Headphones.

[Uber]

ok well the other day i was crusing through Futureshop, and spotted a pair of Senn's (sennheiser cans) the Fusion HD500's, so on a whym i bought them and took them home, upon opening the box i pluigged them into my ipod. first though WOW these thigns are increadable. but after some detailed listening, to diffrent types of music i noticed they have kinda held abck highs, and the Bass is a but to upfront for me. so i started looking for a better pair, and form reviews i have read its down to the HD 590's (reviews say tehy are awsome) or the HD 595's i noticed the 595's are like 50 bucks more, designed diffrently, and have a 1/4inch jack instead of a 1/8. they also have 500 Hz more on the high range. i odnt think its worth it for the extra 50 bucks, but i would like to get your guyses opinion on these cans. which set do you think i shoudl buy? personally im leaning towards the 590's. and tehy are only 200 at new egg. (so like 100 more than my 500's)

[Nexus89]

I have two friends that are audiophiles and they swear by the HD 595s. Both say the HD 600 and 650 are better but obviously a lot more expensive. The 595 was the lowest they would go for their fill of audio pleasure. I've never tried those but have tried the HD 555 and it's pretty darn good. But I got a good deal on the HD 280 Pros so I ended up with those.

[savethedodobird]

I stick with the cheap ones because I tend to lose / break things.

 

I really dont think youll see much diffference between any of them with the output of an ipod. The lack of highs is probably from the music compression rather than teh headphones.

Basic premise of audio compression. The human ear cant hear light sounds when there is something more powerfull at the same time. So mp3s/aac takes out all the high sounds the untrained human ear cant hear.

But if you really want a high end headphones go with 590's. The 595s wont really benefit you unless your doing some sort of production or recording.

 

Thats just my $0.02

[Kash]

 

If you're planning on using them with just the iPod, then anything above the HD497s is a waste of money cuz you won't be utilizing the things to their max capability. Now, if you were to stick them into a Audigy 2 ZS or other high end sound card, then spending that much money makes sense. I have a pair of the 497s, and for 50 bucks, they are amazing headphones.

 

For my iPod, I use the Shure E2Cs (~$100). I will never be able to go back to the stock iPod headphones or anything that costs less than these. Only way I see myself changing my headphones is either for the E4 or E5 series from Shure or one of the Etymotic models.

[hardnrg]

i have the following headphones:

 

Sennheiser HD575

Sennheiser HD280 Pro

Koss Portapro

 

 

Sennheiser HD575

- i use them primarily for gaming because they are comfortable for extended gaming and have a nice stereo image so game sounds are placed nicely, they sound better when connected to my amp rather than directly to my A2ZS

 

 

Sennheiser HD280 Pro

- i use them primarily for DJing so they are almost always connected to my Vestax VMC-002 mixer... the sound on these is nowhere near as good as the 575's (very lacking bass, closed back is kinda enclosed sounding) but the massive attenuation of external sounds means they are suited to DJ monitoring - which works out nicely because that's what they were designed for...

 

 

Koss Portapro

- i use them with an iRiver IFP-899 mp3 player, i was blown away by these headphones when i got them and still can't believe how good they sound... i have auditioned a lot of different headphones, and for portable use, these phones are the best... the Sennheiser PX100 are very similar, but i like the bass on the Portapros more as well as the folding design vs the folding design of the PX100's...

 

HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend you check out these two headphones because they are the best for portable use imo

 

the Koss Portapros together with my iRiver player (using the 5 band eq) sound very VERY close to my home audio sound system:

 

Technics SU-V620 stereo amp

Canon dual-driver 200W sub

2x Tannoy 631SE speakers

2x Atacama stands

 

that's the heart of it anyway

[Uber]

well i wont eb just uising them for my ipod.. i noticed this muddling in sound out of my receiver as well (more pronounced in the ipod) i will be using them for games, music,and production. i think im going ot ge teh 590's

[hardnrg]

they're nice headphones you won't be disappointed

[Uber]

i dident think so, as my HD 500's are by far the nicest pair i have had yet. and the 590's are gettign alot better reviews than them. ill be oprdering them as soon as my money gets into paypal.

 

 

***EDIT***

 

hmmm i dident know Newegg was a US only company. they dont even have canada on the list fo rme to register..... Guess ill have to find another place that ahs these headphoesn, that will ship to canada.

Edited October 25, 2005 by Uber

[DarkScorpion]

I think the HD595's would be much better, but the HD580's + amp will blow the 595's + amp away. The 580's are nearly identical to the 600's (same driver) but with a few minor differences in the construction. But, like I said, they'll only sound good with an amp (a cmoy would be sufficient to drive them, though something along the lines of a PPA or Pimeta would be much better).