Unfortunately looking for excellent headphones

[rdp6]

I am very happy with Grado SR80i headphones. I mostly listen to rock (think Les Paul & Marshall amps). These are very well suited for rock music, especially punk (Bad Religion, Green Day, NOFX), Grunge (Soundgarden's bassist is very much revealed with these headphones), and then there is Jazz: Coltrane's Bitches' Brew and Nora Jones & Adele come alive on the SR-80i phones.

The construction seems to be pretty good, although my use is light (when at my desk at work). Cable is pretty long, maybe 2m.

I bought the iGrados for my wife but she doesn't care for the fact that they don't fold. I use them while doing yardwork, so I can't assess their sound. I expect they have the same drivers as the SR-80i, but the plastic headband makes the headphones too tight for me.

My audio source is a current generation 32GB iPod Touch. No headphone amp.

 

[uhohs]

Stax - no particular models, but you probably want to go higher end to get the best. That or vintage. Also keep in mind that they're electrostatic so they'll need energizer (special amp).

There's a ton of others I know I'm forgetting (there's a couple of new headphones that are popular and would be more comparable to Stax, one is I think Audeze LCD-2, and the other is Head-Direct EF-5?), but this will be a good starting point.

HE-5/HE-5LE/HE-6, EF-5 is the amp.

oh, and pretty much all Stax are great in some way, no real need to go high end if the lower end stuff pleases your ears. I find the entry level sr-2050a combo to be amazing, especially since you can usually get a used set for $400'ish or less.

 

[darkswordsman17]

HE-5/HE-5LE/HE-6, EF-5 is the amp.

oh, and pretty much all Stax are great in some way, no real need to go high end if the lower end stuff pleases your ears. I find the entry level sr-2050a combo to be amazing, especially since you can usually get a used set for $400'ish or less.

Ah, yeah, I figured I was getting it wrong. Haven't heard them yet, but they seem pretty interesting. Its nice to see some developments outside of the typical dynamic driver.

You can nab some good vintage stuff for cheap too. I've heard the 2050II system, and it was very good, although I personally preferred the W5000 (loved the speed and detail of both, but preferred the bass texture and overall tonality on the W5000, plus the Stax was just too open for me). I also tried the SR-001 (the portable system), and it was very nice, I preferred it to the 2050II actually. For ~$300, I think quite a bit of people would take it over plenty of the midrange headphones. But it did have its drawbacks. They really need to come up with a different "cone" material than the rigid plastic they use (if nothing else just make a silicon tip that adjusts to your ear better). I'd like to hear them out a better "amp" (I know some on Head-Fi modded theirs, but not even just that, I think it would shine with a desktop amp especially). The problem is, I don't know how they'd compete with say JH-13s, and so you might would be better off with the greater flexibility of the latter.

 

[Tiamat]

I really like my Denon D2000. My only quip is that they are a bit heavy, but the ear cushions are very comfy. Heavy due to the use of metal rather than plastic...

 

[vbuggy]

I'm not really set on price. I'll be using them a lot, and I've found that headphones tend to have good resale so I don't mind spending a little bit. $1400 is a bit much, but the HD600/650 + amp is in my price range.

Portability is of no concern, and I'm fine with over the ear headphones. Open or closed is fine, I'm guessing I'll go with closed for more bass?

Any thoughts on amp?

Assuming you're still umming, I'd dangle the Denon AH-D5000 in front of you in that case. Probably the best choice. Not ultimately as capable as the HD650's, DT880 or even the K701/2 etc but a less polite, more 'consumer-fi' sound which may compensate for not being able to crank up the sub of yours. Reasonably comfortable, reasonably well screwed topgether.

There's no telling of course how you might react to the change in the way phones represent sound, but if you're looking for a 'big' sound, the Denon's are the most likely to satisfy. Stax, Sennheiser at al are relatively polite (the HD650 is very capable, but not what I'd call the most 'wakey wakey' phone out there), while Beyerdynamic's 'audiophile' models are somewhat antiseptic in comparison.

I use the Beyerdynamic Tesla T1 as my throwaround computer-phones, alternating with also-Beyer MMX 300 and Logitech G35, depending on the machine / use. If I didn't have the G35, I might have opted to keep the D5000 (and the D7000, neither of which I liked all that much in terms of a 'hi-fi phone' - but that is my taste) for more bass-driven gaming use. I also use electrostatics, but they've been moved to music only use when not sitting in front of a computer.

 

[simonizor]

Amazon is also a decent place, but the problem is, Amazon itself doesn't always offer great pricing, and so you need to be sure if you're actually buying it from them or one of the other places. Plenty of the stores that have a good presence on Amazon (Beach Camera, J&R, can't remember the others) also sometimes have good deals, although I don't know about their return policies. Some people are lucky and have Guitar Centers or Musican's Friend stores near them that carry some pretty good headphones. Seems their trial (demo pairs in the stores themselves) and return policies are pretty hit and miss (some people they opened new boxes for them to try out in the store, and then others were told they couldn't even return the headphones at all), so be sure to ask about their policies beforehand.

I don't know much about high end headphones, but I've been looking at sennheiser lately and Amazon seemed to have some really great prices on them. Before pulling the trigger, I did a bit of research and it seems that people have been getting imitation headphones labeled as sennheisers. Sennheiser's site says to only buy from authorized retailers, which Amazon is, but a lot of the second party sellers that Amazon goes through are not.

TL;DR: Don't buy sennheisers from Amazon unless they are coming directly from Amazon or one of the authorized dealers.

http://www.sennheiserusa.com/serviceandsupport_counterfeitalert
http://www.sennheiserusa.com/serviceandsupport_authorized-dealers_online-dealers_list

 

[darkswordsman17]

Assuming you're still umming, I'd dangle the Denon AH-D5000 in front of you in that case. Probably the best choice. Not ultimately as capable as the HD650's, DT880 or even the K701/2 etc but a less polite, more 'consumer-fi' sound which may compensate for not being able to crank up the sub of yours. Reasonably comfortable, reasonably well screwed topgether.

There's no telling of course how you might react to the change in the way phones represent sound, but if you're looking for a 'big' sound, the Denon's are the most likely to satisfy. Stax, Sennheiser at al are relatively polite (the HD650 is very capable, but not what I'd call the most 'wakey wakey' phone out there), while Beyerdynamic's 'audiophile' models are somewhat antiseptic in comparison.

I use the Beyerdynamic Tesla T1 as my throwaround computer-phones, alternating with also-Beyer MMX 300 and Logitech G35, depending on the machine / use. If I didn't have the G35, I might have opted to keep the D5000 (and the D7000, neither of which I liked all that much in terms of a 'hi-fi phone' - but that is my taste) for more bass-driven gaming use. I also use electrostatics, but they've been moved to music only use when not sitting in front of a computer.

That's a hell of a throwaround headphone.

I've said about the D2000/A900/DT770 type of headphones that they offer a typical mass appeal sound signature, but they also provide some of the the audiophile sound (often the driver is capable of a more, they just tuned it using the enclosure to be more bass centric). I think they make for great intro headphones as they help bridge the gap between the two, and often times lead people into more audiophile tuned equipment.

I don't know much about high end headphones, but I've been looking at sennheiser lately and Amazon seemed to have some really great prices on them. Before pulling the trigger, I did a bit of research and it seems that people have been getting imitation headphones labeled as sennheisers. Sennheiser's site says to only buy from authorized retailers, which Amazon is, but a lot of the second party sellers that Amazon goes through are not.

TL;DR: Don't buy sennheisers from Amazon unless they are coming directly from Amazon or one of the authorized dealers.

http://www.sennheiserusa.com/serviceandsupport_counterfeitalert
http://www.sennheiserusa.com/serviceandsupport_authorized-dealers_online-dealers_list

That's a good point, as there's quite a bit of fakes out there. Audio-Technica has also been hit with fakes (the ES7/ESW9/ESW10 for instance, and I would guess the ES10). Most of the big sellers on Amazon are pretty trustworthy, but you could always check (I know people have had some of them check to make sure the headphones aren't fakes). I believe J&R got hit with a bad batch of one popular headphone. Not exactly sure what their response was, but I believe they replaced them.

Even Newegg has been hit with bad batches though (fairly recently, they had a bad batch of I believe CPUs that there was a big mess about), so there the possibility.

 

[vbuggy]

That's a hell of a throwaround headphone.

I've said about the D2000/A900/DT770 type of headphones that they offer a typical mass appeal sound signature, but they also provide some of the the audiophile sound (often the driver is capable of a more, they just tuned it using the enclosure to be more bass centric). I think they make for great intro headphones as they help bridge the gap between the two, and often times lead people into more audiophile tuned equipment.

Well, it is significantly less ridiculous than gaming on the HE/V90 system - as at one time, I did, as I didn't really have a use for it in the living room back then. These days I do use the T1 just for PC-based music duties, it doesn't have enough 'body' for gaming duties. My ideal would be one headSET that did it all, but it doesn't seem to exist.

The AH-D5000 is just that sort of crowd-pleaser you mention, but at a higher level that might satisfy those who're looking for something premium - although from my perspective it (and the 7000 to an even bigger degree) falls short of premium sound for me. The big deal I guess is that like the ATH-A900 and the ilk, it doesn't need amping - merely a reasonably clean soundcard with a half-decent output.

It's definitely not my cup of tea with a bass that's over-bouncy and a tad flabby, a treble that's emphasised without quite the attendant expected detail for a phone in this price band, but it's a cert what the majority of people would prefer if I stuck the DT 880 (or indeed the Tesla 1) and the AH-D5000 on their heads. For a computer-based all-rounder, this sort of thing might be better for most IMO.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Well, it is significantly less ridiculous than gaming on the HE/V90 system - as at one time, I did, as I didn't really have a use for it in the living room back then. These days I do use the T1 just for PC-based music duties, it doesn't have enough 'body' for gaming duties. My ideal would be one headSET that did it all, but it doesn't seem to exist.

The AH-D5000 is just that sort of crowd-pleaser you mention, but at a higher level that might satisfy those who're looking for something premium - although from my perspective it (and the 7000 to an even bigger degree) falls short of premium sound for me. The big deal I guess is that like the ATH-A900 and the ilk, it doesn't need amping - merely a reasonably clean soundcard with a half-decent output.

It's definitely not my cup of tea with a bass that's over-bouncy and a tad flabby, a treble that's emphasised without quite the attendant expected detail for a phone in this price band, but it's a cert what the majority of people would prefer if I stuck the DT 880 (or indeed the Tesla 1) and the AH-D5000 on their heads. For a computer-based all-rounder, this sort of thing might be better for most IMO.

Yeah, compared to an HE90 setup it would be a throwaround.

Exactly why I recommend them, they're pretty hassle free. Another plus is that because they use audiophile drivers, with some light modding you can actually get more of the audiophile sound if you want to.

Definitely preaching to the choir. My favorite headphone thus far has been the W5000.

 

[BD2003]

I've got a pair of the ultrasone HFI-780 - they are absolutely fantastic. Theyre relatively comfy, but the detail on them is the best I've ever heard from a set of headphones.

I came from a set of grado SR-80s which were *really* good, but the ultrasones simply sound better in every way.

 

[konakona]

I don't want to get too in depth or wordy, so I'll just break it down into some headphones I think you should check out:

Sennheiser - HD650 and HD600. The HD800 are good, but they seem to be love/hate, and with their price, and the fact that they don't particularly excel at the two genres you listed, I don't think they'd be a good fit.

Denon - D2000/5000/7000. All are similar and more or less based on the same design. Have been compared to the HD650 sound wise but also have their own unique sound. I've heard the D2000 and its very good. My recommendation would be one of the Denon models. You could try the D2000 for fairly cheap, and if you like them a lot you could sell them and move up to the D7000s

Audio-Technica - W1000X, AD2000, maybe the A1000X/A2000X (not a lot of feedback on the latter two, the W1000X is fairly new but already pretty well liked, and the AD2000 should be good for the two genres you listed). I'm a big W5000 fan myself, but they have a lot of quirks, and unless modded aren't great sounding for the two genres you listed (they're like the HD800).

AKG - I don't know that they have any that fit really well for what you're looking for either, and many of their better headphones are in production. I thought they were supposed to have a new flagship this year, but I think its gotten pushed to next year.

Beyerdynamic - DT770/880/990. All 3 are roughly HD650 level. They also have the T1 and I believe should have another high end (like the HD800, means $1400) headphone very soon (based on the T1).

Ultrasone - a bit more polarizing (love/hate responses) than other brands. HFI-780 and Pro-900 for midrange (well I think the 900 is more upper midrange, like $400-500 range). Also have the Edition 8 in the high end, and will have an Edition 10 very soon (even higher high end, possibly $2000-3000 range).

JVC - Victor 700 and 1000 I think are the models. No personal experience and not a ton of people that have them, but most who do like them quite a bit.

Stax - no particular models, but you probably want to go higher end to get the best. That or vintage. Also keep in mind that they're electrostatic so they'll need energizer (special amp).

There's a ton of others I know I'm forgetting (there's a couple of new headphones that are popular and would be more comparable to Stax, one is I think Audeze LCD-2, and the other is Head-Direct EF-5?), but this will be a good starting point.

Oh, on the portable end, I'd say check out Audio-Technicas mid/upper-mid ESW9, ESW10, and ES10. There's so many IEMs to go into that I can't even begin to cover it (and feedback is all over the place). I will single out the Westone ES3X and Jerry Harvey Audio customs.

Out of those, I have HD650, HD580, D7000, AD2000 and K701. Between HD650 and AD2000 it's a bit of a toss up to me, with the former having a bit more resolution and midbass centric presentation, whereas the latter has some more euphorically mellow midhighs (at the cost of some lower notes missing). Comfort wise the senn wins hands down, AD2000s hurt my earlobes though expanding the headband with a pile of books mitigates that to a certain degree. D7000s sounded less musical to my ears, only listenable at lower volume to my ears - a mild letdown in my mind. I find the AT phone more similar to the senn than this one. K701 rarely gets any use out of it, partly because my OTL amp is not very well suited for this current hungry set of cans. Too tinny sounding with tipped up highs, too lean on bass. HD580s, well... I like em but not as much as the 650s.

Just to be cpt. Obvious, everything comes down to preference at this level; can't really have a last word on which one is "better", so it really helps if you try to figure out what your own taste for sound is.

I will just say this - most of these phones require some serious amplification, but some amp work better with certain phones and yet others work better different phones. If you don't plan on expanding your inventory of expensive headphones, plan ahead on which amp you want to buy and mate your phones to go with them (or vice versa, just that you better off make enough provisions for an amp that is known to synergize well with the phones you have on your mind)

Also, comfort is very important. On that note alone, I wouldn't recommend any of the AT cans with metal wire headband if you don't like excessive clamping + drivers brushing against you earlobes. To me senns are the comfiest as most others weigh too much and put a decent amount of strain on my head and neck.

 

[Ika]

Out of those, I have HD650, HD580, D7000, AD2000 and K701. Between HD650 and AD2000 it's a bit of a toss up to me, with the former having a bit more resolution and midbass centric presentation, whereas the latter has some more euphorically mellow midhighs (at the cost of some lower notes missing). Comfort wise the senn wins hands down, AD2000s hurt my earlobes though expanding the headband with a pile of books mitigates that to a certain degree. D7000s sounded less musical to my ears, only listenable at lower volume to my ears - a mild letdown in my mind. I find the AT phone more similar to the senn than this one. K701 rarely gets any use out of it, partly because my OTL amp is not very well suited for this current hungry set of cans. Too tinny sounding with tipped up highs, too lean on bass. HD580s, well... I like em but not as much as the 650s.

Just to be cpt. Obvious, everything comes down to preference at this level; can't really have a last word on which one is "better", so it really helps if you try to figure out what your own taste for sound is.

I will just say this - most of these phones require some serious amplification, but some amp work better with certain phones and yet others work better different phones. If you don't plan on expanding your inventory of expensive headphones, plan ahead on which amp you want to buy and mate your phones to go with them (or vice versa, just that you better off make enough provisions for an amp that is known to synergize well with the phones you have on your mind)

Also, comfort is very important. On that note alone, I wouldn't recommend any of the AT cans with metal wire headband if you don't like excessive clamping + drivers brushing against you earlobes. To me senns are the comfiest as most others weigh too much and put a decent amount of strain on my head and neck.

That's strange. The AD700s were by far the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn, and I have HD650s and SR60s. I find that the total circumauralness of the HD650 results in a sort of "ghostly" feeling - I can't really describe it, but it's a lot like how I feel when I put on closed headphones. I think I just prefer the "driver, meet ear canal" approach seen on Grados and ATs. The fact that AT pads are circumaural, and yet touch more of your ear, just seems more comfortable to me. I also just picked up the modded MS1000i, which will be arriving within the week. I'm curious to see how GS1k pads stack up to AT-type velours.

I guess this thread just became a head-fi microcosm?

 

[konakona]

I guess this thread just became a head-fi microcosm?

Quite possibly so?

It could be something about my earlobes, they tend to be larger than average I think. To me the earpad (or driver cover) material pressing against them would cause discomfort after no longer than 5 minutes of listening. Part of it could be placebo, as I always try to reassess my take on their comfort on every listen. Some head-fi members suggested pvc pipe modding for "better sound" that you might be familiar with, which I had to give my shot at. In fact that mod made my AD2000s a whole lot comfier to wear, but no longer they were producing the famed AT mids. Weight-wise though, I find them on par with the senns (much better than the denons, sony cd3000s I sold off a long while back).

Still a bit too much clamping force Same has been said about the hd650s to be fair, but adjusting the metallic frame near the earpads completely solved the problem for me. Same can't be said about the AD2000s unfortunately.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Out of those, I have HD650, HD580, D7000, AD2000 and K701. Between HD650 and AD2000 it's a bit of a toss up to me, with the former having a bit more resolution and midbass centric presentation, whereas the latter has some more euphorically mellow midhighs (at the cost of some lower notes missing). Comfort wise the senn wins hands down, AD2000s hurt my earlobes though expanding the headband with a pile of books mitigates that to a certain degree. D7000s sounded less musical to my ears, only listenable at lower volume to my ears - a mild letdown in my mind. I find the AT phone more similar to the senn than this one. K701 rarely gets any use out of it, partly because my OTL amp is not very well suited for this current hungry set of cans. Too tinny sounding with tipped up highs, too lean on bass. HD580s, well... I like em but not as much as the 650s.

Just to be cpt. Obvious, everything comes down to preference at this level; can't really have a last word on which one is "better", so it really helps if you try to figure out what your own taste for sound is.

I will just say this - most of these phones require some serious amplification, but some amp work better with certain phones and yet others work better different phones. If you don't plan on expanding your inventory of expensive headphones, plan ahead on which amp you want to buy and mate your phones to go with them (or vice versa, just that you better off make enough provisions for an amp that is known to synergize well with the phones you have on your mind)

Also, comfort is very important. On that note alone, I wouldn't recommend any of the AT cans with metal wire headband if you don't like excessive clamping + drivers brushing against you earlobes. To me senns are the comfiest as most others weigh too much and put a decent amount of strain on my head and neck.

Always glad to have more people add feedback, as yeah, preference is a big issue.

I believe people have said the newer ones like the W1000X, A1000X, and A2000X are lighter on the head but with good fit (a problem with the W1000 and W5000 in my opinion). There's not a lot of feedback on their sound though, and the pricing keeps most people from even trying them (although the W1000X is gaining in popularity).

That's strange. The AD700s were by far the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn, and I have HD650s and SR60s. I find that the total circumauralness of the HD650 results in a sort of "ghostly" feeling - I can't really describe it, but it's a lot like how I feel when I put on closed headphones. I think I just prefer the "driver, meet ear canal" approach seen on Grados and ATs. The fact that AT pads are circumaural, and yet touch more of your ear, just seems more comfortable to me. I also just picked up the modded MS1000i, which will be arriving within the week. I'm curious to see how GS1k pads stack up to AT-type velours.

I guess this thread just became a head-fi microcosm?

I don't like the pads resting on my ears at all, so I didn't like the AD700s or W1000s in that regard. The W5000 was possibly just a little bit that way, but its so much more comfy that its not a problem.

 

[moonboy403]

I can tell you that the AD2000 clamps tight against your head while the AD700 and W5000 barely sit on your head. The W1000 is in between those 3 headphones.

 

[uhohs]

i'm still pissed i missed the $199 ad2000 clearance deal in june.
:|

 

[Ika]

i'm still pissed i missed the $199 ad2000 clearance deal in june.
:|

I don't think it was a clearance, they probably just had a few models. They had W1000s too for $100 or $200 too, I think. Crazy ass deal

 

[SZLiao214]

If you don't mind iem's here you go.

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread...mpared-sennheiser-cx280-cx281-added-09-25/840