~$250 Headphones to pair with Essence ST

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NKDietrich

Supreme [H]ardness
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I searched a few threads but everyone seems to aim for the $100 mark for headphones. Couldn't find much on the $200-300 range. I will be pairing them up with an Essence ST, which of course has a reasonable headphone amp.

Any suggestions are welcome, though I prefer an open set of cans to a closed set.
 
In that price range, your best options are:

Denon AH-D2000
Grado 325is
AKG K701

What type of music do you listen to?
 
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I know with the closed DT770 series, the pro models clamp down on the head much more. Sound is slightly different too.
 
My vote is for akgs... you can get the 702's on ebay for 240 or so new.
Prettty remarkable... Occasionally you can find hd650's for 300, but that won't be new.
 
ebay has a brand new senn hd 650 for $340 or hd 600 for less than 300 (descent amp would be good for these) without an amp, definitely Grado SR225i's
 
You could do what I did and get a 2nd hand set of HD650s, that's what I'm running through my Essence ST, sounds great.
 
NKDietrich said:
A little of everything really. Not a lot of bass heavy stuff, but some.



What's the difference between the Pro and the other 990 models? Doesn't seem immediately clear.
Click to expand...

Pro model has a tighter clamping force. I prefer the non-pro. If I were going to LAN parties and such, I would consider the pro version.
 
I've owned the K701, DT770, DT880, HD595, HD600, HD650, AT D2000, and Ultrasone Edition 9, and the best all-around cans I've heard are the Denon AH-D7000, which are out of your budget range, but the Denon AH-D2000 are what I listen to all day at work and I use the D7000 at home.

I use an EQ to take out a bit of the bass and that's it. Everyone's ears are different so you'll need to find the ones you like best, but the Denons have a lot of fans and I don't buy headphones any more looking for the perfect sound after finding them.

That said, most of the suggestions by others in this thread are good cans as well.
 
I owned the Denon D2000 and Ultrasone 780 before getting my DT990. On a 1-10 "clamp effect" scale with 10 = vise grip and 1 = turn your head and it falls off...

Ultrasone 780: 9.5
BD DT990 Pro: 5
Denon D2000: 2
 
450 said:
I know with the closed DT770 series, the pro models clamp down on the head much more. Sound is slightly different too.
Click to expand...

The pros clamp down more tightly than the DT770s? I had to return those things because I didn't like feeling like my head was in a vice.
 
So I notice that the Sennheiser 600's have an imput impedance of 300 ohms, and these Denon AH-D2000 have 25 ohms. If you have a headphone amplifier, would you want to go with the higher ohm headphone or does it not even matter that much?
 
At that price range you should look at the Grado or Sennheiser lineups. Grados will probably sound better with a headphone amp but Sennheiser headphones will be better overall (especially in the comfort department). Take a look at the Grado 225i or 325i or this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...code=17-7901089&DEPA=0&refer=channel&CMP=OTC-

Although many others in this thread have also given a lot of good suggestions that you should look at as well. Not trying to say my opinion is better, just giving my input. A lot of good headphones out there at that price range.
 
Bootleg Usher said:
So I notice that the Sennheiser 600's have an imput impedance of 300 ohms, and these Denon AH-D2000 have 25 ohms. If you have a headphone amplifier, would you want to go with the higher ohm headphone or does it not even matter that much?
Click to expand...

Even though the Denon's are 25ohms, both sets will actually benefit with a headphone amp.
 
I had ath a700 and listened to dt770s.. i really liked the dt770s, just get the regular versions and not the pro versions imo.

Or get the dt 990...although i dont know how those differ from dt 770, anyone want to chime in on that feel free.
 
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