[BigEarsMan]

Hello,

I'm looking for a close over ear headphone with velour pads for less than $100. I want one to carry around in my backpack on campus and suitable for use in an office/library.. I used to have a sennheiser hd448 with pleather earpads but those pads would last maybe a year at best before flaking off in the hot and humid climate here. Anyways those can broke at the hinge and I need some new ones.

Type of sound I'm looking for:
Something neutral. Not too warm, not too bright. At home right now I have the hd598 and DT880premium 32Ohm. I much prefer the sound of the DT880 but its just a little too bright. The hd598 seems a bit muddy to me.

Comfort:
It has to be comfy. Some close headphones are like vice grips. I previously had an akg k81 dj and those things were so uncomfortable due to the clamp. I could never get used to them. The other headphones I mentioned I have, could be worn for hours without a problem.

It can also be a headphone where I can simply replace the stock earpads with 3rd party ones. As long as they are on Amazon or something.

Thanks for any recommendations.

 

[PurpleAngel]

I would assume no one sells a headphone for under $100, that also comes with quality Velour ear pads

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Hello,

I'm looking for a close over ear headphone with velour pads for less than $100. I want one to carry around in my backpack on campus and suitable for use in an office/library.. I used to have a sennheiser hd448 with pleather earpads but those pads would last maybe a year at best before flaking off in the hot and humid climate here. Anyways those can broke at the hinge and I need some new ones.

Type of sound I'm looking for:
Something neutral. Not too warm, not too bright. ...

Comfort:
It has to be comfy. Some close headphones are like vice grips. I previously had an akg k81 dj and those things were so uncomfortable due to the clamp. I could never get used to them. The other headphones I mentioned I have, could be worn for hours without a problem.

It can also be a headphone where I can simply replace the stock earpads with 3rd party ones. As long as they are on Amazon or something.

Sennheiser HD380 Pro
AKG K553 Mk2

At home right now I have the hd598 and DT880premium 32Ohm. I much prefer the sound of the DT880 but its just a little too bright.

That's mostly what it sounds like with its peak at 6000hz to 9000hz.

The hd598 seems a bit muddy to me.

Either it's too tight or since you don't have a problem on the DT880 despite the stronger low end (I assume it's the 250ohm version) whatever you're hooking them up to probably has a high output impedance.

 

[BigEarsMan]

Sennheiser HD380 Pro
AKG K553 Mk2




That's mostly what it sounds like with its peak at 6000hz to 9000hz.




Either it's too tight or since you don't have a problem on the DT880 despite the stronger low end (I assume it's the 250ohm version) whatever you're hooking them up to probably has a high output impedance.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'm looking at the k553 as the hd380 seems harder to find. Also, could you maybe explain what is a high output impedance as opposed to a low one for headphone amps. I understand the impedance rating of the headphones themselves. I have a schiit magni (the original one) hooked up to my pc that I use my headphones with.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Thanks for the recommendation. I'm looking at the k553 as the hd380 seems harder to find. Also, could you maybe explain what is a high output impedance as opposed to a low one for headphone amps. I understand the impedance rating of the headphones themselves.

The smaller the gap between the headphone amp circuit's output impedance and the load nominal impedance (the headphone's), or worse, if the latter is lower than the former, the lower the damping factor, and can't control driver movement as well as other amps.

Think of it like this. You have an Audi with Quattro AWD, but then you put the worst gripping, absolute cheapest "All Weather/Season" tyres that normally come with a base model econobox on it (just that it happens to come in a size that fits the Audi's wheels), like how Toyota cheaped out on the Scion FR-S by putting the Michelins from the Prius on it and why just upgrading the wheels and tyres one size up and with better rubber has a very noticeable improvement even on public roads at legal speeds, kind of like if you go from a high power, high output impedance speaker amp headphone output to something like an Asgard2.

I have a schiit magni (the original one) hooked up to my pc that I use my headphones with.

Damping factor isn't the problem there anymore (just that I assumed it was likely a motherboard/laptop). The Magni and Magni2/Uber just tends to get sharper when you crank it up a lot more than the Asgard or Lyr would.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Thanks for the recommendation. I'm looking at the k553 as the hd380 seems harder to find. Also, could you maybe explain what is a high output impedance as opposed to a low one for headphone amps. I understand the impedance rating of the headphones themselves. I have a schiit magni (the original one) hooked up to my pc that I use my headphones with.

Poor damping control can cause the bass to be bloated (louder, less detailed) and other issues.
For best damping control (a good guideline), you want the output impedance (Ohm) of the source (headphone amplifier) to be at least 8 to 10 times less, then the headphone's impedance.
So with the 32-Ohm AKG k553 Pro, you want the headphone amplifier to have an output impedance of 3.2-Ohms or less.
The Schiit Magni has an output impedance of around 1-Ohm, so it's fine with headphones that are 10-Ohms or higher, even up to a 600-Ohm headphone.