Hi everyone. It has been awhile since I have been on this board because last month, after 3 months of searching, we finally decided on, and purchased a Roland FP-7f for my daughter! We found a very good deal on a floor model, (it had also been rented for a few gigs), but still with full warranty. We haven't bought any headphones yet, though, and we could use some recommendations. I remember reading something on this board about some headphones working better with this piano than others (something about too much bass with one?)I can't spend too much, however--maybe $50 or so max. Any suggestions?
While my daughter (and I) really like the FP-7f, I have to admit that those on-board speakers are not the best (But at least it HAS speakers!) The store owner pointed out how much better the same speakers sound in a similiar Roland console piano! However, since it cost so much more for the furniture case, we will live with the lousy speakers for now. Maybe in the future she can attach some other speakers. So, I am sure that my daughter's listening experience will improve greatly if she can listen to it through good headphones.
By the way, I have noticed that her practice playing time has increased since she got the DP! She likes varying her time between the acoustic and the digital. She especially likes the built-in metronome for practice. She also seems to like having it in her bedroom--especially at night--much cozier!
Thanks for all your help on this board.

$50 is rather low, at that price point an often recommended headphone is the Sennheiser HD201 or something, but I plugged my roommate's HD201 into my FP-7F and it was sorta quiet even at full blast, and I don't like them anyways.

For low price headphones I think in ears are the best bang for the buck, nothing gets close to them when it comes to faithful bass reproduction and efficiency. headphone.com has good reviews of headphones in my opinion.

I have the FP-7F and the AKG 240's are not sensitive enough. THey sound good, just quiet. I have a headphone pre-amp now. If you go with headphones, be sure not to get high impedance ones, and ones that are on the sensitive side.

For reference, min are
55 ohms (nominal)
Sensitivity 91 dB/mW, 104 dB/V

- Audio Technica ATH-AD700 (~$100) - very comfortable, excellent sound
- Koss KSC75 (~$13) - great sound for the price, also fairly comfortable

Fun2Learn, congratulations on purchasing the FP-7F. It was a lengthy decision making process, but I think you made the right choice!

Ah, I'm afraid I do not have any headphone recommendations for you, sorry...

Cheers,
James
x

I'm a bit surprised by Gomer's comment. The FP7F sounds fantastic through AKG 240 MkII headphones without a pre amp, and with volume set to half way on the 7F is plenty enough (too loud for long periods) through them. Maybe out of your budget though?

Congrats on the purchase and yes it sounds better through headphones, or external speakers connected to line out (not the headphone socket).

I can strongly recommand Koss Porta Pro. Imo the best value-for money headphone on earth...

IMHO, Koss Porta Pro are not very good for use with piano. I tested a pair of them at my Yamaha YDP-161 and the basses were too strong and I perceived the heights as rather dull. But yes, they are very cheap.

I'd rather recommend Sennheiser PX 100-II ($57) as headphones in your price range for use with piano.
(http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-100-II-...3419&sr=8-1).

I also think it's important to let your daughter try out any headphones before buying to see if they feel comfortable.

I think the disagreement about the AKG K-240s is that there have been numerous versions of them, and they have different impedance and sensitivities so they will give you different results. They also sound different. The older models tend to be more neutral, and the most neutral is the DF, but it also is harder to drive.

I agree that headphone.com is a good site. Based largely on the info there, for budget phones, I'd probably go for the Shure SRH440, but that's still $100.

There's also the question of whether you prefer sealed or open phones. I like sealed phones, for blocking out extraneous noises, and for creating less noise for others nearby.

They do sound good, but are quiet. Wonder what the difference is lol. I have the AKG240 studio which are "only" ~ 100 vs the MKII which are a fair bit more (same internals as far as I know)

I'd second the recommendation for the Sennheiser PX-100 at that price range. I have a pair (mark I, not mark II that is currently selling) and I find they work really well for my DP.

As a note, someone mentioned in ear headphones. I have to say that sometimes I use my Etymotic in ears, which are great headphones generally, when I want to block out external sounds. The open Sennheisers are way better for the DP.

I think you can do very well with the PX-100s, and certainly they will sound a lot better than the internal speakers. Also, they are very comfortable.

Can't believe I didn't think of them. Grado SR60(i) is one heck of a budget headphone! On sale, the price on them is closer to your budget.

http://www.headphone.com/selection-guide/top-picks/10-best-headphones.php

I use AKG K271 on my HP201. At first I ran them with the volume knob at 3 o'clock because they didn't "feel" loud. It was actually so loud that when I would take them off, I'd have more "hiss" than normal and the inside of my ears would feel hot. Thing is, they're so clean, your brain isn't saying "TOO LOUD!" until it's too late.

Now that I've learned how my piano and headphones get along, I play with the volume knob at 10 o'clock.

I actually have a headphone amp with separate power supply for the K271. I used to use these for music listening at work. Once I figured out what was going on, why it was that they didn't "feel" loud, I didn't have to use the amp anymore. The piano drives 'em just fine. So does my receiver and my computer, even. Going from "normal" headphones to really superb ones fooled me for a bit into thinking the really superb ones aren't as loud.

The short of it: The cleaner the sound, the "less-loud" but more natural it'll seem. It's really easy, with super-clean headphones or speakers, to get into sound pressure levels that can harm you if done for too long -- without noticing it. Once you stop, that's when you notice it.

AKG 240, 271 would be great choices. Pricey, but worth it. They're favorites in studios, the 240's been around for what.. 3, 4 decades now? You see it (240) a lot in photos and film showing what goes on in studios. AKG is easy to spot, they do look weird ;o) They're workhorses, though, the real thing. Light, easy to wear for hours at a time. I've yet to have found a more comfortable headphone. The reason I went 271 instead of 240 is 240 is semi-open, and I wanted to block ambient sound as much as I could, so I got the closed ones, the k271.

Another to look into at a lower price bracket is Denon's AH-310. My best friend has these for his desk at work, and I've put a few hours on them -- they're really nice for the price (50 USD, I think.) I don't think they're as comfortable as my AKGs, though.

The worst mistake I ever did was hook up those AKGs to my piano. Once I tasted that, I couldn't take them back to work. They had to stay with the piano, they are that good. At work I now use klipsch S4 earbuds.

OK, you've just spent well over $1K for a piano. Do you really want to reduce your playing experience to be equivalent to $50? If yes - ignore the rest of this post.


Otherwise - get good headphones. Beyerdynamics DT880 is the cheapest frequency-correct option one can get. Not 770 and not 990, but the 880. My 2c.

I thought that, just didn't want to say it :P

At that budget, I'd look at the DENON AH-D2000

That's the reasoning that a car salesman will use to sell you a $400 pin-stripe after selling you a $30,000 car. Specious logic.

Anyway, given the mediocre sound quality of a $1000 piano (or even a $2000 piano), I don't think he'll lose much by using $50 headphones in place of expensive ones.

If only physical facts depended on what you *think* about them.

Anyway, you may be correct and for *some* people there may be no benefit from better audio. For those with trained ear, the difference between bad and good headphones is pretty obvious.

Well, it's your ears. Do whatever you want with them.

If the budget can handle it, those are great 'phones. Easy to drive, too.

Absolutely true ... when listening to a decent source. But on-board sampled sounds are lacking in quality. Good phones won't fix a poor source.

onboard+sampled=bad

What a simple world you live in.


Anyway, to the OP: I think FP-7F is great. Congrats on getting it.

I say that because I found a new reference: piano libraries. Most of them are so much better than the on-board samples that the latter are, for me, intolerable. Yes, they sound sort of like a piano. But compared to the Ivory and Galaxy sounds, they pale.

Dewster expresses that in technical terms, offering hard evidence obtained from elaborate test equipment. But the ears, too, can tell the difference.

The dt880s need a dedicated amp to shine, so that's another $100-$300.

With Yamaha P120, Roland V-Piano and Access Virus, DT880 need no preamp.

I suspect FP-7f will be just fine as is.

Unless you have a digital out to send to a quality DAC (which the roland does not have), a pre-amp will ONLY help if you are underpowering the headphones.

Didn't know that. Thank you. Is there any information regarding built in amps in DPs? I can never find any, maybe because amps on general aren't well described by quantitative specs.

Thank you SO much everyone! (I am finally getting back to reading this after being busy with Spring Break and Easter activities!)I am going to print this all out to study the information, and I will take all these recommendations and tips with me to the store. Thanks again for all the help and encouragement I've gotten on this forum!

Dont forget to try this one

http://www.amazon.com/JVC-HARX700-Precision-Sound-Headphones/dp/B0013OWPV4

http://www.head-fi.org/t/436015/official...rvations-please


http://www.head-fi.org/t/435809/jvc-ha-rx700-mods

Sounds interesting!

Sorry for bringing this thread up again, but did someone try the
JVC HARX700 and can command on them?

Update, I've been using Ultimate Ears UE350 in ears for a few weeks, and I think I like them quite a bit. For a really cheap headphone that you wouldn't worry about if it broke (not that it breaks easily at all!) I really liked Klipsch Image S2 (S4 doesn't sound as good as my UE350, side by side comparison, not worth the money). At under 40 bucks shipped, I'm pretty happy, especially since the cord is really thick and strong compared to anything I've seen before.