Would you consider the SRH840s 'high-impedance'? Right now, I'm torn between those and the other 'phones on my list. I like the look of AKG and Audio-Technica, but I'm worried about the sound.

Also, is there anything better than a FiiO for ~$50? The $99 Total Airhead just isn't in my budget.

According to HeadRoom, the SRH840s are 44 ohm headphones, which is considered generally low impedance. Also, for around fifty dollars ($60 buy it now plus shipping, you can get it for about $32 before shipping auction though) you should look into the Bravo Tube Amplifier. It's not a portable amp by any means, but is a great cheap desktop amp from what I've heard about it.

If you have to go portable, skip the FiiO if you have $50. Go for a cMoy from eBay.

EDIT: By the way, Bravo amp can be purchased from this eBay seller:

http://myworld.ebay.com/bravodeal4you/

Thanks for the advice. I wanted something better than the FiiO that wouldn't cost too much. The CMoy seems to be just what I was looking for. I've heard a lot about them, but I'm worried about buying something homemade...

bump'd again

Could you guys recommend a certain CMoy for me to look for?

The ATH-T500s just got added to my list. They look great and they're affordable. I can't find any info on them, though. Has anyone here listened to them?

If you're going cMoy, buy from this eBay seller: eBay My World - juice2214 .

I've heard great things, and one of my friends bought a cMoy from him. 100% feedback, too.

I'm going ahead to say that the can to buy is the Denon AHD1001K. $149, then a $39 cMoy from that seller would round off your budget. The Denons are really great phones. Also consider investing ~$20-40 in a LOD for your iPod to use with the cMoy. It will improve sound greatly, and FiiO sells a decent one on the cheap.

I've been trying to find info on the CMoy for a while... Is there a certain company that manufactures them, or are they all homemade? When I see the term CMoy in the name, does it just refer to the build style?

Also, what is a LOD? What does it do? (sry for all the questions)

cMoy is basically a design for a homemade amp. Don't run away from the word homemade though- some of the best products in the audiophile world are homemade (amb y1, m^3). cMoy simply refers to the design style as based on a schematic published a few years ago.

An LOD stands for Line Out Dock. It bypasses the iPod's internal headphone amp and sends the raw audio signal straight to a separate amplifier. An eBay search for iPod lod, great deals on Electronics, ipod line out dock on eBay! yields many choices, all of them perfectly decent.

Thanks for the tips!

Do you think the AH-D1001K is the only headphone for me? The reason I ask is, I'm not in love with how they look. I would prefer something like the AKGs or Audio-Technicas in terms of style. That's not to say the Denons aren't on my list, though.

I don't think it's the only phone for you, no. But it's the one I would most strongly recommend. If you prefer style over sound, go AKG (I'm a bit of an AKG fanboy v.v). The AKG K240 MKIIs would slide in at your price range at just below the price of the Denons. I personally prefer them to the Denons, but the AKG sound signature is an acquired taste. These are one of the few AKG phones I have demoed that aren't fully open, so I can't really comment on the other ones. The AKGs are typically considered 'bass-light' by bassheads, for what it's worth. If you want a lot of good bass, and great rock phones, I still say go Denon. AKG is much more neutral/analytical.

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The SR-80i should have more bass than the original SR-80, if only because they come with the flat pads rather than the doughnuts. When I got mine, I had doughnuts, which push your ear back a little further from the driver. This opens them up a little more but it has an impact on the amount of bass you get. Back then, the conventional wisdom was that the SR-60 had better bass precisely because it relied on flats. To open up the SR-60 more, people were doing "quarter mods" where they cut a little hole in the pad, about the size of a quarter, to let in more treble. Having a closer relationship with the driver, while removing a possible HF filter, gave folks a kind of "best of both worlds" solution.

I've only had "sound leakage" issues in bed. If my wife is trying to sleep, I can't really rock out. I don't know if there could be similar issues with closed cans. I guess it depends on how quiet things have to be in the bedroom. But I've taken my Grados everywhere - doctor's and dentist's offices, mall walking, lake walking, working at my desk, even the library. The only place where I've found my Grados to not work is in road trips. The open-air phones have no sound isolation. In or on planes, trains and automobiles, you lose something when the rumble of the conveyance mixes in with the music. On a road trip earlier this year, I came to the conclusion that I needed a Plan B, which is how I got into in-ear phones (which have the kind of isolation that can be eerie in other contexts).

In terms of fragility, I think the more expensive Grados would be more problematic. When you have expensive mahogany or cast-aluminum shells, you're more apt to worry about where you set them down and how. The lower-end Grados are plastic. It's light and cheap. They don't really scratch or scuff much, and if they did, who would care? With the exception of the 325, the Prestige Series Grados are quite light.

That brings me to the "comfort issues." I'm 44 so my memory goes back several generations of headphone styles. Before there were in-ear phones, there were earbuds. Before there were earbuds, there were very lightweight headphones, with drivers about the size of a quarter. Before that, there were these big, bulky, closed-can headphones which were meant to be worn within a few feet of the headphone jack of a home system.

My point is this: I come from a generation where "on-ears" headphones were unheard of - because just about all of them were "on the ears." If you wore them continuously, you eventually succumbed to ear fatigue and had to take them off for a while. But those were big, bulky, heavy headphones. The plastic Prestige-series Grados are lightweight (I think Grado made the GS-1000 and PS-1000 heavier on purpose, to give them a heft to bespeak their serious pretensions). If you leave them on for long periods, you may get a certain amount of ear fatigue, depending on how tightly you wear them and how big your ears are. The "ear fatigue" issue has been raised by a generation of wearers who have worn in-ear phones, ear buds or headphones that were either ultra lightweight or around the ears (with no pressure on the pinnae).

Whether you have comfort issues (ear fatigue) will depend on whether you ear the phones tight or loose and how long you wear them continuously. If you wear them for hours and hours with no break, you could experience headphone fatigue (a comfort issue common in my day but less common now because of all the styles that don't put much, if any, stress on the pinnae). I've experienced this a handful of times. On some of those occasions, I've removed the headphones for a little while and come back to them. On others, I've simply moved them forward, to take pressure off the backs of my ears. I've also turned the phones, at times, to balance them in such a way that there was less pressure to rest on my ears.

Grados aren't your only choices, but I just wanted to point these things out because I think Grados sometimes get a bad rap. The main reason to go with Grados is the sound, which is very clear and detailed. I like the open-air design, which lets me stay connected with my environment. The only times I don't like that are when I need serious isolation.

Another thing about the Grados is they are amazing rock phones. In fact, the heavier the rock, the better they seem to sound. They are definitely NOT boring. I gave up headbanging years ago...that is until I got my Grados. They just lend to rocking hard lol.

Also, imo they have plenty of bass. It's precise and punchy...no mud whatsoever. Some people who are used to overpowering, muddy bass have a harder time appreciating the Grado bass.

That being said though, for your needs, they may not be the right phones for you. If you listen loud they will definitely have sound leakage.

Also, the upfront highs take some time to get used to. Some think they are bright, but imo they are well balanced.

Just some more thoughts about the Grado SR80i. Hope it helps.

Thanks for the advice, guys. This clears up a lot of questions I had about the Grados. Is there an amp with bass-boost out there that could make up for the AKGs apparent lack of bass? Possibly a CMoy?

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There is no amp that is going to give the AKGs the amount of bass you want, and they probably wouldn't be powered correctly with the cMoy. I've only listened to them on a full size home amp. These are NOT portable phones, and frankly, while they look cool, you would get funny looks wearing them in public. They are BIG. Very, very big. The Denons are stylish, smaller, lighter phones that would be so much better for portable use, and closer to what you want sound-wise.