recommendations?

[carolkarine]

Hey, I need a decent pair of headphones (over the ear) and I'm willing to spend about 150 USD on them. preferably amazon so I have free shipping (amazon student is the shit)

 

on that note, I also need recommendations for a good DAC/AMP audio solution. I'm using an mITX system right now so I can't add a soundcard, which I would then line out to an amp... I've been looking at O2 stuff but it's a bit out of my price range.

[ShearMe]

FiiO E10's are $80.

 

General headphone recommendations are:

Sennheiser HD 558

Beyerdynamic DT 770, 880, or 990

audio-technica ATH-AD700X

[Swegly]

http://www.frys.com/product/7821729?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG - BAM! For some reason the 598's at frys are 30 dollars less than the 558's so just get these while you can. They are open ear and I will be buying these very shortly.

[Kharem]

ya i've got 598's and love them, i considered the 558's but heard from a couple people they could be a bit bass heavy and since i use mine mostly with my guitar when i can't use my monitors so i preferred them to be balanced, plus i like the look of the 598's more. can't really help with the dac though sorry man, i've been using an external interface since i got the monitors and headphones anyway so hard to say, i know there are a lot of guys around here though that have similar setups not for recording so you'll get some input soon. 

[MayflowerElectronics]

ya i've got 598's and love them, i considered the 558's but heard from a couple people they could be a bit bass heavy and since i use mine mostly with my guitar when i can't use my monitors so i preferred them to be balanced, plus i like the look of the 598's more. can't really help with the dac though sorry man, i've been using an external interface since i got the monitors and headphones anyway so hard to say, i know there are a lot of guys around here though that have similar setups not for recording so you'll get some input soon.

The bass response of the 558 and 598 are identical.

[Kharem]

The bass response of the 558 and 598 are identical.

 

Dunno, I've never had both to compare but they do have different frequency response ranges - not sure how much of a difference it would make in reality though. When I was looking before I got the 598's I found a lot of sources (although varying in reliability) saying the 558's were heavier on the bass side, took them at their word since I was seeing it from a range of people, wasn't that big a deal anyway, I love the 598's anyway and was happy to pay the tiny bit extra for them.

[ShearMe]

Dunno, I've never had both to compare but they do have different frequency response ranges - not sure how much of a difference it would make in reality though. When I was looking before I got the 598's I found a lot of sources (although varying in reliability) saying the 558's were heavier on the bass side, took them at their word since I was seeing it from a range of people, wasn't that big a deal anyway, I love the 598's anyway and was happy to pay the tiny bit extra for them.

The only difference in sound is a small spike in the upper mids on the 598 which can be fixed by removing a piece of foam in the 558.

[Kharem]

The only difference in sound is a small spike in the upper mids on the 598 which can be fixed by removing a piece of foam in the 558.

 

Really? I just kind of took peoples word for it when I was flicking through reviews and glancing at the specs on the sennheiser site since there wasn't really any way I could get my hands on either set (let alone both to compare) without buying them. I always preferred the look of the 598's and had a friend who loved his set so I felt safer with the 598's, but sounds like I would have been perfectly happy with the 558's I guess. Good to know at least.

[ShearMe]

Really? I just kind of took peoples word for it when I was flicking through reviews and glancing at the specs on the sennheiser site since there wasn't really any way I could get my hands on either set (let alone both to compare) without buying them. I always preferred the look of the 598's and had a friend who loved his set so I felt safer with the 598's, but sounds like I would have been perfectly happy with the 558's I guess. Good to know at least.

That's how rumors spread, my friend.