My 5.1 adapter/system for stereo headphones guide.

[zicmubleu]

I am interested in getting a set of headphones for my system and prefer wired headphones over wireless. However the prices are all over the map from $1400 Sennheiser HD800 Premiere down to JVC HADX3 Digital Referencing Stereo at $110, just at Amazon.com.

I would think a good set of headphones would be a great way to compare speaker sound to a known reference sound experience but I don't want to spend a fortune either. I sort of consider $200 a bit much for headphones, but I am somewhat out of touch with headphone pricing. What are your recommendations for a good stereo headphone set? Some wearing comfort is desirable but quality of sound reproduction is first and foremost - on a budget.

[benmbe]

Hi zicmubleu,

I have just read you request for advice and thought I would reply sir'

I have little experience of the different Heaphone brands, but what I do know ''and this is a personal view'' is that Sennheiser Headphones are great all rounders.

I have a cheap say £35 pair which is ok but not recommended really and then next up is the HD 600's which are very comfortable for long periods of listening and cost me £250 and then about 6 years after this I then Purchased the HD 650's, of which are very slightly richer in the base region, with an also slight ''and I mean very! slight'' improvement in the upper frequencies, but both are great all rounders.

What I will say though is this!....If you can stretch with funds to purchase these(600 / 650,) then I am very sure you will not be disapointed.

I shall also be purchasing a couple of Headphone amps......this being new territory for me, but one of which I am looking forward to, reason being that all serious Headphone users either consider or swear by them..........

Ther are a great number of Manufacturers that produce these amps, of which a number are well established.....All this of course makes sense as the headphone jack socket that's provided with most AV receivers quite frankly is a second thought and just like the bog standard cables that acompany each item of hardware just about doe's the job.

The manufacturers leave it to each customer to choose if they want to upgrade or not, so if you choose to upgrade friend, you will not be dissapointed.

This of course is all well and good if you do your home work, reading up on these things and listening test's before you buy.

Hope you are able to purchase at some stage.

Genuine and honest Regards

[zicmubleu]

Originally Posted by benmbe

Hi zicmubleu,

I have little experience of the different Heaphone brands, but what I do know ''and this is a personal view'' is that Sennheiser Headphones are great all rounders.

.

What I will say though is this!....If you can stretch with funds to purchase these(600 / 650,) then I am very sure you will not be disapointed.

I shall also be purchasing a couple of Headphone amps......this being new territory for me, but one of which I am looking forward to, reason being that all serious Headphone users either consider or swear by them..........

Ther are a great number of Manufacturers that produce these amps, of which a number are well established.....All this of course makes sense as the headphone jack socket that's provided with most AV receivers quite frankly is a second thought and just like the bog standard cables that acompany each item of hardware just about doe's the job.

Thanks for the advice benmbe. I just checked the pricing of the Sennheiser 650 and 600 at Amazon and found it at $500 and $300 respectively. Based on what you have said the 600s are probably better than my ears. Now you have my curiousity peaked about the headphone amplifiers. My original intent was to use headphones to compare sound quality of a set of speakers. Everyone advises to go and listen to a set of speakers before making a decision but what I want to know is what the music really should sound like versus what seems like a better sound. IMO there is a difference.

I will try to do some digging into the headphone amplifier aspect, would you use that directly from a CD player output for example? I don't remember if my Pioneer AV49 has a headphone out jack or not but would presume so, and my thinking is that the best output quality of the player would be at this point, however that means using its codecs vs a pre/pro, which I don't have, etc. so maybe that is in error.

Thanks again for your input.

[Headphone Czar]

Originally Posted by zicmubleu

I am interested in getting a set of headphones for my system and prefer wired headphones over wireless. However the prices are all over the map from $1400 Sennheiser HD800 Premiere down to JVC HADX3 Digital Referencing Stereo at $110, just at Amazon.com.

I would think a good set of headphones would be a great way to compare speaker sound to a known reference sound experience but I don't want to spend a fortune either. I sort of consider $200 a bit much for headphones, but I am somewhat out of touch with headphone pricing. What are your recommendations for a good stereo headphone set? Some wearing comfort is desirable but quality of sound reproduction is first and foremost - on a budget.

Yes, headphone prices vary from 10.00-9,000.
What sonic characteristics are you looking for? What genre of music do you listen to? Would you buy used...Open or closed? Right off the bat I would recommend the Sennheiser HD580, Audio Technic AD700, Grado 80, Denon 1001. All can be had for under 200 new. The 580 can be had for 140 used.

[zicmubleu]

Originally Posted by Headphone Czar

Yes, headphone prices vary from 10.00-9,000.
What sonic characteristics are you looking for? What genre of music do you listen to? Would you buy used...Open or closed? Right off the bat I would recommend the Sennheiser HD580, Audio Technic AD700, Grado 80, Denon 1001. All can be had for under 200 new. The 580 can be had for 140 used.

Thanks for the suggestions, the under $200 sounds encouraging. Right now I need to wait until I get my income tax figured out, might owe a bit. But to answer your question I am most interested in a set of headphones that will give me a good or truest representation of the SACD disc that the artist intended, for comparison to a set of speakers. I know that is not the normal way to qualify a headphone but after reading thread after thread about speakers and how you are supposed to audition them, etc. it just doesn't work for me. I want to be able to listen to a source, feel confident what it should sound like and then listen to it through the speakers and see how well they did with sound accuracy.

I have always considered headphones an ideal way to hear the music with minimum distortion and outside noises. Obviously spending $5k on a set of headphones might give me the best sound a headphone can deliver but I think we are talking miniscule differences, for me, compared to the lower end headphones you mentioned. The wearing comfort of the headphone is important but not nearly as critical since I only plan on using them for short periods of time. Blocking out ambient noise in the room is very important. Hopefully that is enough explanation for you to further refine or reaffirm your choices. Thanks for your thoughts.

One last thing, and hopefully this won't dissuade you from giving me more advice, I am planning on building my own speakers just for the fun of it and the challenge. I would like to be able to compare the final result against the headphones to see how well I manage to do. Not to mention the budget issues. I don't have golden ears but I can still tell what I like. Oh and I work slowly, don't expect pictures anytime soon!

[Headphone Czar]

Originally Posted by zicmubleu

Thanks for the suggestions, the under $200 sounds encouraging. Right now I need to wait until I get my income tax figured out, might owe a bit. But to answer your question I am most interested in a set of headphones that will give me a good or truest representation of the SACD disc that the artist intended, for comparison to a set of speakers. I know that is not the normal way to qualify a headphone but after reading thread after thread about speakers and how you are supposed to audition them, etc. it just doesn't work for me. I want to be able to listen to a source, feel confident what it should sound like and then listen to it through the speakers and see how well they did with sound accuracy.

I have always considered headphones an ideal way to hear the music with minimum distortion and outside noises. Obviously spending $5k on a set of headphones might give me the best sound a headphone can deliver but I think we are talking miniscule differences, for me, compared to the lower end headphones you mentioned. The wearing comfort of the headphone is important but not nearly as critical since I only plan on using them for short periods of time. Blocking out ambient noise in the room is very important. Hopefully that is enough explanation for you to further refine or reaffirm your choices. Thanks for your thoughts.

One last thing, and hopefully this won't dissuade you from giving me more advice, I am planning on building my own speakers just for the fun of it and the challenge. I would like to be able to compare the final result against the headphones to see how well I manage to do. Not to mention the budget issues. I don't have golden ears but I can still tell what I like. Oh and I work slowly, don't expect pictures anytime soon!

Seems like you want a nuetral, tonal balance sound..Little to no colorization to influence the muscians intent. Ala, no extereme emphasis to make the song sound 'better.' The HD600 would be perfect for this. They can be had used for 225.00. Little over your budget, but worth it. They are open though. The HD580 are similiar to the 600s, and can be had for 140 used. They are also open. The AKG 501 is great for chamber music, classical,accoustics, and Jazz...They offer a huge head stage (sound stage) with great instrument seperation. Mid range is arguably the best for the 150 asking price. The Beyerdynamic DT100 are closed and offer good isolation. They also have a flat respones, or very close to it..So little to no added flavor..They are monitor headphones, so they tend to be analytical and 'dry.' They are not musical, but will give you a accurate portrayal of the music..Bass is also on the light side, but offers good quality and snap. IMO, the 600s would suit your needs best..

[zicmubleu]

Originally Posted by benmbe

What I will say though is this!....If you can stretch with funds to purchase these(600 / 650,) then I am very sure you will not be disapointed.

Originally Posted by Headphone Czar

Seems like you want a nuetral, tonal balance sound..Little to no colorization to influence the muscians intent. Ala, no extereme emphasis to make the song sound 'better.' The HD600 would be perfect for this. They can be had used for 225.00. Little over your budget, but worth it. They are open though.
The Beyerdynamic DT100 are closed and offer good isolation. They also have a flat respones, or very close to it..So little to no added flavor..They are monitor headphones, so they tend to be analytical and 'dry.' They are not musical, but will give you a accurate portrayal of the music..Bass is also on the light side, but offers good quality and snap. IMO, the 600s would suit your needs best..

Thanks Headphone Czar, with your recommendation as well as benmbe I have decided that the Sennheiser HD600 should serve my needs well, so I have ordered a set from Amazon. They are a bit more than I had initially expected to pay but they appear to be what I was looking for overall. I really thought you were going to recommend the Byerdynamic DT100 since it was a closed design - which I think is what I wanted. But when I read what it said about open design for the Sennheiser it seemed OK, should still block out ambient room noise. Thanks again to both of you.

[Headphone Czar]

Originally Posted by zicmubleu

Thanks Headphone Czar, with your recommendation as well as benmbe I have decided that the Sennheiser HD600 should serve my needs well, so I have ordered a set from Amazon. They are a bit more than I had initially expected to pay but they appear to be what I was looking for overall. I really thought you were going to recommend the Byerdynamic DT100 since it was a closed design - which I think is what I wanted. But when I read what it said about open design for the Sennheiser it seemed OK, should still block out ambient room noise. Thanks again to both of you.

Well, I was leaning with the DT100, but they are not musical. The 600s are more musical, but still retain the balance and neurality you are looking for. I hope you like them. They are 300 ohms, so, the more juice, the better they will sound. I use my 650s out of my A/V receiver, the Yamaha 1800. And they sound good. But I heard better on expensive dedicated headphone amps, costing between 400-900. But the majority of listeners will be more then satsified with the sound using a quality stereo or A/V receiver. Glad I could help. Enjoy the music..*)

[benmbe]

Hi guys,

I know that there price is very high, but Sennheiser have the trust of many enthusiasts, who know that they are serious and thorough about their designs.

Also another detail that Sennheiser has highlighted is the fact that there are a small number of Manufacturers that are building Headphones using very rare wood...namely being Mahogony.

Sennheiser tests all the materials qualities, and have found that the price of high quality metals and so on, in this day and age' means that they can offer the best sound quality and comfort than what they would have produced ''say 10 to 15 yrs ago''

On a personal note ''I found that reading up on everything that you are going to purchase will always produce.....the best result, That being the customer will always be happy, Unless it's delivered damaged that is.

I have placed a deposit on the Sennheiser HD 800's, this will take a few months to pay for in the shop, but I shall look forward to hearing the results.

No wonder I don't get out much.....Oh well!.....never mind, at least i'm not wasting my money on other things.....The pursuite of happiness

I hope everyone on this forum is well and weathering the economic climate?

I suppose a lot of us are watching each day, and are glad to be working.

I shall look forward to hearing from yourselves.

Take good care everyone.

Genuine and Honest regards to all