[pickleweed]

hey guys, im pretty green here, so bear with me.......
 
right now, i have a pair of shure 840's.  i use them for a few purposes....
 
1. to play guitar at night 
 
2. to listen to music at home
 
3. to listen to music at work.
 
and right now, i use them unamped.  for guitar i think they sound pretty good, and when im at home listening to music from my laptop/ipod they sound reasonably nice as well.  at work, dont sound any different than the ipod earbuds quite honestly.  
 
now, all that said...... im interested in a few options.  i can scrap the 840's all together and get new phones.  i wouldnt mind something a bit more comfortable anyways.  and im always curious to try out new ones.  open or closed back, i can do either, but full sized over ears are a must.  or i can get an amp that can improve the sound from my work pc and really boost it at home.......or i can get both.  now im not a sound engineer or anything, but id like to maximize a setup for my purposes.  and i know next to nothing about amping headphones.  ive been reading through alot of articles and threads, and my eyes just glaze over :?
 
my sources will always tend to be either an ipod, computer or guitar amp, so i suppose thats important.  and my main genres are going to be in the realm of alt rock, folk, pop, acoustic, rock and occasional metal.  vocals and instrument clarity/separation are pretty important to me.  and while the genres i listen to arent always super crunchy, i play with a lot of distortion/fuzz, so it would need to be able to handle that well.  and even though im listening to my playing through these, im not recording at all, and its only hobbyist status, so accuracy is preferred but not paramount.
 
i know i am asking for a lot here, but im sure you guys can steer me correctly.  and any additional info is always helpful.  dac's vs amps vs combo's is particularly difficult for me
 
thanks in advance!
 
budget- US dollars
 
headphones - 200-300
amp - < 200

 

[obobskivich]

Some reality checks:

- If you aren't hearing any distortion (beyond what your guitar amp is throwing out), clipping, etc you do not need a dedicated headphone amplifier.

- The reason they sound bad at your work is probably more to do with background noise or similar than with "improper driving" or whatever other made-up nonsense.

The above goes triple for DtoA conversion.

What I would suggest is something that provides solid isolation for use in a mobile environment - that'll be IEMs (or an ANC headset). And keeping the 840 at home.

 

[pickleweed]

Quote:

Some reality checks:
- If you aren't hearing any distortion (beyond what your guitar amp is throwing out), clipping, etc you do not need a dedicated headphone amplifier.
- The reason they sound bad at your work is probably more to do with background noise or similar than with "improper driving" or whatever other made-up nonsense.
The above goes triple for DtoA conversion.
What I would suggest is something that provides solid isolation for use in a mobile environment - that'll be IEMs (or an ANC headset). And keeping the 840 at home.

 
i assume that the reason they sound bad at work has to do with the soundcard in the pc more than anything.  there is no background noise other than electonic hum.  i plug them into my home pc and they sound better than when they are plugged into my work pc.  i dont know where youre getting a mobile environment from :/

 

[obobskivich]

i assume that the reason they sound bad at work has to do with the soundcard in the pc more than anything.  

Perhaps. Why don't you provide some more information...

there is no background noise other than electonic hum.  i plug them into my home pc and they sound better than when they are plugged into my work pc.  i dont know where youre getting a mobile environment from :/

When I say background noise, I don't mean on the line, I mean the world around you.

Then again, for all I know you work in an anechoic chamber - you didn't really specify anything, and you're asking for specific answers.

 

[pickleweed]

Quote:

Perhaps. Why don't you provide some more information...
When I say background noise, I don't mean on the line, I mean the world around you.

Then again, for all I know you work in an anechoic chamber - you didn't really specify anything, and you're asking for specific answers.

 
basically i work on a pretty high end workstation at work.....that has no need for sound.  so im guessing when they put this rig together, the didnt give too spits about it.  i work in the visual side of post production and the sound mixing is handled well after this stuff leaves my desk, by people not at my company.  
 
and when i say electronic hum, i didnt mean on the line  im in a room full of other artists quietly plugging away on high end machines with crap sound   everyones pretty quiet and isolated in their own headphones so the only thing really making noise are the computers running.
 
but i dont have a high end sound card in my pc at home either, and that thing is like 5 or 6 years old.  but i can only assume that its better than whats at work.  and i apologize for the vagueness.  

 

[obobskivich]

basically i work on a pretty high end workstation at work.....that has no need for sound.  so im guessing when they put this rig together, the didnt give too spits about it.  i work in the visual side of post production and the sound mixing is handled well after this stuff leaves my desk, by people not at my company.  

and when i say electronic hum, i didnt mean on the line  im in a room full of other artists quietly plugging away on high end machines with crap sound   everyones pretty quiet and isolated in their own headphones so the only thing really making noise are the computers running.

but i dont have a high end sound card in my pc at home either, and that thing is like 5 or 6 years old.  but i can only assume that its better than whats at work.  and i apologize for the vagueness.  

Still incredibly vague. Can't really help you anymore than what I've already said.

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
Get a Fiio E17 for use with your ipod and computer. It can travel to work and home with you. USB plugs in. Bypass the internals of the machine. Keep the same sound where ever you are.
 
As for headphones, you can run a lot of options.
 
Suggestions:
 
Beyer DT770
Brainwavz HM5
Denon D2000
AudioTechnica A900
Ultrasone PRO 750
AKG K271 MKII
AKG K550 (used)
 
Very best,