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Post by largespeakers on May 29, 2007 14:37:47 GMT
hi, this is my first post! Great site for a headphone beginner. My question to you "experts" although I am not new to hifi, is there a large difference in headphone upgrades? I have grado 80 and would know what to expect with speaker upgrades but are headphones similar? You know such as soundstage, width, depth hight, dynamic range, detail bass, treble tonal quality clarity.
Sure I'll have lots of other questions soon.
many thanks
Bob
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kees
<100
The Dutch Magnum
Posts: 22
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Post by kees on May 29, 2007 17:08:11 GMT
Yes.
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Post by PinkFloyd on May 29, 2007 20:35:47 GMT
hi, this is my first post! Great site for a headphone beginner. My question to you "experts" although I am not new to hifi, is there a large difference in headphone upgrades? I have grado 80 and would know what to expect with speaker upgrades but are headphones similar? You know such as soundstage, width, depth hight, dynamic range, detail bass, treble tonal quality clarity. Sure I'll have lots of other questions soon. many thanks Bob Welcome aboard Bob Yes x 2 but don't expect a pair of headphones to ever image like a pair of loudspeakers (because they wont) and don't expect a really wide soundstage either. Totally different way of recreating music (ie: strapped directly onto your ears) so you're going to miss out on some of the things speakers do well but you will gain on some of the things speakers do badly (like standing waves) I won't ramble on about the differences between headphones and speakers cause that wasn't your question......... ;D But, yes, you can expect differences between headphones.... maybe not so pronounced in the depth, height, width department (compared to a good pair of loudspeakers) but certainly in tonality, air, dynamic range and clarity. What is it you're looking for? (presentation wise) there are plenty of guys here who have road tested quite a few different headphone types and they should be able to help you make a shortlist..... do you like airy and wide, dynamic and bassy etc. etc? Certain headphone brands also have a "house sound" that's prevalent all the way through their range from £50 to £1000 so jumping from a Grado SR80 to a Grado RS1 will not, necessarily, be a dramatic difference in presentation you may have to channel hop over to one of the European channels like AKG to find something that sounds a lot different. Note I say "different" and not "better"......... what sounds "good" is a decision only you can make....... it's all very subjective and dependant on a lot of variables one thing I will say is always use your own ears and just because 500 people say XYZ headphone sounds best doesn't make it so..... to your ears XYZ may sound like shite on a stick DYOR and YMMV
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Post by largespeakers on May 29, 2007 21:15:41 GMT
thanks guys, guess I may have to have several makes of headphone to match the mastering of the different cds etc. mind you headphone costs are so cheap compared to speakers it is not too bad!
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Post by PinkFloyd on May 29, 2007 21:49:46 GMT
thanks guys, guess I may have to have several makes of headphone to match the mastering of the different cds etc. mind you headphone costs are so cheap compared to speakers it is not too bad! There's not a jack of all trades, unfortunately, and in the ideal world you would have several pairs of headphones all doing different duties..... My jack of all trades is the HD-600 and (out of them all) it's the one pair of 'phones that I always return to after brief affairs with others.... they do nothing right but they do everything well....... As an allrounder they are hard to better IMO. What amp are you using Bob? headphone impedance / amp matching is the most important thing that many people overlook.... get that wrong and you'll never get the best out of your 'phones.
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Post by largespeakers on May 30, 2007 6:12:53 GMT
thanks guys, guess I may have to have several makes of headphone to match the mastering of the different cds etc. mind you headphone costs are so cheap compared to speakers it is not too bad! There's not a jack of all trades, unfortunately, and in the ideal world you would have several pairs of headphones all doing different duties..... My jack of all trades is the HD-600 and (out of them all) it's the one pair of 'phones that I always return to after brief affairs with others.... they do nothing right but they do everything well....... As an allrounder they are hard to better IMO. What amp are you using Bob? headphone impedance / amp matching is the most important thing that many people overlook.... get that wrong and you'll never get the best out of your 'phones. I have a x can v2 modded as this famous site suggests! I also built a PSU to help it out.
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Post by PinkFloyd on May 30, 2007 6:23:58 GMT
Famous you say? ooooh err missus
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xerxes
Been here a while!
Posts: 1,115
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Post by xerxes on May 30, 2007 8:45:41 GMT
There are some Sennheiser HD650s at very good prices on Ebay at the moment, under £170.00 including postage. I bought mine from the same seller, electromonster, no problems.
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FritzS
Been here a while!
Sound of Blue Danube
Sound of Blue Danube
Posts: 1,364
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Post by FritzS on May 30, 2007 8:55:32 GMT
hi, this is my first post! Great site for a headphone beginner. My question to you "experts" although I am not new to hifi, is there a large difference in headphone upgrades? I have grado 80 and would know what to expect with speaker upgrades but are headphones similar? You know such as soundstage, width, depth hight, dynamic range, detail bass, treble tonal quality clarity. Bob "Welcome to the machine" Bob My preferred headphones senn HD600 and AKG K701 The K 701 sounds a little better for me "I wish you where here" .... Fritz
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