Anyone know of any head(phone) shops in Tokyo? lol

Yodobashi Camera in the Akihabara area has a bunch of low to high end phones sitting out at listening stations.  Play with them there and look for them cheaper elsewhere.  I bought a used Stax system at one of the Audio Union stores in Tokyo (Ochanomizu area).  The Disk Union in Shinjuku also has gear in their shop next to the classical music store.  BTW, don't miss the Disk Union shops.  They are all over Tokyo and each site has stores specific to music genres.  My wife spent a load at the Shinjuku classical location.  For low/mid level phones you can find them at pretty much any electronics shop throughout the city.  And since you'll be there 7 weeks, you could probably have someone order off Amazon Japan for the best prices.  Pick up Stax, Denon, or other Japanese brand for a big discount compared to the US.

Good thing you live in southern LA; you'll be prepped for the weather.  I'm in Houston, and Tokyo summers are just as bad as ours on the Gulf Coast.  And actually the worst I ever felt was Nagoya in August.  Same temperature as Houston but somehow they managed to squeeze more moisture into the air.

Now if you want some other advice on Japan, contact me offline.  I've been 20+ times for work/pleasure in the last 7-8 years.

Hope the $/Yen ratio improves for you.  First time I went it was 120 yen/dollar.  When I was there last month it was a pathetic 92-94 yen/$.  I miss those old days.

Go to Yodobashi Camera in Akihabara.  You can check out LOTS of high end goodies there.  All the nice Japanese headphones will be there - the AT's, the Denons, the JVC's - and STAX, and lots of other stuff.

Akihabara is a VERY cool area of Tokyo to visit if you're an audiophile.  There is a tube vendor there I love visiting.  And he enjoys seeing me, and my wallet...

LOL - tigermilk and I had the same advise in the same 60 seconds! 

You can also try Yodobashi Camera. 

Dynamic Audio is also a wonderful place to check out headphones in Akihabara. The first floor has just about every headphone you might want to listen to with comfy leather chairs to sit in while listening.

Oh my god, Yodobashi-Akiba has the best collection of EVERYTHING a geek could want.

They had HD800, all of the high end audio technica stuff, Edition 8, lots of stax stuff, I spent 2 days there and it wasn't enough.

Yeah - it's audiophile heaven.  FULL selection of great vinyl rigs/accessories, too

Hint #1: buy a Denon DL-103 while you are there.  Every bag has room for phono-cartridges, and the DL-103 can be had cheap there - at least the last time I was there.

Hint #2: non-Japanese brands are NOT a good deal in Tokyo.  And some of the Japanese brands aren't either.  Do some internet homework before going if you have specific interests.

For me, shopping in Akihabara is more about the experience.  Other than the tube vendor

Quote:

Originally Posted by erratik 

Sadly, I don't yet have a turntable, nor do I have any vinyl, or a place to put a setup if i did have it, or the money to afford one :(

 

And I'm kind of torn between 3 sets of phones at the moment, the AKG k701, k702, and beyerdynamic DT 880's

 

so hopefully I can find a place where i can just try these on and get a feel for them

Go to Tokyo to try those out?  Better idea - scour Tokyo for a used Stax 2050 system.  It would probably be somewhat close to the same price (there's a used one on amazon.co.jp for 28,000 yen right now).  Keep this link in mind - http://www.audiounion.jp/ct/search?m=used&q=stax&p=1&s=product.maker.name&d=0

One thing about Yodobashi, particularly the Akihabara location - it is LOUD.  They play that damned theme song over and over and over.

And start making room for a vinyl rig!

I second the Yodobashi camera in Akihabara suggestion. Amazingly big store and a lot of foreign tourists. I like to go there sometimes on my free time. Cannot buy much though as I am a poor student...

I looked at Yodobashi's homepage, but could not find an English version. This is the headphone section on their homepage. I have chose to list products with the most expensive one starting first. Yodobashi is a large electronics chain with online sales too, so these prices are just if you buy online.

I agree with Skylab. Non-Japanese brands can be expensive. For example two headphones I bought in Sweden, the Sennheiser PX100 and the AKG K420, are both about twice the price compared to Sweden. Better to stick to Japanese brands or at least compare prices.

This is a list of all the Yodobashi stores. It is in Japanese, but you can run it through a translator.

I usually go to the seventh one from the top (マルチメディア町田 i.e. "Multimedia" Machida) in the town where I live. The selection is so much better than back in Sweden!

There are two Yodobashi in Shinjuku, one close to the Shinjuku station (east exit). Next to the Yodobashi there is a BIC camera (Japanese seem to like to put "camera" in the names of the electronics stores). BIC camera have a good selection too, however not as good as Yodobashi. I would say that it is still better than any Swedish electronic stores, and perhaps the ones in Louisiana as well? 

BIC camera has got a store guide in English.

You can already now become familiar with the Yodobashi song.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danneq 

Japanese seem to like to put "camera" in the names of the electronics stores

My fiancee and I just had a conversation about that not too long ago.  It's not so much they like putting camera in their names, but the stores that sell electronics started off as camera stores.  It's like New York's B&H Photo.