Looking for a new pair of Headphones & a Audio DAC potentially.

[wng_kingsley7]

Hi guys, my name is Kingsley, I'm not an audio enthusiast by any stretch of my imagination but I'm in search for a pair of headphones ranging anywhere from £0-£200/$200 maximum to replace my stereo earphones and my previous dedicated headhphones for my electronic piano. An addition to wanting to get a pair of new headphones I have interests in purchasing a audio dac.

 

So I was intrigued by one of the topics being spoken about during last weeks WAN Show about a particular forum member talking about getting a new sound card (YouTube link: Time of 54:18 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IB7tJu9iqY&hd=1 not to stir anyone's boiling frustrations) but my point being is him about upgrading which he was passionate about so I thought to myself I'd also like to get a sorta dedicated portable audio DAC as the in the event I get a new pair of headphones over my broken headphones which were Creative Aurvana dj headphones, my htc one x doesn't really have a great battery life & sound quality/clarity although it's pretty fine I guess.

 

I kept my attention on this product since its not only being capable of being another source of charging but also a amplifier/dac for both desktop and my phone 

http://fiio.com.cn/products/index.aspx?ID=100000049935442&MenuID=105026002t

If you have any other suggestions feel free to give me a link.

 

My price range is anything between the lowest priced audio dac maybe about £30 so $30 to around £200/$200. I'm probably gonna also equally spend as much if not slightly more on the headphones themselves. I'm sorta a fan of Sennheiser products. I've haven't tried too many good quality headphones due to the construction always being made of plastics and the sound quality is not great in my perspective.

 

What I had in mind was getting a hold of either a pair of Beyerdynamics custom one pros which costs about 130-140 or something out of the Sennheiser product line.

http://en-uk.sennheiser.com/high-end-headphones-audio-stereo-hifi-hd-598

http://europe.beyerdynamic.com/shop/custom-one-pro.html

 

Planning to get it in the next 2-4 maybe 5 months.

Thanks Kingsley.

[dylandylandylan]

Hi guys, my name is Kingsley, I'm not an audio enthusiast by any stretch of my imagination but I'm in search for a pair of headphones ranging anywhere from £0-£200/$200 maximum to replace my stereo earphones and my previous dedicated headhphones for my electronic piano. An addition to wanting to get a pair of new headphones I have interests in purchasing a audio dac.

 

So I was intrigued by one of the topics being spoken about during last weeks WAN Show about a particular forum member talking about getting a new sound card (YouTube link: Time of 54:18 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IB7tJu9iqY&hd=1 not to stir anyone's boiling frustrations) but my point being is him about upgrading which he was passionate about so I thought to myself I'd also like to get a sorta dedicated portable audio DAC as the in the event I get a new pair of headphones over my broken headphones which were Creative Aurvana dj headphones, my htc one x doesn't really have a great battery life & sound quality/clarity although it's pretty fine I guess.

 

I kept my attention on this product since its not only being capable of being another source of charging but also a amplifier/dac for both desktop and my phone 

http://fiio.com.cn/products/index.aspx?ID=100000049935442&MenuID=105026002t

If you have any other suggestions feel free to give me a link.

 

My price range is anything between the lowest priced audio dac maybe about £30 so $30 to around £200/$200. I'm probably gonna also equally spend as much if not slightly more on the headphones themselves. I'm sorta a fan of Sennheiser products. I've haven't tried too many good quality headphones due to the construction always being made of plastics and the sound quality is not great in my perspective.

 

What I had in mind was getting a hold of either a pair of Beyerdynamics custom one pros which costs about 130-140 or something out of the Sennheiser product line.

http://en-uk.sennheiser.com/high-end-headphones-audio-stereo-hifi-hd-598

http://europe.beyerdynamic.com/shop/custom-one-pro.html

 

Planning to get it in the next 2-4 maybe 5 months.

Thanks Kingsley.

 

That DAC is fine for your listening purposes, especially if you are going to be using it as a portable device with your phone. 

I'd suggest getting the HD598s over the HD558s only when the price difference is tiny, if the price difference is 100+ I'd get the 558s.

Custom one pros are a lot better in the bass department than the HD558s in my listening experience, so that's something you could ponder. 

Both headphones are a good choice and in my opinion you'll be happy with either, especially coupled with the E10 (I'm under the impression that's the portable DAC/Amp that you have linked, your link is broken)

 

Hope I'm some help!

[Aleppi]

I'd suggest getting the HD598s over the HD558s only when the price difference is tiny, if the price difference is 100+ I'd get the 558s.

Pretty much this ^^

[jam08060]

I'd think you'd want a closed pair of headphones to isolate the noise the keys make when you press them so that you only hear the actual notes from the keyboard correct?

 

However, with that said... the sound those keys make probably isn't all that much and open headphones would probably be fine...

 

If you are cool with open headphones, I'd suggest getting the HD 558's, they sound awesome and have a huge soundstage...

 

However, if you want closed headphones, I'd suggest something with a flatter sound than the Custom One Pros if you want something more natural since it is for keyboard use...

 

I don't really have a lot of experience with closed headphones with a more flat sound signature, so the bass port on the Custom One Pros may be the fix for that issue anyway, but does anyone else have any ideas?

 

Edit: The link for your dac was broken for me... so I don't know what it was... but I'd suggest a Fiio E10 I love mine!

[wng_kingsley7]

@dylandylandylan @Aleppi @jam08060

Sorry about the link being broken. The product is from FiiO, it's the Kunlun-E18. I think the highest tier amp & dac from what I understand. It retails at around £100-£130 (included postage I think).

[ShearMe]

The product is from FiiO, it's the Kunlun-E18. I think the highest tier amp & dac from what I understand. It retails at around £100-£130 (included postage I think).

 

It's not really any more of a higher tier than any of their other products, it just has the added benefit of specifically being compatible with lots phones while the E7,7k, and 17 weren't really designed or tested for phone-DAC compatibility.

[jam08060]

@dylandylandylan @Aleppi @jam08060

Sorry about the link being broken. The product is from FiiO, it's the Kunlun-E18. I think the highest tier amp & dac from what I understand. It retails at around £100-£130 (included postage I think).

 

Ahhh I see what you are looking for now...

 

Yeah that would probably be the one I'd go with also if you are looking for an AMP/DAC to work with your phone...