[Loftprojection]

Hello, I've just decided to listen to music with headphones after several years of not using them.

I have a pair of Beyerdynamics DT511, probably close to 10 years old.  At the time I think they were pretty good ones.  After listening to them last night, I'm a bit dissapointed but I'm not sure it's the headphones fault.  Here is my setup.

I have an Arcam CD23T cd player and an Audio Aero Prima MKII tube hybrid integrated amp driving NHT 1.3 speakers and sub.  My integrated does not have an headphone plug so to use my headphone, I plugged them in my Arcam AV50 home theater receiver instead.

The sound is not bad but I find the mids lacking a bit and the highs are somewhat harsh or aggressive in some music passages.  Before buying the tube hybrid integrated, I was using my Arcam receiver for music and I remember a similar problem so here is my question.

Could it be that my headphones are still very descent and what I need to buy is a dedicated headphone amp?   Or both an amp and new headphones?

Thanks for your opinion, I don't have much knowledge with headphones so if you have any suggestion of specific products I should look at then I'll be grateful.   The other day I was looking at a DIY little tube amp (Bottlehead SEX) and was now wondering if that would not be the solution to my problem.

[Jon L]

Hello, I've just decided to listen to music with headphones after several years of not using them.

I have a pair of Beyerdynamics DT511, probably close to 10 years old.  At the time I think they were pretty good ones.  After listening to them last night, I'm a bit dissapointed but I'm not sure it's the headphones fault.  Here is my setup.

I have an Arcam CD23T cd player and an Audio Aero Prima MKII tube hybrid integrated amp driving NHT 1.3 speakers and sub.  My integrated does not have an headphone p ...

I don't know that Beyer, but headphone technology HAS advanced in the past decade.  You could get a good headphone amp and try to bring DT511 to life, but let's not forget that you Already have a great headphone amp.

That would be your Audio Aero Prima MKII tube hybrid, which would be perfect driving AKG K1000 via its speaker posts.  I would look for a used one on head-fi.org (I see one for sale there) or ebay.  FYI, AKG is discontinuing K1000 this year (a crying shame), so you'd better get one before it's too late.  AKG K1000 driven via your Audio Aero will positively embarrass any DT511+headphone amp you could put together with same additional $.  In fact, I suspect you will be frowning on your speakers pretty soon.

[Loftprojection]

Jon, wow, I'm speechless!  I never new "speaker" headphones existed! haha

The concept is really interesting and from the little reviews I read in the last half hour, seems very very positive.   New, the K1000 are however a bit over my budget, well maybe I shouldn't say that cause I usually endup spending more than I intended in the first place when audio is concerned! haha  There was a pair on audiogon but it's sold already...

Well I'll definitely check them out.  Do you know if there are any other company that makes a headphone driven by the regular amp speaker output?  This is genious, I would love to use my Audio Aero to drive the headphones instead of buying a dedicated amp...

Thanks again.

[sleepkyng]

the AKG 1000s are tough to drive and difficult to find the "right" combo with.
 but with that said, they sound like a million bucks. make sure you see what they look like though.

If you like the Beyer house sound, the dt531s are supposed to be very groovy and fun headphones. The beyer dt880s have a sennheiser sound but with a beyer feel.

general rule of thumb: Grados - forward and involving, Senns - wider soundstage, detailed and relaxed, AKG - midrange goodness, Audio Technica - sweet midrange, good highs, relaxed bass.

these are just from my experience.

some headphones need amps (senn 650s, audio technica ath1000 etc.) while others (grado rs-1) don't

so depends on what you're gonna get.

also the decision between closed and open cans is important. do you want everyone hearing what you're listening to? or do you not care?

etc.

hope this helps

[Loftprojection]

Yes thanks, very good info.   I wouldn't say I like the Beyer house sound because as I said I bought those about 10 years ago and at that time I remember listening to only 2 pairs, the Beyer and something else...

The sound I generally appreciate is an "emotional" voice/mid like a live performance, soft/sweet highs but with detail, I really dislike aggressive highs.  I guess I'm a bit less picky in bass except I don't really appreciate low "rumbling" bass.
 
From your descriptions below I assume AKG and Senns might be the ticket for me.  Closed or open is not really a problem, I just want headphones because sometimes I listen to music/movies late and my audio room is above the bedroom so the bass on my speakers are too intrusive.  I assume that even if headphones make some noise, they will still be acceptable level since there wont be tumping bass on the floor.

Thanks again.  I still have to figure out the amp problem unless I get myself those K1000...

Cheers

the AKG 1000s are tough to drive and difficult to find the "right" combo with.
 but with that said, they sound like a million bucks. make sure you see what they look like though.

If you like the Beyer house sound, the dt531s are supposed to be very groovy and fun headphones. The beyer dt880s have a sennheiser sound but with a beyer feel.

general rule of thumb: Grados - forward and involving, Senns - wider soundstage, detailed and relaxed, AKG - midrange goodness, Audio Technica - sweet midrange, good ...

[sleepkyng]

what's your budget?

[Loftprojection]

Well actually I guess the budget will "evolve" depending on what I endup buying!  

At first I was looking at the Bottlehead DIY little amp that is $369 I think.  This is an interesting option because I could also use the little amp in my computer room from time to time. However, when Jon suggested the K1000 it got me thinking because bottom line my objective is great sound and I don't think I want to spend this $369 on the Bottlehead and endup having to buy a pair of headphones after because I'm still not satisfied.

So I think I need to go to a few shops and compare a few headphones versus  my Beyers.  If I endup that my Beyers are not so bad then I might go with this Bottlehead for the fun of it.  If I get a uge improvement over my Beyer with a pair of new ones in the $200-400 range, then I'll get headphones, probably used ones that are even better.

Thanks for your help.