Beats and Bose are the top two brands in terms of sales, so they're typically the most likely targets for people's complaints…"no highs, no lows, must be Bose" etc. I'm not trying to claim that either one makes the best headphones, but I doubt the manufacturing costs are really that different vs. other headphones in the same price range. I've also had a $200 pair of Shure headphones, which is typically ranked near the top overall for quality, and I didn't think there was anything extraordinary about them vs. other products in a similar range. The headband also broke after a couple of years, so that was a bit of a let-down.
I'll just leave this right here. Beats are objectively horrible. There are probably $20 Chinese headphones that are better. Funny you bring up Bose as they're another scam company that's basically just a more established version of the White Van Scam. Beats and Bose just took what the White Van men were doing and did it on a bigger scale with better marketing.
I ordered them, but they haven't arrived yet. They were $279 with free shipping and come with a FiiO E6 headphone amp as a free pack in. I have no idea if that's good enough to drive them. That's why I haven't bought an amp. I'll try the FiiO first and see how it sounds. Some people over at head-fi say the FiiO amps are surprisingly good for how cheap they are. It's probably garbage, but maybe it will be okay for awhile until I get something better, like the Schiit Magni/Modi or O2. If nothing else, it might make an ok amp for using headphones on my laptop.
Apparently the Beats Studio Wireless of 2015 is not actually terrible… http://www.cnet.com/products/beats-studio-wireless-series/2/
The bar has been pretty low when it comes to Bluetooth headphones but I've heard that the codex has gotten better.
indeed.. bluetooth headphones have been extremely blaaaaa for years. the only ones worth trying out are the ones that support aptx.
Bluetooth just needs to be scrapped and replaced by something else. My understanding is that it could stream MP3 or AAC directly but then that would prevent it from doing it's original intended purpose of passing data. It's like it can do one or the other but not both.
This is the best price I've seen on the DT-880. Beyerdynamic DT-880 Pro 250 Ohm Open Headphones $160 after $25 Rebate + Free Shipping http://www.adorama.com/als.MVC/nspc/revisedProduct?sku=BDDT880P250&emailprice=t&utm_term=3TdWI-QpqSYy2rUXOpTfxyFYUkVRwFWVuSnLz80&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=Other&utm_source=rflaid62905&cvosrc=affiliate.62905 https://adorama.4myrebate.com/?oc=ADO-10059
Probably wouldn't work for me. Like I said, I have elf ears, and the oval shape of the Sennheisers fits me best.
The HD 600s arrived and they sound really good. Extremely detailed, accurate, and neutral sounding just as people said. No part of the sound is really emphasized or in your face, and I guess people interpret that as sounding "veiled." Much better build quality and sound quality than my HD 555s, and I now understand why they cost so much more. Although I think I probably need a better amp. The FiiO amp is okay. Seems a little underpowered. Also seems like more of a portable amp for phones, tablets, and laptops. I actually just have them plugged into my old X-Fi Titanium (the original one with the gimmicky X-Ram) for now until I get real DAC/Amp setup. Supposedly this card can drive up to 330 ohm headphones. But who knows. In addition to their awful drivers, Creative was notorious for lying about what their cards were actually capable of.
Those Ultrasone Proline 750s are only 40-Ohm so they are easy to drive with an iPod or small amp. The 650s are 300-Ohm and take an amp with some power. The E6 is rated to 300-Ohm but at $35 I kind of doubt it does the job. The real difficulty with buying an amp is that there is no place you can go to try them out. I guess if you buy them through Amazon you could always return them. Maybe you should order a FiiO E10K and just return it if you don’t like it.
It's kind of a problem with the enthusiast headphones themselves too - nowhere to try them out. I only knew I'd like the HD 600s because I've owned two similar pairs that are like a poor man's version of these headphones, the HD 555s and HD 570s. Shitty headphones are everywhere. You can walk into any Best Buy and try Beats or Bose.
I've gotten to sit down and really listen to these headphones tonight and they sound so good it makes me want to cry. I really had been using some very average headphones for so long and didn't know it. Now I'm wondering how much better they would sound with a good quality amp. I had been warned about this. That once I tried some of the better headphones this would turn into a money pit of a hobby.
Indeed. I'd tell you to go to a headphone meet but that'd curse you. For as high-end as they seem the HD600 is just entry level in the world of high end headphones. I believe in the last headphone thread it was khaid that said ignorance is bliss. Here is a store in Miami that may carry some headphone amps. I see they have the have the HD800. Those would be perfect for your Vulcan ears and that $1500 burning a hole in your pocket. http://www.magnoliaav.com/ Look at the size of these things.