max budget £250

[godzilla1]

Hi.

Im possibly looking for a new set of phones. My current phones are grado sr 80's and goldring dr 150's. Tbh I never wear the sr 80's even though they sound slightly better than the dr 150's. I wear headphones an awful lot. Typically for 4 hours per day. My current amp is a beresford tc-7510 DAC.

This combo sounds ok, but IMO there is a veneer of artificiality. The highs / vocals are sublime, but to my ears its obvious that I am listening to a recording and not music. Im not knocking the beresford, Im actually very fond of it. However I must get rid of this veneer. Im hoping that a new set of phones will scrub the veneer away .

So what phones with a max budget of £250?

[pbirkett]

I use a Beresford, but I dont use the built in amplifier on it. The built in amp is not bad, but its not up to the quality of the DAC itself IMO, at least, not when I compare it with my ANT Amber.

I've also owned both of the SR80 and DR150, and personally I was not hugely impressed with either.

If I were to have a guess at what headphones I would pair with the Beresford using its onboard headphone amp, I'm tempted to say that I think something like the Beyerdynamic DT880 might be a good match since I found the Beresford very warm sounding when using its built in amp. The DT880 are quite bright so I'd imagine there is a chance they might pair up well, but you would have to try for yourself, I cant make any guarantees on that.

I'd possibly suggest a two pronged attack of an amp and headphones. The Darkvoice headphone amps are competitively priced and you could get a pair of Senn HD600s to go with it, apparently there is a very good synergy between Sennheisers and Darkvoice amps, you could probably just about get both in your budget with some careful shopping around.

Theres nothing wrong with the Beresford as a DAC, I use one and it replaced something significantly more expensive, but I dont think it was anything other than "acceptable" as a headphone amp.

Edit to add: You have to bear in mind also that headphones are not a natural way for humans to hear. I've gone through dozens of headphones and amps, and while I now have what I regard as a very enjoyable rig, its still not quite up there with my speakers for delivering a convincing, realistic performance. Headphones ARE a compromise, there is only so much you can do with them. That said, I still think you can improve on what you have.

[godzilla1]

Thanks very much. I ordered senn hd650's and a darkvoice figaro 'tube' amp.

Thanks again.

eta: I live in a flat and feel abit shady playing music through speakers. Headphones from now on.

[eaglemmoomin]

Originally Posted by godzilla1

Thanks very much. I ordered senn hd650's and a darkvoice figaro 'tube' amp.

Thanks again.

eta: I live in a flat and feel abit shady playing music through speakers. Headphones from now on.

Will the real slim shady, please stand up

[godzilla1]

Please stand up so I can shoot you lol. Well the senns arrived. There not a million miles away from my goldring dr150's (really). Also ordered a darkvoice 336i instead of the figaro as well. I hope to god these phones improve once amped and burnt in.

A few hundred quid to be not a million miles away from the goldrings would be annoying and will end my 'hi fi journey'. Im tired of buying overpriced, over hyped junk. I hope the senns prove me wrong.

[eaglemmoomin]

Yeah personally would have gone for the 600 and not the 650 as the common feeling is that the 650 is very amp dependent. Mind you both the 600 and 650 are high impedance phones (300ohms) so both should be equally as intransigent. I actually run my 600s off of my Arcams headphone jack (sacrilege, I know, but the amps main channels drive the output with a resistor in place internally, so I'm happy with that) but I have tried it off of an MP3 player and it was okish (better than I was expecting anyway, no real volume and prescence to the sound however).

[godzilla1]

Originally Posted by eaglemmoomin

Yeah personally would have gone for the 600 and not the 650 as the common feeling is that the 650 is very amp dependent. Mind you both the 600 and 650 are high impedance phones (300ohms) so both should be equally as intransigent. I actually run my 600s off of my Arcams headphone jack (sacrilege, I know, but the amps main channels drive the output with a resistor in place internally, so I'm happy with that) but I have tried it off of an MP3 player and it was okish (better than I was expecting anyway, no real volume and prescence to the sound however).

Greetings. You are not the first person to state that observation re the 600! Problem is, Im not a rich man. Quite possibly even the anti thesis. If I bought the 600's I would be for ever wondering about the 650's. due to illness im essentially housebound so wear phones for up to 12 hours per day (seriously). Hence my interest in the flagship model. The 650's seem to be growing on me though. I posted this at headfi:

"Things seem to be improving / im adjusting to the sound. Slightly sibilant but that should go away? They are more detailed than my dr-150's / sr 80's. I was watching sky news and could hear the echo of the presenting room. I've never heard that before. One of the guests was talking and I could hear the guests tongue sticking to the top of her mouth as she talked. Was also listening to some jazz earlier. These phones are ok. The perceived soundstage is much bigger that im used to. Sound seems to come from every direction, but that seems to be a rare occurence. Im much happier than I was before (sorry). Thats with only several hours burn in time. I think I can form a relationship with these phones. Im looking forward to hearing these amped and burnt in."

That just about sums up my feelings for these phones at the present time. The tubed 336i seems to be ok for 650's? I bloody well hope so!

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Senn hf600 or 650 2nd hand, then a darkvoice 336i or 336se tube amp.

And never worry about life again, just listen to music all day long