New audiophile grade headphones for 500€.

[Izaya Orihara]

So i'm fairly new to the whole audiophile headphones stuff infact the only pair of somewhat 'audiophile' grade headphones i have are my Sony MDR 1R's that i use with my Nexus 5. And now since i will be building myself a new pc i want a new pair of headphones that sound great while looking good and being comfortable. Do you have any suggestions? Do i need an AMP? I will be using the Asus Xonar Phebus but i have been told that sound cards are useless. Is that true? 

 

 

 

Thanks for helping me out.

[helping]

They're not useless but they're not worth what you paid for them in terms of usefulness and quality for the dollar. Use your sound card. It's sub par, not useless. 

 

Your headphones will need to be >80ohm, so look at something 250 ohms and above.

[Izaya Orihara]

They're not useless but they're not worth what you paid for them in terms of usefulness and quality for the dollar. Use your sound card. It's sub par, not useless. 

 

Your headphones will need to be >80ohm, so look at something 250 ohms and above.

I don't have it yet. I will be getting it when i buy my new pc. I have been told that an AMP is waaay better. (I have no idea what an AMP does btw) Also could you recommed me a pair of headphones? 

[helping]

I don't have it yet. I will be getting it when i buy my new pc. I have been told that an AMP is waaay better. (I have no idea what an AMP does btw) Also could you recommed me a pair of headphones? 

dunno whats good for 500 euro -AMP/dac 

[Snazzy]

I have he-400 from hifiman, these things sound fantastic even coming from a xonar DG.

 

 

Also i have heard that you don't need that nice of an Amp for these, just something to give these enough power. (even an xonar dg)

but i have heard that these will get better with an good DAC.

[Izaya Orihara]

dunno whats good for 500 euro -AMP/dac 

Is the Berydynamic T90 any good? 

[kirBi]

Is the Berydynamic T90 any good? 

It is good.

Other possibilities include: Sennheiser HD600/650, Hifiman HE-400/500 depending on the price at your region.

[helping]

Is the Berydynamic T90 any good?

It is but when you start getting into pro audio territory sound cards aren't going to cut it

It will obviously sound ok but they're not going to meet their potential.

[Izaya Orihara]

It is but when you start getting into pro audio territory sound cards aren't going to cut it

It will obviously sound ok but they're not going to meet their potential.

So i'm better of buy the 880 Premiums? (Also they cost half as mutch and that is nice.) 

[BennisTheMennis]

something like the o2+ODAC and HD650 or 600 or beyerdynamics would be good, also depends on what you listen to but those are good all rounders.

[ShearMe]

just something to give these enough power

Amplifiers do not provide power, they provide voltage.

[antiquoob]

jumping in on 500€ headphones without a DAC to match is kinda like putting a 780 ti into a single core 2.3 Ghz system. It's putting all the beans into the basket.

[RatedBlam]

jumping in on 500€ headphones without a DAC to match is kinda like putting a 780 ti into a single core 2.3 Ghz system. It's putting all the beans into the basket.

As far as I'm aware "a dac to Match" isn't really true as pretty much all dacs are quite equal. As in just what they do, other factors excluded.

[ShearMe]

jumping in on 500€ headphones without a DAC to match is kinda like putting a 780 ti into a single core 2.3 Ghz system. It's putting all the beans into the basket.

More like the headphones are a CPU, and buying a dedicated DAC is like going from 1600MHz RAM to 1866MHz, and an amplifier would be the GPU.

[NannerBeans]

My vote would be for hifiman he400 and an o2 amp from epiphany acoustics.