Closed headphones max $205 (€150)

[sjondenon]

Hi there,
After only using IEMs I started thinking about getting some full sized headphones for use at home (mainly music, sometimes movies). They have to be closed and around the ear (NOT ON EAR, HATE IT)
I'm currently owning the sennheiser IE8 and I really love them..
Because i'm absolutely not into headphones i'm asking here for some advice.
I'm listening to house, hiphop, rock (bruce springsteen, bryan adams etc), and some pop music.

I'm actually looking for some headphones which sound a bit like my ie8's.
Bass is really important to me. Bass must go deep, really deep (subbass). I hate bloated midbass (eq'd it down on my IE8) I think my IE8's could go a bit deeper...

Highs have to be detailed, smooth and bright but not too bright and harsh. I eq'd the 16khz region on my IE8 up by 1db and now the highs are acceptable for me.

so i'm actually looking for some warm headphones with a good overall clarity.

I like the soundstage on my IE8 but i don't really know how a good soundstage on a pair of headphones feels because I never owned a high(er) end headphone bef4.


I will be using them on a sony a845 unamped... A 3.5 mm plug is required. Don't know if the a845 drives full sized cans well enough.

What do you guys think about the shure 750dj?

Maybe you guys have some other suggestions for me?

thanks in advance

P.S. I'm somehow really attracted to the beautiful and exclusive looking sennheiser hd598... I can get them for €150, should i get them, just because they look so great?

[jupitreas]

The Sennheiser HD598 certainly are a great can but they are open... They might also not have enough bass for you. Given your preferences as described in your post, a better choice of an open can would IMO be the Beyerdynamic DT990.

FYI:


As for closed cans, the Shure 750DJ would definitely be a good choice, as would the Audio Technica ATH-M50 and the KRK Systems KNS 8400. The latter is a personal favorite of mine and it seems like it might be what you are looking for as well: notice the visible bump in the high frequencies.

[JK98]

Isn't the 32 ohm DT990 around $300? The 250 ohm version looks like the one that is around $160. A 250 ohm headphone wouldn't be good with a portable without using a headphone amp.

[jupitreas]

Originally Posted by JK98

Isn't the 32 ohm DT990 around $300? The 250 ohm version looks like the one that is around $160. A 250 ohm headphone wouldn't be good with a portable without using a headphone amp.

My i9 drives them just fine. No amp necessary.

[JK98]

I think the i9 puts out much more power than the Sony mp3 players. The DT990 is confusing, as there is a 600, a 250, and a 32 ohm version. So yours is the 250 ohm version?

[jupitreas]

Originally Posted by JK98

I think the i9 puts out much more power than the Sony mp3 players. The DT990 is confusing, as there is a 600, a 250, and a 32 ohm version. So yours is the 250 ohm version?

Indeed, its the 250 Ohm Pro version. The i9 drives it fine but generally speaking, I don't find it to be an excessively difficult can to drive. I've used it with all kinds of equipment in both a professional and enthusiast capacity (various integrated sound cards, Sony ES solid state amp, Sansa Clip+, Behringer USB interface, FiiO E7, even the integrated headphone out from an LG TV) and I haven't really noticed any of these sources struggling to drive them. Certainly, the E7 for example did provide a slight boost in clarity to my ears, but I have no idea if I'd be able to identify this in a blind test.

I should probably mention that I listen to music on fairly low volume levels. Perhaps clipping might be an issue with some sources if someone really wants to listen extremely loud, but I find it difficult to imagine how anyone could listen to music this loud in the first place.

[JK98]

The 32 ohm version looks interesting, but is too expensive. If the 32 ohm version was around $150, then I might have considered it. I don't want the 250 ohm version.

[The DarkSide]

Audio Technica ATH-PRO700MK has excellent bass, has great overall sq, and gets here my vote in this price range. I'm going to add some cotton batting around the hp pads to increase the softness & comfort tho,... still, it can be had for $135 atm, a real steal. Id compare them to the Aiaiai tma-1, but they stay on my head!!!

[sjondenon]

Thanks for all your reactions.. The dt990 look really ugly.. Usually i don't care about the design but this time i do :P When i compare the frequency response graphs to my ie8, i think the 750dj fits my preferences the best.. The hd598 is has really weak bass compared to the graphs.. it's even less than the jays q-jays IEM which i owned before.. Is it okay to compare the bass region of an IEM to the one of a pair of headphones by a frequency response graph? the KRK's do also look really interesting.... the pro-700's are too expensive here

[jupitreas]

Originally Posted by sjondenon

Thanks for all your reactions.. The dt990 look really ugly.. Usually i don't care about the design but this time i do :P When i compare the frequency response graphs to my ie8, i think the 750dj fits my preferences the best.. The hd598 is has really weak bass compared to the graphs.. it's even less than the jays q-jays IEM which i owned before.. Is it okay to compare the bass region of an IEM to the one of a pair of headphones by a frequency response graph? the KRK's do also look really interesting.... the pro-700's are too expensive here

Its not correct to compare frequency response graphs for IEMs and full-size cans because IEMs are physically smaller and closer to the ear. This means that they need to have emphasized bass to make up for their small size and they also usually have reduced treble because being so close to the ear, too much treble would be painful. While the HD598 might seem like it has little bass, since the drivers are quite big, the bass is still quite impactful. It is not a bassy can but its not bass-shy either.

[sjondenon]

Originally Posted by jupitreas

Its not correct to compare frequency response graphs for IEMs and full-size cans because IEMs are physically smaller and closer to the ear. This means that they need to have emphasized bass to make up for their small size and they also usually have reduced treble because being so close to the ear, too much treble would be painful. While the HD598 might seem like it has little bass, since the drivers are quite big, the bass is still quite impactful. It is not a bassy can but its not bass-shy either.

I was thinking the same I'm leaning towards the hd598 because reviews say their comfort is absolutely great and their sound is really relaxed...

[sjondenon]

I think i'll get the senn's. Do you guys think my walkman can drive them well? I do have a fiio e5 amp but never use it because of the background noise...

[JK98]

The Sennheiser HD598 is 112 db/v which is around 99 db/mw, so a portable will be able to power it, but don't expect it to play loud with a low powered portable. The HD598 has a 1/4" plug. While it comes with a 1/8" adapter, the adapter is just a plug and not on a cable, so if you use it with your portable you will probably trash your portable. You could get a converter for 1/4" to 1/8" with a cable, however that may be awkward to use walking around. It also has a 3 meter cord, which is around 10 feet.
Not convenient to walk around with.

[sjondenon]

Okay,

I will only use them at home and I my father has a Marantz SR4200 receiver. Maybe I can use this receiver together with my med8er 2tb mediaplayer to listen to music?

[sjondenon]

bump?

[Jack4L]

Should work well enough, but I kind of always want my headphones to be portabnle. I'd probably just replace the jack on the 598's myself.

[JK98]

The HD598 looks like a nice headphone for home use. You will probably enjoy it.

[Limp]

Originally Posted by jupitreas

Whoa, hold on a minute, those graphs looks just horrible!
Is Tyll still doing their measurements?

[xnor]

^ You find those graphs horrible? They're pretty good actually if you're looking for cans with emphasized bass.
Take a look at some other headphones to see what horrible graphs really look like.

[Limp]

The Shure is pretty OK I guess, but whats up with that 10dB suck-out around 70Hz?