If you want fun, then don’t go with Sennheiser. They’re not a bad sounding headphone, but they are definitely not a fun sounding one.
No but at-least before there was a price difference and I’d rather pay less than more =P
Also lower impedance.
What Z mentions when he compares a 58x to a 660S, +$160 vs $400-500), you can take off the foam insert in the 58X and it would have a near identical sound. That is based on Z, tho they do NOT have the exact same drivers.
At the end of the day, if you want the 6XX, I think it will do you just fine. It is what you had initially inquired on, and if you get anything else, you will probably have huge FOMO and get them eventually anyway. You probably know what the difference is between the 58X and 6XX, and if it is worth the $60 extra.
In months, maybe even weeks from now you will just start another thread on your next headphones once you get used to the 6XX and want to hear a different sound profile. That is cool too and probably encouraged.
Since you started this thread, it got my curiosity of the SHP9500, so I ordered one. Now I kind of want to see what a Creative Aurvana is like. If I see one dirt cheap it may be my next impulse purchase.
im just working at target right now, and my mom does not like the idea of me spending over 100$ on headphones and an amp, let alone 200-300+, so whatever I buy now is going to have to last me a long time before I’m able to make my own decisions (hopefully because I’m 19 and still have to ask for permission to spend my own money) but I just wanna make a good decision
when I heard those 660s, I was blown away, not only did they sound so crisp, but the bass is exactly what I want, not too overpowered and nice and detailed.
I’m assuming the 6XXs are the more equivalent, but I’m not sure which ones the 58X are comparable to
58x = 660S (same sound signature)
6xx= 650 (basically the exact same)
So if you loved the 660s so much get the 58x. They are cheaper as well.
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if you like the 660 get the 58x the 6xx is exactly like the 650. and if you mod a 58x with the foam removal mod along with a felt mod to cover up the hole in the driver you get a budget version of the 660 many claim it’s slightly worse many claim it sounds basically the same but for the price difference I would say its a great deal if you reach anywhere near the level the 660 is .
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No worries, my first Sennheiser open-backs looked like cheap plastic and worked fine for 10 years… (and then I forgot them somewhere – d’oh!).
The best argument against cheap headphones is durability. Tell her it’s time to spend 100$ on a pair that will last, instead of paying 20$ every month or so on cheap, unreliable headphones that break for no reason (or worse, because of planned obsolescence).
Obviously, as a bonus, you get like 10 times the sound quality and details etc. of cheap headphones. But I swear, 100$ headphones are “cheaper” than 20$ headphones. 100$ headphones are made to last. 20$ headphones are disposable.
+1 for the 58x
OP, did you watch Z’s Tin P1 review? It’s an IEM, but it seems like his most mind-blown reaction to anything ever. It’s right in your price range at $150.
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I did, but I have some weird ears, so any iem for me after an hour or so begins to really hurt my ears which is why I tend to use headphones more
iems are not for everybody and as much as I love Z he tends to call amny things the best. and I trust they are very good but I want to see a few of my other iem reviewers first more specifically crinacle.
If they are hurting your ears, you should try smaller tips. That could be the problem.
I agree with everything in this post i would just add that if you want a budget amp that has a more premium build quality i would go for the Monoprice Liquid Spark. It is made of Aluminum and has a more premium feel where as the JDS Lab Atom is very cheap feeling due to it using plastic housing. Both the Atom and the Liquid Spark both measure similarly with the Atom taking more of a lead in terms of neutralty.
So i would recommend that you start with either the HD 58x, or the HE 4xx they are both really good for their price range and then if you have some money left over for an amp i would get the Monoprice Liquid Spark or the JDS Labs Atom. For your use case specifically i would lean a little more toward the Liquid Spark for its build quality as it is built more like a tank than the cheaper plastic that the Atom is made of. How ever if you dont have at least a decent DAC i might even suggest that you go for the $150 SDAC/O2 combo from massdrop as its a decent all in one that is a significant upgrade over your current set up. Plus the O2 amp is made of the same metal that the amps massdrop makes so it has good build quality.
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I 100% agree I use a liquid spark for that reason in my personal serup. Great knob feel and metal construction along with just straight up great sounding
I don’t have any DAC
I’m sure this is frowned upon but I currently don’t have a DAC either, new one is being shipped, so what I use is a 3.5mm to RCA connector and use my phone with an AudioQuest Dragonfly. You can also just use your phone’s 3.5mm out also. It’s decent and is a good hold over until you can get a DAC and will allow you to appreciate a DAC when you get one.
Yeah then i would suggest a dac/amp combo https://drop.com/buy/massdrop-o2-sdac-dac-amp that is the amp that i talked about and they are about to finish the drop soon. I personally use the standalone version of the SDAC and the high gain version of the Massdrop O2 amp, but for the price and form factor its kinda hard to beat this deal IMO.
yeah i did something similar because i was making use of the onboard audio of my 2013 gaming laptop until i was able to get a decent DAC and making due without it was really bad and there was an extremely noticable improvement in my overall audio experience when i switched.
a nice cheap dac is the topping d10 if you really need one
I always thought an amp was more important than a DAC, so I was just gonna get the Liquid Spark and be done with it because I thought it would be better than a cheap combo