Audiophiles?

stillshunter said:
....and so here we see a little of why audiophiles sink so much money into their hobb....obsession. How strong an amp would I need for either 80 or 250 ohm? For example, for USB sources would something like the popular Fiio E7 do - as it does up to 300Ω? That being the case I'd say the 250 is the better value as they are $50 less than their 80Ω sister. Then again my little PMP is reputed to handle most any cans:
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Fiio make cheap stuff. It's cheapest stuff is shit. All sorts of products have high ohm ratings, but that's not the end of it. It's better to spend a bit more on a decent bit of kit, rather than something that is probably working at its full capacity all othe time.

Saving $50 in this scenario is silly IMO. Why save $50 to then have to spend more to get the same SQ as you would with the 80ohm model, which needs less power. The 80 can also be played off other devices without amping, if you need to. The 250 will sound really dull and flat if you do that.

Here's how Marcus tells it. It's great advice starting out. Don't over think it before you get to hear stuff.

"Then there's also the "matching gear" factor - if you've got $1000 worth of headphones, $1000 worth of DAC and $1000 worth of amp you've got $1000 sound quality that cost you $3000 and to me that's just not good value. The fact that the $1000 headphones don't really sound THAT much better than a good ~$300-$500 pair means you're ACTUALLY paying around $3000 for ~$500 sound quality which is even worse.

People over think audio too much and buy into too much of the bullshit"

What I'm saying is gear matching is an important consideration, but the $$ don't have to be comparable to get it. I don't have magic tech numbers that match gear to each other, I just listened and got advice from Marcus. I ended up with a DACMagic ($400) Beyer DT250 ($300) and a Matrix M-Stage amp ($280), which will run my DT100 @ 400ohm, with ease

I've also got a couple of portables and an Alessandro MS1, none of which are that gear fussy.
 
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Love your philosophy @Drubbing .

Step One: track down a local store where I can test drive the DT250-80 against a few others. Whatever I like I'll order via headphonics - does the code Drubs2014 still work? Then I'm looking at the source system that can take both digital (CD/HDD) and analogue (vinyl) and my current Onkyo fat arse speakers
 
Finding Beyers, AKG, AT, or anything other than high market saturation Senn's, Bose, Beats etc, will be difficult. Even hifi stores may not stick anything. Some won't let people even demo stuff.

Afraid HP offer no discounts, but the advice should save you money, or buying twice. Always worth dropping in their forum, or calling Marcus with specific queries.
 
How the hell do they expect you to buy something you can't try. That's idiotic! Anyway, there's a couple of local places, like Miranda Hi-Fi, who stock stuff like AKG and Koss...no Beyer there. Pro-Audio has AKG as well but the only Beyer is the DT770 PRO. ....damn this place!!!!
 
Take your time and go and listen to what you can. Most brands offerings will give an indication of their sound style.

Koss and AKG are well worth a listen. Not an AKG fan, I find their quality stuff way too neutral.
 
So are my Beyer 501p's (on-ear) at all indicative of the signature Beyer closed cans?
 
stillshunter said:
So are my Beyer 501p's (on-ear) at all indicative of the signature Beyer closed cans?
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Yes, but there's differences. The 501 has the bass and treble more present, a common boom-tish sound with cheaper phones.
Switching to my 250, the more muted treble is quite noticeable. The ears adjust though, and after a while listening with the 250, the 501 while toppy, sounds harsh. This is what happens when you switch from one to the other, and testing lots of phones back to back isn't always helpful..

I'll be honest, the 250 is not a phone that blows anyone away. But it's one that you can listen to anything on, without any fatigue, as treble wears the ears out.
 
You came up with a new one.

Bose isn't bad, just overpriced. They sell noise cancel phones mostly, and wouldn't be what you're asking for.
 
I think the ohm rating thing is just one of those pro vs consumer things.

Pro monitoring HP often have high impedence as you may have several people plugged into the board listening to the mix. Multiple HP in parallel lowers the impedence the amp sees. It's just electrical engineering stuff to keep the current and voltage in a sensible zone in the intended application. "Prosumers" come along and some how high impedence gets interpreted as a gauge of quality.

Now you can get an excellent high impedence phone but equally, for home use, there are plenty of very good low impedence phones. I wouldn't worry about it too much unless you decide you like one of the more esoteric/notorious HP designs that is more demanding.

I like HP well enough for at work or on the go.
At home I prefer speakers but that does mean any aggressive music tends to have to wait until wifey is out of the house.
 
SmallYetDeadly said:
I think the ohm rating thing is just one of those pro vs consumer things.

Pro monitoring HP often have high impedence as you may have several people plugged into the board listening to the mix. Multiple HP in parallel lowers the impedence the amp sees. It's just electrical engineering stuff to keep the current and voltage in a sensible zone in the intended application. "Prosumers" come along and some how high impedence gets interpreted as a gauge of quality.
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I agree totally. Audio forums also feed the perception that higher ohms are better, and many will use their pseudo-guessed engineering knowledge to back it up. Because, of course, they can hear a difference, because bigger numbers and $$ always mean its better …

The industry isn't going to discourage the market from having its own biases, that's why no makers take a stand on it. Or burn in. Which is another can of worms.
 
So getting closer to a decision....or not!

Kit from Headphonics recommends three HPs:

"Audio Technica M50X tends to offer a more coloured and musical sound signature. Bottom end is deeper reaching and lusher, treble is brighter, but midrange is a little recessed. They tend to become better for bass orientated music genres, but are still very good value for money performers all round.

Shure SRH840 tends to be cleaner, balanced, and more technical by comparison. Tone is still warm, but midrange is not as recessed, offering a more neutral keel, and greater instrument separation. Bass range is not as wide or as present in the mix, suiting more bass light genres such as classical and rock/pop.

Koss SP540 sonically sit in the middle; they are not quite as clean as the SRH840's, but not quite as musical as the M50X's. Their strong suit is portability; offering a full size earcup, but very slim design which folds flat into a hard case. They become practical options for commuting and travel uses. Audio performance is still very good for price paid, but the others tend to slightly edge them out musically.

All offer good comfort, build and isolation levels, so you shouldn't have an issue with them. None require dedicated amplification, so all can be plugged into whatever source you like."

OK, so if this weren't hard enough, then we introduce:

"The DT250-80ohm's are one of our favourite headphones and we pretty much recommend them for every situation!

They are originally a studio orientated model, offering excellent balance, range, separation and detail, making them very musically flexible. Audio isn't initially upfront or dominating, but they are incredibly revealing - so the longer you have them on your head the more you appreciate them!

They are a little harder to drive than other models, but you can still get away with low/unpowered sources. Build quality is excellent, and the unit offers excellent longevity - but is a slight shift up on previously stated price range."

Bugger me!
One thing that is for sure is that this is one helluva store! Great service already. They have my business that's for sure!
 
Don't discount the Alessandro's too quickly. Open headphones may not be right for some people but they sound fantastic to me.
 
Ms1 is far more ear friendly, but the presentation is lively and clear. The downsides of open headphones are letting sound in, but is only really a problem if wanting to wear them outdoors/portable. The MS2 is an aggressive sounding phone. It has a lot of wow factor, really punchy clear sound. But many tire of them easily.

They've given good advice, as usual. I don't think you'd be disappointed with any of their suggestions. And they'd likely out perform anything you could find for the same $$ at JB or dicks.
 
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