[Maniello]

Hi guys,
 
I am a new member of Head-Fi and I guess you could say that I am a rookie to the world of high end audio too.
I have always listened to a lot of music (got my first mp3 probably at the age of 10, since then I have been developing my musical taste starting with Iron Maiden, through Rise Aganist and Anti-Flag, A Day to Remember ending with Alt-J). I was always interested in better quality earphones and luckily my parents were willing to pay for them (I live in Hungary and things can get pretty expensive here)
As soon as I bought a 3rd gen iPod Nano I swapped the factory earphones to a pair of Sennheiser OMX 90 VC's. When they broke I was able to exchange them for a pair of Sennheiser MX 95 VC Stlze II's. After those I got a pair of Sennheiser CX 680i's which held up for quite a while. Sennheiser was the first experience with good quality earphones so I stuck with them (the MX 680i's cost $200 when I purchased them, I was probably 15 - I didn't know anyone who spent this much on music equipment, especially not at that age)
Last summer my CX 680i's broke so I decided to make a leap and try headphones... And I made a mistake: I bought a pair of SOL Track HD's. A friend of mine recommended them to me, I tried them out and I thought that they are good enough to start with. I liked that they are customizable and that they sound pretty good with my iPod (120 gigs Classic right now). But I knew that they are not the best for their price ($180 here).
Now comes the next step: I found the website [Mod Edit: We don't allow discussion of that site.] where a lot of audiophile equipment is up for sale at great prices. I had a few bitcoins lying around so bought an Aune T1 DAC. I thought to myself that this is going to be the first step towards high-end music. I knew that if the DAC arrives I will have to get a good pair of headphones. Not mainstream-good, as the SOLs, but really good ones. So today my DAC arrives and it looks like in a week or two I will have enough money saved up for a new pair of headphones. But I can't make up my mind which one to get, so I thought I would ask for the opinion of experienced people.
 
So here's my issue:
As I said I am planning to upgrade my headphones in the upcoming 1-2 weeks. I can't decide whether I should go with a pair of Sennheiser Momentum's (over-the ear) or a pair of Sennheiser HD 598/600 (haven't decided which one yet). 95% of the timeI I listen to music outdoors from my iPod (mostly in .alac format). I feel like first I should get a pair of high-end headphones so I can enjoy the potential my DAC offers.
So my question is this: would there be any noticeable differences between the sound quality of a pair of Momentums or a pair of let's say HD 598's when connected to the Aune T1. Because if there is, my priority would be to get a pair of high-ends and wait with upgrading my outdoor headphones. But if there isn't a whole lot of difference, then I would get the Momentums first, so I can enhance my music experience both in and outdoors and get the Sennheiser HD's later (ya know, two birds with one stone), when I have a couple of hundred bucks lying around.
Please help me out guys with your experience!

 

[richie60]

Go with your own advice on this one.  Both headphones will give you great sound, the momentums being easier to drive from a portable player too.  I don't think you'll be disappointed...
 
Rich
 
PS I own an older Aune DAC/Amp and for what it's worth, it brings the best out of the AKG K601's I have.
 
Rich

 

[Maniello]

Thanks for your input.
If I mostly listen to punk, starting from punk-rock (like The Offspring or Blink-182), through hardcore punk (e.g. Rise Against) to metalcore/post-hardcore (A Day To Remember, Napoleon), but I don't consider myself as a bass-head (meaning crushing my skull is less important for me than good quality, detailed sound), would the Senns be a good choice? Or would there be other headphone(brand)s that would be a better fit for my needs?

 

[richie60]

With that music in mind, you're going to probably get a lot of recommendations for Grado headphones.  These are known to have a bright detailed sound but a little light in the bass department suitable for bringing out the best in rock/metal/punk etc.
 
At the end of the day, like most people starting out on their headphone journey, the only true opinion you're going to get is your own as everybody's hearing is different.  See if you can possibly have a listen to some Grados against the Sennheiser ones - you may prefer something something entirely different.

 

[yoyo711]

  With that music in mind, you're going to probably get a lot of recommendations for Grado headphones.  These are known to have a bright detailed sound but a little light in the bass department suitable for bringing out the best in rock/metal/punk etc.
 
At the end of the day, like most people starting out on their headphone journey, the only true opinion you're going to get is your own as everybody's hearing is different.  See if you can possibly have a listen to some Grados against the Sennheiser ones - you may prefer something something entirely different.

^^^^ Yap

 

[Maniello]

I looked around on the interwebz and it looks like Grados arent accessible in Hungary.
But arent they open-back headphones?