Booth, Richard [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Anyhow, I was wondering if anyone has suggestions for a great pair of
headphones that are between $70-$150, and a good headphone amp.
Eventually I'd like to upgrade to something like this because it
sounds like with what I am using I am not getting the best sound
quality I can get. (using the headphone amp and my cheap sony
headphones).
Richard:
If you're only going to be spending $70-$150, you'd be better off finding a
pair of headphones that don't need an amp, since the cheapest good amp
(Headroom's Total Airhead) is going to cost $160 by itself. You can always
upgrade later (see below).
The other questions that should *always* be asked before recommending
headphones:
1) Do you have a preference in terms of earbud vs. circumaural (on-the-ear)
vs. supra-aural (around-the-ear) headphones?
2) Do you want open or closed headphones? In other words, do you want
'phones that block out external sound and keep your music from disturbing
others? Or do you want to be able to hear the outside world? Keep in mind
that in *general* open cans sound better.
3) Do you have any preferences in terms of how you like your music to sound?
Accurate? More bass? More treble?
If you answer these, we can help you pick some really great 'phones for your
budget. There are quite a few very good 'phones that can be powered by your
MD portable within your price range.
Francisco J. Huerta [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Rick, for $150 USD you can get an extremely good set of headphones
that won't need a headphone amp: the Grado SR-125. They are very
efficient, open aire headphones, that will sound very, very good out
of a component output. In fact, I'd rather listen to them through my
Yamaha receiver than through my X-CansV2 headphone amp!
Francisco, if he's only running these out of his Sharp MD, the SR-80 would
be a bit better for him, and $50 cheaper. The SR-125 is reportedly good
without an amp, but the truth is that while the SR-60 and SR-80 are truly
no-amp-needed cans, the SR-125 really does do much better with an amp.
If you would like a truly thrilling experience, though, try to get a
set of HD-580s for $199 with a surround processor (Audio Advisor
might stock them). e-Bay the surround processor for, say, $40 USD.
Try to get your hands on an X-CanV2 (the Creek OBH-11 is an excellent
amp, but from people who own both, the HD-580 likes a lot more
power... like the 1 watt RMS the X-Can is capable of producing) for
$229 (again, try AudioAdvisor or www.headphone.com). In case you
can't get an X-Can, an Antique Audio MG-Head might do the trick (it's
the same price at www.headphone.com). For close to $400 USD, you
will be in sonic heaven.
I would completely agree with this as a great headphone system, except for
the Sennheiser surround processor. It's awful for music, although some
people seem to like with when watching movies. You can get the HD-580 for
around $180 online, and AudioAdvisor will sell you the X-CANSv2 (make sure
you get the v2) for around $240.
The only problem with this is that 1) I'm not sure the Sharp unit you have
actually has an auto-sensing line/headphone jack; and 2) if it does, the
fact that it's not a dedicated line out will affect the sound to some
extent.
If you're thinking about getting into good headphones, I would start with
buying a good set that can be driven by your portable to see if the
difference in sound is quite noticeable to you (it isn't for some people).
If you fall in love with the great sound, you can always move up to
headphone amps and higher-end cans.
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