2. pc-audio
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What Headphones? Looking to upgrade..........

Okay, here's the dilly. I have a pair of Sennheiser 545s. ;) and well, I used to have a pair of klipsch 2.1s. Problem is my headphones made the speakers sound so badly - I decided to sell them off.

Anyhow now I'm looking to get new headphones. Trying to compete with my dad's latest sound equipment he bought like over $20,000 worth. Making my headphones sound bad damnit. hehe

Anyhow I"ve done some research and a little bit - but I"m interested to hear opinions. What would be a good alternative to the Sennheiser 545s? I'm interested in clarity, no static, lots of detail and comfort. Bass would be nice, not overpowering, but solid.

I'm looking for 'detailed' sound. I've heard good things about Grado, Koss, Sennheisers 580/600......etc. etc. What are youthoughts? They will be used for listening to music on the computer among other areas and for gaming.
frankwu
seandtaylor99
1,262 posts
 
I agree with Scott that you need to check the quality of the headphone driver on your PC before buying expensive headphones. I have (lowly) Sennheiser HD535s and they sound COMPLETELY different on my PC, my portable CD and direct from the headphone jack on my Marantz CD67SE. The Cd67 sound is leagues above the portable CDP, which in turn is a more modest step up from the PC.
The headphones may not be the weakest link ... you may do better buying a new source (even a standalone CDP with a variable volume headphone jack like my Marantz).
frankwu OP
3 posts
 
Well, here's the thing:

Right now my choices are down to Sennheiser 580 or 600. From what I"ve heard the 580s are practically the exact same as the hd-600s except the hd 600 are made of slightly better material instead of plastic. Is this worth the extra moola?

Also I listen to mainly classical/jazz + a little bit of rock every now and then. hehe. ;) Right now I"m looking into a headphone amp.......and looking to do a bit more research.

Would htere be anything that could compete on the Sennheiser 600 level besides electrostatic? Thanks for the advice guys!
frankwu OP
3 posts
 
Note: As an quick update I use the Hercules Game Theater XP /w my computer. I have an 1/8" to 1/4" adapter and plug it in directly to the external rack with the Game Theatre.

Sounds decent to me - static is basically gone unless you really crank up the volume and listen very carefully
mikes
44 posts
 
The HD-600 are much better than the 580.

I listen to music from my computer by using the SPDIF output via a digital coax cable through a Monarchy DIP to a North Star 24/192 DAC to a Corda headphone amp to my Sennheiser HD-600. Most of my music is VBR mp3 files, so the sound is great (for mp3)
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
Well I just got a pair of the 600s and a headroom home amp. the dealer selling the 600s here on Agon will do you right. And the sound is awesome! After telling me she can't here any differences in any of my new gear, she listened for about 10 seconds, started bopping around and after one song, took them off and said- "you gotta show me how to run these babies, they are awesone" and they are, right out of the box. Comfortable, detailed and musical, and the headroom home processing circuit gets rid of the music in between the ears problem with most phones.
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