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Just bought a Sennheiser HD 558 (at a very good price).
Very comfortable with my Motif XS.
I now need a good DP to go with it.

I've tested the Beyerdynamic DT880, AKG K702 and the Sennheiser HD650 on 3 digital pianos: the Roland HP605, Yamaha CLP545 and the Kawai CA67. I didn't like the Sennheiser at all, it felt like I had my head stuck inside the piano, muddy and bass-heavy. The AKG and the Beyerdynamic were very close but I found the AKG a little bit more comfortable on my head, so that's what I went with. It's very detailed and I feel like the piano is in front of me instead of having my head inside the piano.

That said, I highly recommend trying these headphones in a shop. Bring your own music (in good quality) and spend a few hours listening.

I also use AKG K702 and I like them.

They have a reasonably flat frequency response, are powerful enough with a small amplifier like O2, are comfortable and not excessively expensive.

I have not tried the other ones side-by-side to AKG though. I have mainly looked at reviews and frequency response graphs.

Nvidiot: How and where were you able to try out those headphone? Did you buy them, or were you able to try them in a shop?

I ask that because I found it nearly impossible to try headphones in any store here in the US (specifically, Florida).

I see that you're in the Netherlands. Perhaps the retail experience is different over there?

That's pretty funny! However, I think you might of had a faulty set if it was that bad. They sound excellent on all my boards (and other boards i've demoed). Maybe a slight touch of onboard EQ-ing to get ideal desired sound depending on what I am playing AP, EP, etc. But always find HD650 a huge pleasure without fatigue after hours of practice.



Same here. I work in Boston and travel to NYC a few times a month and I have no idea where to demo a variety of professional headphones. (Let alone a store with all high end digital pianos plus high end headphones.) All I see for demos is Beats and Bose and the big stores which does me no good.

I had to do quite a bit of searching & e-mailing different shops. They are sold in a lot of internet stores and while one could buy them, test them and then return them (the law in the Netherlands allows you to do this), I'd feel bad for the online store who now has opened boxes that he can't easily sell as new products.

I eventually found bax-shop in the Netherlands where they have several models out of the box for you to listen to, and they are happy to grab any other model from their stock and open the box for you. As luck would have it they also have digital pianos to play with, so you can just wander over to where the pianos are and test the headphones there.

I owned the ATH M50, the Audio Technica AD-900X and the more expensive Sennheiser HD650. I liked the Sennheisers the most and kept them. They have a very spacious sound with detail throughout the entire range. The ATH M50 were too bassy but otherwise sounded beautiful. I could have just turned down the EQ, but I also had the problem of my ears getting sweaty after prolonged use. The HD650's never get uncomfortable. I splurged thinking I can keep these for decades.

With headphones, there's always something better out there, and there are so many brands on the market, it's unreal. And then there's discussions of cables and headphone amps. It's bewildering.

I've noticed that the brands and models in the "big box" stores (high-volume, consumer-oriented shops for non-musicians) are not the same as models in music shops.

My local music store has a good-sized headphone display, with "bring your own music" capabilities. There's nothing like that at Costco or Best Buy.

I was in a consumer-oriented headphone shop a year ago, and asked why they didn't carry AKG K240's, though they had other AKG models.

. . . "They're too hard to drive -- small battery-operated devices
. . . won't handle them."

So there is a split developing between "professional" (= musicians and audiophiles) and "consumer" (= MP3 player) headphones.

My bias is to shop the music stores. Prices may be a little higher, but not much higher, usually.

Agree. Also, regarding "consumer", unfortunately it seems we are paying way too much for marketing more than sound and build quality. i.e. b**s by dr. d**

I don't think there is such a thing as "the best" headphones.

The "best" set of headphones for me is that I very seldom wear any.
A few years back I owned a pair of Koss 950 Electrostatic headphones (top of the line), but was never happy with the bass response in them. Although the upper end was good.

I've yet to hear any headphones that sound even close to as good as a nice pair of studio monitors.
So I would recommend a decent set of regular and comfortable headphones at a low price to go for, if one has to use them.
To search for "the best" is just a wild goose chase.

I got myself the Senns HD580 & HD530, found them used but mint condition on eBay, since I wanted an open sound as opposed to my otherwise very good sounding AKG K271 MkII. And I love them more and more every day , the HD580 being my first choice for the Vintage D and other digital piano sounds, whereas the HD530 shine with classical and jazz.
Still using the AKGs though, they're pretty useful when the kids are going wild in the house...

Interesting points here. Not just the frequency response but ergonomics and open versus closed design. I have the Senn HD650 and a Bose qC2 noise reduction headphone. both fit me great. One is closed, noise reduction and the other is open back. So most of us have a couple of headphones for different instruments or to cancel noise. This thread rightfully could go on for a while!!!! By the way I bough a couple of head phones from a big box store and they typically do not have the accuracy of even the Bose. which does not really have a great sonic reputation. I needed a noise reduction model and found it sounded the best of noise cancelling head phones. By the way I can get away without using a preamp with my Kawai ES7 and MP7. Preamps are another story......

Hi dear friends of the forum.

I just bought a Yamaha N2 and as part of the package I have a Sennheiser HD 558. Should I ask the dealer to Upgrade me to the HD 600?

(I think asking for the HD 650 its a bit too much and he will ask me to take a hike eheh)

Is there so much differences between the HD 558 and the 600?

Thank you all for the help and inputs

I know the HD 600 gets great reviews and even preferred over the HD650 for some as they are very neutral. This Sennheiser comparison video might be helpful:

Thanks for the vid in fact it confirms that the HD 600 is better to reproduce real sounds not enhance them which is perfect for piano playing. But he also said that from HD 600 and up to really get the best sound you need an amplifier or you're better with the lower range. Does the Yamaha N2 does a proper amplification? Or should i go with the lower range since it has no amplification?

Thank you all for the help

I think your N2 would push the HD600 no problem. My CP4 (i know - different animal) pushes the HD650 just fine, however, I use an inexpensive ROLLS AMP if my environment is excessively noisy or I want to add a second set of headphones when I want another person to listen with me. Rolls gives a very clean gain for short money IMO.

Looks like you are also going to receive a free pair of Yamaha HPH-MT120 headphones.

http://usa.yamaha.com/about_yamaha/..._promotions/bestofbothworldshybridpiano/

Thank you all for the help, you guys are the best

That promotion is only for the U.S, I live in Switzerland :P

Just talked with the dealer, Sennheiser HD 600 it is eheh

Good for you! A lot of love for the HD600 around the forum when you search it.