572 replies to this topic

[king mark]

I can get the HD558 reduced 100$ from 250$ to 150$ this week

I might try them but the impedance could be too high for the PC soundcard

[Alexcremers]

What's the impedance? Sennheiser usually is 32 ohm.


Hey, look, here's a comparison review between the HD558 and the HD598. Wow, he's even explaining with photos how you can make the HD558 sound almost identical to the more expensive HD598! (Apparently, they both have the same driver, only the housing is different)

http://www.headfonia...d558-and-hd598/

Edit: In answer to your query, one of the readers responds with:

Even though these are 50 Ohm phones, anything can drive them well, and they make everything sound better, be it a hifi or a an ipod (don't turn your nose up at me! I've got both).

Alex

[king mark]

I tried a store demo of the HD558

they sounded good but they are much harder to drive than my current Grados and I don't think they would cut it on my PC unless I buy a headphone amp.(another 150$)

I like the 1 cord design. They'd be much easier to use than the tangle prone grados

I might buy this DAC and amp for my PC

http://www.nuforce.c...ucts/iconudac2/

[Alexcremers]

It's like you didn't even read my post.

[king mark]

well. yes.

but the 598 would cost me a fortune here and I'm not "modding" anything.They had a deal on the 558 for 150$ so I was curious .

The thing is they store put it on special but it was nowhere in stock and you had to order them..so I didn't buy them

[Alexcremers]

"Modding" the thing wasn't the only thing in my post but anyway ...

If impedance is the only factor (I'm not sure) that decides whether a pair of headphones will be compatible with a PC or an portable device (tablet, Ipod, phone) than 50 Ohm can't be the problem. Both my Blackberry phone or my Toshiba laptop can drive my Audio Technica studio heaphones (50 Ohm) without any problem. Usually you only need headphone amps for models like Beyerdynamic DT-770/DT-880 (250 Ohm versions) or Sennheiser HD650 or comparable.

[king mark]

What I was trying to say is that I tried the 558's on my ipod and it couldn't drive the earphones at max volume. And the amp in my ipod nano is stonger than my PC's

[Alexcremers]

Ah, they aren't as LOUD as you want them to be. Do you have the habit of putting your volume to the max on your PC?

[king mark]

I sort of have to on some c.d. The earphone jack isn't very powerful ( about 1/2 as loud as ipod)

[king mark]

Well, I'm not sure about getting new headphones anymore but I'm sure getting the NuForce UDAC-2

I read a few reviews and now I'm really curious

[AI]

Don't waste your money on that garbage.

For less $, you can get pro audio sound and durability with one of these puppies;

http://www.amazon.co...e/dp/B000J0IIEQ

[Trent Bennett]

I'm telling you guys if you got the V-Moda Octave earbuds you'll be glad you bought them. They are pretty powerful and have a nice crisp sound and are great for film orchestra scores. They can also be worn for a long time with out hurting your ears like most earbuds. They are worth 100% of the price.

http://www.amazon.co...19962617&sr=8-1

[E.T. & Elliott]

These remain my favorite:



I also have the iGrados for portable use.

[king mark]

yeah I use those form my PC currently. I just replaced the pads

[Wojo]

I sort of have to on some c.d. The earphone jack isn't very powerful ( about 1/2 as loud as ipod)

When I find albums that are too quiet, I try to boost the volume of the files themselves on the PC. Many older classical music albums are extremely quiet with respect to newer soundtrack and rock albums.

[Stefancos]

You mean most new soundtrack and rock albums are far too loud!

[king mark]

All I see in stock in stores are various incarnations of Monster Beats headphones. I bet they sound like crap but they seem like the in thing right now

[BurgaFlippinMan]

they are very overpriced and quite ovely bassy. good for em hiphop i guess.

[Alexcremers]

You mean most new soundtrack and rock albums are far too loud!

Indeed but some old albums are too quiet with maximum peaks at -5dB. (0dB is the maximum in digital recording). You can easily change the volume (gain 5dB) without changing the dynamics of the track.


Alex

[king mark]

yeah but playing around with the file volume themselves is a bit tricky. It's time consuming and easy to cause distortion

Don't waste your money on that garbage.

For less $, you can get pro audio sound and durability with one of these puppies;

http://www.amazon.co...e/dp/B000J0IIEQ

yeah especially after reading this

http://www.anythingbutipod.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61746

[Alexcremers]

yeah but playing around with the file volume themselves is a bit tricky. It's time consuming and easy to cause distortion

Depends on how you do it, I guess. The following procedure shouldn't give you any problems. 1) Import a CD track in an sound editing program (Wavelab, Soundforge). 2) Let the program find the maximum peak (takes about a few seconds). 3) Adjust the volume or maximize the signal (takes about a few seconds). For best results, opt for -0,3dB instead of 0dB. 4) Save.

Finished.


Alex

[Stefancos]

I'd hate to do that for my entire collection though....

[Alexcremers]

Does your entire collection sounds too quiet?

[Wojo]

Yes, my entire collection consists of ancient classical music recordings that were mixed too quietly, with not one new soundtrack or rock album to be found...

[king mark]

Got this external USB Soundblaster X-Fi HD soundcard. Has a dedicated headphone amp

http://www.bestbuy.c...856324c6b85en02

Does what I wanted plus a ton more options. So far I can say it's a big step up from the earphone output on the PC

[Koray Savas]

Wonder how much I get that for

[Jason LeBlanc]

What do you guys think are the best headphones for under $100? These are going to be for home use only, so I don't care about mobility, or noise cancellation. I'm not looking for ear buds here - I want ones that comfortably covering my whole ears. These are the ones I have my eye on now:

Sony MDR7506

But I'd love more opinions! Just make sure they are under $100 Thanks!

[king mark]

The new updated Grado SR60i. no doubt they kick the sony's ass


http://www.stereophi...60i_headphones/

[Jason LeBlanc]

Aha, interesting! Any idea what the difference is between these?

Grado: SR60i headphones ($79)
Grado Prestige Series SR-60i Padded Headphones ($79)
Grado Prestige Series SR80i Stereo Headphone ($99)

[king mark]

First 2 are the same. I think you can also get a pad that leaves a hole in the middle but I wouldn;t get that it's less comfortable.

SR60i fixed the issues of old SR60 (slight lack of bass and some found the treble a bit harsh)

SR80i is harder to drive properly (again the whole headphone amp thing ), so I wouldn't get that for a regular PC headphone jack .Yes if you plan to use your stereo amplifier

[Jason LeBlanc]

Yea I should have mentioned this is going directly into my PC, no amplifiers at all.

So for now it's down to Sony MDR7506 vs Grado SR60i.

Any other opinions on those two? Any other contenders?

[king mark]

not really

I might even give up on my whole super upgrade thing (amp+ expensive Sennheisers) and just get SR60i's to replace my SR60's

I'm finding flaws with the Creative USB sound card and it may go back. Unless I can get a way to get better sound from the PC itself, there's no point in spending 300$ on headphones either

[Alexcremers]

Beware, the Grados are on ear phones. Many people experience comfort problems with this type of headphones during long listening sessions. From reading many a reviews, the SR80s have better, more controlled bass responds.

[king mark]

You gotta pull on the band to widen them a bit or they pinch your ears . That is easily done and permanent

I'm not sure why I want to replace my SR-60's, they sound fantastic. On PC with no amp they are more ideal than SR-80 .

Yeah maybe I wanted something super comfortable like the Senn HD558/598 with a 1 cord design.

Tomorrow I'm returning the Creative USB soundcard. I have to turn on all sorts or "sound enhancers" to make it sound ok and it's re-sampling all my MP3's to play them For some odd reason that card doesn't output to 44.1 khz natively and somethings wrong with the sound. Turns out after more careful listening the onboard audio on my PC is better at equal volume.

[Jason LeBlanc]

Beware, the Grados are on ear phones. Many people experience comfort problems with this type of headphones during long listening sessions. From reading many a reviews, the SR80s have better, more controlled bass responds.

OK, so what headphones under $100 do you recommend?

[Alexcremers]

I would definitely check out the http://www.amazon.co...20236941&sr=8-1. Together with your proposed Sony and KM's Grado S60i, they should be amongst the best you can buy in that price range.

[Jason LeBlanc]

Great, thanks!

[Alexcremers]

The most comfortable headphones are the Bose AE2. You can easily wear it for hours and even forget you have them on. I tested it a few times in the store. Sound is pretty good. Too bad it has a dip around 100 Hz and a boost around 60 or 80 Hz. Nice for those sudden bass drum hits but not very accurate. They also isolate outside noises very well. The price (149 euro!) is too high.




Alex

[king mark]

I dunno ..bose?

Briefly tried the Triports..urgh

[Stefancos]

I thought Bose was the Audiophile version of Satan?