help me pick some cans

[Lev]

now here are some specifics of what i really want from a pair of headphones
1) i want them to not distort at high volumes
2) i want a clear bass
3) i want stereo headphones that can emulate surround sound
4) i want them to be ~$100
5) i dont want to buy an amp
6) i want them to be around ear headphones as in they are circum(something spelling blah)
7) i want them to be comfy :)

now they dont have to be perfect in all of these but my current headphones are a $30 dollar pair from altec lansing and they hiss for some reason when i turn the volume up and make me go deaf.... and if i turn the amp on (comes with hdphones) this goes away but then it sounds like :banana::banana::banana::banana:

also recommend me a mic that i can mod to attack to my headphones

[EniGmA1987]

Dont know what you mean by emulate surround sound. The headphones dont control weather they emulate surround or not. The software or games or whatever can place sounds and they sound in front or behind you, but headphones don't just say "wow, lets put this here" 5.1 headphones are (from the ones I have seen) actually many small speakers in the ear piece to get 5.1


Sennheiser HD555s are amazing, but they have an open-air design. You can hear people talking to you and stuff, and they can kinda hear what your listening too.

I have also owned a pair of Sennheiser HD280 headphones. These are closed circumaural headphones and are noise canceling.

Both do not need an amp, but the 555s do have a pretty high impedance so they will be quieter than the HD280s. Still gets very good volume off a sound card though. Youll probably blow the either of them somewhat with your sound turned to max everywhere in your computer. I did test them before and got to about 115 before I noticed any distortion. Both feel very ncie and are around the same price with the 555s being a little bit more. The HD280s are on sale at newegg right now though so are quite cheap. Definitely the best headphones on the market for the price.


HD 555:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826106392

HD280:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826106328

[Lev]

Dont know what you mean by emulate surround sound. The headphones dont control weather they emulate surround or not. The software or games or whatever can place sounds and they sound in front or behind you, but headphones don't just say "wow, lets put this here" 5.1 headphones are (from the ones I have seen) actually many small speakers in the ear piece to get 5.1


Sennheiser HD555s are amazing, but they have an open-air design. You can hear people talking to you and stuff, and they can kinda hear what your listening too.

I have also owned a pair of Sennheiser HD280 headphones. These are closed circumaural headphones and are noise canceling.

Both do not need an amp, but the 555s do have a pretty high impedance so they will be quieter than the HD280s. Still gets very good volume off a sound card though. Youll probably blow the either of them somewhat with your sound turned to max everywhere in your computer. I did test them before and got to about 115 before I noticed any distortion. Both feel very ncie and are around the same price with the 555s being a little bit more. The HD280s are on sale at newegg right now though so are quite cheap. Definitely the best headphones on the market for the price.


HD 555:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826106392

HD280:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826106328
what i mean by emulate surround sound is not really emulate surround sound but have better positioning of the speakers so they sound better surround then others with surround sound emulation.. know what i mean?

also i really dont want 5.1 headphones, ill look into those seinheissers but i dont know about the bass on them ill have to try them out

[Jamesrt2004]

Sennheiser HD 555's I say Can't go wrong with them

[Lev]

Sennheiser HD 555's I say Can't go wrong with them

is there a closed version?

[Jamesrt2004]

Not sure mate, If there will be just i'm not sure of the model number. I'll try find something out.

[Jamesrt2004]

Sennheiser HD-515

Or

Sennheiser HD280 Pro

Them two what you mean?

[ooeric]

sennheiser hd555 is open. offers a cleaner sound if your in a quiet room
hd280 is closed. offers heavier bass, not as crisp as 555

other alternatives are beyers 701 etc. shure e2c e3c e4c

i used both sennheisers before.

currently been using hd650

[Lev]

man i really wish the hd 212 pro were around ear and not on ear :( they are described perfectly in some reviews, especially the bass

hd555 would be perfect if it was closed, i dont know but people say the hd280 suck

considering saving and buying a pair of beyerdynamic, still dont know which 1

[Lev]

ive decided on hd 201 cheap ones until i get enough for beyerdynamic dt880 :)

[ooeric]

open headphones arent a bad thing you know...
the best cans in the world are all open.

[ooeric]

think about it like this.

you know your headphones and amp is good, if you can play the music without even touching the EQ.
music is as natural and clean as it comes from the studio from the singer or instrument.
as if your sitting right next to the source.

and if you do get good cans... forget mp3. throw them out the window.
get a nice sound card. and either play CDs, APE, FLAC, lossless audio.

[Lev]

changing my mind again and deciding to save some money by going with dt770 pros instead of 880

dunno what kind of amp i should get, probably gonna upgrade soundcard first...

dont know what soundcard to get i dont think x-fi xtreme gamer would do my headphones(future :P) honor

maybe a different x-fi? list some suggestions but please give reasons.. i use a mic and i want the card to take load of proc too...

thanks

[ooeric]

xfi sucks. drivers suck. creative doesnt fix any problems with them.
i mean performance is good, but its price doesnt justify quality.

audiophiles can all tell you that.

get an via envy chipset based card.
a cheap and goodie is Chaintech AV-710 about 25$
but is really good. dont let price fool you.
the drivers are way way better then any creative products.

since your gonna head into more highend cans, you can buy a premade amp.
or make your own. their are many diagrams for amps online.

head over to like headfi.org forums if you wanna buy a used premade (which is prolly a good idea if the price is right)

[Kobalt]

Just listen to ooeric... he knows what he's talking about. I would get open headphones though because it just sounds so much clearer and crisp than closed ones such as HD 280s. I used to have those and they sound muffled and muddier compared to my HD 580s with an amp.

[Lev]

the reason im so against open headphones is because i have insane parents that yell until they realize im not going to unlock my door, and because i have deltas in my case :P

[Lev]

also, about that soundcard, will it take the load off the proc enough? i really like the fact that it has envy chip but will it take the load off? im sure there are different envy chips
atm using audigy se, do you think the best card under 80 is av710? if it isnt how much does it cost and how much less bang for buck would i get

[ooeric]

a av710 would prolly cost 25$US here brand new... im not sure how much better deal youd want.., hehehehehe

im not sure if you have those in russia.. but im pretty sure you can ebay one.
maybe it comes to like 35$ after international shipping. which is still a great deal.

or maybe you can have a relative/friend order one here, then ship it to you. save a lil $.

save yourself 50$ from NOT buying an XFI. use that 50$. add another 100$ (100$~180$).. buy a used premade amp (beginners level:ppa, ppa2, millets, hybrids, tubes, etc,etc) from headfi.org.
i do not think youll have the need to move into higher price amps.

then you have good stuff!

i understand your problem with outside noise with open air cans.

my pc "station" is next to my kitchen . and on the other side is my tv den.

but during times. it is quiet. and is golden...

since you use delta fans. i suggest you to mod the voltage. maybe switch it over to 5v or 7v from the power lines. or just getting a cheappy 1-2 port fan controller.

any dedicated sound card takes a load or a enough off a CPU.
just remember to disable all and any unused options on bios. like firewire, IR, serial, parallel. usb, ide channels, sata channels. audio. onboard video.

[ooeric]

you might not have to necessarily HAVE to get an amp first.
(depends on your headphone impendance, anything over 50ohms.. then your gonna have too, or you just waste your money)

you can just get the av710 first. try it with your old cans.
youll definitely notice the difference over your SBLive.
everything sounds cleaner and more responsive.
and you shouldnt have to hear hissing or crackling that plagues creative. (minimal, very very low lvls)

[Lev]

thanks a ton, btw im not in russia anymore i just have this location up for kicks since ussr fell apart in 91 im in atl GA, i should really change it

and i dont want to undervolt my fans, i need the cfm - especially because i have not gotten my ultra-x yet and still running stock

[ooeric]

for fans.
panaflo fba12g12h FTW.
get like a tunic tower. lol

remember. negative pressure is your friend.
the more the case exhausts, the cooler it is.

since i did not know your in ATL. ya. newegg has the av710 for 25$. lol

and cmon. we all know USSR is still strong. MWUAHAHA communism wont fall. its good :banana::banana::banana::banana:. (im chinese btw. ahhagahaa). COMRADE!!!)

[MercuryFree]

ill look into those seinheissers but i dont know about the bass on them ill have to try them out
Sennheisers are known for good bass :). I've owned 202's, 555's and now 650's (:D ) and the bass has been excellent on all of them, as is the bass on my mate's 595's.


the reason im so against open headphones is because i have insane parents that yell until they realize im not going to unlock my door, and because i have deltas in my case :P
Despite being 'open', someone in another room ain't going to be able to hear anything, unless you put them at 100% volume, in the process rupturing your eardrums ;)

[Lev]

for fans.
panaflo fba12g12h FTW.
get like a tunic tower. lol

remember. negative pressure is your friend.
the more the case exhausts, the cooler it is.

since i did not know your in ATL. ya. newegg has the av710 for 25$. lol

and cmon. we all know USSR is still strong. MWUAHAHA communism wont fall. its good :banana::banana::banana::banana:. (im chinese btw. ahhagahaa). COMRADE!!!)

*******---
********\** l
**--*****\ */
* / \ _ _ __ \/
/**********\

[Lev]

Sennheisers are known for good bass :). I've owned 202's, 555's and now 650's (:D ) and the bass has been excellent on all of them, as is the bass on my mate's 595's.


Despite being 'open', someone in another room ain't going to be able to hear anything, unless you put them at 100% volume, in the process rupturing your eardrums ;)

thats not why they are yelling, i dont want to *hear* them yelling

[FLMJIGGY]

What about Audio-Technica A500?

Should be a tad better than the hd280Pros. I had those 280's and they didn't sound bad at all. I am considering the AT's actually.

[ooeric]

that letterpic came out weird.
what is it supposed to be?

[FLMJIGGY]

Audio-Technica A500... don't know how that happened. :)

[Growly]

thats not why they are yelling, i dont want to *hear* them yellingHahahah!

I have HD595s and absolutely love them. Soundstorm just doesn't do them justice :S

They're so awesome, I want more just for kicks. The bass is awesome (although not as good as the Sony ones, I *hear*), and I don't like the HD6xx series because they look heinous (IMO), so, they're perfect. Well maybe not perfect, but near enough.

[Lev]

that letterpic came out weird.
what is it supposed to be?

hammer and sickle

and what do you think about those audiotechnica ones?

[ooeric]

garbage.

[FLMJIGGY]

?!?!?! Those are supposed to be better than the HD280 Pro's!!!

WHy do you say that?

[Lev]

ooeric why do you think the ATs are garbage?

[ooeric]

i never liked AT for their price to performance ratio.
i just dont find it worth it.

[[XC] DragonOrta]

I have a pair of the DT770 pro cans, and I love them. Lovely bass.

[FLMJIGGY]

hd 555! Hands down!