Hi Guys,
Some months back, I started thinking about buying good quality headphone (Type - over the ears, closed). Earlier i was thinking about doing Stereo/home theater setup in 2012 in Pune, but had to postpone it due to my onsite assignment. Doing any setup here in Amsterdam & moving back to Pune is big challenge. So, I finally decided to just get good quality headphones till I am onsite. The process of finding good headphone lasted few months. I am not an expert in this field, but I like to listen to good quality music. so please consider this post as My experience, instead of expert analysis.
Note : I auditioned many of these headphones using my mobile as source as i didn't have DAC/AMP. But nonetheless, still i got to know, how they sounded. The result might have been different if i had DAC/Amp. But I might be using the headphone without amp as well, so i judged accordingly. I will later buy DAC/AMP though.
The songs that I used for yesterday's audition were - FLAC songs of ='Sanam re' (title song), 'Fifth Harmony - Worth It', 'Coktail - Tumhi ho Bandhu', 'Qayamat_Se_Qayamat_Tak', 'Major Lazer - Lean On', Some recent English hits & some songs from shop's PC (which had DAC/AMP attached).
I had earlier done audition with Audio Technica ATH-M50x. I liked the sound, but found that the ear-cups were not big enough for my ears; my earlobe sticking out. So I decided not to go for it. After that, it took 2-3 months to take the audition of other headphones.
There was a discount sale at local shop mediamarkt.nl, where I audtioned Senehsiesr & Sony's.
I listened to Sennheiser HD-461, HD-380 Pro, HD-598, HD-600, URBANITE XL. I liked HD-598, HD-600; but as they were open back design, I had to rule them out. HD-461, HD-380 Pro, URBANITE XL sounded pretty average, especially URBANITE XL, considering its price / good reviews.
Then I listened to SONY MDR-1A. They sounded Amazing. They blew all these-above closed back Sennheiser's out of water.
The bass was good, Mids/Vocal were clear,crisp & High/treble was not overbearing. I liked it. The discounted price was also good at 150-160 Euros. But I decided not to do impulse buying & decided to listen some more headphones in coming days.
So, Overall the status was -
After that I read some online reviews & I zeroed in on Beyerdynamic 770 Pro (80 Ohm), AKG K-550, SONY 5706. I went to audition at a shop 170 km from my house (Baxshop.nl) yesterday. they did not have K550s, but I could audition some other AKG's.
I checked on following parameters - Bass, Mid/Vocals, Treble, Power needed, Noise isolation, Total value
In the end, I decided to go for Beyerdynamic 770 Pro (80 Ohm) [138 Euro]. It has crisp,clear sound, comfortable & big enough for my use. I will continue to evaluate my purchase, but until now, I am enjoying it. Occasionally, I feel that vocal's are slightly recessed, but not for all songs. Most of the song-vocals feel right. I think and hope that I made right decision.
Now search for the DAC begins.
Some months back, I started thinking about buying good quality headphone (Type - over the ears, closed). Earlier i was thinking about doing Stereo/home theater setup in 2012 in Pune, but had to postpone it due to my onsite assignment. Doing any setup here in Amsterdam & moving back to Pune is big challenge. So, I finally decided to just get good quality headphones till I am onsite. The process of finding good headphone lasted few months. I am not an expert in this field, but I like to listen to good quality music. so please consider this post as My experience, instead of expert analysis.
Note : I auditioned many of these headphones using my mobile as source as i didn't have DAC/AMP. But nonetheless, still i got to know, how they sounded. The result might have been different if i had DAC/Amp. But I might be using the headphone without amp as well, so i judged accordingly. I will later buy DAC/AMP though.
The songs that I used for yesterday's audition were - FLAC songs of ='Sanam re' (title song), 'Fifth Harmony - Worth It', 'Coktail - Tumhi ho Bandhu', 'Qayamat_Se_Qayamat_Tak', 'Major Lazer - Lean On', Some recent English hits & some songs from shop's PC (which had DAC/AMP attached).
I had earlier done audition with Audio Technica ATH-M50x. I liked the sound, but found that the ear-cups were not big enough for my ears; my earlobe sticking out. So I decided not to go for it. After that, it took 2-3 months to take the audition of other headphones.
There was a discount sale at local shop mediamarkt.nl, where I audtioned Senehsiesr & Sony's.
I listened to Sennheiser HD-461, HD-380 Pro, HD-598, HD-600, URBANITE XL. I liked HD-598, HD-600; but as they were open back design, I had to rule them out. HD-461, HD-380 Pro, URBANITE XL sounded pretty average, especially URBANITE XL, considering its price / good reviews.
Then I listened to SONY MDR-1A. They sounded Amazing. They blew all these-above closed back Sennheiser's out of water.
The bass was good, Mids/Vocal were clear,crisp & High/treble was not overbearing. I liked it. The discounted price was also good at 150-160 Euros. But I decided not to do impulse buying & decided to listen some more headphones in coming days.
So, Overall the status was -
- Audio Technica ATH-M50x = good sound, but not big enough for me
- Sennheiser HD-461, HD-380 Pro, URBANITE XL = Average Sound
- Sennheiser HD-598, HD-600 = Good sound, but rules out due to open back.
- SONY MDR-1A = Great sound, enough bass, Mids/Vocal were clear, crisp & non overbearling highs. Overall one of the finalist.
After that I read some online reviews & I zeroed in on Beyerdynamic 770 Pro (80 Ohm), AKG K-550, SONY 5706. I went to audition at a shop 170 km from my house (Baxshop.nl) yesterday. they did not have K550s, but I could audition some other AKG's.
I checked on following parameters - Bass, Mid/Vocals, Treble, Power needed, Noise isolation, Total value
- Beyerdynamic - Good Bass, Good Vocal/Mid slightly recessed in some songs, non-overbearing highs, more power needed, Medium isolation, overall great value.
- Sony MDR-7506/7510 - Good bass, Good Vocal/Mid, bit shrill high's, low power needed, medium isolation, overall good value except for the High's. These both headsets sounded nice, but they tripped over for the song "Fifth Harmony - Worth It". The high's were shrill & over the top. this would give ear-fatigue. I was surprised to hear this, because as per headphone.com graph, it should have recessed high's. None the less, I decided not to go for those 2, due to it.
- AKG 612 - Medium Bass, Good to Average vocal/mid, recessed treble, more power needed, low noise isolation, overall avg/above avg headphone.
- Sennheiser HD-600 - Good Bass, Good Vocal/mid, ok/good high, more power needed, No insulation, overall good headphone but I did not buy it due to open back design.
- Shure 440 - Ok/Good Bass, Good vocal/mid, non-overbearing highs, easy to drive, medium isolation, overall very good headphones for the price [75 Euros] . Only gripe was the long coiled cable. I might buy it for other family members & order separate straight cable to use instead of coiled cable.
- I could not check AKG 550, as it was not available.
In the end, I decided to go for Beyerdynamic 770 Pro (80 Ohm) [138 Euro]. It has crisp,clear sound, comfortable & big enough for my use. I will continue to evaluate my purchase, but until now, I am enjoying it. Occasionally, I feel that vocal's are slightly recessed, but not for all songs. Most of the song-vocals feel right. I think and hope that I made right decision.
Now search for the DAC begins.
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