2nd priority: Best overall. Which of the headphones is the best overall for general usage. I’d be using these for everything but professional mixing/audio work, so gaming, music, movies, youtube, etc.
Usage will probably be roughly 40% gaming, 40% Music, 20% youtube/movies.
Music I listen to is basically 60s/70s/80s rock and pop, plus maybe a bit of Daft Punk.
No amp, but my motherboard is rated for up to 600 ohms apparently and I’ll be getting an amp relatively soon anyway, so difficulty in driving the headphones isn’t really an issue.
Budget is quite tight, and I’d really like to spend as little as possible for the best quality. Thanks for your help!
Zero input on any sound signature input, but mentioned pro mixing work listed.
The Senns will be flat and considerably more efficient (and less resistant) than the Beyers. The Senns are the most “neutral” of the cans listed, and as stated, by far the easiest to push here - which may be helpful for your current chain.
I say this as someone who owns both of the Beyers listed (600Ω) and not that particular Senn, so no bias.
I think you misunderstood, I’ll be using them for everything but professional mixing/audio work. So none of that, just casual listening.
Would you say the Senns are the best value for money here considering the prices? I could get the 990 pros for £30 less.
Thanks for your input!
Aha! The ease of powering remains, but I would put the query back to you.
Any idea of what sound signature you might like? Do you think you are treble-sensitive? What genres of music do you enjoy? Clamp preferences?
I don’t believe I’m that sensitive to treble, but the only real headphones I’ve used before these are a pair of M40x’s. I think I’d prefer a more neutral signature, but again, I’m not sure. Sorry, not being very helpful am I? Lol
I’ve tried them all, but I don’t have the DT990s anymore. In my opinion, I like the DT880 the best. I found the HD560s to be intense? I don’t know if that’s the right word but that’s how I can best describe it. I think it’s something to do with the treble peaks but I’m not too sure. Watching videos with them often made voices sound little weird compared to my DT880s. But for music I found them to still be a great option. They’re both comfortable, but the HD560s has an uneven pressure around your ears, initially it was top heavy and put the pressure towards the back of your head. After they’ve been broken in some, it’s not really top heavy anymore but definitely still puts pressure towards the back of your ears. The DT880 is almost perfect for me in comfort, but the headband is stiff for me. I specifically have the chrome special edition, and that has this fabric type headband compared to the rest of the 880s that have a leather headband. The 880s have a little more bass than the 560, doesn’t sound as “intense”, and I think the soundstage might be a little smaller than the 560. It is still plenty good though. The 560s is great if you really want to listen to vocals in your music. I think the 880s would be a great option, or the 990s too if you’re fine using an EQ to turn down the treble as they are very sibilant. The 880s are only sibilant when watching some videos, never really when listening to music in my opinion.
I’ll probably end up EQing whichever option I get anyway, One thing that’s seriously making me consider the 560s is the detatchable cable. The 880s and 560s are the same price for me, but the 990s I can get for £30 cheaper and I’m just wondering if the other two are £30 better.
Thanks for your help.
If you really want to save the 30, then go for the 990s. Either way, you’re picking a great headphone. The HD560s has a worse build compared to both the beyers, it’s all plastic. When I first got them out of the box, the clamping force was insane and I legitimately thought I was about to snap the thing to just put it on my head. It isn’t a cheap plastic though, my pair survived a few drops without any problems. If you can, I’d really recommend picking up both and returning the one you don’t like. I did that and I was having a hard time settling between the 990s and 880s. I know the 880s and 560s respond very well to eq. The detachable cable is a huge advantage on the 560s, and it even outputs balanced if you get a new cable. All three come with ridiculously long cables though. I guess it comes down to if you want to pay 30 euros in exchange for slightly worse build quality and a detachable cable.