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A good cheap balanced headphone

post #1 of 3
1/15/02 at 9:20am
Thread Starter 
I recently got my JMT built CMOY w/crossfeed and Grado 225 combo working, and with my rock music it is a dynamite combination. However, when listening to Natalie Merchant and Grant Lee Buffalo on this combo, the treble is etched and much too bright, and the bass is tubby at times. I need a more balanced sounding headphone to go with the CMOY that will do justice to this more mellow music and will play my experimental/ambient music like Dead Voices On Air and Final well too.

I have considered the Sennheiser 495 and 580 because both are available at fire sale prices on ubid.com. Can anyone suggest an under 100 headphone that fills the bill?

cajunchrist
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post #2 of 3
1/15/02 at 5:30pm
Don't laugh...

The KSC-35 is actually very balanced and one of my favorite headphones (and probably my favorite under $100). They would shine in the areas you feel those Grados lack. They do get better with an amp, and they're only $30
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post #3 of 3
1/16/02 at 2:47am
Thread Starter 
How come I knew you were gonna push the KSC-35?

I own a personally modified KSC-50, and I feel the Koss drivers blur the details a bit too much, even through my CMOY. I want something that will snap and sparkle, and the Koss drivers are too much like looking through a dirty window.

I'm looking for a headphone that won't exaggerate the sound too much, but I'm also not looking for a headphone that is too neutral and unforgiving. I tried the Etymotic ER-6's, and unless you have a great source, interconnects and amp, everything sounds like a hiss free casette dub on normal tape. Flat, two-dimensional, and ultimately boring.

The rig I want to build includes my Pana 570 and Sony 25s portables, with a JVC DVD player as transport and later add the ART DI/O as DAC. I'll likely just buy budget Kimbers for all interconnects, and when the time is right, buy the Meier Corda for my home amp (I have a JMT built CMOY with crossfeed currently).

cajunchrist
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