entering the audiophile world

[wolfgang]

I am looking to get some new headphones for at home and step into the audiophile world. I listen to a mix of music but mostly rock and watch lots of shows.

Looking for a set of headphones and amp if it needs it at $500 range total or less.

I was looking at the akg k702. http://www.amazon.com/AKG-Reference-Quality-Open-Back-Circumaural-Headphones/dp/B001RCD2DW

[Laederem]

Uses? And we're working with only your motherboard and 500$, correct?

Do you know what your preferences are? i.e. do you prefer music with a lot of bass.. or not?

based on your link, I assume you're also in US.

[wolfgang]

Uses? And we're working with only your motherboard and 500$, correct?

Do you know what your preferences are? i.e. do you prefer music with a lot of bass.. or not?

$500 and motherboard is all i have right now. Uses is music and anime/youtube mostly with some game use. As far as music i am kinda all over the board so im not real sure but i do enjoy having bass but not a ton of it.

[Laederem]

$500 and motherboard is all i have right now. Uses is music and anime mostly with some game use. As far as music i am kinda all over the board so im not real sure but i do enjoy having bass but not a ton of it.

Well, the 702, and AKG in general often don't have that much bass in them. So if you're looking for anything bassy, this isn't your pair. You should still be able to hear it but it won't be as pronounced, and IIRC it does have a bit of a treble spike so it can be annoying to painful at high volumes. 

 

That board is decent, so you might not even really need an amp for these. Buy the headphones first, then wait a bit and decide if you want an amp or not. If these are not going to be your only pair of headphones, then an amp is a good investment. You can opt to buy a DAC if you want to or not, but I would go ahead and do that if you're planning to spend decent dollar on a pair of headphones, especially multiple.

 

I know Schitt has a DAC/amp pair for 200$. I'm not sure about the quality of those, though they shouldn't be that bad. You could also opt for a Mayflower O2+ODAC, and that would run you around 275. It will probably be a bit better, I assume better build quality, the downside here being cost and the fact that they're integrated. You can probably do some modifications if you were so inclined to in the future, however.

 

In general the O2 should serve your needs for.. pretty much anything under extravagant. 

[wolfgang]

-snip-

Thanks for the amp suggestions. I will try just the board first. Do you have any other headphone suggestions for about the same price to look into?

[SSL]

Thanks for the amp suggestions. I will try just the board first. Do you have any other headphone suggestions for about the same price to look into?

 

Good.  Might look into the Beyer DT, specifically 990 or 880, with 990 being the more "fun" of the two with a somewhat more pronounced bass and treble.

[Laederem]

Thanks for the amp suggestions. I will try just the board first. Do you have any other headphone suggestions for about the same price to look into?

Good.  Might look into the Beyer DT, specifically 990 or 880, with 990 being the more "fun" of the two with a somewhat more pronounced bass and treble.

These two are good, I don't know what you listen to, but an 880 would be more fitting -IMO- 

 

If you could stretch your budget a tiny bit, you can probably get an HE400, though I'm not sure how you would power that, or at the least an HE300. 

You could also consider an HD600 with the Schitt pairing, would put you at exactly 500$.

Q701 might not be that bad. 

[SSL]

These two are good, I don't know what you listen to, but an 880 would be more fitting -IMO- 

 

If you could stretch your budget a tiny bit, you can probably get an HE400, though I'm not sure how you would power that, or at the least an HE300. 

You could also consider an HD600 with the Schitt pairing, would put you at exactly 500$.

Q701 might not be that bad. 

 

HE 400 isn't particularly hard to drive, it would probably get loud enough of a Syba or Fiio desktop amp/DAC combo.

[Laederem]

HE 400 isn't particularly hard to drive, it would probably get loud enough of a Syba or Fiio desktop amp/DAC combo.

mistaken then, I assumed planars might have taken a bit more effort to do it well. 

[ShearMe]

770/990 is a good introductory set I think. Will tell you if you like bass and/or treble for sure. Also can be had for under 200 bucks which leaves you room for future upgrades once you know what you like.

[wolfgang]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will look into them more when i get home.

[creatip123]

mistaken then, I assumed planars might have taken a bit more effort to do it well. 

 

HE400 is somewhat quiet when plugged to onboard, tried with realtek and VIA. But any amp should do, even if it's E6 plugged in serial with the onboard audio out.

 

HE400 is a sample of an 'oldskool' planar that's quite unefficient. New generations, like the LCD series however, are quite efficient to run straight of phones. 

[NannerBeans]

There's a whole lot of choices in that range. I always suggest buying used though. Some of my personally favorites are modded Fostex headphones, Sony MDR 1R, Beyerdynamic DT770/DT990, AKG K612, and Fostex TH600.

[LenMargaux]

The Beyerdynamic T90 sounds great to, IMHO.

[Lays]

k712 is another option, I just got a pair that was 4 days old for $265, loving them so far.  It has a boosted bass compared to the k702, so the low-end will be much more apparent.

[JScott03]

I'll second the k712 pro these cans are SWEET. I pair them with a mayflower dac/amp and couldn't be happier. I owned the dt990 pros and while they were great... the treble became fatiguing to my ears. Everyone is different though. Buying through amazon is nice it's really easy to return a pair if you want to try something else out. They refund your money even before they receive your old pair (right when it's scanned in at the post office).

[NannerBeans]

I'm getting a AKG K550 in a few days and I'm hoping it's the perfect headphone for me because I still haven't found one that I think is perfect. Also want to try the Shure 1540. 

[wolfgang]

i think i am going to go with k702 or q701 for a start. just have to make the decision.

[spwath]

my k7xx are ariving soon.

 

i think i am going to go with k702 or q701 for a start. just have to make the decision.

if massdrop has k7xx i would get them, they are basicly the k702/ 65th aniversery, but only 199$

[wolfgang]

my k7xx are ariving soon.

 

if massdrop has k7xx i would get them, they are basicly the k702/ 65th aniversery, but only 199$

i would but those in a second if they were available.

[spwath]

i would but those in a second if they were available.

there will be the last 2,000 of them coming sometime

[wolfgang]

there will be the last 2,000 of them coming sometime

so they are doing another run then? i thought they were already bought and that was just shipping.

[spwath]

so they are doing another run then? i thought they were already bought and that was just shipping.

They sold 2/3 runs

[wolfgang]

They sold 2/3 runs

i see. did not know that. maybe i should just wait then.

[spwath]

i see. did not know that. maybe i should just wait then

I wouldent, could be a while