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The Headphones Thread - Page 9

post #161 of 674
4/18/04 at 1:57am
Sennheiser HD-515 ($99) - incredibly comfortable...

What is your budget?
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post #162 of 674
4/18/04 at 4:27am
I don't have a budget cap however, I watch where my money goes and these headphones will mostly be used on trips with my laptop. Once, maybe twice a year. Let's say that I couldn't justify spending more than $100 for headphones unless they were wireless or had some other feature to enhance their value. Will use them predominantly for gaming.
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post #163 of 674
4/18/04 at 12:18pm
If you dont have a budget cap and you want to use them while travelling then here are my recommendations :-

Open Headphones (better sound - leak noise in and out) :-

1] Sennheiser HD-555 / HD-515 / HD-580 (best headphone for under $150.00 but it needs a headphone amplifier)

2] Grado SR-60 / SR-225 (The sound justifies the mild discomfort also they fold flat making them easier to store)

3] Audio Technical A900 (I am getting this from www.audiocubes.com) This is a large closed headphone with superb sound for $200.00

4] Sennheiser HD-212 Pro (I think this is your best bet - also supra-aural but very comfy)

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post #164 of 674
4/18/04 at 6:59pm
I just purchased the HD497 from my local B&H (well, there is only one). It's a great deal at 49.95 with no taxes. (That's right...I can buy stuff without paying taxes) I chose this store with relaxed refund policies because I may be curious about what the SR60s sound like and may return these later...
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post #165 of 674
4/18/04 at 7:47pm
DW - you got PM
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post #166 of 674
4/18/04 at 9:10pm
I looked at both the HD 212pro and the Audio Technical A900. They seem to be very close in comfort. The A900 are closed and the HD 212 are Semi-Open both with "earmuff" design. I'll be using these on a plane at times and am considering getting a portable amp to support this project. Since you chose the A900 does that signify better sound?
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post #167 of 674
4/18/04 at 10:23pm
The A900 is a MUCH LARGER headphone than the HD-212. Pictures on the internet can be deceiving. Here are a few pics in comparison :-

taken from : http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=69252






review (not by me) :-

http://www5.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=22964

The A900 is made with aluminum earcups. It has pleather earpads and is very comfortable to wear for long hours because of the support wings that go over the head. You may look silly wearing this on an aircraft

If you want headphones for the aircraft - get the Shure E2c or E3c. Use the foam plugs (supplied). That will drown out all the noise and play pure music without the active noise cancellation crap which doesnt work in my experience...it may work but it doesnt work as well as the Etymotics and Shure and other in-ear headphones.

The Shure/Ety also offer superb sound quality...audiophile grade!!

I am getting the A900 after reading several reviews...not out of experience. I have had other Audio Technica headphones like the woodies (W100, W1000 and W2002) but this is my first A-series and this IS the highest headphone in the A series.

I will post my impressions in a few days time (getting them on tuesday) and I will also have a Sony CD3000 for comparison...

Summer is gonna be exciting!!!
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post #168 of 674
4/19/04 at 3:28am
Okay! There is a bit of a size difference isn't there? I'll go with the HD 212Pro's Now one last question (I hope) should I get an external headphone amp? Remember that I'll be using these primarily with my laptop. And thanks for all the info and pointing out the great websites with even more info!
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post #169 of 674
4/19/04 at 10:38am
If you are going to be using it with the laptop then there is no need for an external amplifier. You will need an external USB DAC (Digital To Analog Convertor) plus an amp to make it a feasible solution to the horrible laptop soundcards.

The HD-212 Pro is nowhere near the A-900 in terms of sound quality and isolation but it is a very FUN headphones with plenty of Bass. Dont expect either of them to keep the noise out during those long flights. I recommend getting, in addition to these headphones, a Shure E2C or Shure E3C for shutting out the outside world
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post #170 of 674
4/19/04 at 5:57pm
i have the grado rs1's and the ra1 battery amp

together they retail for over $1000, i paid $800 including shipping

packaging is awesome, the sound is awesome, the amp really does make a difference

i recommend to anyone who has a job

if anyone has questions on them, post, ill do my best to thoroughly answer
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post #171 of 674
4/19/04 at 6:29pm
RS-1 + RA-1 is a nice combo but incredibly expensive considering that the driver in the RS-1 is exactly the same as the driver in the SR-225. The RA-1 is nothing but a glorified op-amp based amplifier and all the limitations of the op-amp based amplifiers are evident in its sonic signature.

I wouldnt recommend spending so much money on the RS-1 and RA-1. Good sound no doubt, but good value?? I am not so sure.

You can do better with a Grado SR-225 and a CMOY, Gilmore Lite, PIMETA etc. Even used PPA's are available for the price of a RA-1 and the PPA just blows the RA-1 clean out of the water.

However - the RS-1 and RA-1 have pretty good synergy. If you like the wooded look (I certainly do) then these will do the job for you...

guitarded - please post a few pictures of your setup here

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post #172 of 674
4/19/04 at 10:55pm
Okay. Now I'm a little confused about the amp part. In the first line you say I don't need an amp and then in the second line you say I should get a USB DAC and an amp. Does anyone sell a good combo unit USB DAC+AMP?
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post #173 of 674
4/19/04 at 11:19pm
You dont need an amp straight out of the headphone port in your laptop.

If you want high quality sound then you should get an external DAC (converts the digital signals to audio analog) like the Xitel Pro (www.xitel.com) and hook this up to an amplifier. You can then connect your headphones to the headphone out on the headphone amplifier.

OR you can get an external USB soundcard. A good one...like the M Audio Revolution, terratec, Audiophile etc.

Or you can get an amp+dac combo like the Headroom Bithead (check if they are in stock at www.headphone.com - if you dont see them listed then they are not in stock).

Cheers!
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post #174 of 674
4/19/04 at 11:28pm
I just noticed something...almost all of my MP3's and CD's have sizzling-like noises are part of the tracks themselves. I never noticed this before with my speakers and cheap headphones, but noticed for the first time on the HD497. I at first thought it was distortion on the headphone, but after paying close attention to the speakers and cheap headphones, they produce this noise as well, just not as clearly as the HD497's. All these years I never noticed! I tried a few DVD-Audio tracks and indeed these noises are nowhere to be heard! But it's still quite unbelievable though. Even those CDs that I bought through legitimate routes have this noise...
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post #175 of 674
4/19/04 at 11:33pm
Thats the problem with going high end...some things get better and other things get worse

its a saying we have at headFi - crap in -> crap out

Time to re-rip all those songs into 256 kbps or more

The noise you hear is from the compression. If you have done the ripping yourself then convert them to OGG Vorbis, FLAC etc. Much lower compression = higher quality
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post #176 of 674
4/19/04 at 11:38pm
I thought it was the compression too. I have a few tracks in 256kbps MP3, and the noise is there as well. I get them with some CDs too! Specifically, its there in almost all the tracks in my The Yes Album CD. The only reason I can think for this is that the CD was digitally remastered from vinyl. But it's in some more recent CDs as well, like Yes - The Ladder, which I am sure is recorded digitally. I know CDs aren't that high quality, but should they have all this noise?
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post #177 of 674
4/20/04 at 12:29am
Hey you have a vinyl setup? What gear do you have in it? I am looking to get into Vinyl and would like some input. I know which turntable I want...the question is really - how much vinyl is still out there that I can get hold of?

Are there any Pink Floyd Vinyl recordings?

LOL
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post #178 of 674
4/20/04 at 1:37am
ill post pics later next week when i get the film

lol are u seriously trying to compare the rs1's to the sr-255? have u even listened to the rs1 or are u just basing your opinion from reading specs online? i actually listened to all the sennheisers and rs1's and rs1's just sound better, the $300 sennheiser's came close but the rs1's had better high's imo

dont mistake the rs1 for some cheap set of headphones, they are the the roylce royce of headphones...same thing with the amp...i didnt compare many amps just some $400 one and the ra1 battery amp...i didnt notice much of a difference, both cleared up any screetchiness in the high's and made the bass warmer, and im not saying the headphones alone sounded bad, you dont even notice the imperfections until u use the amp and then go ampless

cant really argue about sound online, you need to listen to a nice instrumental cd or vinyl.

about pink floyd vinyls, of course, check on ebay if no where else.
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post #179 of 674
4/20/04 at 1:40am
OH, one thing i wanted to ask

anyone know of any earpad alternatives to the standard grado ones?
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post #180 of 674
4/20/04 at 2:22am
thanks to this thread i got an HD-497 myself, and its working great. however, i noticed a crack midway on the top part of the headphones. its a straight line right on the middle, so im not so sure if its on every model or if its really a crack, can anyone check this out? thanks!
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