Headphone recommendations

[Maxxwire]

I've been using my AKG 701 Headphones for 3 years with an X-Cans Tube headphone Amp that uses a pair of OS Amperex 6922 Double Getter Orange Globe Dual Triode Tubes and they have always sounded just fantastic!

~Maxx~
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[pparks1]

Again this is why you look to respected brands. Zalman makes cases and coolers, SteelSeries makes.......? Steel? When looking for quality audio seek a quality audio manufacturer......IMHO.

In the case of SteelSeries...they are a respected brand in the Mechanical Keyboard field.

As far as headphones go, I own and love my Grado SR-125's. Somebody else mentioned the SR60's...which are often regarded as some of the best headphones under $80. Other brands which are very good include AKG, Sennheiser, Denon, and Beyer Dynamic.

I'm not aware of any good 5.1 or 7.1 headphones. Almost all of my headphone experience is with music.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

I'm listening to my 701's as I type this and I'm again transported ! Every nuance and space in between the notes are there, this to me is what it's all about. Please, please promise me some day you'll have a listen to the amazing quality to be had out there. Gaming is cool but Music is for ever, timeless and soulful it's our being in notes and phrases !

 

[Maxxwire]

For about 2 months I've been running my Musical Fidelity X-Cans off of the world's first Pure Copper Outlet the Furutech GTX-D and it has allowed my 701's to sound 2 levels of magnitude better! The 701's already sounded great using the old $1.50 wall outlet, but the Pure Copper Outlet has brought the 701's so much closer to their ultimate potential.

Not that the Pure Copper Outlet added anything special, but rather it eliminated all of the electrical hash that the standard outlet was introducing into the electrical supply due to poor design and years of corrosion around the contacts that the Tube Headphone Amp was using for power to create the signal that makes from that dirty power to send to the 701's.

The bottom line is that the 701's should have been sounding this fantastic all along, but they couldn't because the Tube Headphone Amp was using filthy power from that old standard wall outlet to make the signal to send to the 701's.

~Maxx~
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[linnemeyerhere]

I've played around with Hospital grade outlets and they like the Furtech get hid of the powerline hash.

 

[Joshatdot]

I own Grado SR-80s, AKG K-81DJs, and beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80s. Out of those I use the K81DJs the most.

 

[Maxxwire]

I've played around with Hospital grade outlets and they like the Furtech get hid of the powerline hash.

I went from Hubbell Hospital Grade Outlets to to the Furutech FP-15 Phosphor Bronze Outlet and there was a noticeable improvement in sound quality, but when I upgraded to the Furutech GTX which is the world's first Pure Copper Outlet released in late October of 2010 the sound quality of the 701's just soared!

The Furutech GTX Pure Copper Outlet with its Pure Copper Conductors and sprung and strengthened by stainless steel springs has a super strong grip on the plug that has released so much more of the sonic potential than the Phosphor Bronze outlets could. I know that this sounds like an odd source for such an extremely potent upgrade in sound quality, but I now realize that these standard outlets and even the $60 Phosphor Bronze Furutech FP-15 that I was using up until recently all effect the electrical current in a very negative way because of inferior design and compromised quality conductors compared to the virtually transparent Furutech GTX Pure Copper Outlet and I am not talking about audible 'power line hash' I'm talking about a very real, audible and simply amazing improvement in the sound quality of the equipment as heard through the 701's.

I did an experiment where I first plugged the Headphone Amp into a standard outlet on one of my Belkin F3H982-25 Pro Series surge protectors and listened to the 701's to establish a reference. I then switched the plug on the Headphone Amp to power from the Pure Copper Outlet and there was far more than what I would normally consider a 'night and day difference' in the sound quality that I was hearing through the 701's just from switching the source of power of the Headphone Amp to Pure Copper Power!

~Maxx~

 

[jimbo45]

Hi all
OK it's a bit more expensive than the OP wanted but for the ultimate in Headphones get a pair of Bose QC3 Noise Cancelling phones.

If you travel a lot these are pure bliss -- even if you have the proverbial flight from Hell -- a 10 hour flight or so from say London To LA in "Cattle Class" seated near some sceaming bables -- pure bliss as you won't hear ANY of that ambient noise.

These might be overkill for gaming since "Hi fidelity" isn't usually the most important factor for games -- probably high dynamic rage and big "bassy" sound but I'd still take a pair of thes Bose phones over anything else EVERYTIME.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[Lactobeezor]

Boy has this thread taken a turn.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

I would say it's been turned on it's ear ! lol

 

[pparks1]

Hi all
OK it's a bit more expensive than the OP wanted but for the ultimate in Headphones get a pair of Bose QC3 Noise Cancelling phones.

While the BOSE headphones do a good job with noise canceling, I would not list them as ultimate in sound quality when compared to many other brands like grado, beyer dynamic, AKG, etc.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

pparks1, +1 to that ! They (noise cancelling phones) have there place but IMHO they can never be a serious audiophile tool.

 

[Maxxwire]

Years ago I used an old pair of Pioneer headphones with my Musical Fidelity X-Cans Headphone Amp until I brought a pair of AKG 701's home to audition and they have never left my possession since!

I never could have believed that those Pioneer headphones were actually Lo-Fi until I heard the simply amazing and ultra detailed sound of the 701's to compare them to!

~Maxx~
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[linnemeyerhere]

Maxxwire, You must also be a good photographer as your shots are clear as a bell. I've been into Audio since the late 60's as a kid my brother returned from the War with a complete Sansui separate system with Teac RR and Girrard TT. My first system was a Fisher 500C and Advents with a Dual TT.

 

[Maxxwire]

linnemeyerhere- Back in the day I had a Sony Receiver, ADC Paragraphic Equalizer, Dual Turntable and of course the amazing Advent speakers. I did upgrade to 1971 vintage JBL AlNiCo speakers about 14 years ago and they sound great with my Conrad-Johnson MV-52 Tube Power Amp and its set of '60's old stock GE 6CA7 output tubes.

Although I get a lot of satisfaction from listening to the Synergy of AlNiCo speakers and Vacuum Tube amplification the AKG 701's still provide a level of detail retrieval that just can't be matched by free standing speakers.

About the pictures I post. The pictures of the equipment I own were taken with my Sony DSC H-9 camera the rest are taken from various sources on the internet. The ones below are my own.

~Maxx~
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[linnemeyerhere]

CJ.......classic stuff ! I still own and listen to my AR9's and finally was able to power them properly with a bi-amp system totaling over 425 watts per speaker which along with a bass crossover unit made them sing with a clarity that I'd never heard before from them. You are correct what the 701 phones provide is magical, I wonder how the Quincy Jones addition sound? I'd love to create a audiophile thread within the group here as I've met a few and I'm sure there are plenty more and then there are all those whom may be bitten if just introduced to the joy's of quality sound.

 

[Maxxwire]

I'd love to create a audiophile thread within the group here as I've met a few and I'm sure there are plenty more and then there are all those whom may be bitten if just introduced to the joy's of quality sound.

If you start it they will come...and that would be just great! I don't even post on the 'Audiophile' Forums any more because over time they tend to attract a large group of subjectivists whose credo is "if you can't measure it you can't possibly hear it". I prefer to share my listening impressions for what they are because isn't that what this hobby is all about?

When you talk about listening to your 701's I know exactly what you're talking about and we shouldn't be required by to produce measurements to prove the amazing sound quality that we both heard.

To quote Einstein...

"Not everything that counts can be counted and not everything that can be counted counts"

I'd say that the 701's definitely belong in the 'Not everything that counts can be counted' category!

~Maxx~

 

[linnemeyerhere]

Precisely !

 

[Joshatdot]

<3 my little Dot mkII amp & DT770 setup

 

[society misfit]

Some nice headphone setups posted here.

Maxxwire: You’ve just won the most awesome electrical outlet award. Is that true carbon fibre or faux?

Currently I’m using Shure SRH840’s through a Yamaha receiver connected via Toslink from my PC. Looking for a DAC/Headphone amp or separates but in no rush.

To the OP, a good audio headphone will give you the sense of surround sound. I use my 840’s for gaming as well and they sound great! The Grado SR60 that’s been recommended here are a great sounding headphone for the price. Others worth mentioning are Shure SRH440 and Denon ADH1100