New Audio Setup. Headphones or Speakers?

[Soulburner]

Nice but you really want me to put that on a computer desk?

[trouble2000]

Well, I prefer speakers but because i have a little baby daughter i can't use speakers. So I use these headphones which i think are very good : http://www.pioneer.co.uk/uk/products...000/index.html .

[Kingcarcas]

I'd go with some expensive headphones!

[YukonTrooper]

OK just got the AD900's in today and will write a review up over the weekend. I will post it in the headphone faq thread. Cheers.

[RealTelstar]

Nice but you really want me to put that on a computer desk?

My Tannoy would fit a nice desk, if you have only one computer over it
But they look and sound good on the floor too.

[Soulburner]

OK just got the AD900's in today and will write a review up over the weekend. I will post it in the headphone faq thread. Cheers.

I will await your review. I will be ordering them very soon, but its not critical at the moment since the Auzen Prelude won't be shipped right away.

Normally hardware doesn't have this kind of an effect on me, but these headphones kind of intimidate me. I think its their sheer size, they are easily the largest headphones I have ever seen.

[YukonTrooper]

I will await your review. I will be ordering them very soon, but its not critical at the moment since the Auzen Prelude won't be shipped right away.

Normally hardware doesn't have this kind of an effect on me, but these headphones kind of intimidate me. I think its their sheer size, they are easily the largest headphones I have ever seen.

Sounds good. I was actually going to ask if you had ordered them yet because I will be reviewing them. Besides you have that Koss hidden gem which is better than what a lot of people spend upwards of $75-$100 on. I'm sure you'll see a nice improvement with the Prelude on these guys especially with some lossless files.

BTW I was in the spending mood and I also ordered the Denon AH-D2000 about a week after, so I will be able to do a side by side comparison. They won't ship out until Monday so I expect them by the end of next week or early after. Tool is also my favorite band and will be my main measuring stick in terms of material at least for me and of course yourself. I will also review some classical (Mozart mainly), jazz (don't really listen to much but I'll see what I can dig up), acoustical (Alice in Chains Unplugged, Bob Dylan etc.), female vocals (Alicia Keys, Norah Jones - don't listen to too much but with hardware as good as this it should be a treat), electronica/techno (don't listen to too much but once again hi-fi headphones open up a world of possibility) and of course various other rock and metal bands (Pear Jam, Pantera, Rage, Deftones, Killswitch Engage etc.).

No rap music sorry.

[Soulburner]

I have some high bitrate Nine Inch Nails, Tool, and Rammstein that will be perfect for testing. They all master their albums very well and it will be interesting to hear them on a high end set of headphones. If you have any NIN I would definetely give that a listen as well. He spends time perfecting his music more than anyone else I know of.

[Lev]

i have a900s and have heard both the ad900s and dt-770 pros and dt-880s

im going to have to say for gaming and listening to techno music where soundstage for positional stereo and bass for awesomeness are key the dt-770 pros win for me, heres why

a900s have a great soundstage and are comfortable, i really wish they had a little more bass, but all the sound is very defined, and the headphones really are comfortable. these headphones excel without an amp, probably the best unamped headphones along with the air version

ad900s, the air version, are in my opinion a little more defined then the a900s, but have even less bass. same comfort design, the a900s are defined plenty imo

dt-770 pros just have an even better soundstage, are very defined, just as comfortable, are closed like the a900s, but they need an amp to be good

dt-880 pros are better in every aspect then the 770 pros but if i had to chose i would pick 770s just because they are closed and i dont want to hear anybody, or my fans for that matter, also need an amp



the reason i got a900s is because i like them more then the air version, and they are great unamped headphones

[Lev]

oh and dont forget hd280s, cheaper but still great gaming cans, not as good as the others ive listed though.

[Donnie27]

Sounds good. I was actually going to ask if you had ordered them yet because I will be reviewing them. Besides you have that Koss hidden gem which is better than what a lot of people spend upwards of $75-$100 on. I'm sure you'll see a nice improvement with the Prelude on these guys especially with some lossless files.

BTW I was in the spending mood and I also ordered the Denon AH-D2000 about a week after, so I will be able to do a side by side comparison. They won't ship out until Monday so I expect them by the end of next week or early after. Tool is also my favorite band and will be my main measuring stick in terms of material at least for me and of course yourself. I will also review some classical (Mozart mainly), jazz (don't really listen to much but I'll see what I can dig up), acoustical (Alice in Chains Unplugged, Bob Dylan etc.), female vocals (Alicia Keys, Norah Jones - don't listen to too much but with hardware as good as this it should be a treat), electronica/techno (don't listen to too much but once again hi-fi headphones open up a world of possibility) and of course various other rock and metal bands (Pear Jam, Pantera, Rage, Deftones, Killswitch Engage etc.).

No rap music sorry.

Yet, I'd still take a nice set of speakers. I listen to everything including some RAP, just no C&W and Blues. I love 70's rock and 60's Motown. Listening to Deep Purple "Smoke on the water" in 5.1 DVD Audio while I type this. I get into the whole R&B thing and 80's rock, newer stuff is like Creed. They are very good for Cans tests because it is very well recorded. I love Smooth Jazz and Classical, most of the top 100 from Ludwig Von B. and the gang.

If I got something to replace my Cheap Philips HP890's it would be another set of DT-770 if not 880's. I must add though. Each person's tastes are different. I had a set of 770's sold them with the idea of getting the 990 or etc, but never made the move.

I just about lived in the Audio Club while in Germany and saw guys Pick Sansui over Phase Linear and Nakamichi. Why? Because they were used to noise.

[afireinside]

On headphones damaging hearing: volume volume volume! It's important. Listening loud so that you can hear over ambient noise when you're outdoors or a loud computer is BAD. I've been doing that for years and it's already ed my hearing at the ripe old age of 17 (tinnitus...)Headphones are perfectly safe provided you use them at proper volume levels. Getting an SPL meter and measuring is the safest way but some common sense and awareness works fine.

[Donnie27]

I have some high bitrate Nine Inch Nails, Tool, and Rammstein that will be perfect for testing. They all master their albums very well and it will be interesting to hear them on a high end set of headphones. If you have any NIN I would definetely give that a listen as well. He spends time perfecting his music more than anyone else I know of.

I got some NIN ripped from Doom and Quake Games LOL! Quake 2 Add-on Ground Zero will give any headphones a worked out show some folks just how fast their drivers are! It takes a fast Driver to play many sounds at once and that's some cans cost what they do. I'd take a set of Martin Logan $1500 Minis over a $1500 set of cans.

Great recording don't always mean the best music. It's nice when you can get both. Nice recordings, Steely Dan as I telling someone about "Hey Nineteen" in 24bit/96kHz made from the original Master Tapes is an example of Both a Great tune and a sweet recording. Mike Oldfield Tubular Bells when he's naming all of the instruments. TB is another great system tests for Speakers or Cans.

Other end of the spectrum is the whole George Clinton Parliament-Funkadelic-P-Funk movement, some great stuff from a guy that was wayyyy ahead of his time. Acid Rock, R&R, RAP, R&B and even C&W have borrowed/sampled from them.