Headphone options for my pc?

[admin_exported]

Dear forum,

I would like to ask you for some insight on a setup i should get.

My budget is around 500£, and I'm looking for a headphone amp/DAC combo with coax input, and a headphone for a wide variety of music, which would also be suitable in a laying on my back position with a pillow under my head.  Thats a quite important property because I'm in that position 99% of the time for i am handicapped.

I would also appreciate if you could recommend a store which ships to Hungary.

Thanks in advance,

Matthew 

 

[PJPro]

How about a Beresford Caiman DAC, a GS Novo Headphone Amp (optional) and a pair of Grado SR80is?

The store? Ebay?

 

[gregvet]

While I would agree completely with the Beresford DAC and Graham Slee amp suggested above, I would personally not go for the Grado headphones. Personally I found them very harsh to listen to, and also very uncomfortable to wear for more than 10 minutes.

However that is the beauty of this hobby, one mans s**t is another mans manure!

As an alternative, how about Audio Technica AD700 cans (very comfy, I love the sound, and I can wear mine lying down although they are a little on the big side). However, it might help to give us some idea of the kind of music you listen to, as this makes quite a difference to the headphones you might enjoy.

It could also be argued that as the Beresford Caiman has a reasonable headphone amp built in that with something like Grados or Audio Technica (both very easy to drive) you could do without a separate headphone amp and just use the Beresford as a standalone solution. This would also give you more budget to spend on the headphones. You could look at something like Denon D2000 then. If you are listening to music only, I would say they are a better all rounder than the Audio Technica or the Grados, but thats only my opinion. The Denons are also smaller and really comfortable.

 

[Anonymous]

Hello,

First of all thank you for both of your suggestions!

I really like the Beresford DAC

The kind of music i listen to is really hard to categorize, i listen to jazz (Diana Krall, Herbie Hancock), rock (ELP, Black Sabbath), metal (Iron Maiden, Nightwish), but i also listen to hip-hop and pop sometimes.

The headphone would probably be on me 14 hours a day, as i am always at my computer, and therefore i would also use it for voice comm (with a seperate mic), gaming, but thats low priority.

The main priorities are sound quality and comfort.ÿ

Matthew

ÿ

 

[gregvet]

Ams1221:
The headphone would probably be on me 14 hours a day

In this case comfort is going to need to be your top priority. Personally I would say Denons are the king of the hill when it comes to comfort (can you tell that I am kind of in love with mine!). I have tried to like Grados several times and always been really disappointed (with both the sound and comfort), except for the GS1000i's I tried recently, but they are mega expensive.

The flip side is that Grados are excellent for metal/rock, and apparently also very good for Jazz (neither genre being my thing, admittedly).

Thata not to say that Denons/Sennheisers/AKG/Audio Technica aren't any good for this music though.

My best advice would be to spend some time on line researching good headphones (there is another forum, search 'head' and 'fi') and maybe try and get a couple of cheaper second hand pairs to see what suits you and what doesnt. If you get a second hand Grado SR60i and love them, then its worth you selling them on and getting a pair higher up the range. If you dont like them then try a second hand Denon/Audio Technica/Sennheiser etc till you find something suitable, then look at getting a better quality one if you feel the need.

For gaming/movie watching I would say the Audio Technica mentioned above is excellent, the Denons good, and I am not sure anyone would advise Grados for this (minimal soundstage on the Grados compared to other headphones).

Most people who get into headphones end of with multiple sets of phones, as different ones do different things better. Be warned!

 

[idc]

Hi Matthew. For a head amp/DAC try Firestone Audio who ship to all European countries. The prices are good and reveiws generally good to excellent

http://www.firestone-audio.eu/shop/

As for headphones, rather than add to the list above some questions.

Does it matter if the headphones leak sound so others can hear what you hear? If not the get open backed headphones as more air gets to your ears, they are less hot and so more comfortable over long periods.

Do you want to be isolated from outside noise or do you want to be able to hear others? If you want isolation look for on ear or around ear closed backed or noise isolation headphones.

How do you like your bass, big, beefy and drives the msuic or detailed and part of the rhythm section backing up the midrange? If it is the former you could look at DJ style phones which tend to emphasis bass. They also tend to have swivelling cups so you have a lot of adjustment which may help if you lie down on a pillow. Otherwise you want open backed and large headphones which go all around your ear to make for a big soundstage.

That will help to narrow down contenders.

 

[Anonymous]

Hello,

Again, thanks for all of your inputs, i really appreciate it.

The second hand idea is kind of tricky, because availability is very low on used stuff here in Hungary, and my only option would be ebay and i have 0 feedback there.

I love the Firestone-Audio Fubar IV too, as it is cheaper, and i don't need to search for a dealer who ship to Hungary.

As for the questions:

Leaking is a non-issue, it really doesn't matter if it leaks or not.

Isolation is more important, because i need to hear people around me. i am in a quiet room, so noise is not a problem.

And lastly i don't really like big beefy bass, I like it more detailed. But I'm a bit afraid of large headphones which go all around my ear, as i fear it would be pushed off in a laying position.

I've just been told that we have a 30year old akg k240 somewhere in the house, so I'm going try it on and see if it gets pushed off.

Thanks again,

Matthew

 

[idc]

I think you will get on well with AKG as they do detail rather than BASS. The 240s are semi open and over ear. If they dont work for you they have a good range of open and closed on ear such as the K141 and K430.

 

[Anonymous]

Hello,

I tried the AKG k240 out.

They are quite comfortable.

I could only try them out with a Creek evo amp phone out, and it has a beutiful detailed sound, but they hiss a little. Would a dedicated headphone amp like the fubar4 get rid of that?

And also how does these 30 year old AKG k240 (bought in 1981, and it is a silver, not a gold one) rank up with today's phones in quality?

Thanks in advance,

Matthew

 

[idc]

The hiss is likely to be the downside of the detailed sound and is probably mains interference. If anything it could get worse with the Fubar4. I use a Tacima mains conditioner as do many on the forum. They are cheap and work well for me and my noisy laptop. I get hardly any hiss at all and only at max and unlistenable volumes.

The K240s have been upgraded, but mainly to make them more sensitive and so suitable for low powered sources such as laptops and ipods. So that is not really applicable for you.

I would go with a completely different brand and style so you can mix and match with different music genres. I find having different headphones helps with extended listening as a change can be as good as a rest as they say.

 

[idc]

The hiss you are hearing is the downside of the beautiful detailed sound. The Fubar4 may even make it worse. You can try mains conditioners such as the Tacima brand which is well priced, popular and my plug in conditioner helped to get rid of noise from my laptop.

The K20 Mk II is more sensitive than the K240, which suggests AKG are making them more suitable for low powered outputs from PCs and ipods, so that would not make much of a difference to you.

I would go with a different make and style so you can mix and match for different music genres and comfort.

 

[Anonymous]

Hello Idc!

Thanks for the reply.

My question wasn't about comparing the k240 with the k240 mk ii, it was more about comparing the old 29 year old k240's technology with a new headphone's technology, for example a denon d2000.

Does the difference worth the money, if we only take sound quality into account?

Also, having multiple sets of headphones are sort of out the question, because i need help changing them because of my disability.

I need one good pair

Thanks in advance,

Matthew

 

[idc]

My inclination is to keep the K240s as another set of headphones is likely to be different, but better is not guaranteed. The main technological chnage is making headphones more sensitive and the production of far more in ear to cater for the 'ipod market/generation'. If you have the K240 or K240 Sextett, they are very highly regarded, along with other out of product AKGs such as the K1000s.

I would get your amp/DAC now and wait a while to see about the headphones once you find out how much you like the K240s with it.

 

[Anonymous]

Hello Idc!

Thanks for all your advice, I'm gonna follow it and order the Fubar4 soon.

I never thought that i would get this much advice, thanks everyone.

Matthew