Latest Thread Images

HELP - I have a fever, and the only prescription is my 1st pair of headphones
Feb 2, 2019 at 12:33 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 40
C

ChefCombo

New Head-Fier
Joined
Jan 31, 2019
Posts
20
Likes
0
Location
Madison, WI
First time poster and total noob, looking for advice on purchasing my first set of headphones. Well, my first pair since those old Magnavox's I used to rock out to KISS 8-tracks when I was five.

I've read countless reviews and have lurked on this forum for a while (great stuff, thank you), but I'm looking for some first-hand advice from anyone willing to assist.

My uses: Music 1st, Gaming 2nd (all home use)

My music: Indie, Jazz, New & Classic Soul, Dad Rock (Wilco, Dawes, etc.), Jambands, Classic Rock, some Classical

My sound preferences: I love detail, love feeling like I'm in the room with the artist and saying "so THAT'S what it actually sounded like." Instrument work, vocal nuance, hearing the artist take a breath between phrases, etc. BUT not too bright or in my face - I want it to sound alive but not fatiguing. Detailed but not frigid. Harsh mids are the worst.

My setup: I don't want to buy a headphone amp. I have a NAD C388 powering my home stereo and it has a dedicated 6ohm headphone amp that they say is good. Also, I'm primarily a vinyl guy, with a Parks Budgie tube preamp feeding into the integrated. So I'm getting tube flavor that's amplified by SS.

The possibilities: I'm drawn to the HD600 and AKG K712. There's a cheap pair of Beyer DT880s (250ohm) locally, if anyone can vouch I'd consider those too. Budget is $200 max, so I'd go with a used pair when something popped up.

Thank you in advance for any insight into these, or alternatives that I might have missed. Cheers!
 
Last edited:
Feb 2, 2019 at 2:14 PM Post #7 of 40
If you are considering the Senns and the AKG 7 series I would look at Massdrop. They have the Sennheiser 58x and 6xx, and the AKG 7xx...as well as the HE4xx and the Beyer DT880 premium which might also suit your tastes ...and all of them are within budget so you don't need to buy a used set.
 
Feb 2, 2019 at 9:29 PM Post #8 of 40
ChefCombo said:
Good to know, thanks. Seems like the HD600 may not be the best for gaming in that case.
Click to expand...
Check out the website Massdrop, get the most for $200.
Also check out the 32-Ohm Soundmagic HP200 (open) headphones, has a nice "lively" sound.
 
Feb 2, 2019 at 11:51 PM Post #9 of 40
I have AKG 712 and HD600 if you play games too, then AKG 712 pro is better, excellent soundstage and a little more bass than HD600, I usually listen classical music with HD600 and a tube amp to improve the soundstage
 
Feb 3, 2019 at 12:04 AM Post #11 of 40
JediMa70 said:
I have AKG 712 and HD600 if you play games too, then AKG 712 pro is better, excellent soundstage and a little more bass than HD600, I usually listen classical music with HD600 and a tube amp to improve the soundstage
Click to expand...

Got it. How would you describe the difference in signatures? Do you like the 712 for music as well? Why the HD600 for classical?

Thanks for this - these are two I’m very interested in.
 
Feb 3, 2019 at 12:16 AM Post #12 of 40
ChefCombo said:
My setup: I don't want to buy a headphone amp. I have a NAD C388 powering my home stereo and it has a dedicated 6ohm headphone amp that they say is good. Also, I'm primarily a vinyl guy, with a Parks Budgie tube preamp feeding into the integrated. So I'm getting tube flavor that's amplified by SS.

The possibilities: I'm drawn to the HD600 and AKG K712. There's a cheap pair of Beyer DT880s (250ohm) locally, if anyone can vouch I'd consider those too. Budget is $200 max, so I'd go with a used pair when something popped up.
Click to expand...

K712 has a relatively low sensitivity and very low impedance for a speaker amp's headphone output. K701 sounded like a tin can out of my NAD 304, and even the D3020 still has a 30ohm (or something like that) output impedance. It could boost the low end (albeit a little wobbly), or make it sound like tin cans; unless you know somebody who tried the specific amp and headphone together it's a gamble.

HD600 was acceptable on practically anything I plug it into, it's just a matter of how loud it can get, how clean the output is if it does get really loud, how refined the top end or how detailed the low end is, etc. I'd still get an amp for it, but when my amp was busted I didn't hate the sound plugging it into any audio gear with a half decent headphone output. And before I stopped using CDs for listening (I still buy and rip them) they were fantastic straight out of my Marantz CD60 (the same Philips chip reeappeared in the Fiio E9 and AFAIK the K5 still uses a newer version of the same chip type).


ChefCombo said:
First time poster and total noob, looking for advice on purchasing my first set of headphones. Well, my first pair since those old Magnavox's I used to rock out to KISS 8-tracks when I was five.

I've read countless reviews and have lurked on this forum for a while (great stuff, thank you), but I'm looking for some first-hand advice from anyone willing to assist.

My uses: Music 1st, Gaming 2nd (all home use)

My music: Indie, Jazz, New & Classic Soul, Dad Rock (Wilco, Dawes, etc.), Jambands, Classic Rock, some Classical

My sound preferences: I love detail, love feeling like I'm in the room with the artist and saying "so THAT'S what it actually sounded like." Instrument work, vocal nuance, hearing the artist take a breath between phrases, etc. BUT not too bright or in my face - I want it to sound alive but not fatiguing. Detailed but not frigid. Harsh mids are the worst.
Click to expand...

Depending on the recording you might have to crank up the HD600 but go easy on it since it has a slight rise at 3500hz.

You might want to try the HD58X instead though. 150ohms isn't low enough to have a problem on speaker amps' headphone outputs, the sensitivity didn't take a huge hit, and the response is a little bit smoother.
 
Feb 3, 2019 at 1:42 AM Post #13 of 40
Of those 3 .. a few years ago I chose the DT880 Premium 250ohms.. because I liked the sound and they super comfortable.. The senns kinda crush my head.. I don't really like the feel of the AKG's on my head... the beyer DT880's (premiums especially) are sooo comfortable.. Also the beyers are fairly robustly built and replacement parts can be ordered easily from beyer if needed.

I usually use my tube amp (darkvoice 336) with them but I have a vintage receivers/ preamps that drive them just fine..

these for example I use with the DT880's sometimes..
desk_Dec16.jpg

Sony TA-E77ESD preamplifier and Kenwood KR-V106R receiver
 
Last edited:
Feb 3, 2019 at 5:54 AM Post #14 of 40
ChefCombo said:
Got it. How would you describe the difference in signatures? Do you like the 712 for music as well? Why the HD600 for classical?

Thanks for this - these are two I’m very interested in.
Click to expand...
I love K712 for music, jazz , classical, blues, pop sound so good, they sound warmer than HD600, more entertaining. HD600 are pure precision, neutral sound, sublime detail, that's why i conder them the best for classical, because they don't add or change anything from the music, they just reproduce it like it is. That's the reason why I have them both because in a way they are complementary
 
Feb 3, 2019 at 8:27 AM Post #15 of 40
ProtegeManiac said:
You might want to try the HD58X instead though. 150ohms isn't low enough to have a problem on speaker amps' headphone outputs, the sensitivity didn't take a huge hit, and the response is a little bit smoother.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the alternative. It’s impossible to find anything about how the NAD C388 performs with low impedance headphones - they do seem to be trying harder with this amp (6ohm), but who knows. If the k712s were “the” choice I’d consider a separate amp, I suppose. But that’s another rabbit hole :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top