Good headphones for an iPad.

Skyline

Skyline

Emmet Brickowski
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I’m looking for some headphones. I got up to £300 to play with if need be.
Here is where I need someone’s expert help. Do I need to get quality headphones, will it make much difference?
How good can it get out of a iPad listening to Amazon music. I also have a Fiio M3k.
At the moment I listen to music and films through some Shure SRH440. Nice enough, but if I spent more would I get a better sound with the two devices I use?
I do prefer wired headphones.
 
Decent doesnt mean £300, upto about £150 wired only would be what id look to pay. After that its wireless or deminishing level of return.
The Ipad will be doing the converting of the digital signal. I would be tempted to get a headphone DAC like a Dragonfly and then run the headphones through this.

Give me a sec and ill find a link
 
www.audioadvice.com

AudioQuest DragonFly USB DAC Comparison

We compare DragonFly Black, Red and Cobalt. Each USB DAC in the DragonFly family has its unique advantage and price-point. Click for more.
www.audioadvice.com www.audioadvice.com

US site but gives some good info.

You can get the Apple camera adaptor circa £35 which converts your Ipad conector to usb, the dragonfly plugs into the adaptor and the headphones into the dragonfly. The camera adaptor also allows you to charge the Ipad while using the Dragonfly. Just make sure you get the version that does this as there is a cheaper on that doesnt.

I have an IPhone I use with Amazon music and use the camera adaptor to enable me to put a USB input into a DAC then into my older Amp so that I get streaming at the best rate.
 
AgentOrange76 said:
www.audioadvice.com

AudioQuest DragonFly USB DAC Comparison

We compare DragonFly Black, Red and Cobalt. Each USB DAC in the DragonFly family has its unique advantage and price-point. Click for more.
www.audioadvice.com www.audioadvice.com

US site but gives some good info.

You can get the Apple camera adaptor circa £35 which converts your Ipad conector to usb, the dragonfly plugs into the adaptor and the headphones into the dragonfly. The camera adaptor also allows you to charge the Ipad while using the Dragonfly. Just make sure you get the version that does this as there is a cheaper on that doesnt.

I have an IPhone I use with Amazon music and use the camera adaptor to enable me to put a USB input into a DAC then into my older Amp so that I get streaming at the best rate.
Click to expand...


Thanks for that :)
I don't mean I want to spend 300, it's just that's my limit. If I can get something good (like you have linked me) with some good headphones for 150 then all the better :cool:
 
Headphones are pretty subjective, I’d wait till I can get to the shops and try out some in a hifi store, especially going to a possible £300.
 
mj4456 said:
Headphones are pretty subjective, I’d wait till I can get to the shops and try out some in a hifi store, especially going to a possible £300.
Click to expand...
Going to be difficult for me to get to the shops for a while.
 
There’s so many options to consider!
Wireless or wired. Wireless. Does not mean a reduction in quality anymore. I’ve got a wireless DAC that sounds amazing (Qudelix 5k, £100). I collect that to my sennheiser hd650’s and it’s truly astounding, some tracks I have heard many times before sound very different due to the detail that I can now hear.
Open vs closed headphones. Open are typically better sounding but leak sound and you can hear your surroundings. Closed headphones generally have less soundstage but you hear less of your surroundings and those near you won’t hear your music.
You can also get noise cancelling headphones which are closed back. These are great for steady noises such as engines or air conditioning and will reduce other noises such as general office noises. But, generally they won’t sound quite as good as another headphone costing the same as they have to include a lot of technology to cancel the noise. Sony or Bose are the only two with considering in the noise cancelling imho, but you will need to pay £150 or more.
Another thing to consider is your source of music. Plugging into the headphone Jack of a phone isn’t going to give the signal quality a really good headphone needs. Some headphones are also less sensitive so need more power to drive them, again a phone doesn’t output much power, but I found that the apple lightning to 3.5mm adapter just about powered my hd650s. But I was close to max and it wasn’t loud.

edit
If you either have a decent source with good power, or don’t mind spending a bit more to get something like the Qudelix 5k, the sennheiser hd650s will give you amazing hifi sound. They are used in many studios to master tracks and off for some reason you didn’t like them you could sell on at not much of a loss if you bought a good pair second hand. I got s bargain, but you could get a good pair for around £200.
If noise cancelling headphones seemed what you want , I would recommend finding anew pair of Bose qc35 on eBay for around £150, or a new pair of Bose 700s on amazon for a little over 200. I got mine from amazon Germany for about 210. Lots recommend Sony’s, but I discounted them once I found that you can’t get replacement ear pads from Sony and they were more often found to be uncomfortable vs the Bose
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Rapscallion said:
There’s so many options to consider!
Wireless or wired. Wireless. Does not mean a reduction in quality anymore. I’ve got a wireless DAC that sounds amazing (Qudelix 5k, £100). I collect that to my sennheiser hd650’s and it’s truly astounding, some tracks I have heard many times before sound very different due to the detail that I can now hear.
Open vs closed headphones. Open are typically better sounding but leak sound and you can hear your surroundings. Closed headphones generally have less soundstage but you hear less of your surroundings and those near you won’t hear your music.
You can also get noise cancelling headphones which are closed back. These are great for steady noises such as engines or air conditioning and will reduce other noises such as general office noises. But, generally they won’t sound quite as good as another headphone costing the same as they have to include a lot of technology to cancel the noise. Sony or Bose are the only two with considering in the noise cancelling imho, but you will need to pay £150 or more.
Another thing to consider is your source of music. Plugging into the headphone Jack of a phone isn’t going to give the signal quality a really good headphone needs. Some headphones are also less sensitive so need more power to drive them, again a phone doesn’t output much power, but I found that the apple lightning to 3.5mm adapter just about powered my hd650s. But I was close to max and it wasn’t loud.

edit
If you either have a decent source with good power, or don’t mind spending a bit more to get something like the Qudelix 5k, the sennheiser hd650s will give you amazing hifi sound. They are used in many studios to master tracks and off for some reason you didn’t like them you could sell on at not much of a loss if you bought a good pair second hand. I got s bargain, but you could get a good pair for around £200.
If noise cancelling headphones seemed what you want , I would recommend finding anew pair of Bose qc35 on eBay for around £150, or a new pair of Bose 700s on amazon for a little over 200. I got mine from amazon Germany for about 210. Lots recommend Sony’s, but I discounted them once I found that you can’t get replacement ear pads from Sony and they were more often found to be uncomfortable vs the Bose
Click to expand...

Yeh, prefer wired for my Fiio M3k and iPad Pro with jack. I have a little dac gadget somewhere I used for the last tv. I wonder if they would do the same job for headphones. I’m no audio expert as you can tell LOL.
 
Skyline said:
I’m looking for some headphones. I got up to £300 to play with if need be.
Here is where I need someone’s expert help. Do I need to get quality headphones, will it make much difference?
How good can it get out of a iPad listening to Amazon music. I also have a Fiio M3k.
At the moment I listen to music and films through some Shure SRH440. Nice enough, but if I spent more would I get a better sound with the two devices I use?
I do prefer wired headphones.
Click to expand...

To get a decent sound you'll need the Amazon Music HD. Otherwise a set of Porta Pros or similar will do. The suggested HD650s are very good but not a pair you'd wear on the train. I used mine with a Naim CD source, DAC and a tube hybrid headphone amp. I have a great pair of Grado SR80i w/ Vibro Mahogany Cups that I could probably let go if you're interested. It's a detailed headphone, nicely balanced and with decent bass and would be spot on for what you need at about £100 and would work very well with your Fiio M3k. Shoot me a PM if interested and I'll open a sales post to discuss it.
 
THIRTYFIVEMILL said:
To get a decent sound you'll need the Amazon Music HD. Otherwise a set of Porta Pros or similar will do. The suggested HD650s are very good but not a pair you'd wear on the train. I used mine with a Naim CD source, DAC and a tube hybrid headphone amp. I have a great pair of Grado SR80i w/ Vibro Mahogany Cups that I could probably let go if you're interested. It's a detailed headphone, nicely balanced and with decent bass and would be spot on for what you need at about £100 and would work very well with your Fiio M3k. Shoot me a PM if interested and I'll open a sales post to discuss it.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help.
I have some Shure SRH440 that I use just now. Just wonderful if spending more would produce a better sound with the two main items I use for music.
 
THIRTYFIVEMILL said:
To get a decent sound you'll need the Amazon Music HD....
Click to expand...
I’ve done quite a few tests and find that even a 192kbps mp3 file is indistinguishable from a higher bitrate. That’s not to say others can’t, but there’s plenty of evidence that high-def audio files are unnecessary for listening to music.

There’s an interesting test here

www.npr.org

How Well Can You Hear Audio Quality?

A hi-def test for your ears (and your audio equipment): Listen to these songs and see if you can tell the difference between an MP3 and an uncompressed audio file.
www.npr.org www.npr.org
 
Rapscallion said:
I’ve done quite a few tests and find that even a 192kbps mp3 file is indistinguishable from a higher bitrate. That’s not to say others can’t, but there’s plenty of evidence that high-def audio files are unnecessary for listening to music.

There’s an interesting test here

www.npr.org

How Well Can You Hear Audio Quality?

A hi-def test for your ears (and your audio equipment): Listen to these songs and see if you can tell the difference between an MP3 and an uncompressed audio file.
www.npr.org www.npr.org
Click to expand...

Not sure what bit-rate the standard files are at Amazon Music but there was a clear difference between those and the ones at AM HD using my Genelec 8020s via a DAC and amp. That said, those ripped at what Amazon call "HD" were harsh and not particularly enjoyable to listen to but their other hi bit rates were good. My preference is always a CD source, though personally.
 
Skyline said:
Thanks for the help.
I have some Shure SRH440 that I use just now. Just wonderful if spending more would produce a better sound with the two main items I use for music.
Click to expand...

A good DAC/Headphone amp would probably help more but for £300 you could get that and a better set of cans.
 
If you go for wireless, make sure the headphones support AAC, the codec the iPad uses for high quality audio over bluetooth. Not all do - e.g., my original Sennheiser PXC 550 headphones don't, but the newer PXC 550 II do.
 
I have a few, I've got the Bose 700 which are amazing but, soemtimes get a bit hot and heavy on my ears! Beats Powerbeats are the others I have, which are decent but again my ears are not too great on my ears! Airpods are the most comfy for sure, followed by my Bose Frames which are used as normal glasses. Ideally, I juve love being in my house and blasting sonos but.. can't work from home for ever!
 
Retune said:
If you go for wireless, make sure the headphones support AAC, the codec the iPad uses for high quality audio over bluetooth. Not all do - e.g., my original Sennheiser PXC 550 headphones don't, but the newer PXC 550 II do.
Click to expand...

When I used an iPad for a brief period I used line-out via a dongle from the charging port.
 
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