Topic: Nice Can! What cans are you using?

[John Willett]

Open cans for mixing and editing are: Sennheiser HD 800

Closed cans for battery portables and listening to detail: Sennheiser HD 25-1

[tgakidis]

Open Cans: AKG K701

Closed Cans: Sony MDR-7506

Portable Cans: shure ear buds (can't remember the model #)

[rjp]

Most of my listening: E-MU 0404 USB -> Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro (80 ohm)
Portable or laptop in a quiet environment: Grado SR60
Portable or laptop in a noisy environment: Sony MDR-NC60 (noise cancelling)
Nostalgia: Koss Pro-4AAA

Even at 80 ohms, the Beyers need more power than a laptop or portable player can dish out. The E-MU box puts out just enough juice that I don't need a dedicated headphone amp.

I like both the Beyer and Grado sound profiles, but the DT 770s win in the bass department.

As for the Koss cans, I need to find new ear cushions - the old ones are about as hard as rocks now. Otherwise, they sound quite good.

[Gutbucket]

Page, thanks for the detail on the 'sand' what you hear in the Senns. 

And great recommendation on hitting a Head-Fi meet to hear various cans with your own material. I stopped by a national one here about 4 years back which is where I demoed the Smyth setup.  I walked in with a list of cans to audition, an R-09 loaded with my recordings and some good commercial material I know well.  Didn't get to listen to nearly as many of the phones on my list as I would like, but enough to decide that I liked Stax, that the AKG and Grados models I did get to try didn't work for me (others might) and that I'd be happy going with the HD650 for a while.  Loads of esoteric gear there that was cool to see, but didn't really help me in my quest.

Those serious headphone guys are freakier than we are!

I didn't get to hear any Beyers.  I know some Beyers are available in both high and low impedance versions, but besides that, what is the differentiation between the 770, 880 990?

[page]

Those serious headphone guys are freakier than we are!

I've never met such a high concentration of people who would blow cash on that last mile. I thought we were bad, we're logical comparatively.

[jbou]

ATH-M50

I use them for home/ casual listening.

I picked them up because of the sound quality, low price, they looked comfortable, and were recommended by a number of people here.

[M]

Beyer dt990 pro for home and Sony 7506 for out of home.

I'm not really good at describing sounds but I like the sound of the Beyers quite a bit better even tho they aren't flat like the Sonys. The Beyers are super comfy too!

[bhadella]

Grado SR60's at home.   

Etymotic ER6i's on the road.

[DigiGal]

Sony MDR-7506 with velour ear pads (collapsable sealed-ear)

AKG K240M (around the ear semi-open)

Sennheiser PX100 (collapsable walkman style)

Sennheiser CX300P (in-ear buds)


Interested in picking up a pair of custom ear-mold buds for iPod Listening & Location Recording use but no idea which ones to go with yet, maybe Etymotic?

[page]

Interested in picking up a pair of custom ear-mold buds for iPod Listening & Location Recording use but no idea which ones to go with yet, maybe Etymotic?

Etymotic, Westone, and I think Ultimate Ears will all do custom tips. The first two have tips that connect to the stock IEMs, not sure if UE has in that regard. The Westone's have more bass than the Etys (and IMHO more detail, but also cost more). Etymotic's only earbud that works this was is the ER6 as far as I know. The 4 series won't unless they've done something in the last couple years. Westone and UE will also encase a set of drivers in a custom mold instead of just tips.

Also, if you're a baller, the *best* IEMs come from JHenry. If I ever went back to IEMs it would be a set of JHenry 13. You pay for what you get though. 

[JonG]

AKG K701 #29959 all the time.

I listen for audio quality, paper specs included, above all, followed by feeling for comfort, and looking for aesthetics.  Audio encompasses so many things, however, so it's natural that that is the most important.



More photos can be seen, here.

[kirk97132]

Only use Sony 7506/V6/V600  all the same  On my 4th pair now.

[newplanet7]

Only use Sony 7506/V6/V600  all the same  On my 4th pair now.

Ha! I was wondering what the major differences were. I have the v6.
I love 'em but they are old.

[easyed]

Any suggestions on Beyer DT770 vs. DT880?  If I am driving them with my PC for mastering, do I need the 32 ohm version?

your question is about the difference between the 770 and the 880 but here is info about the difference between the two 770 models
from http://europe.beyerdynamic.com/service/faqs/kopfhoerer.html#fo1928

"Both DT 770 PRO and DT 770 M are basically one and the same headphone and also for similar applications.

The difference between these two models though, is as follows:
1. The DT 770 PRO has so called "Bass-Relfex-Openings" at the side of each housing to make sure the diaphragm can "breath", causing a better reproduction of low- and high frequencies (since the diaphragm can move a lot easier). A small amount of isolation against ambient noise has to be sacrificed for the better sound. The DT 770 M doesn't have these openings, therefore sounds slightly "thinner" (slightly less low end), but offers up to 35 dB(A) of ambient noise isolation. That's why the DT 770 M is prefererd by drummers (like the German drummer Ralf Gustke) or percussionists (like the young percussionist Farouk Gomati).
2. The DT 770 PRO is equipped with silver velours ear pads for better wearing comfort and cooler ears. The DT 770 M is equipped with the so called "Soft-Skin" ear pads to provide maximum isolation of ambient noise.

Conclusion:
DT 770 PRO is for studio use where sound quality has a higher priority than the isolation of ambient noise.
DT 770 M is also for studio use, put for those to whom the isolation of ambient noise if most important.

The DT 770 M also includes the DT-Bag."

My needs: 1) accuracy (flat response) 2) durability 3) comfort

My preferences?

I own Sony 7506's and only use them as a backup.

I love my Beyerdynamic DT770M's.  So comfortable, very good sound, use them for monitoring when doing multitrack recordings of live shows.

Have a pair of KRK KNS6400's as backup/comparison for monitoring when doing multitrack recordings of live shows.   Good sound, not quite as comfortable as the Beyers.

At home, for sound editing or gaming, Sennheiser HD580's.   Very comfortable.

When listening to music on my Blackberry phone while taking a walk, have inexpensive earbuds.

[George]

Couple of personal questions:
1) Mostly Koss KSC75's because they sound fantastic for the price.  I also own a pair of Shure SE535's which I want to sell due to fit issues, Sennheiser HD580's, Grado SR60's and Sony MDR 7506's.

2) I never wear cans at a live show, not even iem's...I seriously doubt I would hear much of anything to be able to monitor a recording.  My go to cans for monitoring a transfer at home are the Sony's.  They provide some isolation and my ears are very familiar with their sound signature.

3)  Hard question really.  I don't really look at frequency graphs.  I may read some reviews on headphone.com and head-fi and then decide to order something based on that alone...pretty much a blind purchase.  Of course, the descriptions of how they sound will help me decide a bit.  I once purchased a pair of Sennheiser electrostatic headphones (Baby Orpheus) from England for $800 with only the slightest clue of how they sounded after trying them at a head-fi meet for 15 minutes.  Best purchase ever.  They sounded phenomenal.