Currently I'm running a Xonar Xense with the PC350s it came with, but I'm looking at getting something open and an external DAC.
My goal is to have a setup that I can bring with myself to work and works on all the platforms I'm using (obviously this applies to the DAC) so, that is windows, linux 3.x and os x (currently mavericks later on probably yosemite).
My budget for the headphone is $200, at the very most $240. I'm not necessarily looking for new, something used from ebay works for me. For the DAC I'd prefer it for under $150, but if there is something great in the $200 range I might consider it.
The use case for this setup is mostly metal (more specifically mostly technical death), and also games and movies but I have less and less time for these sadly. I really like having detail in the low end for my music, but I don't want overwhelming bass.
I'm wearing glasses so the headphones have to be comfortable with them. I find the PC350s very comfortable for me, the cups are large enough, the cushions are great and it is light enough, although sometimes I feel it could clamp a little harder. At work I have a pair of Pioneer SE-M390s, now the only positive thing I can say about these is that they are light, other than that, the cushions are not thick enough, they sit on my ears, make them hurt after an hour, the top band doesn't help at all sadly. So comfort wise I'm looking for large cups, a little more clamping force than what I currently have and I think I prefer the leather cushions on the PC350 over the cloth on the Pioneers when considering just the material. As I mentioned at the top I'm looking for open headphones this time.
On the sound side of things, I find that the PC350s lack bass, very much. The CX880s I use when getting around have really good detail in the low end, I like their sound in general for IEMs. The Pioneer at work, well let's just not talk about that.
For the DAC I'm looking for something portable, as I said I want to take this setup with me to work every day. As it needs to work on multiple platforms I'm looking at something with USB input (maybe optical, but the macs don't have optical out).
I'm not really planning on using the components I currently have, I may end up buying the headphones first and the DAC later, in that case I'll be using the Xonar Xense for that time.
I'll be using these indoors always, at home, at work and If I have to travel probably on the train/bus and in the hotels. Detachable cable would probably be a plus, but it definitely isn't a deal breaker, as I'd unplugging it from the DAC anyway. Platforms will be my desktop running windows 8.1 and various linux distros, a macbook pro and an iMac. As I said previously content is mostly music and a few hours of gaming or movies in the evenings.
My goal is to have a setup that I can bring with myself to work and works on all the platforms I'm using (obviously this applies to the DAC) so, that is windows, linux 3.x and os x (currently mavericks later on probably yosemite).
My budget for the headphone is $200, at the very most $240. I'm not necessarily looking for new, something used from ebay works for me. For the DAC I'd prefer it for under $150, but if there is something great in the $200 range I might consider it.
The use case for this setup is mostly metal (more specifically mostly technical death), and also games and movies but I have less and less time for these sadly. I really like having detail in the low end for my music, but I don't want overwhelming bass.
I'm wearing glasses so the headphones have to be comfortable with them. I find the PC350s very comfortable for me, the cups are large enough, the cushions are great and it is light enough, although sometimes I feel it could clamp a little harder. At work I have a pair of Pioneer SE-M390s, now the only positive thing I can say about these is that they are light, other than that, the cushions are not thick enough, they sit on my ears, make them hurt after an hour, the top band doesn't help at all sadly. So comfort wise I'm looking for large cups, a little more clamping force than what I currently have and I think I prefer the leather cushions on the PC350 over the cloth on the Pioneers when considering just the material. As I mentioned at the top I'm looking for open headphones this time.
On the sound side of things, I find that the PC350s lack bass, very much. The CX880s I use when getting around have really good detail in the low end, I like their sound in general for IEMs. The Pioneer at work, well let's just not talk about that.
For the DAC I'm looking for something portable, as I said I want to take this setup with me to work every day. As it needs to work on multiple platforms I'm looking at something with USB input (maybe optical, but the macs don't have optical out).
I'm not really planning on using the components I currently have, I may end up buying the headphones first and the DAC later, in that case I'll be using the Xonar Xense for that time.
I'll be using these indoors always, at home, at work and If I have to travel probably on the train/bus and in the hotels. Detachable cable would probably be a plus, but it definitely isn't a deal breaker, as I'd unplugging it from the DAC anyway. Platforms will be my desktop running windows 8.1 and various linux distros, a macbook pro and an iMac. As I said previously content is mostly music and a few hours of gaming or movies in the evenings.
