Phone/MonitorPhone for DP

[bmmarq]

Hello, PianoStreet Community .`m not really into phones so, I thought i would ask you guys
something that im struggling on deciding at the momment.

I own a Roland RD700NX Digital Piano, plugged on some
cheap Gianini Guittar Amplifier.I decided it was time to
buy a decent phone.My first doubt is :
Whats the difference between monitor phones (roland
rh-200, rh-a7 ) and normal phones ( sennheiser hd518 etc
etc ) ? In the country i live, theres basically only
those 2 phones in the price range i can afford.Which of
the two :
Roland RH-200S
Sennheiser HD518 West
would you recommend for the best/clear sound, giving the
roland piano sound the best potential ?

Any other hints would be appreciated although it may be
hard for me to get.
Thanks in advance.

[pianowolfi]

Are you looking for speakers? Or Headphones? Phone is something you can call somebody with, I think.
I don't know so much about electronic stuff, but Roland and Sennheiser are both good brands I think. I have a Roland Digital HP 107e with inbuilt speakers and I use a Sennheiser headphone HD 555 with it, and I really like both.

[bmmarq]

I just checked and theres also the Sony MDR7506 and the Sennheiser HD280Pro, would u recommend any of thsoe 4 ? Thanks

[lhorwinkle]

I would not recommend the HD280. I tried them and the did not sound good. For that price you can do much better.

You should decide whether you want open phones or closed phones.

The HD280 is a closed phone. It seals in the sound so no one else can hear, and blocks much outside noise. But closed phones generally don't sound as good as open phones.

Open phones will leak a little bit of sound, but not much. And they sound much better.

I bought the Beyerdynamic DTX-900. (They've since replaced that with the DTX-910.) They're around $100. Very comfortable, sound great, and much better than the HD280 (which costs about the same).

There are a number of other phones in the $100 price range. But you could also consider phones costing as little as $50-$60.

[oxy60]

Test, test, test. Test the headphones with your instrument, and on your ears. This choice is very subjective. Only you will know which is better.

BTW, there is a ton of electronic factors that could be discussed at length. In the end it's all up to you.

[quantum]

The Roland RH-200S are closed, HD 518 are open.  I did audition the HD 518 when looking for headphones, and was overall very pleased.  In the end I decided on the HD 558.  Some of my reasons for going with the HD 558 were: sound (of course), replaceable ear pads, replaceable cord.  I've had several headphones that needed to be retired just because the non replaceable cord became flakey with use.  

I was also very impressed with the Denon AH-D1100.  It is a closed headphone, but it has a soundstage that is very fitting to classical music (at least the samples I tried).  

When considering audiophile or studio headphones, it is important to make sure that the headphone can be driven with the equipment you intend to use it with.  High end models require a headphone amp to drive them in order to take full advantage of their qualities.  

As mentioned earlier in this thread, one of the main decisions you need to make is closed vs. open.  Closed phones have better external noise rejection, but can have internal resonance.  Open phones give you a better sense of the soundstage, however they do let room noise in, and leak sound out more than their closed counterparts. 

Best thing is to try them in person before you buy.  Use uncompressed WAV or FLAC when listening.  Don't bother with mp3, unless you intend to do a lot of mp3 listening with the phones.


You can learn a lot about the technical details of choosing headphones by reading reviews:
https://www.head-fi.org/t/538946/a-brief-review-of-sennheisers-hd-518s
https://www.head-fi.org/t/370141/roland-rh-200-impressions