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In Reply to: RE: headphone advice posted by Dr RAC on October 01, 2019 at 05:43:36
I am sorry to learn of your hearing difficulties. What you ask is a hard question to answer. What you hear, of course, is not only subject to the headphone itself but also the source driving it.
I do not know much about the headphone output on either Leben or Macintosh amps. However even some quite prestigious brands still implement headphone output by attenuating the main output drive. This can result in odd impedance characteristics , at least for driving practical headphones.
If you are now to be dedicated to headphone listening only then ( subject to the Leben and Macintosh performance) I would consider a dedicated headphone amp along with the headphones. I have two friends also dealing with recent hearing difficulties and one has now totally abandoned loudspeaker listening together with his Spectral amplification and uses electrostatic 'phones with their dedicated electronics as well as dynamic types again with a dedicated headphone amp.
Incidentally, considering your condition, I use what is basically a piece of studio gear for headphone listening, an SPL Phonitor 2 headphone amp. This incorporates a very sophisticated crossfeed system with the ability to manipulate the soundstage ( locations) which may possibly be of interest to you.
In regard to your main question, what you should be looking for in headphones is going to largely depend upon budget and taste in music. Prices these days can range from a few dollars to $55K ( the Sennheiser Orpheus).
If your interest is in classical rather than rock music IMO the choice is more limited as many headphones have a deliberately engineered "smile" response which exaggerates bass and treble that apparently being the preference of many rock/pop fans. It is not so acceptable for classical music. However I am leaping ahead here being unaware of your musical tastes.
The last few years have shown some advances in headphone engineering and there are a number of new technologies on the horizon. Much research has been undertaken ( for example by Harman) into the preferred ear transfer characteristics of headphones compared to speakers and the result is not a flat response as that doesn't actually sound flat! So looking at response graphs can mislead.
If you can give some idea of music preference and budget then I am sure that inmates here may have some recommendations
"We need less, but better" - Dieter Rams
Follow Ups:
PAR: I have heard of the SPL Phonitor 2; it looks cool. I have an old Head-fi headphone amp that has the same type of crossfeed feature. For the moment I listen to vinyl and analog FM (rock, blues, jazz, and some classical). I would like to keep my budget within the $1K range (and that will include my Christmas and Birthday presents).
rjan: my "actual" hearing is still very good; no problems with my eardrums, just the insides of my head. ;)
FenderLover: Thank you for the suggestion. I will look at the Sennheisers.
Randy
I think the first thing for you to think about and in order to eliminate some contenders is whether your circumstances are such that you prefer closed back or open back 'phones.
Closed back provide the best isolation fro the surroundings (and it from you) but are often held to sound less clear and open or even natural than open 'phones. However I have heard some great closed back 'phones so I am not that biased. However the majority of best regarded cans from a hifi standpoint currently are open backed ( though not exclusively).
If you want to keep under $1K then I would continue using your existing main amplifier headphone outputs. However do take account of your amp headphone connection's tech specs in relation to the impedance and sensitivity of the headphones you are considering.
Unfortunately an SPL Phonitor 2 plus suitable headphones would easily exceed your budget. BTW the SPL crossfeed is very sophisticated compared to the Head-Fi implementation (I used to have one too), allowing adjustment of crossfeed level, centre positioning and angle. It is subtle (SPL point out in the manual that it is not an "effect") but is really convincing once you become accustomed to it.
If I were you I would be considering Focal Elears (open) or Elegias (closed) or Mr. Speakers Aeon Flow (closed). The former are normal dynamic designs the latter a planar magnetic. Note that planars can sound great but all that I have heard tend to droop in the treble. Great bass though.
So far Sennheiser 600s or 6xx have been mentioned. I have used 600s as my main pair of cans since their introduction 30 or longer years ago. One great thing about Senns is that each part is replaceable so worn earpads, headband etc. are no problem. To me they still sound the best of the 6xx range and I recommend them. However they come with the same connecting wire as 30 years ago. A great improvement is to buy a pair plus a spare connecting wire for the HD650 (all parts in the 6xx range are interchangeable). A small additional cost but worth it. You can also swap the stock cable for the 650 balanced one if you have the facility to use it. I have done so with great satisfaction.
Of course , as with most audio, the proof is in the pudding and this brings me to one difficulty in buying cans. Unless you are very fortunate it is hard to find dealers that will demonstrate ( we have some specialists here in the UK but I haven't seen anything similar in the US though they may exist). So it can be buy and try not try and buy which I would not like if I was spending a grand. If you can get along to an audio show or to a CanJam then you will at least have a chance to get an idea of what is out there and where your preferences lie.
I hope this is of some help.
"We need less, but better" - Dieter Rams
FWIW the matrix option on the Hafler HA-75 is EXCELLENT if you want a more speaker like image.
Cutting razor sounding violins
Many thanks for the good advice.
Yes, source is important as well. There is nice RME ADI-2 DAC with remote available which beside reference audio quality has digital parametric equalizers separate for each channel, so this feature can help if somebody ears start to go south.
It forms nice combo with Sennheiser 600 (or any other dynamic headphone)
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