Headphones

[nerone]

Hi everyone, I would like to start listening with headphones but I don't know where to start
I mostly listen to Tidal HiFi with my steteo system via Chromecast audio on the Topping E30.

Do you have any advice on which headphones to buy quality / price?
Thank you

 

[sweetchaos]

Take a look at my post "List of Amir's Recommended Headphones, for Canadians" and you'll see all the models that Amir reviewed and recommended, sorted by $-$$.
Then find your local dealers/resellers.

 

[Killingbeans]

@solderdude has some pointers on his web page: https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/recommended-ones/

 

[Jimbob54]

Hi everyone, I would like to start listening with headphones but I don't know where to start
I mostly listen to Tidal HiFi with my steteo system via Chromecast audio on the Topping E30.

Do you have any advice on which headphones to buy quality / price?
Thank you

You might get what you want from the previous useful posts.

But some questions to steer you.

Do you want to "play along" with the rest of the head-fi world (here and elsewhere) and talk about your kit, EQ settings etc with like minded people ? If so , getting a popular, common headphone would be useful. Obvious examples are the Sennheiser 600/650/6XX series. Or Beyerdynamic 770/880/990. Or AKG K702 . Its a longer list but these might be considered the mainstays of head-fi.

Do you want them to be open back (so audible to the outside world and vice versa- not ideal for office/ travelling/ listening in a room with others) or closed back (the opposite but probably wont sound as "open" either and have more pronounced bass.?


Will you be buying some form of amp? Not necessarily needed for easier to drive , lower impedance headphones (lets say 50ohm or less for the purposes of discussion- maybe not technically true) but higher impedance/ lower sensitivity headphones might need one. You may have a headphone socket on your existing stereo amp. That may or may not be a good example of the kind.

Have a search for similar questions on the forum for more guidance . I might be overcomplicating things for you- if so, get the Sennheiser HD650 and be happy. https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/sennheiser-hd650-review-headphone.18774/

 

[nerone]

Thanks to all, I will read the published links, I have electronics with excellent headphone output unfortunately my chair is far from the stereo so I would prefer to initially drive the headphones with my smartphone.
Thanks to the reviews on this forum I started listening to the modified Sony MDR ZX110 headphones - Apple dongle adapter - USB audio Player pro app, I am very happy to listen to Tidal Hifi.
@sweetchaos I live in Europe, however I appreciate your great work for us.

 

[nerone]

The HD650 headphone looks good unfortunately it needs an amplifier, I also read something on the @solderdude site, very interesting.
What do you think of the K371 or other models that I could use with a dongle?
Thank you

 

[solderdude]

K371 will work out of a dongle. It would be a good choice in the E 100-E 150.- range. It certainly isn't the best headphone but for 'reference' and a closed headphone it is very good *providing a good seal'.
Comfort and longevity may be a thing.

There isn't a single 'best' headphone but there sure can be one best for you, your head and your wallet.
The difficult part is to find it. Of all recommendations some may suit you/your preference. Only you can tell. What someone else finds 'best' may be a horror to you and vice versa.

 

[nerone]

K371 will work out of a dongle. It would be a good choice in the E 100-E 150.- range. It certainly isn't the best headphone but for 'reference' and a closed headphone it is very good *providing a good seal'.
Comfort and longevity may be a thing.

There isn't a single 'best' headphone but there sure can be one best for you, your head and your wallet.
The difficult part is to find it. Of all recommendations some may suit you/your preference. Only you can tell. What someone else finds 'best' may be a horror to you and vice versa.

thanks for the answer, which one would you choose as quality / price even with some modifications within 150 euros, I can also choose used

 

[don'ttrustauthority]

Hi everyone, I would like to start listening with headphones but I don't know where to start
I mostly listen to Tidal HiFi with my steteo system via Chromecast audio on the Topping E30.

Do you have any advice on which headphones to buy quality / price?
Thank you

It depends on what kind of music you ordinarily listen to, and what kind of sound you prefer. Lots of bass? Open and wide? Detailed and precise? If you want accurate music reproduction, the sound may be slightly harsh but you will hear more details. If you want a softer music presentation, you will hear less details but will be able to tune the sound to your preference.

 

[don'ttrustauthority]

You might get what you want from the previous useful posts.

But some questions to steer you.

Will you be buying some form of amp? Not necessarily needed for easier to drive , lower impedance headphones (lets say 50ohm or less for the purposes of discussion- maybe not technically true) but higher impedance/ lower sensitivity headphones might need one. You may have a headphone socket on your existing stereo amp. That may or may not be a good example of the kind.

All excellent questions. Be careful about equating lower impedance with easier to drive though.

 

[Jimbob54]

All excellent questions. Be careful about equating lower impedance with easier to drive though.

Hence the comment about lower sensitivity too.

 

[Overseas]

M50x and Meze 99 Classics for ex. are 2 good headphones that do not need amplifiers with most of the phones.

 

[Overseas]

You can check your phone audio output no. on a French review site: lesnumeriques.