EPT3) audiotechnica ad700 ($70-100 ) - these are awesome gaming headphones with great clarity and soundstaging (sense of space)
Recommended! they are the best I've ever had! they're pretty ugly though mine are in pink lol ...
Headphones - Page 2
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Wotans_Fire
United Kingdom294 Posts
Recommended! they are the best I've ever had! they're pretty ugly though mine are in pink lol ... | ||
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ketomai
United States2789 Posts
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lac29
United States1485 Posts
Edit: I own the Shure E530s ... and no, they are not worth the $250 I paid for them. | ||
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Wangsta
United States776 Posts
On August 24 2009 07:43 lac29 wrote: I think it's silly to be spending more than a couple hundred on something like headphones. The return is exponentially smaller as you spend more and more money. $100-200 is about the sweet spot to get a nice boost in quality for the money. Anything above that imo is just money that could be spent more efficiently on something else. Edit: I own the Shure E530s ... and no, they are not worth the $250 I paid for them. in order to take advantage of good headphones/iems, you need a high quality source. for something like the se530s, all of your portable music should be in EAC .flac format and you should be using at least a cowon a2, sansa fuze/clip, or better (i.e. something with a better dac, although these 2 mp3 players have great dacs), since the 530s are extremely transparent and will reveal flaws in your source very clearly still, in the end, value judgment comes down to your ears and your hearing. if your ears are sensitive enough to hear a difference, and if music is important enough to you, then the cost is justified. if not, then maybe this stuff isn't for you (nothing wrong with that) | ||
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lac29
United States1485 Posts
I'd say for 80% of the population, you're wasting money spending more than $200 on a headphone. In a double blind test you won't be able to hear a difference btwn a $500 and $200 headphone. | ||
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Wangsta
United States776 Posts
On August 24 2009 13:38 lac29 wrote: E530s have the worst highfreq cutoffs ever. The top is just chopped right off =/. And yes, everyone knows that the quality you hear is as good as your weakest link. I listen off FLACs and clean connect through to my 'phones. I'd say for 80% of the population, you're wasting money spending more than $200 on a headphone. In a double blind test you won't be able to hear a difference btwn a $500 and $200 headphone. Well then you shouldn't have bought an IEM, because all IEMs have rolled off highs except for the new JH-13 (which is $1500). this is a technical limitation which is caused by their small size. Full sized headphones dont have the same problem, so your point doesnt really apply to headphones And the double blind test thing is ridiculous. Anybody who isn't deaf can tell the difference between 2 pairs of headphones, even in the same price range (i.e. compare any grado to any akg). The real question is whether you prefer one sound over the other. if you are a true audiophile, you probably want a flat frequency response and fast/accurate drivers, because these features will give you clearer and more accurate sound reproduction. these things also cost a LOT of money. compare a top quality $200 headphone like the dt770 consumer 2005 model (same drivers as the dt880/990), to a $300-400 dollar akg k701. the difference is already huge. if you can't tell the difference, the problem is your ears, not the headphones the k701 clearly has a more neutral frequency response, which is easily audible the k701 has clearer and more defined bass, which is easy to hear and is also clear in the technical measurements | ||
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lac29
United States1485 Posts
Great if you're enjoying your equipment. But I think it's safe to say that for most ppl, it's money not really worth spending on minimal "gains". | ||
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GoSu
Korea (South)1773 Posts
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UnitarySpace
United States61 Posts
I own a pair of HD 595s and my roommate has the DT 770s. According to the graphs the frequency responses of the HD595 and the AKG 701 they should sound about the same. And the bass Theoretically then, the HD 595 should sound close to the 701s (which I know not to be the case). We should then be able to infer that the HD595 should sound "better" than the 770s. In practice, however, this is not the case (to the dozen or so people who have had the chance to come over and compare both) - the 770s have much highs that are much less muddled and tighter, clearer albeit weaker, bass than the 595s. (Yes I have a DAC) The fact is, after $100 dollars or so, each dollar sees greatly diminished returns in terms of perceptible quality. Take for example the HD595 and the HD650. The HD650 costs 2x as much as the 595 but the difference in sound quality is marginal at best. I'd say for 80% of the population, you're wasting money spending more than $200 on a headphone. In a double blind test you won't be able to hear a difference btwn a $500 and $200 headphone. I'd say this is true for 99% of the population. Most of the people who claim they can hear the difference are just trying to justify the extra few hundred dollars they spent on their precious headphones. | ||
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Wangsta
United States776 Posts
On August 24 2009 14:55 lac29 wrote: I kinda doubt you know how to interpret those graphs. I've been at head-fi long enough to know that so many so called audiophiles refer to those graphs with no clue what they actually represent. And I actually don't think most IEMs/buds have rolled off highs (my Yuin PK2 buds certainly don't have the same type of chopped off highs as the E530). Great if you're enjoying your equipment. But I think it's safe to say that for most ppl, it's money not really worth spending on minimal "gains". thats fine if you dont appreciate the gains offered by hifi headphones, but dont talk as if your opinion is fact about your first comment, I'm a cse major with electrical engineering emphasis so I consider myself knowledgeable enough to interpret these graphs. would you care to tell me why I am wrong, since you make yourself sound like you understand them better than I do? the first graph tells me that even a high quality $200 headphone can have a wildly uneven frequency response. In the dt770s case, this means that a low frequency note that is digitally the same volume as a mid-freq note will sound like it is louder when it is physically reproduced by the drivers and reaches the listener's ear. To easily test this fact, you can download a linear sin wave mp3 and listen as the volume decreases and then increases. the second graph tells me that the k701s have more linear and accurate decay in bass notes, compared to the dt770s which have noticeable fluctuations that effectively become noise (you can easily hear that they have much poorer clarity in low frequencies) as for your third point, pk2s are earbuds, not IEMs, there is a HUGE difference. I also happen to own pk1s which have noticeably rolled off highs compared to my k701s, despite being a higher model than the pk2. I'm not sure what reference you are using an easy way to test your pk2s is to download a linear sine wave (try the one in the "equalize your headphones" sticky thread on head-fi) and put your pk2s right next to a microphone. record the sine wave and then open up your recording in audacity or any program that can show a graphical waveform. obviously, your microphone will not record perfectly, but you can compare your recording on the pk2s to any decent fullsize headphone or speakers. the pk2s will have considerably lower volume in high frequencies, simply due to the size of its drivers | ||
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Wangsta
United States776 Posts
also, if you think hd650s sound the same as hd595s, then our ears are just completely different, because they are vastly different headphones both technically and aurally a DAC alone is completely insufficient for high quality headphones. what model are you using? do you have a dedicated headphone amp? did you properly match your output impedance to your headphone's input impedance? are you using an appropriate limiter or replaygain filter to prevent clipping in your source? are you using any DSP filters such as an equalizer/crossfeed/etc.? are you using shielded cables? is your .flac music properly encoded? is the music itself well recorded in the first place? etc. etc. if you buy expensive headphones, you have to match that quality in every aspect of your system. you cant just dump some money into your headphones and then expect to hear results. It's like building a computer. buying a $1000 graphics card is useless if you put it inside a computer running off of a pentium 2 your DAC, amplifier, and headphones are the 3 main components for a desktop headphone setup that uses a computer as a source. each component should be of equal quality (and thus cost about the same amount), otherwise you are probably bottle-necking your quality somewhere along the line. On August 24 2009 15:12 UnitarySpace wrote: Don't trust graphs - they don't mean anything. Trust your ears. I own a pair of HD 595s and my roommate has the DT 770s. According to the graphs the frequency responses of the HD595 and the AKG 701 they should sound about the same. And the bass Theoretically then, the HD 595 should sound close to the 701s (which I know not to be the case). We should then be able to infer that the HD595 should sound "better" than the 770s. In practice, however, this is not the case (to the dozen or so people who have had the chance to come over and compare both) - the 770s have much highs that are much less muddled and tighter, clearer albeit weaker, bass than the 595s. (Yes I have a DAC) The fact is, after $100 dollars or so, each dollar sees greatly diminished returns in terms of perceptible quality. Take for example the HD595 and the HD650. The HD650 costs 2x as much as the 595 but the difference in sound quality is marginal at best. I'd say this is true for 99% of the population. Most of the people who claim they can hear the difference are just trying to justify the extra few hundred dollars they spent on their precious headphones. | ||
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UnitarySpace
United States61 Posts
Grado SR 60s sound like crap. My roommate had a pair and he had to replace them in a month since they were so bright. IEM's - They don't match up against full sized cans for home listening but great for listening on the go. A caveat - IEMs are relatively fragile. Make sure you have a good warranty. In the last 2 years, I've gone through 2 pairs of Etymotic er6is, a pair of Altec Lansing im716s, i'm now on a pair of shures (cheaper and longer warranty) | ||
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Wangsta
United States776 Posts
im curious, what headphones did your roommate replace his sr60s with? | ||
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UnitarySpace
United States61 Posts
"hd650s sound the same as hd595s" I didn't say that. I said that the HD650s sound marginally better than the HD595 for twice the price. My roommate has a $200 DAC (Emu 0404) and a $200 amp (Headroom total bittead) As for the quality of the recording - this has been debated on audiophile forums since forever. The consensus is that 99% of the population that can't tell the difference between a 256kb mp3 and a lossless. Many people confuse audiophila with the love and appreciation of music. If you want to enjoy your music - a $200 pair of headphones will be more than enough. Hell, if most professional musicians don't bother to spend more than $200 on headphones, then why should I? (This is an educated guess) edit: I now listen to a pair of Logitech speakers to listen to music. Headphones just can't give me the rumbling, teeth rattling bass that my subwoofer gives me. | ||
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Wangsta
United States776 Posts
On August 24 2009 15:44 UnitarySpace wrote: When I say they sound like crap, I mean to say that they make my ears bleed (that grado sound). That and the bass is a bit weak. They're pretty good for the price, but if you step up another $50 dollars or so you can get the sr125 which IMO are much better. To answer your other question - he replaced them with 770s. "hd650s sound the same as hd595s" I didn't say that. I said that the HD650s sound marginally better than the HD595 for twice the price. My roommate has a $200 DAC (Emu 0404) and a $200 amp (Headroom total bittead) As for the quality of the recording - this has been debated on audiophile forums since forever. The consensus is that 99% of the population that can't tell the difference between a 256kb mp3 and a lossless. Many people confuse audiophila with the love and appreciation of music. If you want to enjoy your music - a $200 pair of headphones will be more than enough. Hell, if most professional musicians don't bother to spend more than $200 on headphones, then why should I? (This is an educated guess) edit: I now listen to a pair of Logitech speakers to listen to music. Headphones just can't give me the rumbling, teeth rattling bass that my subwoofer gives me. - fair enough. it's true that there isnt a "night vs. day" difference between hd650s and hd595s, but the hd650s truly are the better headphone, and they happen to scale MUCH better with more expensive equipment (especially high quality tube amps). its a matter of personal preference whether this small difference is worth the cost. - I highly disagree with the notion that 256kbps mp3s are indistinguishable from .flacs. You need a high quality system to reveal the flaws in mp3s, and most people don't have such a system, which is why they cant tell the difference - audiophilia is directly related to music. "technically" it means a love for sound, but nobody listens to random sounds on their $1,000,000 speakers, they listen to music. a more accurate description would be a person who loves accurately reproduced music. audiophiles want their music to sound AS CLOSE as possible to what the studio engineers hear when they mix music in their studios - you are correct that many professional sound engineers use $100-300 headphones, but people forget that they often run their headphones out of VERY expensive and high quality source equipment (sometimes running tens of thousands). this is also a moot point, because a lot of modern music is poorly mastered anyway (see "loudness war" on wikipedia), so average studio engineers in the modern music industry shouldn't be used as a reference. vintage studio headphones such as old sextett AKG k240s and beyer dt48s were once used widely in recording studios, and these are still considered some of the best headphones ever made | ||
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UnitarySpace
United States61 Posts
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UnitarySpace
United States61 Posts
I was comparing 770s with akg701 when in fact I have the 880s. I was so confused. Now it makes sense. | ||
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Wangsta
United States776 Posts
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Ecael
United States6703 Posts
Worse than drugs I tell you. | ||
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Chef
10810 Posts
lol.. I'll have to think of another next step. EDIT: Found an old Stereophonic Receiver that was collecting dust... It's from like.. the 70s.. BUT GUYS... If you have really nice headphones, and you wanna know the next step in audiophilia, ITS AN AMP... Good god it sounds so much better, and it already sounded damn good. Just listening to Kid A like it's the very first time. | ||
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