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The Headphone FAQ

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really, please try and stay away from "5.1" phones. good stereo coupled with some advanced processing for headphones on the sound card will have you covered.

hd555 can be easily driven without an amp; hd595 will need an amp.

btw, if you can live with a bit smaller earpads, check here:

http://www.buy.com/prod/sennheiser-lite-wgt-stud-monitor-headphn-nic/q/loc/111/205713938.html

here's the original thread:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=261641

these are somewhat bellow 595 but well worth the price.
 
Thanks for the advice guys, I think i'll get the 555's, spec wise the HD25-1 II's look good but they just don't look quite as comfortable as the 555's. Thanks again!
 
good choice, the 555's.

the biggest advantage HD25-1 have over 555 is that they are closed-back (lets say, it's an advantage in some situations...). if you are concerned in any way about isolation and sound leaking, that's something to think about. they are actually pretty comphy as well, not to mention they are modular and upgradeable. on the other hand, 555's do provide a bit better soundstage (read - positional sound). and yah, 555 are very light and comfortable.
 
good choice, the 555's.

the biggest advantage HD25-1 have over 555 is that they are closed-back (lets say, it's an advantage in some situations...). if you are concerned in any way about isolation and sound leaking, that's something to think about. they are actually pretty comphy as well, not to mention they are modular and upgradeable. on the other hand, 555's do provide a bit better soundstage (read - positional sound). and yah, 555 are very light and comfortable.

Thanks for the advice! I am sure i'll poke around in 6 months asking more questions and wanting to upgrade to something even better, spending money I don't even have lol. But you only live once, so why not listen well?
 
yep, that's about right :p

i got me triple.fi's recently (chanced on a limited edition too)... then the es cable for them to fix the mids... them i fitted them with shure's black olives for better insulation... and now i mostly listen to HD25-1 II 'couse i lucked on a good sale for them. all this audio stuff is a bigger money drain than computers, hehe.

i think i'll try stax next :p
 
So i've got my HD555's and i've been listening to them for the last week and i LOVE THEM! I need to get a good sound card (well don't have to but i'd really like to because i know i'd hear a difference) But after they broke in, WOW they sound phenomenal! They are so incredibly clear that I get yelled at by my room mate because he says i listen to my music too loud because he can hear the lyrics in the other room but i only have it up to 60% and as he comes closer and puts them on he realizes they aren't super loud they are just super clear! Now thats not that best thing because I want to respect others, but i can't help that they are open ear... so he decided the fix would be to get a pair of his own because after listening to mine he is hooked :) There was a few things i'd change but only really ascetic.
 
I need to get a good sound card (well don't have to but i'd really like to because i know i'd hear a difference)

What do you do more often? Game or listen to music? I picked up an Audiotrak Prodigy HD2 last week, and it replaced an E-MU 1212M, which is one of the best music cards out there. I must say, the new Audiotrak beats it good, and it also supports opamp rolling. I ordered some LM4562NA opamps for mine at the same time I ordered it...the sound will only get better. The built in headphone amp isnt bad on the HD2 either.
 
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Some very nice reading in here.

Out of curiosity though, what should I look for as far as headsets? The more recommended phones in here are just that, phones with no mic. I'm tired of wearing out the usual cheap headset fare found in stores. :bang head
 
Some very nice reading in here.

Out of curiosity though, what should I look for as far as headsets? The more recommended phones in here are just that, phones with no mic. I'm tired of wearing out the usual cheap headset fare found in stores. :bang head

Well unless you're really concerned about mic quality, most people recommended the zalman clip on mic. I got that with my pair of ATH-A500's and it works fine.
 
sen's pc15x series has an ok mic and the sound out of them is not bad either, if you want a cheap all-in-one. i used a 150 model, i think it's 151 or something now (without usb).

sound wise, not on par with 555 and up, of course, but descent for the price.

otherwise, it's easier to find a good mic separately and pare it up with cans of your choice.
 
Well I'd rather not go "cheap". I've had my fill of cheap. Over the years I've bought and worn out enough cheapies to have simply gotten a quality pair that would have lasted and sounded better to boot.

I was really hoping there was a headset version of the Senn 555s. :( The open design should let me hear what's going on around me while the circumaural design is usually really comfortable. That and everyone seems to like them around here. Are there and headsets like that out there?
 
not that i know of. i don't think any company ever bothered to pin a mic to a set of really good drivers...

than again, depends on what you are coming from. pc15x might sound really good if you never heard anything better; if you have some experience, you might as well go separates to avoid disappointment.
 
Is there anything that come close to the 555's thats less expensive?
anything between $20 201's and the $100 555's?
I am going to be getting a new set here in the next couple weeks.

Also with the higher grade sets like the 555 how important is an amp?
Does my audigy 2 zs have any kind of built in headphone amp?
I wouldn't mind buying amp, but have now idea where to get a good one.


http://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATHA700-Audiophile-Headphones-Metallic/dp/B000E9VKUQ
I am also looking at these !
 
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depends what you'd be using them for. if you game, open-air design might be better for a larger sound stage. like hd555 or ATH-AD700:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0ME33KGW15TANQRKPM1D

also, with games, the sound quality of the output material won't be greatest anyway. positioning, impact and clarity is something to look for when choosing phones for playing.


if for music, no matter how good the phones are, the quality will be as bad as the weakest link in the chain. i don't know how audigy 2 zs sounds.


as for an amp, you probably shouldn't worry with your choices. an amp is not only for making the sound louder; it's introducing a different sound signature in the chain. so, even if the sound card can drive the phones but you are just not too crazy about how it sounds, you could always try putting an amp in between to improve things. when head-fi is back on-line, you could pick what people mate with what.
 
as for an amp, you probably shouldn't worry with your choices. an amp is not only for making the sound louder; it's introducing a different sound signature in the chain. so, even if the sound card can drive the phones but you are just not too crazy about how it sounds, you could always try putting an amp in between to improve things. when head-fi is back on-line, you could pick what people mate with what.
Well, sort of. The idea of an amp is to have a circuit that's able to power various loads without distortion. For headphones like the HD-580, the small 'amp' on soundcards generally isn't able to drive the load well at all. The result is poor quality sound. For the most part, sound cards don't have too much trouble powering an HD555 (at least from what I've heard) to reasonable volumes. So...you should be pretty ok with the Audigy. Amps will definitely do a better job, but you may not be able to hear a very big difference. Usually a sound card is good enough for people who aren't super anal. :)
 
I'm giving you the opportunity to not call yourself super anal. I consider myself also not super anal. At least not these days. I'm only as anal as I can afford to be. :p
 
still confused lol, I need to go check some out somewhere but I have no idea where anyone would have them around here.
 
Ok, so I got the 555's a little while back, and I LOVE THEM!!!! They are the best headphoenes for the price, I don't need an amp and I can hear them up TWO flights of stairs clear as day when they are at 80% volume... They are super clear and I can hear people all over the map with no issues. I was even running them off my built in motherboard sound card for a while and they sounded great! They do have a burn in period that you need to let them go through, they sound better and better the more you listen to them, I would recomend leaving them on for a day or two (all day all night) and you will hear a difference. They are super comfortable and if you want something that will last you a long while get the 555's for a 100 dollars you can't go wrong and they are built very well.
 
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