Headphone enthusiast thread! - Page 118

On December 11 2011 16:29 Fishball wrote:
I'm new to the headphone scene (never owned a pair), and will be in the market for one during my vacation in Hong Kong next week; hoping you guys can help me out here.

Here are main my criteria:

• I mainly listen to Electronic Dance Music (lots of Trance and some Hardstyle), all sorts of Metal, and even some Ballad/Classical. I'm not sure if I'm a bass-head, but good bass is definitely desired.
  
  
• The headphones needs to be closed, mainly due to the fact that I will be using them mostly in the office, and I don't want my loud music leaking out distracting others.
  
  
• My budget is about $300 US Dollars. Being a nub, I'm definitely not shelling out a grand for a pair of headphones that I have little knowledge of, plus I wouldn't be able to afford them anyways.

Sub criteria/concerns:

• Good comfort is a plus. I could be using the headphones up to 6 hours in the office.
  
  
• Gaming performance? I don't know how "enthusiast" headphones perform with games, but I'll assume this is a non existent issue. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
  
  
• Durability and portability. It's not like I'll be throwing the headphones around or be using them on the streets, but I will be bringing them to and from the office everyday, and use them at home for gaming as well (hence the point above). This is a minor concern.

After doing a little bit of research on Head-Fi, the Ultrasone HFI-580 seemed to be my best bet. However, T.O.P. was able to give me a few tips and suggested the Denon AH-D2000 instead. After looking it up, I've become really interested. It seems like the D2000 is a direct upgrade (closed headphones, strong bass) from the HFI-580, although it is also about twice as expensive.

So what do you guys think? Are there any other models that you guys have in mind that matches my criteria? To stretch it even further, is it worth it to get the D5000 instead over the D2000? A lot of people are saying Denon makes the best closed headphones, and they all have good bass, which if this is the case, I'll be willing to invest a bit more on a better model, like the D5000.

While we're at it, how's the jump from D5000 to D7000? No, I won't be able to afford the D7000, but just wanted things to be put into perspective.

Any help would be much appreciated.

On December 11 2011 17:34 seiferoth10 wrote:


While you're here, I can throw in the DT990-250ohm into your clusterfuck of basshead ~$300 cans.

A lot of this narrows down to whether you have a good source or not. If not, D2000s easy. If yes, it gets complicated.

On December 11 2011 17:51 Fishball wrote:


Well 90% of the time I will be listening to mp3's from the computer or playing games from the computer. I do intend to get a cheap portable amp like Fiio, but that's about it. I'm not even sure if computer need amps or not, and was going to save that question for later; wanted to deal with the headphone first

I just quickly looked up some comparisons on Head-Fi.
Link here

On December 11 2011 17:59 seiferoth10 wrote:


Yeah, if your cans are decent in any way, an amp will improve the sound quality greatly from onboard.

Turns out I was wrong, DT990s are open. So I'll change my recommendation to DT770-250ohm!

Here's a thread you probably want to see: http://www.head-fi.org/t/567149/my-200-and-under-bassheads-buyers-guide

On December 11 2011 18:08 Fishball wrote:


Thanks for the replies by the way.

I just use the on-board Realtek sound at work, and I have a Sound Blaster X-Fi sound card at home (amp not needed here?).
So I guess I'm categorized as a Bass-Head huh?

Seems like the DT770 is comparable to the HFI-580, but the D2000 is still a level up. Hmm...

So what do you think about the D5000 compared to the D2000? Worth the jump?

On December 11 2011 18:14 seiferoth10 wrote:


I couldn't comment on that (though I wish I could! the D2000s sound enticing, I might pick some up if the price is right) because I only have first hand experience with the Beyer DT line.

I consider the D2000s the next step up for bassheads in terms of price. Most of the DT line is around $200, and the D2000s are around $300.

As for basshead.. if you listen to hardstyle electronica (like I do), there's a 99% chance you're a basshead :p.

Edit: Judging from your sources (which are basically nonexistant), you definitely want some variant of the Denon D series.

On December 11 2011 18:37 Fishball wrote:


I thought the X-FI works relatively decent as an "amp"? At least better than a FIIO E6?

At this point, after doing quite a bit of research, unless someone have some earth shattering news to convince me, my sights are set on the D2000.

The remaining question is whether I should get the D2000 or D5000. I hope someone with first hand experience can help me out.

While you're the only one active in the thread right now, how is gaming with these "enthusiast" headsets? RPG, FPS, SC2, any games, you name it; there shouldn't be any issues right? I always assumed those "gaming headphones" are just a gimmick, and a true "enthusiast" headphone would trump those gaming sets in every way (minus the microphone function on some).

On December 11 2011 18:41 seiferoth10 wrote:


The only "criteria" for gaming would be a wide soundstage (so you can differentiate between left and right in terms of footstep sounds in FPS games) that I can see. And I guess slamming bass if you like explosions and such.

As a gigantic generalization, open headphones typically excel in terms of soundstage width compared to closed. The "gaming" headsets are a gimmick as far as I can see.

I know there was something I read on it a while ago, I'll try to find it...

On December 11 2011 18:54 Fishball wrote:


That's all good. I did read up about the term soundstage when I first saw it last night

A lot of people are actually saying the Denon's, despite being closed, has a very good soundstage, which is a gigantic plus.
The bottom line is that you confirmed my theory regarding the "gaming" and "enthusiast" headphones category actually have no audio difference whatsoever during gaming, which is great (and a relief for me).

Regarding the D2000 vs D5000, I just found this.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/235536/comparison-denon-ah-d2000-ah-d5000-and-headphile-darth-denon

Ugh, decisions.

On December 11 2011 19:11 seiferoth10 wrote:


I read that and... stick with the D2000s. You can EQ in the ~$200 price difference. Also, I almost wet myself over the wood ipod, that thing was hot.

On December 12 2011 01:38 Myrmidon wrote:
Beyerdynamic DT 770 line in general should isolate a decent amount more (in both directions) than Denon AH-D2000. I haven't tried the Denon either, unfortunately, but they're known to be relative leaky for closed headphones. Open and closed is more like a continuum anyway. Depending on how close somebody is to you and how loud you listen, the Denon may potentially leak a noticeable amount, if the office is quiet?

This is just isolation from noise coming in (the opposite might not look the same), but look here:


TBH I consider the DT 770 Pro 80 should be plenty fine on onboard and definitely loud enough, particularly with your usual music like EDM that's usually pretty brickwalled (so DT 770 Premium 250 ohms is borderline, but a no go for the DT 770 Premium 600 ohms). It has more isolation than the premium version shown above.

On December 12 2011 05:21 Nontrivial wrote:
Dear Gods of headsets,

For Christmas I am going to ask for a new headset and I was wondering what sort of suggestions you all would have. Its just going to be for general use-- gaming, listening to music, watching tv on the computer et cetera. The big thing is I would like it to last unlike the cheap headsets I have gotten in the past. I would like it to have a built in mic as well for Skype. I am currently thinking of getting SteelSeries Siberia v2 Full-size Headset, thoughts? Thanks in advance.