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Gear / Technical Help => Playback Forum => Topic started by: gkatz on July 08, 2015, 03:37:55 PM
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First off i've fallen off the board for the last couple years, been busy with getting my life in order post college. I never posted much and I still don't have a taping rig but it is definitely in my sights down the road.
Just want to send a shout out to @F.O.Bean for selling me his used set of HD-280's about 4 years ago. I think I've got all the life I can get from them. I listened to a friend's newer pair of HD-280's recently and I definitely noticed a difference. I like to listen to cans pretty loudly, and since picking up some Schiit on the internet, lol, the Modi-Magni DAC/Amp combo, I've been driving these cans to the max. Plus the earpads and headband are in pretty rough shape.
I thought of sending them into sennheiser to see if they wanted to refurb them or possibly just send me a new pair considering how much I enjoy the product. That's kind of what brought me back to TS, I love scrounging around the yardsale page (as well as the rest of the forum) and thought maybe I'd get lucky again and get a lightly used pair for around $50. I'm gonna make an ISO thread in the YS shortly.
Rambling aside, I just wanted to ask yalls opinion on whether I should get these again. One of the main reasons i've been very happy with them is that they fit my rather large head very well. I wear them for most of the day at the office I don't take them off feeling like my head was being squeezed. I don't really know how to talk about sound quality from a technical perspective, but I do know that I really like the bass response of these headphones. I once tried out some Beats (ewwww) and they were incredibly bass heavy. I just recently tried a friend's pair of Sony MDR-7056's (pretty sure on the model, maybe they were the v6's?) and while I was impressed by the sound quality, they were I think the term is "on ear" headphones, and thus they leak a fair amount of sound. Correct me if I'm wrong on the terminology.
Also, AFAIK these headphones are 64 ohm impedance, and again correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like they sound the best when connected to my Modi>Magni DAC/AMP as opposed to coming out of the headphone jack on my laptop. Would perhaps a pair of ATH-M50's at 38 ohm impedance sound better compared to the 280's when just plugged into the laptop headphone jack? I will most of the time be using the cans with the Modi>Magni, but I just wanted to know if my understanding of impedance is on the right track.
One of my major criteria in getting new headphones is that they do not leak much sound. I work in a cubicle office environment and I don't need my coworkers listening to long Phish and Dead jams all day.
I've heard a lot of good things about the ATH-M50s. Do they have a relatively flat frequency response, like the HD-280's?
Thanks for any and all input about this topic. Just so you guys know I usually listen to .flac auds via Foobar2K > Schiit Modi > Schiit Magni
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I have a pair of HD280's and agree that they can be good phones but.........time has moved on and there are better for the price. Try ATH M50, which can be bought used for a little bit more. I would also seriously consider Thinksounds M1's. They are inears but, IMO beat both the AT and the 280's by not a small margin. If you have trouble with head phones fitting your skull these might also be the way to go and worth looking into. They retail for $120 can be bought new for $99 and used for $75.
I do have 2 pair and would part with one for $65.00. I wasn't thinking about selling them, but hey, to help out a fellow "tapersectioner", what the heck. PM if interested.
BTW, I only recommend the M1 inears by Thinksound. I bought a pair of Rains for my sister and was disappointed. Don't cheap out if you go in this direction, just get the M1's and be done with it.
Ray
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Beyer Dynamic DT-770's
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I have a set of the Audio-Technica ATH-M50, but they have a newer model that is the ATH-M50x that I have not yet heard. From what I understand, Audio-Technica has said that there is no sonic difference between the M50 and the M50x, but several reviewers have said that they do indeed sound different.
The ATH-M50 is a wonderful headphone for the price. It has a midbass hump but otherwise is very neutral. They are also very easy to drive from a portable player like an iPod or a computer. I would recommend them without reservation for the price.
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The ATH-M50 is a wonderful headphone for the price. It has a midbass hump but otherwise is very neutral. They are also very easy to drive from a portable player like an iPod or a computer. I would recommend them without reservation for the price.
Me too. I use Sennheiser HD650's with a Cardas cable about 9 months a year and ATH-M50's during the 3 months I need to run a somewhat loud air conditioner. I really don't feel like I'm missing much when I'm using the M50's.