I bought some new headphones. Sennheiser HD 515. They sound terrific. Especially when I listen to my home audio. I read that they sound a little weak when connected to an iPod. The amps in ipods vary from model to model. My 30 GB iPod Video has a much better amp than the 5 GB iPod I bought when they first came out.
BTW
Other mp3 player headphone amps are much less powerful than those in ipods.
I hooked my new Sennheiser headphones to my iPod to see how they might sound. They are easily the best experience I’ve had with my iPod. Better than my Shure e3c plugs. I’m sure they would sound even better with a headphone amp.
These headphones have a lot of room. I connected them to a better than 1 watt source. They don’t distort!
I’ve never considered that problem, that it should be possible to use them with the hi-fi equipment, Mac AND an iPod. What has been my concern is its frequency response the entire range, that it should be as flat as possible.
So my measurement of a good pair of headphones is that they practically never need EQ.
That said, I had Sennheiser before my current ones and would still be using them if not for the destructive nature of time. Now I’m using a pair of dirt cheap Sony MDR-XD100. A little too weak bass for some and I think the sharp 1-3kHz range is slightly too strong which can become obvious with some of the synthesizer sounds I’ve created.
I’ve never considered that problem, that it should be possible to use them with the hi-fi equipment, Mac AND an iPod. What has been my concern is its frequency response the entire range, that it should be as flat as possible.
The fidelity on the iPod is OK compared to listening to my home amp but not as detailed. One problem with the Sennheiser is that it is Open Air (rather than sealed). You really can’t wear it on a bus or in a public space without bothering the other people around you.
