The Breitling Watch Source Forums

Since having our baby over a year ago, I find myself wearing headphones more and more... don't laugh, its not to drown out the sound of crying, but more to allow me to have some quiet time in my office and home theater and not wake up the baby. I tend to melt into my chair with a good movie or CD for an hour or two at midnight, when I'm too tired to work anymore (yes I wirk too much).

So I started by grabbing a pair of Sony's from Walmart for $40. Spur of the moment decision. They perform better than any of the in ear garbage that comes with the ipods, but were terribly uncomfortable and the sound felt shallow. So I started the journey online, researching, reading, understanding my needs. I wasn't looking to spend a fortune, which is possible on headphones ($1500+), so I set a limit of $300. After some research, it became clear there are about a half dozen major players that consistently get good reviews. Sennheiser and Grado are at the top, with Sony, AKG, Shure, and Ultrasone... rounding out the group.

The general consensus is that Senns have a very deep, warm and bass-friendly tone, appreciated by most people and music genres. The Grados have a more detailed tone, with better treble and mid definition, Jazz-friendly, too much detail for many people and they can really highlight any defects in the recording. AKG K701's are the middle ground, with amazing detail, good bass, and almost unanimously reviewed as most comfortable. Many people have voted the flagship Austrian-made K701's as the best headphones out there, at any price, so it seemed like an easy choice. I found the AKG K701's for under $250 on eBay and ordered them. They should arrive today or tomorrow. I'll admit that being a visual person, I also really dig the style of these units, the industrial design appeals to me, and if I have to look at them every day sitting on my music console, that counts for something.

So this bring me to my next question, dedicated Headphone amps. I could really use some recommendations on a nice budget friendly headphone amp. I'm leaning towards a tube amp, for the well rounded sound profile and smooth delivery. But am open to suggestions in the sub $300 category.

Mark

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Can't recommend Mark as I don't have experience with cans, but take a trip to Bay Bloor Radio and they will take the time to let you listen to all of their different models and choose for yourself what sounds best for your need.

Take you ipod with you and then you can listen to the music that you will actually use them for.

What? You mean leave my office in the woods and go into the big bad city? LOL!

While I agree this would be the logical approach, it would not be the frugal approach, as it would cost me $50 in gas alone, a few hundred in billable hours, parking, and then the headphones would cost double what the typical eBay prices are. This is also why I buy all my watches sight unseen on the forums... fast, easy, and cost effective. And I get to watch the 4 deer in the back yard while doing it. LOL.

But seriously, BBR is a first class outfit, and they know their stuff, so your advice is sound... (pun intended). I shopped there for my Home Theater set-up. I'm just am not very motivated to go into the city.

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I never said that you should buy from them!!

And if you haven't figured out how to make it billable time yet then you need my consulting firm

I can recomend these as they are the best I have ever owned loads of pros wear them and Pro Radio and Broadcasters so they must be good.

Also they are indestrucatble

General Description
The closed-back HD 25-1 IIs are purpose-designed, professional monitoring headphones offering high attenuation of background noise. Capable of handling very high sound pressure levels and of extremely robust construction, these headphones perform exceptionally well in high-noise environments, e.g. ENG, sound reinforcement, studio monitoring and audio equipment testing. The capsule is rotatable for one-ear listening. Ideal monitoring headphones for cameramen and DJs.

Features
Very lightweight and comfortable, even if used for long periods
High maximum sound pressure level
65 .nominal impedance for universal compatibility
Tough, detachable steel cable
Neodymium ferrous magnet systems and lightweight aluminium/copper voice
Delivery Includes
1 HD 25-1 II
1 Bag
Soft ear pads (1 pair)
1 adaptor to ¼” (6.3 mm) stereo jack plug

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I have a guilt thing about using a brick and mortar's resources and expertise, and then going home and buying online. Sure I have done it, but I never feel good about it. As for billable hours... I'm basically a manufacturer, and my "billable hours" are the hours I spend at my desk creating the artwork that the client has comissioned. If a rendering requires 10hrs of work, and I spend 4 hours shopping for headphones, I still need to spend those 4 hours at my desk at some point. At a certain point, I run out of useable hours (I need min 3 hrs sleep).

Plus, if I hire your firm, I'll be paying for the billable hours you spend on this forum LOL!!!

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These do seem to have a very high rating and bulletproof based on the reviews I just skimmed. Thanks for posting them.

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Well there is that

I have a pair of the K701s...they're everything they are cracked up to be.

Did you notice any changes in the sound after burning them in? I've read that they need 300hrs of burn-in before you can experience the true magic of these headphones.

I just picked up this unit last night to provide some extra power to the headphones and provide a nice way to listen to my collection on ipod...

http://www.lars-ivan.com/product2.php?catID=96268074

I'll report back once I have everything and give it a listen.

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I can't say that I really noticed any difference, but my memory isn't so good. I thought they sounded great out of the box, and I still enjoy them.

Luckily the 12AX7 series of tubes and their variants (5751, 12AT7) are pretty inexpensive unless you're looking at some of the NOS holy grails, so if you've ever considered trying some tube rolling for fun experimenting a bit won't burn a big hole in your wallet.

b&w headphones are coming soon...
i expect them to be really good ! but prolly not in the <300$ range...

off topic*
it's hard chosing high end amps and speakers !
have been looking around for a couple weeks now and decited on speakers but amps are also hard.

you don't have a shop that has them all!
also if you are shopping for speakers/headphones/amps bring your own music ! like roff said!

just discovered. the b&w headphones (p5) will go for 299 euro...