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In Reply to: RE: An introduction and some questions... posted by GregK on February 06, 2014 at 11:17:17
As the other responder already said, if you are using lossy mp3, even higher rez mp3 you really have no need for anything but the headphones. Further, there are several generations of iPods that actually have very good DACs and amps. I'm not an expert but the 5th generation iPod is largely considered the best. If that is the generation you have, you are actually doing pretty good. You'll not notice a lot of improvement unless you have a very good dac/amp. Do some research into your model and where it fits in the hierarchy of iPod audiophoolery.
This is a golden era of headphones. There are a lot of great options and values. My current favorite is the Beyerdynamic series. I have the DT880 32ohm. I frankly don't know the difference between the Beyerdynamic lines (TP, DT770, DT880 DT990 etc…) But they offer different impedance options which allows you to better mate them with products like iPods.
My suggestion is get iPod friendly (32 ohm) Beyerdynamic that fits your price point and don't bother with anything else, especially if you have a 5th gen iPod. The Beyerdynamics are plenty good to hold up to any situation if you choose later down the road to use them in more esoteric applications including a high rez digital and a dedicated DAC/amp. In my humble opinion, I prefer my DT880s to my Sennheiser HD600s.
Nate
You can't cheat an honest man, never give a sucker an even break or smarten up a chump -- W.C. Fields
Follow Ups:
...in case you're interested...
I looked this stuff up when I bought my DT880s. I knew there was a reason I chose that model over the others, but if I don't use information I tend to lose it. The DT880 is clearly more in line with what I wanted so it makes sense that I chose it!
Nate
You can't cheat an honest man, never give a sucker an even break or smarten up a chump -- W.C. Fields
...funny you mention that one b/c it's the one I have :)
So, in essence, you're saying that the 32 ohm models work more than well enough with just the iPod out of the headphone jack? Interesting...
Not only will they work well enough, they are actually designed to work with sources like iPods. Further, they really are high end product and will benefit from better dec/amps if you choose that route down the road. The only downside I can see regarding the 32ohm beyerdynamics is you are somewhat pigeonholing yourself to the low impedance devices which is fine because that is kinda where the market is going anyway. Typically, the best headphones have been higher impedance so a lot of the best headphone amps are designed to support that higher impedance. Your amp upgrade options will be a little limited but there are plenty of great low impedance amp options and will only be more. This is not a real concern just something to be aware of when/if you choose an amp down the road.
I recently bought the Dragonfly version 1.2 usb dac/amp and couldn't be happier with it. It wouldn't work with an iPod of course, you would need a computer or laptop to take advantage of it.
Also, I don't know much about iPod line out devices. But if you are using high rez digital files and would benefit from a better dac/amp, HRT makes a product called the iStreamer. I've never heard this product but am familiar with many other product in HRT's lineup. Their products are always great performers and good values.
Nate
You can't cheat an honest man, never give a sucker an even break or smarten up a chump -- W.C. Fields
I have the DT770 Pro Limited Edition 32 Ohm, which is a closed headphone and it does quite nicely driven by an iPhone or the headphone jack of a MacBook Air.
Sennheiser HD-600?
Nope, no so well.
Yup,, the Beyerdynamics DT 770 32ohm (& several of their other 32 ohm models) are nice
"no frills" upgrades to using the earbuds that came with your iPod . The open backed Sennheisers (beside having high impedances that unamped iPods probably won't have the
"ommph" to drive) may not give you much isolation from the surrounding enviornment.
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