Best headphones for metal/rock < $600?

That's a great point. I never thought of that. I enjoy critical listening much more with headphones anyway!

Well then, I guess I own a pair of hifi headphones! Thank you for the clarification!

I have an Android device, so I'll look for an app like that. I usually try to keep my music at a reasonably low level if I'm listening for longer periods of time. Thanks for the tips!

Quick question for you. How can I tell if my headphones are being sufficiently 'powered' by my amp? Is it just the volume of the music coming from the headphones alone or is it more than that? Cheers.

 

Most portable devices can drive high impedance headphones to a relatively high volume. But even though they are loud they won't sound as good as they can. When the headphones are sufficiently powered you will hear a full, robust sound not lacking in bass or any other frequencies. As opposed to a quite frail and tinny sound when they are underpowered.

 

I am powering my cans with my SAE TWO P10 amp using a NAD 3020 as my phono stage. I think the sound quality is great and very different to the thin and tinny sound I get when hooking up the headphones to a portable mp3 player. The SAE TWO is 100 watts rms per channel, but that's for speakers. Idk what power it sends to the headphones, but it sounds good to me. I just want to make sure I am powering these enough. If I can avoid getting a dedicated headphone amp for awhile, I gladly will. Thanks.

 

I own a Schiit Vali tube headphone amp for my pair of HD 600 and it barely gets used compared to my vintage gear. I have two vintage integrated amps from Kenwood and Pioneer and the headphone outs on them are spectacular. Just a nice full, rich sound with more than enough power. If it sounds good to you then I would hold off for a bit since sometimes dedicated amps can pale in comparison to full sized gear.

 

Cheers, Mike. Thanks for the heads-up.

As these cans get burnt in, they are only sounding sweeter and sweeter. So happy with this purchase! They are so incredibly comfortable and light, too. I can wear them for hours without any fatigue.

Random questions, can some headphone stands stretch out the headband or compress the cups too much? I just bought this and am using it for my 400i's

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OOOB65G?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00

 

No problem. Glad you are enjoying them!

 

Thin sound is one clue that the headphones possibly aren't being sufficiently powered. That does depend on the amp. Some amps have plenty of power, but still sound thin. Some amps have very little power yet still sound full and phat (sometimes overly so). So it depends. One way to find out if it's just the natural sound of the amp or if it's due to the amp underpowering the headphones is to try the amp with lots of different headphones. Some headphones that are efficient and don't need much power. And some headphones that are power hungry. If the amp sounds smooth and good with the efficient headphones but sounds thin with the power hungry headphones then you can figure that it's probably underdriving the power hungry headphones.

Underpowered can result in a loss of full dynamics. Transients won't reach their full level. Big crescendos will kinda hit a ceiling.

A more subtle effect on planars when being underpowered is a loss of soundstage. The soundstage will be constricted and sound like it sort of hits a wall at times. The music will hit a very complex or busy part that is also loud. The soundstage will be breathing and feeling free. Then the loud part hits and it seems like the very edges of the soundstage have hit a wall and won't go further.

 

That should work fine with the HiFiMan headphones. As long as the stand it tall enough that the cable doesn't get forced to bend when the headphones are on the stand. The foam that HiFiMan uses doesn't seem to be the sort that retains a memory and will become permanently compressed if stored on a stand like that.

In general though, I try to avoid storing the headphones in ways that compress the pads.

One of the headphone stands I've been using is free standing toilet paper holder similar to this one. I had to slip a 5 pound dumbbell weight on top of the base to weight it enough so that it wouldn't tip over when putting my somewhat heavy Audeze headphones on it. Those sorts of bathroom tissue stands can be found at discount stores like TJ Maxx, or Marshalls, or Big Lots, or Tuesday Morning for less than the Amazon prices. The addition of the dumbbell weight means it ends up looking rather bachelor or man cave. But it works. And since it's free standing I can place it next to the chair I'm using so that when I take the headphones off I have some place convenient to put them. I also drape the headphone cable over it so the cable stays off the floor and way from getting tripped on or stepped on or rolled over if I'm using my office chair.

Another option is to use a 1 foot x 1 foot square of the rubber mesh style of shelf liner. Place the headphones on the shelf liner when they're not in use. The shelf liner will help keep them from sliding off the desk or shelf and will help keep them from getting scuffed up.

 

I compared the cans to my Audio Technica ATH M50s, which are very easy to power. The 400i's blew them away, rightly so given the price difference. So, I think my amp is able to power them just fine. The soundstage is great as are the dynamics, especially as they burn in more.

Thanks for the tips. I am returning it, because, while you're correct and the pads aren't the type that will become compressed easily, I am of the opinion that if you compress anything long enough, it will leave an effect. I am just setting the headphones down in a safe place on a microfiber towel making sure the cords do not become compressed.


On a side note, one downside to these 400is is that the cord is short. It's only like 5 feet. I bought this extender: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GZQWIWG?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

..and it works great! No difference in sound quality. I use their brand RCA interconnects, which I'm very happy with. I know that upgrading my headphone cord will be fairly expensive, and after shelling out $500 for the cans, I do not want to spend more on a headphone cord. So, I went with this and am very pleased with it.

 

That extension cable should work fine. If you listen to the headphone with and without the extension cable and don't hear a loss of sound quality then it's fine. Most cables of that sort of reasonable quality are fine. Listen for a reduction of soundstage when using the extension cable. Poor cables will add crosstalk to the signal by allowing signal from one wire to leak or affect the signal in a neighboring wire. That results in increased crosstalk and a loss of soundstage along with a reduction in signal (less volume). If you don't hear that happening then the cable is good.

Most headphone stands are going to be too short for the HiFiMan headphones. And too short for the Audeze headphones. And too short for many other large headphones that have a lengthy cable relief below the ear cup.

A desktop headphone stand that would work is the Woo Audio adjustable headphone stand. But it's $70-$80 plus shipping. Not cheap. But it's one of the few that will be able to hold the headphones high enough to be able to fit the HiFiMan or Audeze or Stax or other large headphones. I'll probably be getting one of the Woo Audio stands because there is not much else out there that is suitable for what I want.

The alternatives are to DIY your own stand. Or re-purpose something like a banana hanger or toilet paper hanger or something from Ikea to hold headphones.

Another inexpensive and very man cave option is to use a spring clamp similar to this that you clamp to the edge of a desk or shelf. Then hang the headphones over the handle of the clamp. I have several of various sizes and designs that I use to hang up headphones when I need to. They're useful and cheap.

 

Thanks for all the ideas. I like the spring clamp idea. I'll probably go pick one up from Home Depot and give it a try! Thanks, man!

 

Audio Technica ATH-M70X. Flatter and cheaper than the Sennheiser HD600/HD650.

 

I love my hd600 although it takes a bit of time to burn them in before they open up but once they do OMG!

 

HD600 are great for any genre of music, as all relatively neutural sounding headphones are.

Use then for metal everyday.

Don't buy anything with a lot of bass-bloat, it will sound right on some recordings and others not so much. Try to find anything somewhat neutral and you will enjoy more music on them.

 

Word.

I listen to all kinds of music on my OPPO PM-3s. Great all-rounders, with a somewhat rolled-off high end and a fantastic midrange. Bass is deep and impactful but not at all bloated.

 

Loving my Hifiman 400i's!

 

I picked up some HD600's for $250 and LDMKIII tube amp, put in some different driver tubes and I have never heard things so sweet !

 

What was wrong with the ATs in the first place ? I'm planning on getting a pair of those based on the ¨excellent for rock music¨reviews. They retail at U$ 300 down here, ouch ! Guess anything cheaper is a POS ? Anyone travelling to Buenos Aires this year ?

 

I also find my other set: B&W P7 (closed cans) do rock pretty well!
Problems with the 600's and any other open headphones for that matter is that you cannot crank them late without waking up the wife and kid. Seriously those cans sound more on the outside than on the inside

 

If you wake your wife and kid cuz HD600's are too loud then you need a bigger place or at least 2 rooms lol

 

Seriously, there is a closed door in between me in the livingroom and them in the bedroom, They are still waking up from the outside noise these cans produce. To be fair the walls are thin and the door has ventilation going thru it.

You are right though. We need a bigger place.

 

I listen to a lot of punk/hardcore/metal. I just purchased my first pair of headphones. Went with a pair of Audeze Sine. Really excited for them arrive. They are suppose to be here tomorrow.

 

It was time for an upgrade and I jumped up to the Hifiman 400i's. I wanted to try open-backed and ortho dynamic cans. I still have the AT's and think they are spectacular, especially for the price, but the 400i's give me a better listening experience.

 

Careful with the Bose generalizations! I got a pair of QC20 while traveling last week and they are excellent. Much more Rock friendly than my HD700s, P5's or Shure 840's. Sure blew my beloved ER4P's out of the water!

 

my onkyo preamp drives my hd600 pretty damn awesome