Headphone Advice

Hi Folks,

Im in a sticky and puzzling situuation with headphones and i'm hoping you guys might be able to help me out...

I'm no audiophile, but i know a bit about audio and equipment.

I use two portable players when on the move and everyday quiet listening:

• Apple Ipod Touch 6th Generation 128gb (A1574) - loaded with Apple itunes AAC Encoded music and spotify
  
• Sony NWZ-A15 Hi-Res Audio Walkman (with 125gb SD Card) - 320kbs MP3s and 24-bit Flacs.

For headphones i have three main sets:

• Sennheiser HD419 Closed Backs - Frequency Response - 20Hz - 20,000Hz / Impedence - 32 ohms
• Sennheiser HD218 Closed Backs - Frequency Response - 19Hz - 21,000hz / Impedence - 24 ohms
• Sony MDR-NC31E Earphones - Frequency Response - 20Hz - 20,000Hz / Impedence - 31 ohms

On the ipod the two Sennheiser headphone sets sound great. Open and full soundstage, great clarity bass and highs. I can't use the Sony set as this includes a Noise Cancellation circuit (through a 4way 3.5mm jack) and that messes with and triggers Siri all the time.

On the Sony NWZ-A15 the Sennheiser HD419 perform okay, but they are on the quiet side as i don't think the player is powerful enough to power them properly (even though the Ipod will with no issues). The HD219's are useless with a dull, thin and lifeless sound quality, even though the frequency response is better than the HD 419's. So, I tend to use the Sony earphones which are okay and loud (with them being earbuds), but get a bit uncomfortable after a while

I've tried tweaking the EQ and the various installed Sony Sound Enhancements for the Sennheisers but it doesn't really improve anything to make me go WOW!

So bascally i'm looking for a set of (fullsize) headphones that will work great my Sony player and the iPod. I've been looking at the Anker Q20's (and the soon-to-be released Q30's) as they are Hi-Res audio rated and have great reviews and a decent price point. Not looking to spend vast amounts, but any help/advice would be appreciated in a decent quality pair.

Thanks in advance.

 

I too am looking to get some headphones; what I'm hoping for is to be able to find some wireless ones I can wear around the house so that I can, say, listen to Jimi or Sun Ra at the appropriate volume without annoying my wife.
I've never gamed, nor do I intend to, don't have a 'smart phone,' nor do I ever intend to, (which means that I'm THINKING that I need to avoid anything "Blue-Tooth").
I just want to be able to transmit an audio signal from my stereo amp/receiver to wireless headphones that 'are at least good enough to not be offensive to my blown out hearing' (I wear hearing aids too; my hearing curve starts heading downward at around 4,000Kz, but even so, some things can STILL 'sound bad.')
Anyone have any suggestions? 'Cheap is good,' but anything that doesn't "do the job" is too expensive. Comfort would be the other non-audio related issue; having my ears clamped to my head gets old fast, and a closed ear design would be a necessity too to avoid leakage.
Thanks in advance for any tips.

 

Your Sony NWZ-A15 player is probably European volume capped - much like my NW-ZX300 and NW-WM1Z devices were.
You could try removing the volume cap, which may help with the sound - it was, to quote an overly used term here, a night and day difference to the two Sony Walkman's I have.

Instructions can be found here: https://www.rockbox.org/wiki/SonyNWDestTool
(You'll need to be running either a Windows or Linux operating system to user the 'NWDestTool' to remove the volume cap).

I selected the 'CA' (Canada) area on my devices - gave Multilingual language options, defaulting to English, and most importantly, the uncapped volume limit. I usually have the volume set between 60 - 75 out of 120 now, where before, I was having to have it between 110 -120, sometimes 120 was not enough - ran out of headroom at maximum volume, resulting in sub-optimal sound from any headphone connected.

 

You probably can’t find that out, but the output impedance of your sets plays a stellar
role if the stuff sounds good or not. Apple generally has low output impedance.

As long as you don’t know that 600Ohm headphones are a safe bet.

So Sennheiser HD600 or the like.

And uhm ... the amp in the Sony is probably not the best one ever. Or the batter is a bit
worn out, so the amp doesn’t get the power it needs. Or see @Robert Goodison reply.

Must it be an Audio Walkman?

For low impedance outputs I strongly recommend ESS Labs 452H headphones, 199 USD
directly from the factory (Google it). With cable though ...

 

Look at Beyer DT-250/80 or AT MSR7. Both closed back both moderately priced. The AT is more "exciting" the Beyer is more "neutral".

 

Thanks for all your advice guys.

I recently came across the volume limit through the latest video on the TechMoan YouTube channel - and I remember doing the same with my old Sony HD1, so may give it a try one day.

Also you could be right in that the battery in the player isn’t performing as well as it could be... I purchased the NWZ-A15 second hand from a lady who had never used it, so technically an unwanted gift, so I imagine that time of it sat doing nothing hasn’t been kind on the battery.

As my post laid dormant for a while, I actually came across a second pair of Sony headphones which I forgot I had which had an impedance of just 16 ohms and a frequency range of 8-22,000hz. These really do sing with the Sony player and they only cost £10.

Then I had the opportunity to purchase the Soundcore Q30’s at a discounted price and these headphones are phenomenal. Full hi res sound and great battery life - every instrument has its own space within the sound - I’ve never heard my music sound so alive.

@ILovethebassclarinet it might be Worth checking some YouTube vids on these Q30s - they are really good for the price.