Deciding which headphone to get

956 Views 16 Replies 8 Participants Last post by godlyatheist, Apr 13, 2009

godlyatheist

Discussion Starter · Mar 19, 2009

Edit: Now I need recommendation for a sound card. Since my ears are not that good and I don't need it for gaming, would a refurb x-fi xtreme music be good enough to give me better music than the realtek ALC-850 I got now? I don't wanna drop $100+ dollars since I'm pretty sure I wont notice a difference

I have some el cheapo plantronic headset that is making too much noise combined with my ac97 card. I'm not an audiophile but I know when something sounds bad. So I read the guide here and learned quite a bit. One question is just how uncomfortable are closed headphones? I need to wear them for at least 2-3 hours. I listen to rock + classical mostly, no hip-hop. I do game but I turn off the sound since WoW music is annoying. There's no plan to change out the sound card yet since ppl say headphones give the most improvement. Another concern is that I'll be moving to college soon so I'm leaning towards closed headphones to not disturb roommates, but do open ones cause serious problem if I don't turn up the volume?

budget: about $100 (tax return ftw)

open: sennheiser hd 555, audio technica AD700
closed: sennheiser hd 280pro, audio technica A700.

1 - 17 of 17 Posts

The_Rocker

· #2 · Mar 19, 2009

I highly reccomend the Audio Technica A700. Best headphoens I have ever owned. Also the most comfortable.

They have good, strong bass whilst not rattling your head. Hardly any sound leaks in or out.

I would however reccomend getting a good sound card or at least an external headphone amp to give them some bang.

godlyatheist

Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 21, 2009

just ordered A700 + zalman mic, hope its good

The_Rocker

· #4 · Mar 21, 2009

2

Quote:

Originally Posted by godlyatheist

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just ordered A700 + zalman mic, hope its good

Very good choice. You won't be dissapointed

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NrGx

· #5 · Mar 21, 2009

I went for the AD300 (open) ones because I thought they sounded almost as good as the AD700s but much cheaper. That's just me though.

godlyatheist

Discussion Starter · #6 · Mar 22, 2009

The AD300 is only $50

. Well, I'll be optimistic and assume my hearing gets better in the future so my investment is not wasted.

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Gen. Gustav Zenlav

· #7 · Mar 22, 2009

If somebody named "The rocker" advises you on what headphones to get....Do I really have to finish?

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godlyatheist

Discussion Starter · #8 · Mar 26, 2009

I just got them today. They are HUGE but pretty comfortable. I'm able to hear a lot of sounds that I weren't able to before, not a mindblowing experience but I'm very pleased. On music only I keep hearing hisses in the background, is that the sound card?

NFF

· #9 · Mar 28, 2009

thats prolly eather the sound card or what was actualy in the music.... or you have them to loud. with my a700's i never turn my sound up over 8% on the windows and in foobar about half so in actuality thats like 4% of the actual output my card puts out. oh and try listening to higher quality music, ala flac or alac.

godlyatheist

Discussion Starter · #10 · Apr 1, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by NFF

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with my a700's i never turn my sound up over 8% on the windows and in foobar about half so in actuality thats like 4% of the actual output my card puts out. oh and try listening to higher quality music, ala flac or alac.

I almost blew out my ear when I first put the headphones on, cause my windows volume was at 100%. After burning some of my music to cd I found that it's the music itself that has the noise. Thanks for the help.

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KenjiS

· #11 · Apr 1, 2009

2

I have the Senn HD280s and the Zalman mic

Love both of them, much better than a headset I've found (well the ones i tried..every one of them broke or had horrid audio quality)

Should invest in a little amp for them too

I use a stereo receiver I got at a garage sale..

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godlyatheist

Discussion Starter · #12 · Apr 3, 2009

updated OP, need a sound card

RallyMaster

· #13 · Apr 3, 2009

Go for the XtremeMusic IMO. It's a great starting level card and will keep you satisfied for both gaming and music. You might have to do the LM4562 mod for it though in case you find the 4558C buffer opamps on them to be a bit too crappy (they're the same ones found on cards ever since the Audigy 2 Value). The X-Fi is a substantial improvement over my ALC888 codec (P43 Neo3-F) but wasn't too much different from my ALC1200 (P5Q Pro) except in sound positioning. X-Fis are gods of gaming sound positioning.

KenjiS

· #14 · Apr 3, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by godlyatheist

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updated OP, need a sound card

Dont go crappy

Go with the Asus, any of the Xonar series, MUCH better than any of the X-Fis for sound quality...

if you still want an X-Fi processor, go and look at Auzentech's offerings, they're actually a lot better than Creative's with a nicer driver suite, but I personally love my Xonar, and I will not part with it

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godlyatheist

Discussion Starter · #15 · Apr 5, 2009

Would there be any difference between the Asus Xonar D1 and DX except for the bus? I don't need X-fi since that's for games.

xguntherc

· #16 · Apr 6, 2009

I have the Xtreme Gamer, and I went with the ATH-AD500's instead of the 700's as they are very similar after a burn-In, they sound amazing! and the Zalman mic is a great sounding mic for the price.

godlyatheist

Discussion Starter · #17 · Apr 13, 2009

I went for the xtreme music, since I can't seem to win auctions on the xonar dx. For $35 I don't think I can go wrong. Thanks for all the help. Close thread please

1 - 17 of 17 Posts

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