http://schiit.com/

These amps and DACs are compared to competitors that are 2x-4x their price, pretty sick.

The 770s will definitely benefit from the amp more, but the low impedance cans will still show some benefit. That's all I was saying. And I'm positive the guy will love them amped or not.

Edit: side note. Let me know what you think of the 400s. Some day I'll be in the market for open cans for home listening.

so I love in-ear phones. already owned a sony mdr-510 and some entry level ATH's.
just ordered a ATH CKM-500 online and i'm wondering if it's as good as the reviews are saying. anyone ever had one?

this is the one, btw http://www.accessoryjack.com/audio-t...es-golden.html

Got em yet?

Do in-ear phones like Shure SE430 benefit from being amped?

I have been wondering this for the longest time

I think that in-ears tend to have lower impedance than full size cans, which is what determines whether or not an amp is needed. The lower the resistance, the easier to power. Looking at Shure's in-ears, they seem to have pretty low impedances, shouldn't need an amp.

Has anyone seen a technical description of why a headphone amp helps? One that's more than a few sentences?

Hey guys, I'm also looking for some ear buds and was hoping to get some advice. Ideally something durable that lasts a long time and want something that I can use for working out also. I have never owned any pair thats nice so I have no idea what the difference is between like Sennheiser/bose/shure/etc. I listen to a mix of everything EDM/rap/kings of leon or w/e when trying to relax.

I was intially going with these: http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-CX-...heiser+earbuds

But then read a review and saw these: http://www.amazon.com/Bose-SIE2-Spor...cr_dp_asin_lnk

which are slightly more expensive but seem to have better sound quality according to reviews.

I don't really have a budget but like if I buy like a 300$ pair or something, will I then have to switch from my ipod to an mp3 player that can handle flac? So yea idk just wanted to hear some opinions from guys that have more experience with this stuff then I do.

the Sennheiser/Adidas collabs are the nuts for buds...I have a pair myself and have no problems.

Sigh can't make up my mind but thank you.

Bought one of those without much research as well (thinking I would do proper research later and buy a more expensive one) and I'm pretty happy with the quality. Might be better ones out there but I never really felt the need to get another one anymore for what it's worth.

just got the ath-m40fs for 42$, really like them a lot so far (dont have much experience with headphones)

I have a couple (more) 20+ hr flights coming up and i want a set of noise cancellation headphones. I've pretty much decided against ear buds due to the discomfort factor after several hours.

id like to stick around $100 but willing to go up to $150ish.

I've been looking at the Sony MDR-NCA200D which are at the top end of my price range. Thoughts?

My issue is with a neighbor's barking dogs, as Alobar asked about earlier. Turning on a loud fan, plus a white noise machine, plus these with music playing:

http://www.amazon.com/Koss-Plug-In-E...dp/B00001P4XA/

...still does not entirely work. Those headphones have been great for me in the past - super cheap and reduce constant noise like train or plane sounds really well. Sharp, intermittent noise as from barking dogs is a different story, and it doesn't really seem like there's anything on the market that will help all that much. Thoughts? Sound quality is not an issue.

The best you can do against those types of noises is good isolation. Active noise-cancelling only tunes out the constant, droning noises that you mentioned. I'd try some over ear headphones, maybe a cheaper Sennheiser model like the 201 or 203, and see how those do.

I finally ended up going with a pair of these

http://www.amazon.com/3M-Peltor-H10A.../dp/B00009LI4K

overtop of a set of in good earbuds. Id give that a shot, its worked well for me

Thanks. I like the idea of earmuffs over earbuds. In-ear buds work pretty well for me if I play certain kinds of music at a decent volume, so the muffs on top of that just might do the trick. Do they bother your head after a while? Any issue with the earbud wires?

They dont bother my head at all, I actually find them pretty comfortable. Ive actually slept with them on before once, lol. I get more annoyed by the ear buds in my ears than the headset. The wires dont pose any problem, the cups fit down over them with no problem and it doesnt effect the seal at all. The only knock aganst the muffs I have is they make me sweaty after a while, but I tend to sweat a lot, so it might not be an issue for most people.

The only potential problem is if your ear buds are pretty big and stick out too far then the earmuffs might push in on them and that could cause some discomfort. Mine fit inside fine, tho it does make me "feel" them more.

Your neighbor is probably breaking city noise ordinances with his barking dogs. Learn the specifics and if he is, tirelessly call the cops on him everytime you hear them barking.

For the last few weeks I've been looking at headphones and the reviews for the Audio Technica ATH-M50's are numerous and overrall raving. I'll probably buy a pair soon.

I have a pair of Sennheisser HD 439's I got for a steal but I'm not totally happy with them. I listen to desert/doom/stoner rock that uses a lot of fuzzy downtuned instruments and I often detect cracking noises in the bass.

tempted to go with these after using HD25ii for like 6 years.. Im finding the treble to be too harsh on the HD25iis. From the brief use of momentums the treble seems less harsh while there is still reasonable bass.. brown colour looks nice..

To anyone using a macbook::
I have noticed that when using headphones, my left/right sound balance settings get changed automatically when plugging headphones in. Is this some weird bug with macs??.. Sometimes it autoshifts balance to the left.. it doesn't seem like you can lock these settings in..

it has to do with the efficiency of the design of the head phone... not that inefficient designs sound bad, but some designs do not need high output to perform. In addition, some amps have DAC's (digital Analog Converter) that can enhance digital sound.

several thing you should be looking for when buying any output(headphones or floor standing...

1 is frequency response, this will tell you how large the sound stage is in that it will tell you what the system is capable of reproducing. a wider range (lower first number hz and higher last number, khz) is usually better. One main issue here is, manufacturers of lower quality goods will generally lie about these details... high quality makers will not.

2 is sensitivity (db)... this will tell you how efficient the system is and give you an indication of whether or not you might need additional amplification. A higher number means the system is very efficient a lower number means the system is inefficient and may need additional amplification to meet a users requirements.

R.I.P. Sennheiser MM 550's.

If money was no object, what over ear headphones would you guys recommend?

I forgot to add: for use with a MP3 player, on the move type of cans.