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Best Closed Headphone for Classical?

post #1 of 4
1/3/05 at 11:53am
Thread Starter 
Hi All,

I'm just getting serious about headphone listening after the arrival of a new baby. I'm mostly into classical / accoustic and need a phone that's closed with good isolation. Preferably, I'd like to be able to go without an amp and use it directly from a home CD player.

The only nice headphone I've had before was the Etymotic ER4 which was dissapointing to my ears. Very light on the bass and while there was fantastic detail, they were not satisfying musically. Plus, since my wife often talks to me, something I have to take in and out of the ear is too much trouble (though the Ultimate Ears are tempting since the custom mold may be easier to take in and out than foam).

I've heard good things about the AT W1000 - the wood ones for around $450. Are there any others I should know about under $500?

Thanks,

Austin
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post #2 of 4
1/3/05 at 12:18pm
Hello Austin, Welcome to Head-Fi.

Though not my headphone of choice you should look into the Sony CD-3000. It does provide some isolation and has a large soundstage. The upper midrange/treble is on the aggressive side - very different from the Audio Technica sound which on short listen to the W-1000 seems more relaxed. I believe the CD-3000 is out of production due to the newer model SA-5000, which is not yet released in the states and is not a closed design. The CD-3000 can be found used for about $300 and new it is somewhere around $450. I like the CD-3000 most out of tube amps such as the Earmax Pro and the Singlepower PPX3.

Other options for good sealed designs are limited. You could keep an eye out for other Audio Technica designs like the W100 or the W2002. Or, you could go for one of those custom in ear monitors, but my guess is that the soundstage will never be as large as over the ear designs. Oh yeah, sorry about yer wallet!
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post #3 of 4
1/3/05 at 12:28pm
I'm not sure whether the CD3000 will offer enough isolation for you. If you need a decent amount of isolation, I'd perhaps look elsewhere.
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post #4 of 4
1/3/05 at 1:50pm
I would check out Commando's Closed Headphone Review #2
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