Is neutral headphones a good start?

[eric5143]

I am only a beginner and I have only heard of other's review on headphones. I plan to buy a headphone below 200$ first. I am thinking about beyerdynamic dt 880 since I heard it is neutral. My idea is that buying a neutral one won't be bad and when I buy other headphones later I can compare them to the "reference sound". However, I am just a beginner and I have no idea what I am actually talking about. Any advice?

[SSL]

There isn't such a thing as a "neutral" headphone. "Uncolored" is closer to the mark, but even then it's a fuzzy definition.

 

The DT 880 is bright due to an elevation in the treble from roughly 6-8kHz, and it's slightly lean in the bass department. I would recommend starting with the HD 600 if you want a "reference" headphone.

 

For less money, the AKG K612 Pro has less of the bright treble coloration of the DT 880.

[Dackzy]

well a lot of people find "neutral" (which really is uncolored, but most people just say neutral) headphones boring, from my experience with other people trying my headphones, then uncolored is a very love or hate kinda sound.

The K612 is a more uncolored headphone than the dt880, so I would suggest those, if you really want to get uncolored. Of course you can also get the HD600, but those normally cost more than the dt880.

[kokakolia]

Don't get neutral headphones, they're boring! 

 

Many people get hooked into this audiophile downward spiral with Grados. They're anything but neutral. Unfortunately, they're also fatiguing so then they settle down for something darker, something like a Sennheiser. 

 

The Beyerdynamic sound is a little too sharp on the treble but the lean bass is intoxicating. 

 

Personally, I would go the Philips route. I like the way Philips tunes their headphones. They don't have too much treble (this is a huge problem, especially with more expensive headphones), they have just enough bass and it sounds warm overall. 

 

To get started, the $70 Philips SHP 9500 is awesome:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Philips-SHP9500-Precision-Over-ear-Headphones/dp/B00ENMK1DW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482432489&sr=8-1&keywords=philips+shp+9500

 

They exhibit that "big sound" and lean bass, that you typically only hear on more expensive headphones. The comfort is excellent and it uses a standard headphone jack as a cable. So you can clip a boom-mic and transform them into a gaming headset for an extra $30. 

 

If you want something more luxurious you may want to consider the Philips L2:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Philips-L2BO-27-Headphones-cushioning/dp/B00WTQDV5E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482432718&sr=8-1&keywords=philips+fidelio+l2

 

The build quality is most impressive on these, far better than anything from Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic or Audio Technica at any price. And they're portable.

 

 

[Dackzy]

55 minutes ago, kokakolia said:

Don't get neutral headphones, they're boring! 

thats 100% an opinion. 

Basically everything you said is 100% opinionated 

[SSL]

53 minutes ago, kokakolia said:

Don't get neutral headphones, they're boring! 

 

Many people get hooked into this audiophile downward spiral with Grados. They're anything but neutral. Unfortunately, they're also fatiguing so then they settle down for something darker, something like a Sennheiser. 

 

The Beyerdynamic sound is a little too sharp on the treble but the lean bass is intoxicating. 

 

Personally, I would go the Philips route. I like the way Philips tunes their headphones. They don't have too much treble (this is a huge problem, especially with more expensive headphones), they have just enough bass and it sounds warm overall. 

 

To get started, the $70 Philips SHP 9500 is awesome:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Philips-SHP9500-Precision-Over-ear-Headphones/dp/B00ENMK1DW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482432489&sr=8-1&keywords=philips+shp+9500

 

They exhibit that "big sound" and lean bass, that you typically only hear on more expensive headphones. The comfort is excellent and it uses a standard headphone jack as a cable. So you can clip a boom-mic and transform them into a gaming headset for an extra $30. 

 

If you want something more luxurious you may want to consider the Philips L2:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Philips-L2BO-27-Headphones-cushioning/dp/B00WTQDV5E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482432718&sr=8-1&keywords=philips+fidelio+l2

 

The build quality is most impressive on these, far better than anything from Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic or Audio Technica at any price. And they're portable.

 

Meh. People believe that Sennheiser has bad build quality because they are all plastic.

 

In fact, the design and build of the HD650 is the most ingenious I've seen. The whole thing can be disassembled without tools, including the driver module, and there are only two solder joins per channel - the one for the driver leads.

 

Philips suffers from the same lack of evenness in the upper mids and/or treble as other "audiophile" headphones. Sennheiser has correct upper mids and treble, including insane extension. Reports of Thier darkness are perpetuated by people who have heard models from several years ago, or are fooling themselves.

 

I told myself that the DT 880 and HE 560 weren't fatiguing, but in reality I was avoiding half my music library.

[eric5143]

20 hours ago, SSL said:

There isn't such a thing as a "neutral" headphone. "Uncolored" is closer to the mark, but even then it's a fuzzy definition.

 

The DT 880 is bright due to an elevation in the treble from roughly 6-8kHz, and it's slightly lean in the bass department. I would recommend starting with the HD 600 if you want a "reference" headphone.

 

For less money, the AKG K612 Pro has less of the bright treble coloration of the DT 880.

 

 

Thank you for your professional advice. I decide to buy a hd600 now. However, I have some more questions.

 

1. What's the real difference between hd600 and hd650? When I view the amazon page it seems like 650 is just better in terms of SPL and THD. Does this mean 650 just better in general? And what about hd6xx?

1. Do you recommend to buy an amplifier since they are both 300ohms headphones? 

[SSL]

22 minutes ago, eric5143 said:

Thank you for your professional advice. I decide to buy a hd600 now. However, I have some more questions.

 

1. What's the real difference between hd600 and hd650? When I view the amazon page it seems like 650 is just better in terms of SPL and THD. Does this mean 650 just better in general? And what about hd6xx?

1. Do you recommend to buy an amplifier since they are both 300ohms headphones? 

HD 650 has matched drivers, better cablr, better headband cushion, more bass.

 

The 6XX is identical to the 650.

 

The 6x0 headphones are all fairly sensitive so an amp is not necessary in most cases.

[Wolf_Lbh]

I know I'm late weighing in on this but most artists work with "neutral" sound in the studio and design their music/game sound effects to be heard in that environment. That being said, nothing says you have to agree with those artists and can't have your own opinion, however, bass enhancements on everything you listen to would distort some music types and take away from the experience on top of being "unauthentic". In any case I find it a better experience to listen to things in a neutral environment first and then tweak things with equalizer settings if I want a little more punch for certain things. Going from "neutral" to extra treble or bass has less distortion than going from extra bass to extra treble and less bass. Tweaking settings to overcome a "sound bias" and enhance what you want to hear is a delicate balance and can wash out your mids and lows. Or maybe I'm just shit with an equalizer, your call lol