Headphone for ASUS Xonar STX

[luccha]

I just got an Asus Xonar STX and I'm pretty happy with it! There's the option to plug a 600 ohms headphone, so I was wondering how much better it could be.
I have an AKG K518 DJ, I think it is good, but it hurts my ears after some time using it (because of its sealed closed-back design), so I think its time to buy a new one to pair it with my STX (as much confortable as possible).

I was looking for a 600 ohms headphone between 150-250 US$, does anyone have any interesting recommendation?

 

[trihedral]

i have the Sennheiser HD 598, 600, and 650.

Tried the Sennheiser HD 800 once, they're amazing!

i believe the 598 is rated 50 ohm, others are 300+.

I still prefer the 598 mid's, they're a lot more bright than the other bassy ones.
AKG should have the other high end ones.

What is your preference? Open air, or enclosed?

Grado also has some awesome headphones.
http/www.gradolabs.com/page_headphones.php

anything 40,000 Hz and over is nice frequency response. Those $1000 headphones go up to 50,000 Hz. and start's low as they could.

 

[ssddx]

its not a 600ohm headset....but its rated one of the best under $300

audio technica ath-m50 studio monitor headphones. 35ohm i think. seen prices go between $80-180 depending on where/when you buy.

i know what you mean about some headsets hurting your ears after awhile. i havent had any issues with the m50s and i use them daily.

 

[luccha]

Hey mates thaks a lot for your reply.
I ended up getting a beyerdynamic DT990 PRO. . .simply loving it!! it is rated 250 ohms, and is playing perfectly with my stx set to High Gain (+12db)

but thaks a lot for the suggestions, I'm sure they all would be great!

 

[luccha]

Best answer selected by luccha.

 

[trihedral]

Lol man. Those look awesome.

It's like some hunter killed a gray wolf and took it's skin and mixed it with a little technology.

Let me know how they work for you. It's pretty expensive so it should work really well.

 

[luccha]

Lol man. Those look awesome.

It's like some hunter killed a gray wolf and took it's skin and mixed it with a little technology.

Let me know how they work for you. It's pretty expensive so it should work really well.

huahauhauhh flufy soft wolf skin

It really sounds good, way better than my AKG K518
I'm no expert, but I think the bass sounds very natural, with no boost at all, just like the sound was meant to be played. Some musics kind of lost their punchy rhythm (electro/house), but thats mostly because of bad quality mp3 below 192kbps (flac sounds perfect!)

the fact of being open makes a lot of difference, but I cant explain it... you'd have to hear it to know what I'm talking. I can hear lots of nuances that I had no idea they would exist, it is really impressive. I highly recommend it

now I'm left wondering if an dedicated headphone amp would make it even more awesome...

 

[ssddx]

isn't the whole reason for buying a xonar stx card because it has an amplifier for your headphones built into it? after all the card is of little use besides that fact.

if you start stacking amplifiers you are bound to start hearing distortion or noise.

 

[luccha]

I bought the xonar mainly because it has a wonderful analog stereo output (which really improved my razer mako quality over the xonar hdav and m-audio 2496). The headphone amp was more like an extra feature ...
I've tried today the beyer on a McIntosh ma6300 amp but didnt really feel any difference, going to try it on an yamaha rx-v671 and see what happens.
Anyway I think ssddx is right about stacking amps... even though I just dont quite believe that an 200us$ pci-e card can be better than those us$800 amps

 

[luccha]

Believe it or not, the yamaha sounded a little better than the mcintosh, but still not too different from the xonar stx. I'm going to stick with the stx for a while, at least until the beyer goes over the first 150 hours.. then I'll think about it haha
Either way, 990pro really sounds amazing and I'm very happy with it.

 

[soundguruman]

The best headphones cover the entire ear, like a cup.
Avoid any headphones that press foam pads against the ear lobes.