Headphone Upgrade

[Shevids1996]

Hi everyone

 

I currently own a pair of Audio Technica ATH-M50s Which in my opinion are pretty good but i feel like its time for an upgrade, my options are to either get a new pair of headphones or to get a DAC to better listen to the current pair I have, below are the requirements i need if one were to suggest getting a new pair of headphones

 

- I use my headphones for both indoor and outdoor use 

- I won't really mind headphones where the base is prominent as long as the mids and highs are clear and can be heard (like the Sennheiser HD8)

- I listen to a lot of varied music from EDM to Heavy metal and all the other genres in between

- I don't really like noise cancelling headphones

- Bose are out of the question 

- My budget is around 400 AUD (which is about 350 USD give or take 25 bucks)

 

As of now the only pair of headphones that have caught my attention are the Sennheiser HD8 but i don't want to fork out a lot of money to get a mediocre set of headphones, if any of you have a pair or have listened to them please let me know what you think and also suggest some other good heaphones please. Thanks

[Zhelor]

Beyerdynamic DT990?

[Shevids1996]

Beyerdynamic DT990?

Seems good but isnt the impedance a bit too high for mobile use

[Zhelor]

Uhhh...

Quickly googled it, researched a little bit, it comes in 32ohm,250ohm,600ohm variants (I'm 75% sure that you found this information too, just putting it out there)
On the site when you select the 32ohm version it says:

"The present version with 32 Ohms is suitable for the use with portable playback devices, but equally with hi-fi systems, with television or with purpose-built headphone amplifiers."

And when you select other variants, it even tells you, that if you want to use it with portable playback devices, you should choose that one.

I have no idea how many ohms a smartphone can drive, but apparently it should work, or something like that.

http://eastern-europe.beyerdynamic.com/shop/dt-990-edition.html <--- That's the premium edition, there's also a "pro" edition, which is cheaper, but it's overall uglier(personal preference), and not as nice.

About the DT990, it's their open style headphone, they also have the DT880, which is half open, and the DT770 which is a closed back design.

 

EDIT: "Volume: For those of you worried about amplifiers and such, I'm using my DT 990 with my MacBook Pro, iPhone and iPad without any issues."

One of the reviews on their site.

[Lauen]

snip

I wouldn't get DT990 for outdoor use, as they are open. DT770 would be better in that aspect. The impedance doesn't matter all that much, as long as your audio source can deliver the voltage needed. and as most devices nowadays does deliver adequate voltage, (which is like.. 1-1.5 volt I think, lol) it should be fine. If you're still worried about it, just get a lower impedance variant. DT990 and DT770 both come in 32, 80 and 250 ohm variants, I am pretty sure. 

 

OP: I went from M50S to Shure SRH440 with 840 pads, and that was an adequate upgrade for me. There's a review in my description if you want to read more about it. the Shure SRH840's are also great. They all have a little less bass than M50's, but are better in most other aspects, the most important one for me being comfort, as the pad size and material on the M50's don't work well for me, my ears are too large (even tho they are sorta average) and my pads just got rock hard after like 3 months. 

 

there's also Sennheiser Momentums, they're quite nice. comfortable, but small cups. nice bass but not as much as the M50s in my experience, good mids and highs, sounds like most other sennheiser headphones, but are closed. 

 

and my last thought: Sony MDR-1R. They sound very good, with a great bass, mids and highs. It's an overall nice hifi headphone, great comfort as well. 

[Shevids1996]

and my last thought: Sony MDR-1R. They sound very good, with a great bass, mids and highs. It's an overall nice hifi headphone, great comfort as well. 

How would you compare these to the Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7

[ForQpine]

Uhhh...

Quickly googled it, researched a little bit, it comes in 32ohm,250ohm,600ohm variants (I'm 75% sure that you found this information too, just putting it out there)

On the site when you select the 32ohm version it says:

"The present version with 32 Ohms is suitable for the use with portable playback devices, but equally with hi-fi systems, with television or with purpose-built headphone amplifiers."

And when you select other variants, it even tells you, that if you want to use it with portable playback devices, you should choose that one.

I have no idea how many ohms a smartphone can drive, but apparently it should work, or something like that.

http://eastern-europe.beyerdynamic.com/shop/dt-990-edition.html <--- That's the premium edition, there's also a "pro" edition, which is cheaper, but it's overall uglier(personal preference), and not as nice.

About the DT990, it's their open style headphone, they also have the DT880, which is half open, and the DT770 which is a closed back design.

 

EDIT: "Volume: For those of you worried about amplifiers and such, I'm using my DT 990 with my MacBook Pro, iPhone and iPad without any issues."

One of the reviews on their site.

What version of the DT 990 are you using? 32ohms, 250ohms or 600ohms?

[sobe]

What version of the DT 990 are you using? 32ohms, 250ohms or 600ohms?

 

For reference, the 990's are not particularly difficult to drive, I can run them (DT990 Prem 600ohm) off an iPhone 5S with sufficient volume levels for listening.

[CierroMierdo]

Seems good but isnt the impedance a bit too high for mobile use

Impedance is an irrelevant factor on how hard a headphone is to drive. Its sensitivity. I can have a headphone thats 600 ohms, but if its sensitivity is above 95, I can even use it on a first gen iPod.

Other than that, give the DT770 a shot.

[Lauen]

How would you compare these to the Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7

No idea, I haven't heard of it until today. 

[Guest]

Impedance is an irrelevant factor on how hard a headphone is to drive. Its sensitivity. I can have a headphone thats 600 ohms, but if its sensitivity is above 95, I can even use it on a first gen iPod.

Other than that, give the DT770 a shot.

 

Let's not get carried away. Impedance is not irrelevant, it just isn't the only relevant factor like most people believe it to be.

[CierroMierdo]

Let's not get carried away. Impedance is not irrelevant, it just isn't the only relevant factor like most people believe it to be.

Then, if its okay to ask, whats the purpose of impedance now?

[Guest]

Then, if its okay to ask, whats the purpose of impedance now?

 

Now? Did it change?

 

Determining drivability requires considering the sensitivity of the headphone, the output power and voltage of the amp at the imepedance of the headphones, the preferred listening volume, and ambient noise vs headphone isolation. The single best rule of thumb is voltage sensitivity (since most amps are voltage sources) but impedance is not "irrelevant". For one thing, it determines damping factor, which can be of consideration to audio quality.

[CierroMierdo]

Now? Did it change?

 

Determining drivability requires considering the sensitivity of the headphone, the output power and voltage of the amp at the imepedance of the headphones, the preferred listening volume, and ambient noise vs headphone isolation. The single best rule of thumb is voltage sensitivity (since most amps are voltage sources) but impedance is not "irrelevant". For one thing, it determines damping factor, which can be of consideration to audio quality.

I see. Now I know better.

[xtroria]

I really like V-moda M100 for portable headphone although the sound isolation is a bit 'eh'