£100 open back headphones

[Thorium19]

So I'm close to pulling the trigger on a new pair of headphones and I'm torn between the DT 990 pro 250 ohms new and the AKG K701, which I can get used for a little bit more.

I will be using the onboard audio on my motherboard (MSI z87 Mpower Max) and occasionally my phone (Sony Z3) or iPad for now, until I can get the money for a decent amp and DAC, if that helps.

Which would be better for music (rock, pop, edm, jazz, classical... Basically everything but rap and hip hop) and gaming of the casual non competitive nature but will still be a noticeable improvement over my current Bose triports?

Any other suggestions, either open or closed back are welcome as well.

[JoaoPRSousa]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyerdynamic-DT990-PRO-Headset-250/dp/B0011UB9CQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1438622818&sr=8-1&keywords=dt+990

 

Done.

[SSL]

I'd go for the DT 990. My view is that the K701 has too little bass to be a serious all-around headphone these days, given what else is available (e.g. K702).

[Thermal]

I can recommend thomann as a company and I love my ATH-AD700x's so these might be worth a look -> http://www.thomann.de/gb/audio_technica_ath_ad500_x.htm

[Thorium19]

I'd go for the DT 990. My view is that the K701 has too little bass to be a serious all-around headphone these days, given what else is available (e.g. K702).

I'd probably do the bass port mod on the 701s if I got them, but I'm sceptical how much that really improves them, and don't mind weaker bass if I can improve it with an equaliser, but if the 990s are good all rounders OOB then I'll go for those.

[Philosobyte]

The K701 and K702 (almost exact same acoustics) are agreed by many audio professionals to be one of the most neutral pairs of headphones in existence. 

 

But a neutral frequency response doesn't necessarily make for the best listening experience. If you're only using them to listen to music, as opposed to creating music, then you can't go wrong with either pair. 

[Chiobe]

Sennheiser HD280 Pro Closed Monitoring Headphones: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sennheiser-HD280pro-Closed-Monitoring-Headphones/dp/B000065BPB/

Sennheiser HD 380 Pro Collapsible High end Headphones: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sennheiser-HD-380-Pro-Collapsible/dp/B001UE6I0G/

Sennheiser Over-Ear Open-back Gaming Stereo Headset with 7.1 Channel Surround Sound Mic and Integrated Volume Control: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sennheiser-Over-Ear-Open-back-Surround-Integrated/dp/B0087ZMAUS/

Sennheiser HD 518 Open Circumaural Headphones with E.A.R. Technology: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sennheiser-HD-518-Circumaural-Headphones/dp/B0042A68R8/

A little bit of everything in the price range, aldo some are on discount atm.

[Thorium19]

The K701 and K702 (almost exact same acoustics) are agreed by many audio professionals to be one of the most neutral pairs of headphones in existence. 

 

But a neutral frequency response doesn't necessarily make for the best listening experience. If you're only using them to listen to music, as opposed to creating music, then you can't go wrong with either pair.

I'll almost solely be listening to music and games, the only real audio based work I might do would be with streaming and recording gameplay.

Also, are the AKGs hard to drive or would I be able to run them off my phone to decent hearing levels? (I don't listen to music that loud)

Sennheiser HD280 Pro Closed Monitoring Headphones: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sennheiser-HD280pro-Closed-Monitoring-Headphones/dp/B000065BPB/

Sennheiser HD 380 Pro Collapsible High end Headphones: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sennheiser-HD-380-Pro-Collapsible/dp/B001UE6I0G/

Sennheiser Over-Ear Open-back Gaming Stereo Headset with 7.1 Channel Surround Sound Mic and Integrated Volume Control: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sennheiser-Over-Ear-Open-back-Surround-Integrated/dp/B0087ZMAUS/

Sennheiser HD 518 Open Circumaural Headphones with E.A.R. Technology: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sennheiser-HD-518-Circumaural-Headphones/dp/B0042A68R8/

A little bit of everything in the price range, aldo some are on discount atm.

I'll ignore the headset, I don't need one. I've never looked at the 280s or 380s, any reason you suggest them? The 518s again I've not looked at much as the 558s are similar in price to what I'm looking at (maybe a smidge over my budget)

[Philosobyte]

Also, are the AKGs hard to drive or would I be able to run them off my phone to decent hearing levels? (I don't listen to music that loud)

 

They have an impedance of 62 ohms, which is a bit too much for mobile devices. Look for 32 ohms. 

250 ohms on the DT990 is definitely too much for mobile devices. 

edit: as you're getting the DT990 new, see if you can get the 32 ohm version.

 

The difference is that a higher impedance allows for a better transient response. Lower impedance requires less power, but the sound will be less crisp. 

[Chiobe]

I'll ignore the headset, I don't need one. I've never looked at the 280s or 380s, any reason you suggest them? The 518s again I've not looked at much as the 558s are similar in price to what I'm looking at (maybe a smidge over my budget)

The 558 are £121.50 atm, if you got the extra money: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004FEEY9A

I got a 280 my self and its a very good, aldo a bit warm after a few hours. The 380 is more or less the same, expect you can collapse them if you take them with you.

[SSL]

The difference is that a higher impedance allows for a better transient response. Lower impedance requires less power, but the sound will be less crisp. 

 

Any way to back this up? The only sure affect of impedance is on voltage sensitivity as far as I am aware. Also, plenty of phones can handle the sensitivity of the 250 ohm Beyers. Using the 990 on a phone is inadvisable due to the coiled cable and open back, not the impedance.

[Thorium19]

Any way to back this up? The only sure affect of impedance is on voltage sensitivity as far as I am aware. Also, plenty of phones can handle the sensitivity of the 250 ohm Beyers. Using the 990 on a phone is inadvisable due to the coiled cable and open back, not the impedance.

Yeah, I wouldn't use them on the go, purely connected to my phone if I couldn't get on my desktop at home. I do know that sensitivity is probably a bigger player on their ability to be driven by different devices than impedance.

[TumbleButt]

The difference is that a higher impedance allows for a better transient response. Lower impedance requires less power, but the sound will be less crisp. 

I've ran my HD600's on my iPhone 4 (non-s) and it runs it fine. Its just not as loud as I like, but loud enough for me to enjoy. Sure, its a sin, but come on... try the HE-6, those headphones are a bitch to drive.

I'd vote for the 990's. Its like T1's with much less fuck-ups (to my ear atleast)

[SSL]

I'd vote for the 990's. Its like T1's with much less fuck-ups (to my ear atleast)

 

Good assessment, the Tesla line is a head-scratcher in terms of performance.

[TumbleButt]

Good assessment, the Tesla line is a head-scratcher in terms of performance.

I swear, they went full retard in a bad way on the T1's. Atleast the HD800 was 90% retard in a good way... yeah, I like headphones that go full retard because they can, especially the ones who (I think/IMHO) did it in a very favorable way.

[SSL]

I swear, they went full retard in a bad way on the T1's. Atleast the HD800 was 90% retard in a good way... yeah, I like headphones that go full retard because they can, especially the ones who (I think/IMHO) did it in a very favorable way.

 

The T1 was definitely a response to the HD800. Beyer figured that if Sennheiser could get away with a $1500 headphone, they could too. Problem is, they apparently weren't ready to market a headphone in that price class.

[TumbleButt]

The T1 was definitely a response to the HD800. Beyer figured that if Sennheiser could get away with a $1500 headphone, they could too. Problem is, they apparently weren't ready to market a headphone in that price class.

I honestly liked the T1 to be honest. But I just couldn't justify the damn thing since the 990's were something I could live with much better than that. Atleast the HD800 looked like something a Mangaka would design for Super Sonico BUT sound like its pricetag (not sure if I could live with the 6khz peak, but the 2013 editions of it peaked at 9khz as far as I know), which was subjectively and at times objectively a better pair of headphones over the T1.

T1's = how to NOT go full retard

HD800 = how to go 90% retard

??? = How to go full retard (I'm still looking for those headphones)

[Thorium19]

I'm going to order the 990s now, which were what I was leaning towards anyway. Thanks guys, big help 

 

On a side note, anyone had any experience with either the SMSL M2 or the fiio E07K?as  I'm considering getting a portable amp/dac at some point.

[TumbleButt]

I'm going to order the 990s now, which were what I was leaning towards anyway. Thanks guys, big help 

 

On a side note, anyone had any experience with either the SMSL M2 or the fiio E07K?as  I'm considering getting a portable amp/dac at some point.

Not sure about both of them, but I've heard much better things from SMSL compared to Fiio.