Headphone + AMP under 200

[Muradov]

Hi everybody!

 

I’m trying to buy a decent over the ear headphone and a reasonable amp under $200 for both. I can stretch my budget up to $250, if there is any real benefit.  
 

I was thinking about either Audiotechnica M50X or similar Sennheiser product. I know about amps and DACs but not really familiar with any particular brand.

 

My use case will be mostly for music. I listen to metal, psytrance, lofi, blues and many others. I’d rather prefer to hear all sounds vs overpowering bass. Also, comfort is an important factor. Sometimes I might have them on for couple hours nonstop.

 

I don’t care about mic. I don’t want wireless for obvious reasons. 
 

I’m in US and have Amazon Prime. 
 

Thanks in advance guys!

[Derpanieux]

I am currently rocking some AKG K702s that I got from amazon for around $150, but I believe that was a sale price. They have a very flat sound signature and great imaging. Personally I prefer a shallow v curve, but a little EQ and its perfect for me. You can get some pretty good deals on DACs and amps through drop.com, but I'm using a portable FiiO DAC/amp combo because I like to take it on the go (back when going out was a thing...) and also use it with my PC. I think the FiiO cost me around $50. Comfort wise, these things are great. They're incredibly lightweight and put very little pressure on your head. They're made as studio monitors, designed to be comfortable for hours on end. They are the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn. This setup has been excellent for everything I've ever thrown at it, although I will say I don't listen to much metal (pretty much just the black metallica album and rage against the machine lol). If you can't find the K702s, the Massdrop K7XX headphones are pretty much exactly the same.

[rice guru]

so with your taste and needs I quite like the hd 58x retails for $160 on massdrop doesnt really need and amp or dac but will benefit from a cleaner source. has enough bass to be exciting detailed for its price and forgiving enough for lo fi its a good all rounder.  the m50x is a headphone I dont particuarly enjoy or ever recommend and judging from your tastes I would personally stay far away from. it sounds ok form a phone for the most part but ironically gets a lot less enjoyable out of a higher quality source.  

[Muradov]

49 minutes ago, Derpanieux said:

I am currently rocking some AKG K702s that I got from amazon for around $150, but I believe that was a sale price. They have a very flat sound signature and great imaging. Personally I prefer a shallow v curve, but a little EQ and its perfect for me. You can get some pretty good deals on DACs and amps through drop.com, but I'm using a portable FiiO DAC/amp combo because I like to take it on the go (back when going out was a thing...) and also use it with my PC. I think the FiiO cost me around $50. Comfort wise, these things are great. They're incredibly lightweight and put very little pressure on your head. They're made as studio monitors, designed to be comfortable for hours on end. They are the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn. This setup has been excellent for everything I've ever thrown at it, although I will say I don't listen to much metal (pretty much just the black metallica album and rage against the machine lol). If you can't find the K702s, the Massdrop K7XX headphones are pretty much exactly the same.

I’ll be off for next two days. I will definitely look into your recommendation. I’ll return back with my findings. Thank you very much!

[Muradov]

24 minutes ago, rice guru said:

so with your taste and needs I quite like the hd 58x retails for $160 on massdrop doesnt really need and amp or dac but will benefit from a cleaner source. has enough bass to be exciting detailed for its price and forgiving enough for lo fi its a good all rounder.  the m50x is a headphone I dont particuarly enjoy or ever recommend and judging from your tastes I would personally stay far away from. it sounds ok form a phone for the most part but ironically gets a lot less enjoyable out of a higher quality source.  

I’m glad you mentioned that! I was worried that I’ll get an all-rounder, which I don’t want. I play games, watch movies but not usually with headphones, so I need it purely for music. I was thinking of an AMP because I don’t think on-board power for audio will be enough to drive such big headphones at higher volume. I’ll stay away from Auditechnica. Thanks a lot!

[rice guru]

1 minute ago, Muradov said:

I’m glad you mentioned that! I was worried that I’ll get an all-rounder, which I don’t want. I play games, watch movies but not usually with headphones, so I need it purely for music. I was thinking of an AMP because I don’t think on-board power for audio will be enough to drive such big headphones at higher volume. I’ll stay away from Auditechnica. Thanks a lot!

The 58x itself is great for music just happens to be good for games as well. Another option is the Fidelio x2 hrif you need a closed back I think you might enjoy meze 99 noirs, akg k371.  Amps are really only nessecary if your getting something really hard to drive like a 250- 600 ohm headphone

[CTR640]

6 hours ago, Muradov said:

I’m glad you mentioned that! I was worried that I’ll get an all-rounder, which I don’t want. I play games, watch movies but not usually with headphones, so I need it purely for music. I was thinking of an AMP because I don’t think on-board power for audio will be enough to drive such big headphones at higher volume. I’ll stay away from Auditechnica. Thanks a lot!

There is nothing wrong with an all-rounder if the sound is great. Both of my Beyerdynamic Amirons are my all-rounders and use them for everything.

 

Look for sensitivy. Big headphones doesn't mean it eats a lot of power lol. Which motherboard do you have?

[artuc]

9 hours ago, Muradov said:

I’ll stay away from Auditechnica. Thanks a lot!

I wouldn't say that. It comes down to taste. I haven't liked AKGs I listened to, yet enjoyed quite a few Audio Technica headphones, only had some really cheap ones as travel beaters (prefer Koss for that tbh) but they've often been a few spots down from my top choice.

[The Flying Sloth]

10 hours ago, Muradov said:

I’ll stay away from Auditechnica. Thanks a lot!

Echoing the previous reply, every person has preferences based on their own subjective enjoyment of music and their own hearing, personally I enjoy AT headphones and use the M20x as daily drivers and for tracking vocals. If I couldn't use my headphones for this task my other choices would be the AT M40x or Beyer 770 purely because of the isolation with preference for the M40x due to them fitting my ears better and my enjoying of the sound signature slightly better. This brings up an important point, you can't always tell how headphones will sound based on the brand. Every model of headphone will sound different and bigger number doesn't always mean better sound, if human malware wasn't going on I'd tell you to go to an audio store and you'll see what I mean.

The M50x are very much headphones for someone who just enjoys music with not much of a critical thought towards the sound, they have big bass and while they're not the clearest sounding headphones I have ever used they're what a Monstercat listening Teenager will enjoy most if I had them test headphones in an audio store (either that or Beats). For the price I certainly wouldn't consider them a bad choice, they're certainly a 'fun' choice but I prefer the slightly more natural signature of the M40x.

[Muradov]

Some of the products and brands you guys have provided are totally new to me. I haven't seen these names or models before, so I'll have to expand my research. I definitely want to stay away from anything close to Beats. I will listen to them in the comfort of my room, so open back or closed back is not a defining factor for me. I'd rather hear more details in a song over a strong bass. So, I'll return back with my findings. 

[rice guru]

 

On 5/22/2020 at 4:16 PM, Muradov said:

I’ll stay away from Auditechnica. Thanks a lot!

yeha I wouldnt stay away from audio technical just that specific headphone. 

[Muradov]

21 hours ago, CTR640 said:

There is nothing wrong with an all-rounder if the sound is great. Both of my Beyerdynamic Amirons are my all-rounders and use them for everything.

 

Look for sensitivy. Big headphones doesn't mean it eats a lot of power lol. Which motherboard do you have?

It's a laptop. Asus GL502VMK. I haven't had a complaint about the clarity of the audio through motherboard, however I have tried couple power hungry headphones from friends. I'll definitely need an AMP.  

[Muradov]

I am leaning towards open back headphones from Sennheiser on Drop such HD58x and HD6xx. Is it really worth going for HD6xx? If I dislike the open back design, I can always get a Audiotechnica MX40x or similar brand under 100 as a backup in the future or even start building a little collection. Moving back to today, I need something that I won't regret. 

[rice guru]

13 hours ago, Muradov said:

I am leaning towards open back headphones from Sennheiser on Drop such HD58x and HD6xx. Is it really worth going for HD6xx? If I dislike the open back design, I can always get a Audiotechnica MX40x or similar brand under 100 as a backup in the future or even start building a little collection. Moving back to today, I need something that I won't regret. 

The 6xx is a good headphone if you want to get a DAC and  a nice amp and just want a nice can with lush mids smooth treble and a ok bass response. The 58x is great easy to power sounds similar to the hd 660 has a great tight punchy bass response awesome mids and a nice friendly treble. Great for lo fi hip hop , rock , general hip hop. I feel the 58x really shines over the 6xx in more modern genres while the 6xx edges it out in detail retrieval and on older genres like classic rock,  classical and such. The 58x is generally a more fun headphone. Both sound kinda similar but are different enough to pick one over the other but imo  not different enough to own both.

[Muradov]

On 5/24/2020 at 9:56 AM, rice guru said:

The 6xx is a good headphone if you want to get a DAC and  a nice amp and just want a nice can with lush mids smooth treble and a ok bass response. The 58x is great easy to power sounds similar to the hd 660 has a great tight punchy bass response awesome mids and a nice friendly treble. Great for lo fi hip hop , rock , general hip hop. I feel the 58x really shines over the 6xx in more modern genres while the 6xx edges it out in detail retrieval and on older genres like classic rock,  classical and such. The 58x is generally a more fun headphone. Both sound kinda similar but are different enough to pick one over the other but imo  not different enough to own both.

Actually, I went ahead and pre-ordered HD6xx for their next shipment. My next dilemma is Schiit Modi 3+ vs Heresy. I heard Heresy stays relatively cooler but I like silver and grey design better. I know I'm way over my initial budget but I had to get an AMP at some point. 

[rice guru]

7 minutes ago, Muradov said:

Actually, I went ahead and pre-ordered HD6xx for their next shipment. My next dilemma is Schiit Modi 3+ vs Heresy. I heard Heresy stays relatively cooler but I like silver and grey design better. I know I'm way over my initial budget but I had to get an AMP at some point. 

yeah temperature isnt a concern more the sound difference the modi 3+ is a warmer sounding amp adds more body to the low and and mids whike the heresy keans to a more clinical linear appriach to sound both are good amps I lean towards the magni 3+ personally

[Muradov]

5 minutes ago, Muradov said:

Actually, I went ahead and pre-ordered HD6xx for their next shipment. My next dilemma is Schiit Modi 3+ vs Heresy. I heard Heresy stays relatively cooler but I like silver and grey design better. I know I'm way over my initial budget but I had to get an AMP at some point. 

I have come to understood that Magni 3+ (I said Modi earlier, sorry) gets very hot, while Heresy stays at room temperature. This itself is a deciding factor for me. I'll go with red and black this time, since It kinda matches my orange and black laptop. Wish luck to me. 

[rice guru]

2 minutes ago, Muradov said:

I have come to understood that Magni 3+ (I said Modi earlier, sorry) gets very hot, while Heresy stays at room temperature. This itself is a deciding factor for me. I'll go with red and black this time, since It kinda matches my orange and black laptop. Wish luck to me. 

nice , th emagni 3 only gets warm its pretty common for amps to do this especially a more traditionally desiigned amp like the magni 3+ it isnt really a concern cause it doesnt get hot just warm to the touch and not really hot enough to do any harm. 

[Muradov]

2 minutes ago, rice guru said:

yeah temperature isnt a concern

That wouldn't be problem if I had big enough room and didn't touch my electronics very often. These will be my first AMP and decent pair of headphones, and I doubt I'd regret my choices. Also, some reviewers and users state that HD6xx or 650 pairs better with Heresy. I'll share my experience in a month when I receive both. Thanks a lot!

 

[rice guru]

2 minutes ago, Muradov said:

That wouldn't be problem if I had big enough room and didn't touch my electronics very often. These will be my first AMP and decent pair of headphones, and I doubt I'd regret my choices. Also, some reviewers and users state that HD6xx or 650 pairs better with Heresy. I'll share my experience in a month when I receive both. Thanks a lot!

 

yeha i dissaggree persoanlly I like to add warmth to the 650 not really put it on any clinical amps like the heresy if possible I tube  it over any amp. 

[Muradov]

On 5/26/2020 at 10:20 AM, rice guru said:

yeha i dissaggree persoanlly I like to add warmth to the 650 not really put it on any clinical amps like the heresy if possible I tube  it over any amp. 

Yeah I do get it, however there is always EQ for that purpose. Btw they both have finally arrived. I put them against my brother's VMODA Crossfade II. Except for few isolated cases, HD6xx sounded better. VMODA added unnecessary bass in most occasions. 

[The Flying Sloth]

32 minutes ago, Muradov said:

Yeah I do get it, however there is always EQ for that purpose. Btw they both have finally arrived. I put them against my brother's VMODA Crossfade II. Except for few isolated cases, HD6xx sounded better. VMODA added unnecessary bass in most occasions. 

EQ can only do so much, it can't change the way transients are handled and the subtle compression differences between valve and other amplifier designs.