My trusty Audio Technica m50's died the other day and so I need a new set of cans, budget is about £150 (can go to £200 at a stretch), they'll be used for gaming/general media consumption, and most likely used with the motherboard audio. I'm certainly not an audiophile, but I do want a decent sounding set. So far I've narrowed it down to 3 options: 1) Audio-Technica ATH-M50X - Updated version of my previous set, cheapest option 2) AKG K550 - Excellent reviews, bit more expensive 3) Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO & FiiO E10K - Amp necessary to drive @ 250 ohm, DAC probably better than my onboard sound, most expensive I know some of you are pretty serious about your audio so thoughts, anything else I should look at?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/B-O-Play-...091506&hash=item237c8039ba:g:cpYAAOSwvjdZWhUt Nearly £150 off RRP I have a set and for that money nothing else I have competes. They're beautifully made too, and don't leak sound.
When I got mine about this time last year I got them in a pricing error for £130. They RRP at £289, and used sets usually went for over £200. What I love about them is they require no amps, no BS. They are incredibly sensitive, and the closed back design means they deliver loads of thump too. The best part though is the build quality. It's just second to none (Grado could bloody learn a thing or two from B&O !)
I need to get them off amazon because £70 of my budget is vouchers. They've got them for ~£190 which is more than I'd ideally like to spend, but you do make a compelling case....
Of all of the headphones I own they are by far the best build quality wise. Of course they can't stand up to a set of £500 Grados sound wise, but they make a very good case for themselves. They're incredibly easy to drive and very responsive. Sound is punchy without being distasteful and the sound stage for a set of closed backs is about as good as I have heard. Note though, nearly all of my cans are open backed because I like the depth of stage it gives. If that is in brown (like the tan ones I linked you to) then that's not bad. They were the most expensive of all of them because they use like lambskin or something for the ear cups and band. Note, those ones on Amazon are second gen which is supposed to sound even better. They'll also let you keep your nuts in one piece if you live with some one. My other cans literally pee sound and it's like I'm running a bluetooth speaker. Used to piss my wife off loads. The B&O can be driven to reasonable volumes without even being audible in the room. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/B-O-Play-...id=100005&rk=5&rkt=6&mehot=pp&sd=152412633530 As I thought yeah the black ones are cheaper. The brown ones used to cost far more than the others.
aah, you missed prime day, they had some great ones on offer over the last couple of days. My two main headsets currently are my Philips Fidelio X2, and aAudio-Technica ATH-MSR7 - Both great for different reasons. If I can save my pennies up, I want a set of ATH-W1000Z but they cost a fortune and quite frankly, not sure if they will be worth it.
Actually you know what I would do? get the black Gen 2 ones from Ebay for the £129. Then use your Amazon vouchers for this.. https://www.amazon.co.uk/AudioQuest...F8&qid=1499953085&sr=8-2&keywords=firefly+dac Getting mine very soon (next Friday) been wanting one for ages.
hmmm, I really don't like usb type dacs like that, I have broken 2 =( I now have a Schiit Vali and Modi on my main system. a FiiO E10K on my secondary system and a SMSL M3 stays in my bag for whilst I am traveling so I have one with me haha
I've heard a lot about Schiit. I almost bought one of their amps but I asked the guy selling it (was on an audio forum) how it really sounded and he said it was a bit flat and took about two hours to "warm up". Turns out I already had a much better amp (Graham Slee Novo) so it would have been a waste of time. Seriously if you want the amp to end all amps.. First look at this. http://europe.beyerdynamic.com/shop/a-2.html And then have a look at this. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Finished-...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 It's an exact clone. Got mine about three hours ago, puts my £350 Graham Slee to shame. I dodged import fees too, so I am absolutely thrilled. Gotta love the Chinese haha.
I'm almost sold on the B&O's but the 1m cable could be an issue and it seems like finding a compatible replacement could be tricky
Call me shallow but it seems a shame to attach that to such a pretty set of cans (although I suppose it wouldn't look so bad with the black ones)
If you are using it at home with a headphone amp then just get a 3.5mm 3 prong extension.. One of the ones that looks like an old fashioned phone cable. Leave that plugged into the amp, then just insert any headphones you are using into that. If you are travelling then 1m should be enough. You are right though, it is too short to use at home really. I have an old black Bose extension on mine (3 pin) and it works fine.
Bought a pair of the Black Gen2. I needed a new pair to replace my QH-90s (2nd lot that have failed after 12 months). More than I normally pay but I'm sold on the quality and lower price.
After checking the finances for the month they're a bit too much for me atm I think. Any other suggestions before I order the akgs?
They are worth it. It's funny because I have always been into audio. Not what I would consider to be an audio purist but more of a quality meets very loud sort of person. I always had speaker systems, not headphones. A mate of mine was big into "head-fi" a few years ago and I saw the money he used to spend and thought he was really stupid. Then I divorced from my first wife and ended up back at my mother's, and now I am living alone in a flat sandwiched between two other sets of residents. So about oo, two years ago? I started to get into headphones. It's funny because being autistic I am amazed I never did so before. It's much more private, and much more personal. Sure you can't feel the music like you can sitting in front of a folded horn with a 18" 3600W sub in it but you literally get it all to yourself with headphones. The first reasonably decent pair I got were some BeyerDynamic Custom One Pro. They were OK but faulty from the start (the left ear driver farted if you put too much bass through it). Then I bought a couple of other pairs before buying my Grado RS2E. I was literally terrified of them at first. So expensive, so delicate. However, I've learned to treat them very gingerly and the sound is just other worldly. That is when I knew that I was addicted. See the funniest part is that I never thought that a £500 set of headphones would really be that much better than say, a £150 pair of headphones. But they are. I have bought about ten to twelve pairs of cheaper headphones since and seriously none of them even come close to the Grados. Which is great but somewhat scary. Scary because the only way I will ever hear a better set of headphones would be to raise the bar and really do something completely stupid tbh. Thankfully I "only" paid £330 for them on Ebay (£350, but one of the pads was crushed from the cable being packed wrong) they were brand new and sealed with the certificate but yeah, got a £20 refund for the damaged cup/pad thing. Any way what I'm getting at is that with headphones you should only really buy one pair, yet spend every penny you can afford to on that pair. I do use at least three pairs of mine because they are all different (Grado for live, studio, classical, etc.. Hifiman huge buggers for bass tests and sub frequencies and my B&O for beat driven house, garage etc) but yeah, headphones are totally like computers. Spend as much as you can, because you do get a better experience.
I'm going to give mine a listen later today when deliveries have finished. Will try them on my new amp and let you know how it goes
Mine have arrived. Very impressed with the sound quality, I've never heard music through headphones with that clarity before and despite the reviews bass is fine (set through the EQ in the App). I understand the earpads will shape themselves after a bit of use due to the memory foam but they feel fine to me straight out of the box. The headband has virtually no padding and if it wasn't for the fact they're relatively lightweight I suspect would be uncomfortable. However they don't feel tight on my head. Main problem is that the remote controls don't appear to work properly with my phone. While the Play/Pause works normally the Volume controls have no effect. My other wired headphone remote works fine. Just sent the seller a message to clarify as the listing states 'The in-line microphone and three button remote make it simple to stay in touch and in control of your music while on the move.' EDIT: I've done a bit more reading in reviews that suggests that the controls will only work with an iPhone contradicting the statement in their listing. I've just tried them with my iPhone and the volume controls don't work with that either so I think the cable is faulty.
