Been browsing this thread for a bit. My current headphones are sony v6's, been going strong for 10+ years and I am pretty satisfied.

All my music comes from spotify and I can't even tell the difference between 320 kbps and 128 kbps mp3s apparently. (see http://mp3ornot.com) Reading head-fi and other "audiophile forums" makes me think that everyone is insane, so it'd be great to get the opinions of the more normal, rational, people here.

What's the most cost effective upgrade for me ... a DAC, new headphones? I'd snap buy hd800's and a DAC/amp if the difference was like SDTV vs HDTV, but if I can't appreciate the allegedly obvious difference between mp3s, how much will I appreciate good headphones?

There has been attention brought to the fact that audio quality is dependent on recording/mastering, not the file format. You would definitely not regret your purchase. I think best buy sells em too ie 15 day return policy for the hd800

Whomike: I'm struggling with some similar questions.

I've always thought it makes sense to spend more on speakers than electronics. But headphone amplifiers seem to be such a niche market that I'm not sure that applies here.

I've managed to sell myself on the Sennheiser HD650's to use with my PC but they'd need an amp. Would it make sense pair those with something like the Schiit Magni2/Modi2?

You should email the guy that runs Schiit. He's extremely helpful and detailed in his responses

http://www.head-fi.org/t/655454/schiit-99-amp-hd600

O2+ODAC is another device that gets thrown around a lot for use with the HD600s (that's the setup i have as of recently)

What do you guys recommend for noise canceling in the office? Looking for something comfortable to wear, over-ear, noise canceling, preferably not Bluetooth (to keep it light), and not leaky. Going to be in the office mostly, though I'll take them with me on flights. Lastly, I don't like controls on the headset or on the cord, preferably no frills.

I know people get the Bose QC, but I hear Bose is overrated. I'm not an audiophile, but I'm willing to get a quality pair.

My QC25's just broke. The way the right earpiece swivels to fit in the case may have a problem pinching the wire. Lost all sound and noise cancellation out of the right side after 4 months use.

That said Bose is sending me a new pair within the next 10 days free of charge including shipping. So we'll see how the next pair does. They are truly amazing on the plane. I hope they can last.

in general it is, but not for ANC.

get the QC25s, it's not really debatable.

also realise that in all likelihood when you start to use them in the office you'll probably think 'meh these are decent', they won't blow you away until you use them on flights (unless your office has a ton of droning low frequency stuff like loud A/C etc).

Thanks, picked them up at lunch today. It doesn't completely drown out the coworkers, but I'm near the AC vent and heard the difference right away.

Oppo just release d a new portable dac that looks awesome... with a state of the art chipset.

Oppo HA-2 Portable ESS 9018 sabre head phone dac

Any thoughts on Bowers & Wilkins P7s?

True to their word, I received the new set of headphones today.

That Oppo HA-2 looks exactly what I'm looking for. Just got the P7s, probably bit overpriced but still very good and the design is superb.

I did a fair bit of research and decided on something quite similar. I just got a Mayfair Desktop O2 and a pair of Alpha Dogs. I looked at the HD650 and the HE-400i as well, but the design of the Alpha Dogs made me curious and I prefer closed back phones. Loving them so far - it's a new world of sound for me!

I decided against an external DAC after reading this http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...o,3733-19.html.

I wouldn't mind an amp with more power though. I often find myself needing to get into the top half and sometimes even quarter of the volume dial. Is that normal, or do I need more power?

Ive never heard the P7's... but you could do much worse than a oppo ha2 dac/amplifier. They sold out the first few days they were on the market and wont be back instock until late march.

Oppo also has a new pair of Planar closed back design headphones to compliment the awesome open back planars they already have.

Nice review.

I'm planning some changes to a bedroom I use as an office. It's close to my boys' bedrooms so I use headphones when they're asleep which is a big portion of the time I spend in there. I want to have things set up so I can listen to my TV and PC either through speakers or headphones.

My plan was to get a Modi/Magni uber with the PC connected through USB and the DirecTV box by coax digital for headphones and use the TV speaker and computer speakers otherwise. Now I'm thinking I'd be better off connecting everything to a receiver that can run 2 zones with zone 1 for the TV and zone 2 for bookshelf speakers for the computer.

I guess the question is how much I'd lose by using the headphone jack on the receiver to drive a pair of good headphones instead of an amp/DAC combo. Based on the article above I'm guessing I probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

Is there a device that would let me switch my Bose headphones between using them for my smartphone and using it as my work headset? The work phone is an Avaya with the phone jack for a headset.

I'm picturing a box with a switch, with a 3.5mm headphones output plus the 4P4C phone output.

In case anyone else is interested, I've been following prices on Amazon for Sennheiser HD650's. They'd been hovering around $320 but dropped to $290 this morning. I had to wait for a while to order and they jumped up to $330 today. Just checked again and they're down to $290 again. Guessing it won't last long.

Urbanite xl is $150 on buysonic.com last time I checked

A superb combo... Oppo PM-3 closed back Headphones and the HA-2 amplifier/dac

Got an unopened set of M50x's, box and all, in trade for ~75 minutes worth of labor leveling & crowning the frets on somebody's guitar. Makes me wish I'd bought the M50s I was looking at when I asked a couple years back.

lol man, M50's are the tip of the iceberg. Congrats on finally getting a pair of em

Ok so I moved to a new cubicle and it's loud. Bitched at my boss and he said I could expense headphones up to 150. I did some research and since I do not own a nice pair of headphones I decided why not get a real nice pair. So I asked my boss if I got more expensive ones if I could expense the 150. He said sure.

So now I need some advice. I would like something that is comfortable (not sure if it matters but I wear glasses). I would like something that looks good and drowns some of the hallway noise.

I feel like my wife is pushing for the beats because of aesthetics which of course are hard to beat. The QC25s seem like a good option but they are so ugly. Is there a colorful version of that?

Also nto sure how much sound quality suffers when going wireless but I do like the idea of it.

Thoughts???

If you go on Bose's website, you should see that they collaborated with colorware to offer customizable colors as an option.

Vmoda m100 is an option, as well as beyerdynamic dt1350. Shure 1540 is the best option SQ wise if you don't care about cables. I think they go for $400 on ebay

If you're worried about how the headphones look, chances are that you're worried about getting headphone hair, in which case in ear monitors might be a better option

oh wow ok so I think I can customize these and go wt the QC25. Are those a solid option?