r00t_b33r wrote

MLK wrote Budget: $100 Max

Music preference: All genres, mostly rock and old hip hop

Type / form factor and portability: Over ear, should fit in a backpack pocket (around the size of skullcandy hesh over ear)

Open/Closed (Not for in-ear): Closed

Source(s): iPod

The Aurvana Live might not be the best to carry around like that. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm not sure they're the best for manhandling. If you want something very portable, look at the AKG K181DJ or even the Shure SRH550DJ.

Right, totally forgot about that. In that case, the Sony V6 is right up your alley!

dude, U guys don't know what your missing out on. nothing can beat the beats by dre headphones cuz they r the best! there base is amazing and it will make your head vibrate. they have waaaay better sound quality than your POS headphones like sennheiser. your just jelous since you can't afford them and you look down on them cuz their too expensive. they are definitely worth the price you pay since they have amazing sound quality, they look great, dj's and other celebrities use them, and you'll look like a star while you wear them since everyone will look at you. you have no proof that those other crap headphones can beat the beats. beats mixrs are where its at you stupid audiophiles!










^ Me trying to be an unsuccessful troll/Beats by Dre fanboy.


Anyhow, back to business.

Congrats on getting a sticky! It's about time.

Budget: $400 max
Music preferences: Asian pop, orchestra, jazz (no trumpets though), piano, percussion, rock in general, some electronic, some house (so a headphone that would be versatile, but more of an emphasis on mids/upper mids/sub-bass)
Type / form factor and portability: Circumaural only / semi-portable (if that's even an option)
Open/Closed (Not for in-ear): No preference
Source(s): Macbook using Audirvana Free (probably the best free media player I have ever used), hoping to upgrade to a real DAC/amp combo soon...man this stuff is destroying my wallet. XD

I'm looking for an upgrade to my Shure SRH940's that is more neutral and balanced-sounding. I tried the Senn HD650's before and they had too much mid-bass for my liking. I've been eying the AKG K/Q701's since they have a similar sound signature to the SRH940's, but they are really power hungry and are another one of those polarizing headphones around Head-Fi (you either like them or you hate them). I have no preference of open/closed since I will probably be using them at home most of the time; portability would be a nice option though.

OR...instead of upgrading headphones (since I'm fine with an amped SRH940), should I just upgrade my DAC and invest in a quality amp as well? Tube amps seemed to produce the best sound out of the SRH940's, but I know pretty much nothing about amps in general. Do you have any suggestions for a high quality DAC or amp (under $400 each).


I WAS going to post this on Head-Fi, but I had no idea where it would go since it covers desktop/portable amps, DACs, and headphones alike. >.<"

To be completely honest, for $400, there really isn't anything I can think of that'd be an upgrade and more neutral than your Shures. You probably want a bit more oomph and maybe less treble? The K701 had this really nasty upper midrange peak that I abhorred for what it cost, but apparently the Q701 somewhat alleviates that. The DT880 would just be brighter, which I'm not sure you want. The HE400 looks interesting, but I don't know how those sound. Honestly, I'd save up a bit for a used HE500. They're not really neutral but by George they are a treat!

If you just want some better mids, the Audio Technica AD2000 is amazing. Sub bass will be an issue though.

For the amp, I'm going to go completely against the grain and suggest that you get a refurbed Pioneer SX-1250 or SX-1280. Maybe if you're lucky, an SX-1980. These are all old vintage receivers but even Skylab, headphone amp specialist, likes his 1250 more than a Woo Audio WA6 if I recall correctly. They're amazing bargains and look sweet.

For the DAC, you might be able to find a used Twisted Pear Buffalo. The Yulong D100 looks promising as well.

Ishcabible wrote To be completely honest, for $400, there really isn't anything I can think of that'd be an upgrade and more neutral than your Shures. You probably want a bit more oomph and maybe less treble? The K701 had this really nasty upper midrange peak that I abhorred for what it cost, but apparently the Q701 somewhat alleviates that. The DT880 would just be brighter, which I'm not sure you want. The HE400 looks interesting, but I don't know how those sound. Honestly, I'd save up a bit for a used HE500. They're not really neutral but by George they are a treat!

If you just want some better mids, the Audio Technica AD2000 is amazing. Sub bass will be an issue though.

For the amp, I'm going to go completely against the grain and suggest that you get a refurbed Pioneer SX-1250 or SX-1280. Maybe if you're lucky, an SX-1980. These are all old vintage receivers but even Skylab, headphone amp specialist, likes his 1250 more than a Woo Audio WA6 if I recall correctly. They're amazing bargains and look sweet.

For the DAC, you might be able to find a used Twisted Pear Buffalo. The Yulong D100 looks promising as well.

I got a chance to hear a properly amped K701 and they sounded similar to the SRH940's with more mid-bass and less treble. I'm not sure how the Q701's sound though. At the same place where I tried the K701's I had the chance to hear the HE-400's, though I don't quite recall how they sounded due to limited time.

The HE-500's look promising though. I should probably upgrade my DAC and amp before investing money in a planar magnetic headphone though (especially the amp).

Are the AD2000's even in production still? I haven't heard much about them and they aren't on Audio Technica's website.

Woah, I'll have to take a look at the Pioneer SX receivers then if even Skylab says they're great. I was looking at old receivers on eBay the other day coincidentally. At home, the family owns an old Yamaha RX-V492 receiver (I haven't had much of a chance to use it).

I need to do some research on the DAC's but the Yulong looks neat. I don't have very much experience with hi-fi DIY projects so I don't know how useful the Buffalo DAC would be for me.

Thanks for the suggestions!

A good amp/DAC combo is the Audinst HUD-MX1. It pairs well with the HD 650 and is quite powerful. The bang for your buck seems to be very good since it's ~$180.

You could always build your own amp and DAC. NwAvGuy's (Google) Objective 2 amp and Objecitve DAC (O2 and ODAC) are unbeatable for the price. You can get them prebuilt, and they're still a deal that way, but building it yourself will save you a lot of money. The O2 is extremely powerful and competes with the likes of the RSA SR-71B. AMB labs offers PCBs and other parts as well as finished amps. The ODAC is still in the pipeline, but it will be out soon. Read up on these DIY options, they're probably the best you'll get for the money.

For headphones, I'd usually recommend the HD 650, but that's been ruled out. Were they driven with enough power? You have to remove that veil! Some other phones you could look at are the Sony SA5000 (I believe Ishcabible is a big fan of these), Beyerdynamic DT48 (these too, they're a very unique headphone though), Hifiman HE-400, and possibly the Stax SR-207.

I think it would be worth it to buy the AKG K/Q701/2s to see if you like them. They need quite a lot of power, so make sure you're hearing them to their full potential before you decide to send them back or sell them. EQing might help, as well.

r00t_b33r wrote

skyrim-sword wrote

Ishcabible wrote To be completely honest, for $400, there really isn't anything I can think of that'd be an upgrade and more neutral than your Shures. You probably want a bit more oomph and maybe less treble? The K701 had this really nasty upper midrange peak that I abhorred for what it cost, but apparently the Q701 somewhat alleviates that. The DT880 would just be brighter, which I'm not sure you want. The HE400 looks interesting, but I don't know how those sound. Honestly, I'd save up a bit for a used HE500. They're not really neutral but by George they are a treat!

If you just want some better mids, the Audio Technica AD2000 is amazing. Sub bass will be an issue though.

For the amp, I'm going to go completely against the grain and suggest that you get a refurbed Pioneer SX-1250 or SX-1280. Maybe if you're lucky, an SX-1980. These are all old vintage receivers but even Skylab, headphone amp specialist, likes his 1250 more than a Woo Audio WA6 if I recall correctly. They're amazing bargains and look sweet.

For the DAC, you might be able to find a used Twisted Pear Buffalo. The Yulong D100 looks promising as well.

I got a chance to hear a properly amped K701 and they sounded similar to the SRH940's with more mid-bass and less treble. I'm not sure how the Q701's sound though. At the same place where I tried the K701's I had the chance to hear the HE-400's, though I don't quite recall how they sounded due to limited time.

The HE-500's look promising though. I should probably upgrade my DAC and amp before investing money in a planar magnetic headphone though (especially the amp).

Are the AD2000's even in production still? I haven't heard much about them and they aren't on Audio Technica's website.

Woah, I'll have to take a look at the Pioneer SX receivers then if even Skylab says they're great. I was looking at old receivers on eBay the other day coincidentally. At home, the family owns an old Yamaha RX-V492 receiver (I haven't had much of a chance to use it).

I need to do some research on the DAC's but the Yulong looks neat. I don't have very much experience with hi-fi DIY projects so I don't know how useful the Buffalo DAC would be for me.

Thanks for the suggestions!

A good amp/DAC combo is the Audinst HUD-MX1. It pairs well with the HD 650 and is quite powerful. The bang for your buck seems to be very good since it's ~$180.

You could always build your own amp and DAC. NwAvGuy's (Google) Objective 2 amp and Objecitve DAC (O2 and ODAC) are unbeatable for the price. You can get them prebuilt, and they're still a deal that way, but building it yourself will save you a lot of money. The O2 is extremely powerful and competes with the likes of the RSA SR-71B. AMB labs offers PCBs and other parts as well as finished amps. The ODAC is still in the pipeline, but it will be out soon. Read up on these DIY options, they're probably the best you'll get for the money.

For headphones, I'd usually recommend the HD 650, but that's been ruled out. Were they driven with enough power? You have to remove that veil! Some other phones you could look at are the Sony SA5000 (I believe Ishcabible is a big fan of these), Beyerdynamic DT48 (these too, they're a very unique headphone though), Hifiman HE-400, and possibly the Stax SR-207.

I think it would be worth it to buy the AKG K/Q701/2s to see if you like them. They need quite a lot of power, so make sure you're hearing them to their full potential before you decide to send them back or sell them. EQing might help, as well.

The HE500's are surprisingly forgiving. They sounded A LOT better out of my own vintage receiver, but out of an iPod, they were better than they had the right to! Upgraded components are definitely important, but even out of an iPod, they smoked all but my DT48's.

The AD2000's are still in production, I think. But you'd be able to get a better deal used.

It's really mostly the 70's and 80's gear that's the good stuff. Although there are a few non-silver faced receivers that sound good, like the Yamaha R-9, whose amp circuit seems to be a simpler version of the Yamaha MX1000, a monster of an amp that routinely sells for over $600. You can get an R-9 for $100 on a good day.

Well there's usually a premade one on Head-Fi.

I would probably have recommended the SA5000 is sub bass wasn't one of the really important things you wanted. They have great bass, but it's not exactly plentiful in the lower ranges.

And the DT48 is an absolutely stellar headphone that deserves a lot of the hype it gets, but only for a very narrow band of genres. It has the most realistic mids I've ever heard, beating out the HE500, but it sounds like absolute crap with 70% of music. It doesn't really do classical great, nor does it really do rock or electronic. It's aurgasmic with jazz, piano, and Asian strings, but as good as it is, I'd really only get a pair if you have a headphone for everything else. It's really a specialist headphone in the utmost perspective. It's also amazing for monitoring vocals, so if that's your thing, definitely get a pair eventually.

I totally forgot about Stax! You'd easily be able to get a Lambda Nova Signature in your price range (the task is to find a pair being sold), but forget about taking them places.

If you need a portable headphone, you could get a Sony CD900ST to save a bit of money. I haven't personally heard a pair, but a friend likes their mids more than the DT48's, and that's enough for me to at least mention it, and think about buying my own without even hearing them first.

EDIT: Holy snot SX prices have doubled since I looked last year.

Ishcabible wrote The HE500's are surprisingly forgiving. They sounded A LOT better out of my own vintage receiver, but out of an iPod, they were better than they had the right to! Upgraded components are definitely important, but even out of an iPod, they smoked all but my DT48's.

The AD2000's are still in production, I think. But you'd be able to get a better deal used.

It's really mostly the 70's and 80's gear that's the good stuff. Although there are a few non-silver faced receivers that sound good, like the Yamaha R-9, whose amp circuit seems to be a simpler version of the Yamaha MX1000, a monster of an amp that routinely sells for over $600. You can get an R-9 for $100 on a good day.

Well there's usually a premade one on Head-Fi.

I would probably have recommended the SA5000 is sub bass wasn't one of the really important things you wanted. They have great bass, but it's not exactly plentiful in the lower ranges.

And the DT48 is an absolutely stellar headphone that deserves a lot of the hype it gets, but only for a very narrow band of genres. It has the most realistic mids I've ever heard, beating out the HE500, but it sounds like absolute crap with 70% of music. It doesn't really do classical great, nor does it really do rock or electronic. It's aurgasmic with jazz, piano, and Asian strings, but as good as it is, I'd really only get a pair if you have a headphone for everything else. It's really a specialist headphone in the utmost perspective. It's also amazing for monitoring vocals, so if that's your thing, definitely get a pair eventually.

I totally forgot about Stax! You'd easily be able to get a Lambda Nova Signature in your price range (the task is to find a pair being sold), but forget about taking them places.

If you need a portable headphone, you could get a Sony CD900ST to save a bit of money. I haven't personally heard a pair, but a friend likes their mids more than the DT48's, and that's enough for me to at least mention it, and think about buying my own without even hearing them first.

Let me get this straight. Vintage amps > New amps? Is it a matter of price for performance? Also, why is this true? I've never really heard much regarding vintage vs. new.

Also, the Marantz gear I was talking about turned out to be the 2110 and 1122DC. Both are quite rare according to a quick search, and man, they are beautiful. Any thoughts on them?

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r00t_b33r wrote
Let me get this straight. Vintage amps > New amps? Is it a matter of price for performance? Also, why is this true? I've never really heard much regarding vintage vs. new.

Also, the Marantz gear I was talking about turned out to be the 2110 and 1122DC. Both are quite rare according to a quick search, and man, they are beautiful. Any thoughts on them?

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It's both a factor of price-performance and the fact that vintage amps just sound so much more romantic than the newer amps. They have a certain warmness and unexplainable trait that's magical. But they won't be technically better than any of the high end modern amps, but since skyrim_sword was looking at tube amps, vintage receivers are a great alternative since tube amps need to have a good transformer to sound great, and that requires more than $400. A lot more.

That scope!

[quote="Ishcabible"]

r00t_b33r wrote
Let me get this straight. Vintage amps > New amps? Is it a matter of price for performance? Also, why is this true? I've never really heard much regarding vintage vs. new.

Also, the Marantz gear I was talking about turned out to be the 2110 and 1122DC. Both are quite rare according to a quick search, and man, they are beautiful. Any thoughts on them?

SNIP

It's both a factor of price-performance and the fact that vintage amps just sound so much more romantic than the newer amps. They have a certain warmness and unexplainable trait that's magical. But they won't be technically better than any of the high end modern amps, but since skyrim_sword was looking at tube amps, vintage receivers are a great alternative since tube amps need to have a good transformer to sound great, and that requires more than $400. A lot more.

That scope!

I've been mesmerized by the scope (which is apparently the only reason it holds value) since I was little. That really puts this thing in perspective for me, it's almost humbling.

I'm not terribly worried about technically better. I listen for enjoyment!

I've tried to make this pair mine in the past, but I think I'm going to try again. I'll look around and see if I can snag something like an R-9 as well.

I come back from my mini-vacation and I see that you finally had received a sticky.
Gratz.