Headphones

MANSKITO
MANSKITO Posts: 295
edited February 2010 in Speakers
My budget is $200 +maybe $50 if its a awesome pair and you convince me.

Looking for a great pair of head phones that do not NEED an amp to drive them. I will be driving them off of my sound card. I may add in an amp latter.

So fair I m looking at the Sennheiser HD555 of off new egg for $129. Based on the advice of one of my friends. I know next to nothing about head phones and could use lots of advice.

I will be using them for gaming and late night music listening.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826106392
Monitor 60s, CS10 front
Monitor 40s, back
PSW10:(

H/k AVR 325
Sansui Tape Deck
Pioneer PD-5010 CD player

Sennheiser HD 650s :D
Maverick Audio Tube Magic D1 DAC

AMD Phenom II 940 @ 3.8 prime stabel
4 gigs 1066, cas 5
XFX 4890 1gig
Seagate 1tb 7200.12
Creative X-fI Titanium Fatal1ty
Post edited by MANSKITO on
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Comments

  • Zitro
    Zitro Posts: 864
    edited February 2010
    I have the HD515's, one step below the 555's. They are pretty good, great for the money. The HD555's are an excellent headphone, price irrelevant. I'd go for it. Sennheiser is hard to beat for the money. They of course sound better with an amp, but its not needed.
    - Jeremy

    Amps: Jolida FX-10, NAD 3045, NAD C320BEE, Sansui G-9700
    Speakers: Polk Monitor 7A's, KEF Reference 104aB
    Sources: ProJect Debut Carbon, Sonos streaming FLAC
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  • MANSKITO
    MANSKITO Posts: 295
    edited February 2010
    Zitro wrote: »
    I have the HD515's, one step below the 555's. They are pretty good, great for the money. The HD555's are an excellent headphone, price irrelevant. I'd go for it. Sennheiser is hard to beat for the money. They of course sound better with an amp, but its not needed.

    Just wondering how do they compare to your Lsi 7s? Also how comfortable are they?
    Monitor 60s, CS10 front
    Monitor 40s, back
    PSW10:(

    H/k AVR 325
    Sansui Tape Deck
    Pioneer PD-5010 CD player

    Sennheiser HD 650s :D
    Maverick Audio Tube Magic D1 DAC

    AMD Phenom II 940 @ 3.8 prime stabel
    4 gigs 1066, cas 5
    XFX 4890 1gig
    Seagate 1tb 7200.12
    Creative X-fI Titanium Fatal1ty
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Zitro
    Zitro Posts: 864
    edited February 2010
    MANSKITO wrote: »
    Just wondering how do they compare to your Lsi 7s? Also how comfortable are they?

    First off, these (as well as most of Sennheiser's circumaural headphones) are incredibly comfortable for long listening sessions. Little pressure on the ear, and they feel very light on your head. I might be biased to ask about comparing them to the LSi7's cuz I have always thought headphones can't compete with loudspeakers for SQ, but trust me, they are good. Very open sounding, lots of detail, good sound-staging and a sweet midrange. IMO, the LSi7's beat em up, but like I said, I'm biased lol. I'm a loudspeaker guy.
    - Jeremy

    Amps: Jolida FX-10, NAD 3045, NAD C320BEE, Sansui G-9700
    Speakers: Polk Monitor 7A's, KEF Reference 104aB
    Sources: ProJect Debut Carbon, Sonos streaming FLAC
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  • TNRabbit
    TNRabbit Posts: 2,168
    edited February 2010
    I have a pair of AKG-701s which are EXCELLENT but really require an amp (can be had for $250). The Sennheiser 650s are comparable headphone.

    DSC_0237.jpg
    TNRabbit
    NO Polk Audio Equipment :eek:
    Sunfire TG-IV
    Ashly 1001 Active Crossover
    Rane PEQ-15 Parametric Equalizers x 2
    Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature Seven
    Carver AL-III Speakers
    Klipsch RT-12d Subwoofer
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  • MANSKITO
    MANSKITO Posts: 295
    edited February 2010
    TNRabbit wrote: »
    I have a pair of AKG-701s which are EXCELLENT but really require an amp (can be had for $250). The Sennheiser 650s are comparable headphone.

    DSC_0237.jpg

    They look rather nice man but they start at 269.99, thats really at the limit of what I could spend, are they worth the extra coin?
    Monitor 60s, CS10 front
    Monitor 40s, back
    PSW10:(

    H/k AVR 325
    Sansui Tape Deck
    Pioneer PD-5010 CD player

    Sennheiser HD 650s :D
    Maverick Audio Tube Magic D1 DAC

    AMD Phenom II 940 @ 3.8 prime stabel
    4 gigs 1066, cas 5
    XFX 4890 1gig
    Seagate 1tb 7200.12
    Creative X-fI Titanium Fatal1ty
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • TNRabbit
    TNRabbit Posts: 2,168
    edited February 2010
    I got those for $239.00 delivered. I tried Grado R-1 References & preferred the AKGs.

    There's a used pair on audiogon right now for $170. only 15 hours use:

    http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1271082835&/Akg-701-w/-New-Ear-Pads-shippi
    TNRabbit
    NO Polk Audio Equipment :eek:
    Sunfire TG-IV
    Ashly 1001 Active Crossover
    Rane PEQ-15 Parametric Equalizers x 2
    Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature Seven
    Carver AL-III Speakers
    Klipsch RT-12d Subwoofer
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  • MANSKITO
    MANSKITO Posts: 295
    edited February 2010
    TNRabbit wrote: »
    I got those for $239.00 delivered. I tried Grado R-1 References & preferred the AKGs.

    There's a used pair on audiogon right now for $170. only 15 hours use:

    http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1271082835&/Akg-701-w/-New-Ear-Pads-shippi

    but your saying they need an amp to drive them? I m not going to be using them with an ipod or anything of that nature when it comes to power but still right now I m not sure if i have a head phone AMP in the budget.
    Monitor 60s, CS10 front
    Monitor 40s, back
    PSW10:(

    H/k AVR 325
    Sansui Tape Deck
    Pioneer PD-5010 CD player

    Sennheiser HD 650s :D
    Maverick Audio Tube Magic D1 DAC

    AMD Phenom II 940 @ 3.8 prime stabel
    4 gigs 1066, cas 5
    XFX 4890 1gig
    Seagate 1tb 7200.12
    Creative X-fI Titanium Fatal1ty
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • TNRabbit
    TNRabbit Posts: 2,168
    edited February 2010
    Well, you'll not get any REAL volume out of them from an iPod. They sound great, but 60 ohms is just too much impedance for those little op amps to deliver the goods to.
    TNRabbit
    NO Polk Audio Equipment :eek:
    Sunfire TG-IV
    Ashly 1001 Active Crossover
    Rane PEQ-15 Parametric Equalizers x 2
    Sunfire Cinema Grand Signature Seven
    Carver AL-III Speakers
    Klipsch RT-12d Subwoofer
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • AsSiMiLaTeD
    AsSiMiLaTeD Posts: 11,728
    edited February 2010
    I have a set of Audio Technica ATH-W100 I'm not using at the moment. These are a fairly high-end set of cans, on a different level altogether than the 555 you are looking at.

    The great thing about them is they don't NEED an amp. Sure, anything in this league is going to sound better with an amp, but I've been using these just with the headphone out on my receiver and they sound excellent.

    They have a small nick on one of the caps, but other than that are in great condition. They're also very comfortable, more so than anything else I have including my Senn HD650.

    If you live in the CONUS, I could do $175 shipped if you're interested. I was going to post a FS thread here anyway, but they're yours if you're interested.

    Here's a thread over on Head-Fi about them:

    http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f13/audio-technica-ath-w100-review-second-premiere-7151/
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  • Shizelbs
    Shizelbs Posts: 7,433
    edited February 2010
    I would look at one of the offerings from Shure. Drive well without an amp, and make for good buds for working out and are a dream when flying on a plane.
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  • mshan242700
    mshan242700 Posts: 823
    edited February 2010
    Audio Technica ATH-900?: http://www.audiocubes.com/product_info.php?products_id=317




    :)
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  • skrol
    skrol Posts: 3,395
    edited February 2010
    I have never had a set of Sennheisers and might try a pair for my office at work. I do really like my Grados for sound quality. The Grados do have little immunity to background noise which may be an issue for some. It is not an issue for me as I usually use them at night so I don't disturb the family sleeping and the house is quite. As far as comfort I have no problem with the Grados for hours of continuous listening. In any case, am sure that either the Grados, Koss AudioTechnica or the Sennheisers will be more comfortable than the LSi7.
    Stan

    Main 2ch:
    Polk LSi15 (DB840 upgrade), Parasound: P/LD-1100, HCA-1000A; Denon: DVD-2910, DRM-800A; Benchmark DAC1, Monster HTS3600-MKII, Grado SR-225i; Technics SL-J2, Parasound PPH-100.

    HT:
    Marantz SR7010, Polk: RTA11TL (RDO198-1, XO and Damping Upgrades), S4, CS250, PSW110 , Marantz UD5005, Pioneer PL-530, Panasonic TC-P42S60

    Other stuff:
    Denon: DRA-835R, AVR-888, DCD-660, DRM-700A, DRR-780; Polk: S8, Monitor 5A, 5B, TSi100, RM7, PSW10 (DXi104 upgrade); Pioneer: CT-6R; Onkyo CP-1046F; Ortofon OM5E, Marantz: PM5004, CD5004, CDR-615; Parasound C/PT-600, HCA-800ii, Sony CDP-650ESD, Technics SA 5070, B&W DM601
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  • BeefJerky
    BeefJerky Posts: 1,320
    edited February 2010
    I agree with the above poster in regards to taking a look at the Shure in-ear-monitors. I have the SE210, which are second from the bottom, and they sound superb. They're much more portable than the on-the-ear headphones which was something that I really wanted. They'll work great from your sound card without needing an amp, as well as an iPod or any other portable music player. Plus, as the other poster said they are an absolute dream to have on a plane. They drastically reduce the background noise and are surprisingly comfortable. This is coming from someone who has never had good luck with any in-ear type earphones in the past.
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  • MANSKITO
    MANSKITO Posts: 295
    edited February 2010
    BeefJerky wrote: »
    I agree with the above poster in regards to taking a look at the Shure in-ear-monitors. I have the SE210, which are second from the bottom, and they sound superb. They're much more portable than the on-the-ear headphones which was something that I really wanted. They'll work great from your sound card without needing an amp, as well as an iPod or any other portable music player. Plus, as the other poster said they are an absolute dream to have on a plane. They drastically reduce the background noise and are surprisingly comfortable. This is coming from someone who has never had good luck with any in-ear type earphones in the past.

    Ya i m not a fan of ear buds (get rather nasty with ear wax) and I don't like objects inside of my ear. Also blocking out sound/portability is not a big deal for me.

    But if I do buy a Zune HD I might snag a pair of the sures thanks for the advice.
    Monitor 60s, CS10 front
    Monitor 40s, back
    PSW10:(

    H/k AVR 325
    Sansui Tape Deck
    Pioneer PD-5010 CD player

    Sennheiser HD 650s :D
    Maverick Audio Tube Magic D1 DAC

    AMD Phenom II 940 @ 3.8 prime stabel
    4 gigs 1066, cas 5
    XFX 4890 1gig
    Seagate 1tb 7200.12
    Creative X-fI Titanium Fatal1ty
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  • MANSKITO
    MANSKITO Posts: 295
    edited February 2010
    pulled the trigger on the HD 555s. got um for $90+ shipping. Thanks for all the advice but i couldn't pass up the sub 100 price tag. Will post review latter.
    Monitor 60s, CS10 front
    Monitor 40s, back
    PSW10:(

    H/k AVR 325
    Sansui Tape Deck
    Pioneer PD-5010 CD player

    Sennheiser HD 650s :D
    Maverick Audio Tube Magic D1 DAC

    AMD Phenom II 940 @ 3.8 prime stabel
    4 gigs 1066, cas 5
    XFX 4890 1gig
    Seagate 1tb 7200.12
    Creative X-fI Titanium Fatal1ty
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • DeusExa
    DeusExa Posts: 491
    edited February 2010
    HD555s are okay for starting out. But if you end up at Head-Fi, you'll end up with something like HD650s or K702s soon =0
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