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Big headphones for iPod?

Diatribe

Diatribe

macrumors 601
Original poster
Jan 8, 2004
4,258
46
Back in the motherland
I am going to buy a pair of headphones for my powerbook and my iPod for when I am on the go. Now, since I like my music sounding as nice as possible, I was considering the Senneiser 650s... but I am kind of worried that they are a little bit too power hungry and won't really sound that good on an ipod.
Is there any truth to my worries and how would it be on the powerbook?
I just don't feel like spending this much money if it isn't used to it's fullest potential anyways.
Thanks for any input.
 
Diatribe said:
I was considering the Senneiser 650s... but I am kind of worried that they are a little bit too power hungry and won't really sound that good on an ipod.
Click to expand...

http://www.onhifi.com/product/sennheiser_hd650.htm

"You will most likely want a headphone amp for the HD 650s -- their 300-ohm impedance will limit their loudness and dynamic range with almost any portable, and with most standalone components as well. You won't need a ton of power to control the 650s, but you’ll probably need more than the trickle most teensy little op-amp-driven headphone jacks deliver. Once you hear what the 650s can sound like when driven by a real headphone amp, you won't want to settle for less."
Click to expand...

i had a pair of eh2270s and they performed well with my powerbook (now using sony in-ears). i prefer the closed ear to the 650s open design. the eh2270s are pretty cheap too.


peace.
 
I also have HD600s and also love them. The 650s are better, but IMHO not enough better to justify the price premium I saw last time I looked. Note, though, that the 6xx series is more than good enough to point out flaws in your 'pod music. Poor encoding, etc., will be apparent.
 
I use an old pair of Realistic Nova 40 headphones. They seem to sound better than the default earbuds and are much more comfortable. You could probably use some 4xx or 5xx Sennheisers with an iPod though I wouldn't know for sure -- but if you took your iPod to a Radio Shack or something you might be able to do a test.
 
i use a pair of Shure E3c on my pod. sounds excellent and it's very compact. and easily driven by the pod's power. it actually hurts me when it's anywhere near full volume, i can only listen at such loudness for 15-20 minutes. but even at such high volumes, clarity is not sacrifices, and no static or distortion was audible. :)
 
Beyerdynamic DT250-80. Super-comfortable closed-ear circumaural cans.

I wear these all day long at work and they never get uncomfortable, thanks to the way the fit around one's ears rather than resting on them. Being closed, they give me good isolation too (but not so much that I can't hear someone trying to get my attention) - this makes them terrific on planes and trains in particular! They're also practically bulletproof - I've schlepped these 'phones around the world, dropped them on every surface imaginable, tossed them in bags, sat on them, etc. and they've never let me down.

edit: I might add that the reason I specifically recommend these phones is that at 80 ohms they can easily be driven in full quality by just about any device without an amp.

About $180 from headphone.com (whom I highly recommend regardless of what headphones you buy. They know their stuff.)

-vga4life
 
Thanks for all the replies. It seems like they would work with my iPod.
I am not too worried about the quality, at 320kbit AAC I shouldn't have any problems. *hoping*
And for them being open... ahem... for someone that has never actually owned headphones... what exactly does this mean?
 
Never mind my earlier post, I guess I know now what open means. I've checked some hifi boards and they had a discussion about whether the 650/595 works well unamped.
And the conclusion was that the HD 595 works way better unamped than the 650. So I suppose I will try the HD 595s out and see how they do on my iPod. If anyone is interested I could post how it sounds, could be a while though since I am currently in Spain and I won't be back until november.
And I just found an awefully cheap place to buy them from, just not from Spain... :(
 
The iPod amp (32Ω?) doesn't have enough power to drive the high impedence, 300Ω, Senns (6xx) efficiently, not even regular portable amps can.

If you want big audiophile quality cans for your ipod, check out the Audio-Technica Air series A500, A700, A900 from Audiocubes.com. They're very very comfortable, excellent sound quality, and don't require an amp.
 
I have the BOSE quite ones...whatever their called, their amazing on planes to block out the sound, the only thing, they are expensive, but i think worth it
 
neut said:
http://www.onhifi.com/product/sennheiser_hd650.htm



i had a pair of eh2270s and they performed well with my powerbook (now using sony in-ears). i prefer the closed ear to the 650s open design. the eh2270s are pretty cheap too.


peace.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link. Quite interesting. I guess the 650s would be a good choice for home use, not quite for portables, but for home use I might even try them out.
 
For the people with the HD 600s... isn't the sound quite limited do to the higher impendence?
Even the 595s that I considered still have 120. The only ones that I found that have 32 and got good reviews and look good are the Beyerdynamic DT660 or DT860.

Now I'd only have to decide on whether I want closed or open headphones, since the 660 are closed and the 860 are open.
Any thoughts?
 
Diatribe said:
Thanks for the link. Quite interesting. I guess the 650s would be a good choice for home use, not quite for portables, but for home use I might even try them out.
Click to expand...

the eh2270s are just over $70... i've found them to be great durable portable big-ear headphones:
eh2270s

i liked them much better than my old open-ear Sennheisers.


peace.
 
neut said:
the eh2270s are just over $70... i've found them to be great durable portable big-ear headphones:
eh2270s

i liked them much better than my old open-ear Sennheisers.


peace.
Click to expand...

Aren't closed headphones a bit weird when you use them in the streets not to mention a bit dangerous?

I am trying to decide whether I would rather have closed or open ones, but I am not quite sure. In a plane or in a subway I guess they'd be awesome.
 
Diatribe said:
Aren't closed headphones a bit weird when you use them in the streets not to mention a bit dangerous?

I am trying to decide whether I would rather have closed or open ones, but I am not quite sure. In a plane or in a subway I guess they'd be awesome.
Click to expand...

headphones in the street are dangerous no matter what style they are. i never wear headphones in a situation wear my hearing could be the death of me. im a musician so im usually creating music somewhere out of harms way. :)

open headphones on the street will sound like crap anyways... everything will be distorted – the music and the street sounds. not much safer and you can never really get down with that girl talking on her cell phone right next to you... not that i suggest getting down in the middle of the street.


peace.
 
As you already found out, the big Senns need more power than the iPod can deliver, you will not have much fun if you do not add a headphone amplifier (and of course a line-out cable for quality reasons). Also, the Senns are very open, as in you will hear everything around you, and everyone around will hear your music. For portable use I would suggest looking at the AudioTechnica A900 (if you fancy big phones). Low power needs, closed design will keep noise out and music in. If you want something nice but small, have a look at Canalphones by Etymotic Research (they even have an iPod matched model), Shure, or Sensaphonics. You will find lots of information on Head-Fi.org
 
Diatribe said:
For the people with the HD 600s... isn't the sound quite limited do to the higher impendence?
Even the 595s that I considered still have 120. The only ones that I found that have 32 and got good reviews and look good are the Beyerdynamic DT660 or DT860.

Now I'd only have to decide on whether I want closed or open headphones, since the 660 are closed and the 860 are open.
Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
The sound using the HD600s on the iPod is fine but has a relatively low volume. Bass isn't that great. I have an old receiver at work to which I connect the iPod, likewise at home. I have used just the 'pod and the 600s, and it isn't all that bad, really, just not as good as with a bigger amp. I'd hardly say it's "quite limited", however.
 
I guess I will stay with in ear headphones for "street use". I'll just buy some phones for at home, but there I guess I can use open ones. We'll see which ones but I suppose anything above a hundred ohms won't be driven properly by neither the iPod nor the powerbook.
Thanks for all the tips.
 
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