Why do Sennheiser HD 515 sound terrible on my laptop? & help choosing new headphones.

My Dad has Sennheiser HD 515 headphones that he uses for the Hi-Fi, which they sound very good with. They seem ok on some other portable devices, but with my laptop they have less base and generally sound a bit poor. Using the equaliser doesn't help much; they just don't sound as they should.

I guess could be because they aren't getting the power required or could it be the nominal impedance (50 ohms)?

I'm looking to replace my Sony MDR-XD200 headphones I currently use with my laptop. They sound as expected; not as crisp as they could be, but faily well balanced. I'm considering Sennheiser HD 485s for £40. They have 32 ohm impedance which may help (but I don't fully understand) and CNET's review say they're very good with IPODs so I expect they'll be fine with my laptop. They have a 3.5mm jack, unlike the HD 515 which requires an adaptor down to 3.5mm (don't want to use an adaptor). Are these good headphones, considering a budget of £50 (any other suggestions)? Thanks.

EDIT: I have found that disabling all 'sound effects' (equaliser, environment etc) in control panel and then using Windows Media Player's equaliser gets good sound quality (certainly not terrible). Also, I was listening to standard 128kbps WMA files, and when listening from CD the quality is definetely better so I'm going to re-rip my CDs to a 192kbs WMA files.

 

I don’t know why they don't sound good with your notebook, but you can try one last thing before giving up. If you already use Winamp then install Jammix Enhancer DSP plugin, and use a preset like Super big bass or Super low drum&bass. I find this DSP plugin to produce cleaner and deeper bass sounds than any other equalizer/ plugin I've ever used with any audio player.

I've used a pair of Philips HB-840 (40Ω headphones with my notebook, and it sounded alright, therefore I'm not sure how much impedance affect the sound quality....

 

The better quality the headphones, the better the audio source has to be!

 

According to your argument
low quality headphones + low quality audio = High quality headphones + high quality audio ??
I think you got it wrong….

 

with high quality headphone, you will hear a lot more detail than you will with poor quality ones, that includes noise and audio processing errors.

you need good quality playback equipment, to benefit.

 

Guys guys guys and OP

Sennheiser HD515 are headphones of 50 Ohm impedance... laptop soundcards are just able to drive 32 Ohms.

U need a new external Soundcard or some Headphone amp like EMU 0202.

I had same problem so i bought myself Creative XMOD...its not a professional sound processor but awesome for consumer market.


So get yourself an external USB soundcard.

I am a member of Head-fi so i could help u bit.

P.S: Laptop internal soundcard is even worse then your iPod so u can imagine how much ur HD515 is craving for a good Source.

 

I think he needs an amp to boost the power.

 

As i said you need better equipment to run good quality headphones!

 

I was hoping that I could find some headphones that work well with the Realtek 'High Definition' ALC268 integrated sound. Spending £600 on a laptop I'd expect decent sound output, even if it is integrated. I thought maybe the Ohms rating could help choosing headphones well suited to the internal sound and make the most of what I've got.

If the integrated sound can't drive 50 ohm headphones, then maybe a good set of headphones with less impedance would sound better?

It's a bit like buying a decent amp, but pairing it with overpowered speakers and expecting great sound quality. Surely you have to get equipment that works well together? Not just assume the output is rubbish because it doesn't work well with the speakers/headphones.

I had been considering a pair of Logitech Z-10 speakers when I first got the laptop. They plug in through USB, by-passing the internal sound and using their own sound decoder which I could also use with headphones. I was put off by their size and having to install more drivers (more processes running ). They're £60, but at least I get a decent set of speakers this way and the sound output should be good for headphones. Do you think they would be a good choice?

I very rarely use the HD 515s; they're not mine and while they're good on the Hi-Fi, they're not so well suited to much else. I use my Sony MDR-XD200 for the laptop; which I would like to replace, maybe with HD 485s. But buying all this would go over what I was planning to spend...

 

I have asked my Dad and apparently impedance only matters if it is less than what the output device is rated for. So the 50ohms won't make a difference. Which suggests my sound card just isn't good enough...

 

Yes, youre dad is right - he knows what hes talking about

 

thats why i mentioned u need a headphone Amp which will make them sound better.


also, laptop soundcard is the poorest component on your laptop so get a new external soundcard if u are keep those HD515.

 

you'd be better off seeking advice from www.head-fi.org in the " computer as a source " section. There are bound to be people on there using HD515 that could give you specific advice on what amp, soundcard ect would work well with them. There aren't a lot of people on nbr who are extremely knowledgeable in the specifics of headphones and the different models, and I won't pretend that I am either.