first 'proper' headphones and I'm very pleased with them paired with a Grace Design M920 pre-amplifier/DAC. Easy to drive at only 30 Ohms but open back so probably not ideal for mobile listening.

 

[jamington2004]

Having spent a few hours with the Apple headphones straight into my iPhone 7 - I am now thinking IEM

Have really enjoyed these - and definitely really comfortable!! So I imagine some better IEM with an amp would be even more my cup of tea

Will check back through some of those earlier posts on IEM

 

[chartz]

Make no mistake, the iPhone as it is has a very good headphone amp. It comfortably drives my Fidelios.