hi-fi headphones...plus

[singgs]

Before you ask, i have read several threads in this 'phone forum but i can't see anything definitely matching this.

I have: Audiolab 800a amp (old but still good)
Mission floorstanding speakers (ditto)
Rega CD player ( a bit newer and very nice)
Rega Planar 2 turntable

But...I hardly ever get to listen to it cos of worrying about my GF/neighbours etc from the noise

So...I was thinking of a fancy pair of headphones that would match the quality of this setup, which my girlfriend will get me for xmas. Price could be up to about £200. Comfort is important , as well as audio quality, cos lots of headphones are uncomfortable after a while, arent they?
I do not want in-ear phones.

The best headphones I have had are a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 231, as these are comfortable but they do leak a lot of sound unless you hold them to your head, which is pretty tiring

The 'plus' bit is I will need a long lead for them given the setup of the room (c 4-5m)

So, in summary a pair of comfortable, brilliant-sounding headphones...now that should be easy!?

Thanks in advance

Paul

 

[davejames]

Sticking with Beyers ive had no complaints with the DT880/600's they do leak sound but are hard to beat, if you dont fancy them then the AKG-K702's are another wise choice, or maybe the HD600's or 650's, I personally prefer the DT880's to any sennheissers ive tried, but they are a popular choice.

 

[davejames]

Sorry I just realized those maybe a little over that £200 budget, but a decent pair of phones will ensure you wont want to be upgrading again anytime soon.

 

[singgs]

thanks. will have a look at those beyers
paul

 

[singgs]

Just looked around here a bit more after your advice, dave. Why the 600 ohm version? i know a bit about resistance but why would that work best with my setup? I would usually listen through the headphone output of the audiolab, obviously, so I'm assuming that this could 'cope' witht he higher resistance and the higher resistance gives better sound??

in ignorance

Paul

 

[davejames]

Well naturally I cant say if they would be the best for your setup, I ended up buying a proper headphone amp to get them working at their best, but the general theme seems to be that the DT880's are prone to sibilance, the 32ohm & 250ohm both suffer from this, but the 600ohm is the most neutral of them all, the frequency response is more balanced out & lets just say they have no harshness or trace of sibilance at all, thats not to say the other models arent any good, its just if you want the DT880's then the 600ohm is the one to strive if you can properly drive them, after all they arnt that much more money over the other models so it makes sense.

Another advantage of 600ohm is that it poses no stress at all to your amp, 32ohm loads require more current, 600ohm loads require higher voltage to drive them properly, but absolutely minimal current, im lucky in that the headphone amp I use with mine provides more than enough voltage &/or current, but not every amp can so thats where the 600ohm version falls down, some people try to use them on amps that arnt up to the job, so the DT880's never truly come alive & sound their best.

Another plus is that with 600ohms the noise floor is way down, so if your amp has a certain amount of background noise, chances are you wont hear it with the 600ohm model, but it would be very noticable on the 32ohm model, of course a good amp wont have ANY noise or hiss, another reason why I use a dedicate headphone amp as my older Pioneer SA9500II does have some hiss on its headphone out which spoils things to some degree, where as the headphone amp has none whatsoever.

Now this is only my view remember, but since getting the DT880's ive had the chance to listen to a lot more other headphones, some cheaper, some more expensive, so far if somebody said you could start all over again & what would you pick? id have to say the DT880's paired with the dedicated amp, I just havent been able to improve upon this setup, the only headphones I havent been able to try yet are the T1's or HD800's, but from what ive read the improvements simply get smaller & smaller, but the cost higher & higher, so I believe ive hit a point which is just right.

 

[Drubbing]

Comfort is important , as well as audio quality, cos lots of headphones are uncomfortable after a while, arent they?
I do not want in-ear phones.

The best headphones I have had are a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 231, as these are comfortable but they do leak a lot of sound unless you hold them to your head, which is pretty tiring

Paul

No, headphones are not inherently uncomfortable. But if you have a large head you should take that into account when choosing.

Beyer are among the most comfortable phones around, excellent value and SQ IMO. Your DT231 were closed back phones, but given their size, they don't offer much isolation.

I can suggest the Beyer DT250 (80ohm) for comfort and SQ. The DT100 is also very good, but is super fugly, as it's made for professional settings primarily, so aesthetics come a distant second. And they have a straight 3metre cord.

I have both and rate them highly as closed phones.

 

[J2C]

Depending on what music you listen to the Denon D2000 are also worth a mention.

 

[christam]

Depending on what music you listen to the Denon D2000 are also worth a mention.

+1. And they're extremely comfortable

 

[Steven]

I'm gonna have to once again pipe in with my customary assertion the D2000 is ruined by it's bass emphasis which adds a bass slant in songs which do not even have it. Fine if you are listening to Swedish House Mafia or some other relevant bassy song of choice but inappropriate for the rest of us

 

[singgs]

Thanks to all. i'm still thinking about the DT880s. would my audiolab 8000a be perfectly happy with these headphones, in the opinion of the forum?

Best

Paul

ps i do have a big head , actually!