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Peripherals Best Headphones for Xonar Essence STX?

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by Tele1952, 21 Jan 2011.

  1. Tele1952

    Tele1952 What's a Dremel?

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    Hey guys, quick question, what would you say is the best, most suitable headphones for plugging directly into the Xonar sound card?

    The Sennheiser HD 650? I read that the HD 800 are too good for the card.

    Maybe an AKG one?

    Thanks in advance

    Tim
     
  2. Blackmoon181

    Blackmoon181 Geography,Its not just colouring in

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    what is your budget for the headphones ?

    are you intending to use them for mild gaming or more serious audio production / recording ?


    It depends on what kind of sound you are after, different brands offer different colouring of the sound

    making the choice highly subjective. Have you owned and of the aforementioned brands before ?

    i myself have the HD 595 coupled with a Xonar DX and find them good. High impedance cans shouldn't

    be a problem for your card as you don't need a separate amp
     
    Tele1952 likes this.
  3. Tele1952

    Tele1952 What's a Dremel?

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    Well I'd have to say £250 tops. I'll mostly be listening to music, producing, mixing, comping, recording etc.

    No I've never owned any high end headphone before but since hearing the HD 800 at work, I've fallen in love!

    I'm doing an internship so I aint no audiophile yet.

    Different colouring meaning? Varying levels of treble middle and bass? I'm very keen on soundstage, not such a big fan of in-your-head music.

    Cheers Tim
     
  4. bagman

    bagman Minimodder

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    my friend recently bought a pair of these and he says they are absolutely brilliant http://www.play.com/Electronics/Ele...ctive-Noise-Reduction-Headphones/Product.html they used to be £150 so at £50 they are a bargin what hi-fi rates them very highly as well http://www.whathifi.com/Review/Goldring-NS-1000-noise-cancelling/

    but seeing as you are willing to spend more there are these AKG's http://www.amazon.co.uk/AKG-701-Headphones-Ear-Hook/dp/B000EBBJ6Y which what hi-fi say are very good as well http://www.whathifi.com/Review/AKG-K701/
     
  5. Tele1952

    Tele1952 What's a Dremel?

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    man those AKG's look fricking SEXY! WhatHiFi seems to rate everything 5 stars :s
     
  6. bagman

    bagman Minimodder

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    they don't, they are very unbiased on there reviews just take a look around there are loads of reviews where they have given 2 or 3 stars to even KEF speakers. So what hi-fi is a very good place if you want to know what is best atm in the audio world like bit-tech for computers :)
     
  7. Ficky Pucker

    Ficky Pucker I

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    hd 650's need a headphone amp to get the best out of them, the xonar essence stx wouldn't do them justice.

    if this is only for gaming then go for Audio Technica AD700 or Sennheiser HD598 , both would run fine from a soundcard.

    K701 / K702 are great for gaming as well (bear in mind without an amp you'll never get to hear what they're truly capable of)

    (all three are open headphones so people around you will hear the music as you listen.)

    edit: the k701/k702 would be good for producing as well :) read moar

    as for music it depends on what you listen, they excel at jazz, classical, acoustic. if you want massive bass then you might not like this headphone.
     
    Tele1952 likes this.
  8. Yslen

    Yslen Lord of the Twenty-Seventh Circle

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    How about these?

    http://www.thomann.de/gb/akg_k601.htm

    They're usually only slightly cheaper than the K-701's, but for some reason Thomann (who are awesome btw) have had them at that price for a while. I bought some in the summer, they're incredible. Excellent for natural sounds; classical, acoustic, older studio albums from the days before heavy compression on EVERYTHING. Fleetwood Mac' sounds wonderful through these, for example... Muse less so. Still better than any other headphones I've ever used, but not mind-blowing as is the case with some types of music.

    Oh, and I don't run them direct from the card, I use a headphone amp.
     
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  9. smc8788

    smc8788 Multimodder

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    Agree with this. I went through several pairs of headphones and kept sending them back before finally settling on the AKGs. They're not perfect; they lack bass and aren't as exciting as other headphones when it comes to rock (though they can still hold their own), but the soundstage is absolutely exceptional and as said above, for acoustic/classical music they sound better than anything else I've ever heard, at least in this price range. They're also the most comfortable, both to wear and to listen to for long periods of time. The K601's are a little rolled off at the high end though (I like this, and is why I opted for them over the K701/2's), so if you want more treble then the K701/2 would be a better option for you. I've also heard the K701/2's are more detailed than the K601. If you do end up going for one of those though, I would strongly recommend paying the little bit more for the K702 over the K701, as I've heard lots of people complain that the bumpy headband on the K701 is very uncomfortable.
     
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  10. Tele1952

    Tele1952 What's a Dremel?

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    Thanks for all the input, it seems I've gone the wrong way about this. I should have purchased some decent Headphones and then find the accessories that work best with it. DAMN!

    I'm really keen on the AKG 701's however, I do like to dabble in listening to some Metal and Rapcore but I mostly listen to funk, rock and jazz. I'm a guitarist so stuff like Steely Dan, Jeff Beck, John Mayer, Derek Trucks etc.

    Do you think they'd be worth it?
     
  11. Yslen

    Yslen Lord of the Twenty-Seventh Circle

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    You can of course just use a good EQ to add some excitement into rock music. Push the bass and treble up a bit.

    Edit: @ Tele1952; Only you can answer that really, you need to try them! get a pair from somewhere you know you'll be able to return to no questions asked if you don't like them.
     
    Last edited: 22 Jan 2011
  12. Tele1952

    Tele1952 What's a Dremel?

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    Wise words, I'll ask a few guys at the office! If not, I'll pop into some high street hifi stores and ask for a taster! Think it's gonna have to be the K702's!

    Thank you all, you've been very helpful and I've given you all a good bit of reputation!

    Cheers

    Tim
     
  13. docodine

    docodine killed a guy once

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    Have a look at Grado and Alessandro headphones, most of them don't benefit much from amping. They'll sound good through your Xonar. The sound signature is very different than the HD800s though..
     
  14. Slazher

    Slazher What's a Dremel?

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  15. Yslen

    Yslen Lord of the Twenty-Seventh Circle

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    You probably will want a headphone amp to go with the STX and K-702 setup though. The asus card has DSP and DAC covered very nicely but its internal amp is a bit pants in comparison from what I've read. Given the quality of the rest of the card and your 'phones it's a good idea to look into an external amp as that'll be the only weak link in your signal chain.

    Maybe note it down as an upgrade for the future, as it'll take you ages to get over how good that setup sounds even using the mediocre amp on the soundcard!
     
  16. Tele1952

    Tele1952 What's a Dremel?

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    hah, I'll definitely keep that in mind for the future Yslen thanks! I can't wait !!!
     
  17. nchhabs

    nchhabs www.twitch.tv/dracaXL

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    Tele, for the music you listen to I'd have to recommend the Denon AH-D2000 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Denon-AHD20...24HQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1295786380&sr=8-1)

    They're bloody excellent for the price and have more textured/natural bass presence than the AKG K701s, which tend to be a little on the light side - mostly suited for primarily jazz and classical listeners. I've owned the Senn HD600, K701 and D2000 - from the music you listen the D2000 is a better bet.
     
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  18. Tele1952

    Tele1952 What's a Dremel?

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    thanks Nchhabs, they look like a very decent pair. I shall research them more thouroughly! Rep +1!
     
  19. Yslen

    Yslen Lord of the Twenty-Seventh Circle

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    I have to say people are much more responsive to these questions here than over on the head-fi forums... they all seem to be too busy arguing over which £1000+ amp is best and have no time to help out the new guys. Maybe an audio section for the bit-tech forums? They're reviewing enough sound systems these days...

    @Tim; let us know how you get on!
     
  20. nchhabs

    nchhabs www.twitch.tv/dracaXL

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    Happy to help - did you end up purchasing one of the recommendations? Let us know how you find it! :rock:
     

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