Looking for some headphones, kind of lost

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Submitted By: aphocus

Location: New Zealand

Joined: May 3 2012

Posts:

Looking for some headphones, kind of lost

Posted: May 4, 2012 - 6:31am

I currently have some Senn PC-151's but they hurt ears lobes after long use,

So I'm in the market for some headphones that sit around the ear, and I'll probaby attach a antlion mod mic to it.

I also have a logitech Z5500 5.1 surround, which is great to turn up loud and listen (and feel)

I Don't like being baised with my music preferences because they change over time, I use to listen to quiet a lot of Alt-rock in my teens and now listen to psytrance, psybeint/psychill techno, drum and bass, Industrial and dark and ambient jazz, and a bit of classical symphony on the side, (compare 3months to overall) I'm 23, with my PC-151's I can hear up to about 18.5kHz (audacity sine wave generation), I generally listen on my surround because headphones hurt and feel rather clogged.

I like gaming and VoIPing with friends while doing so, so cinematic stuff like soundstage and imaging are probably a big part of my decision of getting a new pair, I've been seriously looking at the AKG Q701's which I can get on amazon for $250 but pretty much figured I can't drive these with my Xonar DS soundcard, mind you I could get a Xonar DG which has a built in headphone amp for cheap if it's needed and can power them.

I'm not sure of the 151's measurements so I don't know how these can compare to other headphones on things like frequency response, but they're the best headphones I've had.

Can I get anything within the range of $250 give or take $35, within these parameters? perhaps someone could point me in the right direction.

Submitted By: ultrabike

Location: CA

Joined: Feb 15 2012

Posts:

Since you mentioned a full

Posted: May 10, 2012 - 10:31am

Since you mentioned a full size open, maybe the Senn HD558 or HD598. Best of lucks.

Submitted By: aphocus

Location: New Zealand

Joined: May 3 2012

Posts:

What's the difference between

Posted: May 11, 2012 - 10:48am

What's the difference between HD598 and the 558?

Also I'm looking at the data sheet of the 598, and I noticed the 'raw' data has a peak at 3.5kHz, but it's missing on the averaged and compensated, how does one explain this, I assume it has something to do with "compensated" but I haven't seen any info on how this should work, and why it's correct.

I can't find a review on the 598 or 558 on this site, to match the datasheet. so the only information I have is the phones datasheet for comparison to the Q701.

Also I assume the Senn's don't need a headphone amp?

Submitted By: ultrabike

Location: CA

Joined: Feb 15 2012

Posts:

Aesthetically the differences

Posted: May 11, 2012 - 11:45pm

Aesthetically the differences between the 598 and 558 are obvious. Sonically, the 598 is regarded brighter than the 558.

The peak @3.5kHz is missing because the "compensation" (i.e. HRTF - Head Related Transfer Function) is applied to the final result. You can read more about the HRTF here:

http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/headphone-measurement-proceedures-frequency-response

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head-related_transfer_function

Tyll has not done a review on the HD5xx series, and that is indeed unfortunate.

Additionally, the Q701 requires a relatively powerful headphone amp. The Senn HD5xx series do not require a headphone amp, so your assumption is correct.