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Hello,
First, this post may also relate to the forum Headphone Amplifiers but usually forums forbid cross-posting, so I'm hoping if this one has links or allow X-post that it will be done to this post (mods please do), or be informed about it.
As this is my 1st post and it's customary to make an introduction in that case, here I go. I don't have a real discerning ear--although--I've been in clubs and standing music venue (like clubs but much larger sound-system and only for events (no recurrent themed events, like "disco evenings")), and once in a stadium, so I know what a very good and mediocre club sound-system sound like. I've rarely had good disposable income so rarely spent accordingly. I bought some used over the ears with grills (when another person try to look at the ear hole, the part between the center and the rim; please let me know the term if you know it) Sennheiser for 100 CAD (or less; currently 77.18 USD), although that was over a decade ago, they were good but not amazing I thought. Almost a decade ago I bought some Shure earbuds on pretty good special, from an official distributor, for 150-200 CAD I thought they were excellent.
All my music is digital, the vast majority in FLAC, the vast majority of the remnant in MP3 (almost never < 256 kbps). The genre that make me want to acquire better audio equipment, is EDM, especially hardcore-related, including Speedcore & Gabber. More than once the former sentence didn't get the response I was hoping for so I'm emphasizing: EDM alone is what drives me to improve my audio equipment, the rest of my preference is in case there would be close choices for that genre. I also enjoy metal & punk sub-genres, especially melding the 2 such as Sludge metal, Crust punk & Hardcore punk.
Would you suggest to me headphones & PMP (portable media player) combination along the formats & genres I prefer (previous paragraph), for 1000 CAD (or less) ? 1 CAD is usually 0.7 to 0.9 USD, currently (1,000.00 CAD = 771.765 USD). The equipment need to be rugged as I do sports and sometimes fall, I would get some protective case (I'm thinking of a cash box padded with some foam (harder next to the walls with shaped plushy toward the center)) but that would not prevent all damage from shock. I don't think I'll be using the combo while doing sport (often inline skating, and would use it while commuting back).
Thank you kindly
Je suis francophone.
Follow Ups:
The headphone market is alive and very busy. There are lots of headphones to choose from and $1000 is a healthy enough budget to get yourself some very good sound.
If you are looking for a good set of headphones for reasonable money HiFI Man has a set of planar dynamic headphones that received very good reviews from several sources, the headphone in question is the HE 400S. They also have another headphone named the HE400i but the HE 400S is a better all around headphone.
The HE 400S will require some boosting of the low end (by about 3db) but any player that allows you to turn up the bass should have no problem with this little issue.
The HE 400S is also very friendly to portable players. Many high quality headphones are difficult to drive and require a headphone amp to get moderate sound levels out of the headphones. The HE 400S can benefit from a headphone amp but they also will work pretty well with a portable player directly.
Oh, the HE 400S costs $299 which is very reasonable money for the quality of sound you will get from these headphones.
If you want to spend a bit of money on a headphone amp for home use you should take a look at the headphone amps from this company: Schiit Audio .
Yes, they make fun of the name they gave their own company but the products are deadly serious and are very good amps. You will find amps starting at $99 (Magni 2) all the way up to $1699 (Ragnarok). I own the next to the least expensive amp (Magni 2 Uber) and the Lyr 2 ($449). I use the Magni 2 Uber connected to an iFi Nano DSD (my work system) and the Lyr 2 is used on my main audio system that has 2 DACS and lots of sources to choose from (my serious listening system).
I figure you can guess by now that I also own the HiFi Man HE 400S (as well as lots of other headphones) and have driven the HE 400S from both Schiit amps mentioned above, as well as through my smart phone (iPhone 6s Plus) and from my old low resolution player (iPod classic). The HE 400S plays music well though portable devices but if you want to listen at loud levels you are going to need an amp.
I have driven the HE 400S with an old Headroom Total Bithead (portable DAC and headphone amp) and it produced high quality sound at head rocking levels. I doubt you will have much trouble matching the HE 400S with players and amps. The Total Bithead has not been produced for a number of years now. If you want a portable amp you will have to choose something like the Leckerton UHA-6S MKII . I do not own this device so you will have to ask someone else about its performance. I have added it here because I respect and generally agree with the reviewer.
Back to the headphones...
The quality of the sound produced by the HE 400S is impressive. I am a long time owner of full range electrostatic headphones manufactured by Stax (Stax Lambda Pros). The HE 400S is not the equal of full range electrostatic headphones but it produces excellent quality sound that is surprising for a headphone that costs $299.
There are many other headphones to choose from but the HE 400S is one of the higher quality headphones for reasonable money. At the bottom of this post is a link to a review of the HE 400S. There are lots of other headphones at the site that the link below is located at. The site is called Inner Fidelity and it covers nothing but headphones and headphone related products,
Best of luck,
Ed
We don't shush around here!
Life is analog...digital is just samples thereof
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