The UUUUULTIMATE headphones topic of the universe

[Wavelength]

Anyone.....? Advice?

[kraczk]

How much impedance do your headphones have? It seems like your soundcard might have a problem handling them.

[Wavelength]

Not a clue and checking that seems like you need other fancy equipment, nothing is remotely simple lol.

Plus if I can plug Dre Beats into my phone or whatever and get a better sound than Sennheisers through my PC then ... well need I say more? I'd always though beats to have been WELL overpriced but in comparison to these 'high end' headphones, they aren't.

[kraczk]

Sennheiser webpage says they have 70 ohms of impedance, which might be too much for a regular soundcard.

Read this article, should be informative enough.

Just a small question btw, why did you feel the need do buy $200 headphones when you're satisfied with Beats? That sounds like a huge waste of money.

[ceero]

I might be mad here, but just got my HD25 PLUS and while the sound is very high detail the volume just isnt loud enough! I was expecting high detail and high volume, so much so kicks feel punchy but it feels like its at 70% of the potential.

Is there some Sennheiser application I can download to adjust?

Headphone amplifier is what you need. These are simply big headphones that a smartphone or an ipod wont be able to power properly, remember those are dj headphones that are usually powered by mixers with a strong amplifier. Headphone amp is this tiny box you plug in between your phone and the headphones that gives the required power to your headphones. Its just like with big ass high end hifi speakers - you just cant use them properly without an amplifier. You can get a decent one under 50eur from ebay. I use one paired with my ipod classic + hd25s and i can get all the volume i need.

Oh, and please dont compare hd25 with beats lol. Thats almost a blasphemy. Remember these are high end professional headphones made for musicians and require a bit of insight to be able to make them work the way you need them to, not headphones made for obey cap and skinny jeans wearing poser kids like beats are

[Wavelength]

Ceero, thanks so much man!

I was comparing them to beats because I was pissed that they didn't compare in punchiness so knew that'd hit sennheisers nerves if they saw that lol, I take it back Senn! The mids and highs are awesome as is so god knows what they'll be like with an amp.

THANKS AGAIN!

Other dude - I wasn't satisfied with Beats and had heard true HI-FI on other headphones, hence my disappointment when I plugged my Senns in to my PC and felt like the bass was punchier through my tv...

[ceero]

glad to help as to how they will sound with an amp - that obviously depends from the amp you get i use a simple cheap Topping NX1 amp that cost me about 40 euro and as for me, it's sufficient enough. In the extreme volume levels there is a bit of a sound quality bias, (not really a big one, you have to have a trained ear to notice) but its that kind of high volume that hurts your ears so you dont even use it at all. You can on the other hand get 200+ euro pieces. Obviously the better you get, the better the sound will be, i've heard those expensivve high end ones can do really impressive things (never got to try any of those so far). The best would be ofcourse visit a local hifi store and have a word with them, see if they have some and if they can let you try a few of those. Or you can just blind buy one after reading a few review like i did - trust me if you are not an extreme audiophile there isnt THAT much of a difference between the amps. for the beginning, you cant go wrong with the Topping NX series - reasonable price for reasonable performance. Plus you get an extra volume knob on the amp (like you have on a dj mixer), i cant even imagine listening to music without it haha. Really handy.

[Wavelength]

Cool yeah I am going into a hi fi shop to see what they recommend. I am not looking for volume that will have me deaf in no time I just want to be able to have it at a volume I can feel decimated by the kicks and in awe of the melody - so with that being said I don't want to buy anything that will cause me to want to buy one again later to fix an issue... About 100 would be my budget as I am a bit of an audiophile... can't stand a muffled song. :/

[ceero]

for a 100 you will get a kickass amp that will make you satisfied for sure (if you have a good quality audio source), trust me you are yet to experience the true power of HD25s hehe

[Wavelength]

Sooo, when you say a good quality audio source do you mean I'd need to buy a kickass soundcard to go with it lol? Or just don't try it on like a 20 euro mp3 player?

I don't have a fancy soundcard just what came with my motherboard. So if I need one of those too (bearing in mind I am trying to get into production here) I'll bring the amp budget down to accommodate a bit for a soundcard.

Appreciating your help!