Open back head phones for halo integrated

[newlash09]

Hi all,

This will be my first serious head phones purchase for home audio. I don't need portability.

I want to make the most of the head phone amp built into the parasound halo integrated. Initial reading on the internet seems to suggest that open back headphones, give the most airy presentation in a home atmosphere. The back ground noise levels in my room are minimal. So I thought I'd go with these. Any other suggestions to consider are welcome.

The manual says, headphone amplifier Texas instruments TPA6120A / output impedance 10 ohms.

 

[newlash09]

Forgot to add - from the manual ' the head phone amp circuit was also designed with a low 10 ohms output impedance and high gain to drive headphones rated upto 600 ohms. The headphone jack accepts a 1/8" (3.5mm) stereo mini plug.'

My budget is upto USD 500/-. Can stretch to USD 700/- if it is worth , but without having to go to a dedicated head phone amplifier.

Thanks.....

 

[dalethorn]

Forgot to add - from the manual ' the head phone amp circuit was also designed with a low 10 ohms output impedance and high gain to drive headphones rated upto 600 ohms. The headphone jack accepts a 1/8" (3.5mm) stereo mini plug.'

My budget is upto USD 500/-. Can stretch to USD 700/- if it is worth , but without having to go to a dedicated head phone amplifier.

Thanks.....

With that high (10 ohms) output impedance, the 300 ohm Sennheiser HD600 or 650 would be a good choice. Other good comparable open headphones would be the AKG K712, or possibly the Massdrop K7xx. By far the greatest number of headphones being made in the sub-$500 market are closed headphones, so there aren't a lot of new choices.

 

[newlash09]

Thanks for the advise. I might sound a little dumb. Is there any reason why majority of the head phones in this price range are closed back. Is it because open back implementation is expensive or closed back is audibly superior.

If there are better sounding closed back headphones than open back in my price range. Then I might go for them. Just looking for the max sonic bang for my buck that's all.

 

[dalethorn]

Thanks for the advise. I might sound a little dumb. Is there any reason why majority of the head phones in this price range are closed back. Is it because open back implementation is expensive or closed back is audibly superior.

If there are better sounding closed back headphones than open back in my price range. Then I might go for them. Just looking for the max sonic bang for my buck that's all.

Most headphone use today requires isolation. Most people who need no isolation, yet want to hear the finest detail afforded by open headphones, expect to spend more. That's what shapes supply and demand.

 

[newlash09]

Thanks. All clear now. Just one last thing. Is there something specifications wise I have to consider in the headphones to match my amp. I know a bit about speaker matching. Power, sensitivity and impedance matching. Does something similar exist in the realm of headphones, that I should consider. I might be sounding dumb, but this is a whole new ball game for me. Thanks.

 

[dalethorn]

Thanks. All clear now. Just one last thing. Is there something specifications wise I have to consider in the headphones to match my amp. I know a bit about speaker matching. Power, sensitivity and impedance matching. Does something similar exist in the realm of headphones, that I should consider. I might be sounding dumb, but this is a whole new ball game for me. Thanks.

There is really nothing to consider outside of the sound, and the sound will be adversely affected only when there is some severe mismatch in the system. If your headphone were only 32 ohms and the amp output were 10 ohms, even that would not likely be a severe mismatch, having most likely only a small adverse effect on the bass response. If your amp were very limited in power and it encountered the sudden spike in impedance that's common to Sennheisers around 100 hz or less, that could adversely affect the bass. Many headphone amps are low-power devices offering only 30-100 milliwatts of power into 300-600 ohms.

 

[newlash09]

Thanks for the clarification. Will start my hunt now

 

[pauln]

You might also consider the Beyerdynamic DT880 (250 ohm version not the 32 ohm which is too low for your amps relatively high output impedance of 10 ohms.) These are semi open and have a different more "analytical" character to the HD650 which you may prefer... I don't but then it's all about personal preference.