What audiophile headphones would be amazing for this scenerio?

[isavailablth]

Hi! I'm new here.

 

So I just bought a load of stereo equipment, most second-hand, consisting of an AT-LP60XBT (it's all they had, I would've gotten the non-Bluetooth but they didn't have it.), Denon CD player, Pyle cassette deck, Denon AVR-1910, and 2 absolutely amazing Yamaha speakers. But, my wife hates hearing it at night and I need headphones for the rig. The Denon AVR-1910 has a headphone output, the larger one (I think it's called 4.4mm? It's the same size as the guitar jack, but obviously meant to be stereo.) I listen to mostly vinyl and avoid digital whenever I can. What second-hand headphones won't lie to me (also called tuned flat) and won't break the bank? And of course open back. It's not the same room, so noise bleed is fine, but the speakers blast throughout the house.

 

Thank you in advance,

isavailablth

[DuckToller]

24 minutes ago, isavailablth said:

Hi! I'm new here.

 

So I just bought a load of stereo equipment, most second-hand, consisting of an AT-LP60XBT (it's all they had, I would've gotten the non-Bluetooth but they didn't have it.), Denon CD player, Pyle cassette deck, Denon AVR-1910, and 2 absolutely amazing Yamaha speakers. But, my wife hates hearing it at night and I need headphones for the rig. The Denon AVR-1910 has a headphone output, the larger one (I think it's called 4.4mm? It's the same size as the guitar jack, but obviously meant to be stereo.) I listen to mostly vinyl and avoid digital whenever I can. What second-hand headphones won't lie to me (also called tuned flat) and won't break the bank? And of course open back. It's not the same room, so noise bleed is fine, but the speakers blast throughout the house.

 

Thank you in advance,

isavailablth

 

Hi, welcome to Audiophile Style:

I was just wondering:
- Do you use BT for your record player to your AVR, or RCA out using the internal phono pre to the AVR (which may not have a phone input itself) ?
- Could it be 6.35 mm jack output from  your Denon AVR for headphones ?
- Would you consider using the BT function for your headphones ?
You could use for example TWS in-ears like the "Ear Fun Air Pro 3" which supports the AT's on board BT codecs. (<100$ new)
Or you could look fo some used over ear BT/ANC headphones with aptX
- As an alternative, FIIO has the K7 BT headphone amp which as well accepts AptX BT input and gives you enough power to drive most available HPs. (ca. 250$)

A core question to ask yourself would be:
Are you convinced that the signal path from the AT's included Phone Pre through your AVR's HP amp output would be significantly better than a BT connection via aptX to wireless headphones or a BT receptive headphone amp.

 

As for the used headphones with 6.35mm jack: Sennheiser HD 650's are great value and very common plus you can find a great range of aftermarket accesory like earpads and cables. (used often less then 200$ acc. to hifishark)

Good luck ! Tom
 

[Apollo]

Are you sure your wife will not object open back headphones?

Still a lot of sound comes through, and not in the most enjoyable way for non-listeners.

[isavailablth]

8 hours ago, DuckToller said:

 

Hi, welcome to Audiophile Style:

I was just wondering:
- Do you use BT for your record player to your AVR, or RCA out using the internal phono pre to the AVR (which may not have a phone input itself) ?
- Could it be 6.35 mm jack output from  your Denon AVR for headphones ?
- Would you consider using the BT function for your headphones ?
You could use for example TWS in-ears like the "Ear Fun Air Pro 3" which supports the AT's on board BT codecs. (<100$ new)
Or you could look fo some used over ear BT/ANC headphones with aptX
- As an alternative, FIIO has the K7 BT headphone amp which as well accepts AptX BT input and gives you enough power to drive most available HPs. (ca. 250$)

A core question to ask yourself would be:
Are you convinced that the signal path from the AT's included Phone Pre through your AVR's HP amp output would be significantly better than a BT connection via aptX to wireless headphones or a BT receptive headphone amp.

 

As for the used headphones with 6.35mm jack: Sennheiser HD 650's are great value and very common plus you can find a great range of aftermarket accesory like earpads and cables. (used often less then 200$ acc. to hifishark)

Good luck ! Tom
 

So the record player goes out to the Denon via RCA. Yes its 6.35mm, i got it wrong in the original post.

So I have tested it with adapters (part of the reason I want separate headphones is I'm plugging old cheap headphones in through an adapter piece converting 3.5 to 6.35.) I will definately consider the HD650s

Thank you!

[davide256]

Open back does fine if you aren't sitting on the couch together. I would recommend to anyone buying a first headphone that they spend around $300 for

a headphone that can do both bluetooth  and wired use for home and on the go. Sony 1000xm4 over ear or Bose Quiet Comfort over ear will give you the most flexibility.

If you don't need noise cancellation, Audeze Maxwell is quire popular right now because Audeze has discovered gamers also appreciate audiophile quality sound.

[John Dyson]

This is a much delayed add-on to responses here, but I have learned a lot about choosing headphones, especially when using them day-in day-out for many years...

 

Comment about the quality of headphones:

When looking at the reviewers comments all over the net, using my experience and correlating with published response curves, I cannot believe, truly cannot believe about the toleration for peaky headphones, while the reviewers suggest that they 'sound good'.

Been looking at 'yet another upgrade' from my OPEN BACK DT900X headphones, yet having troubles finding alternatives that are much better WRT freq response balance.   The DT900X compare well with many other headphones, except having a dip at around 4kHz.   This dip is probably the reason why it seems like the highs are 'mellow', but also has a very extended super high frequences.   That is, if listening for the  dip on the DT900X headphones, the side-effects can be heard, bit not obnoxious.   The strong peaks from the DT770 and DT990 are both very noticeable and distracting.   Even with my 67yr old hearing, the HF boost of the DT990 is too strong for my general purpose use.

 

It appears that the DT900X comes close to a true response, and has a moderately low impedance that makes them easier to drive from a low voltage source.  Also, the headphones come with detachable cables.

 

When looking for good alternatives, I have found some headphones that don't have the 4kHz dip, and probably generally good like the DT900X.  Sennheiser HD650 are example headphones that might not have the 4kHz dip, at least per the response curves in 'rtings.com'.   The Sennheiser might have slightly more low bass than the DT900X, but all in all,

I won't be able justify an 'upgrade' to the HD650 because the sound isn't likely to be a huge difference.

 

Bottom line:  unless one has a preference for a certain bias in response balance, for long term listening it might be best to find 'very unbiased' or very balanced freq response.   After my  long term listening, biases in freq response might become a little irritating.   I am NOT advocating the DT900X, but instead suggesting to consider the DT900X  along headphones like the HD650, it might be wise to look towards headphones without a 'sound'.    No matter what, a good subjective A/B comparison is still a good idea.

 

A big difference between the HD650 and DT900X is that the HD650 has higher impedance, which sometimes indicates less sensitivity.   The HD650 has 300ohm impedance while the DT900X is 48ohms?    Higher impedance doesn't always indicate needing more voltage to drive, but most likely it will.

 

John