[darkswordsman17]

Ok, well, after about a year of being pretty much entirely satisfied with my A900s I recently sold them. I had grand plans of a portable setup and so bought a 40GB Gigabeat and rockboxed it. I picked up a pair of JVC Marshmallows and also some KSC-75s. The sound is good, and have no regrets about trying something new (both phones I like, although certainly feel they are inferior to the A900s). I do however miss the A900s, but, I don't want to just go back to them. I would like to broaden my experience.

So, I've been considering the A500s. I know they should sound fairly similar, with less overall polish. The point there is that they'll have similar sound, but cost less, and so I'll put the saved money into an amp and/or DAC (by DAC I mean everything from literal DAC to sound card).

Something I would like to know is does anyone have experience with how similar the A500 is to the A900. I'm interested in overall sound as well as if the A500 also benefits from the blu-tak mod (would like to play around with adjustment more).

I'm also kinda interested in trying the open AD series, but there doesn't seem to be all that much info about them, especially the lower end ones.

Ok, sorry for being kind of all over the place, but simply put here's my objectives:

1.) Something similar sounding but different (I'll explain a bit further below).
2.) Looking at about $300 all told (phones and source such as amp and/or DAC). I certainly wouldn't mind spending less though.
3.) I am open to new brands, styles, so no restrictions there (feel free to recommend IEMs, and whatever else), although I would like them to be comfortable.

I've listened to Sennheisers (555, 595, and 580) and while they do sound good, I'm not especially a fan of their sound. I much prefer the A900s to both the 595 and 580.

So, just looking for a starting point. I would plan on using this setup for a decent while until I am in a position to better entertain this hobby (in other words, making more money). I would probably be able to upgrade it a bit, so I wouldn't be totally averse to spending reasonably big on one item and then adding incrementally to it. I could get by with a just the headphones for a while or just an amp/dac combo. I would prefer not to spend over $200 on any one item though. Really if you have a setup that just has a really good overall sound, let me know and maybe it'll pick my interest.

Here's what I currently have at my disposal:
Laptop (so PCMCIA and USB ports)
Kinda crappy but ok Sherwood reciever
KSC-75s and JVC Mallows

Lastly, I have no problem buying used.

Oh, and sorry for not being more helpful in information. Seems like I'm leaving it kinda broad.

 

[nickchen]

Sorry, but I don't get your point.

You sell the A900 in favour of Lo-fi stuff, and then you ask for something similar mentioning the A500. Using ~12000 words to explain the unexplainable doesn't help either.

 

[kamal007]

getting an amp will help i think..it will make your cans shine.. even ksc75 benefits from an amp

 

[facelvega]

It would take a lot of amp to make an A500 sound better than an A900. In other words, don't scrimp on the headphones. You've tried downgrading and done it very sensibly, but as you admit, you're not satisfied. I'd say go for the good headphones first, then suffer unamped until you can properly take care of that side as well.

Or, since you don't mind buying used, consider vintage headphones where your money will go further. Maybe an old AKG (K240 Sextett, K280, anything in between those numbers, or a K400 if you can find one) or Beyer (an old DT-990 or 880), and then you'll still have the cash left for a portable dac/amp that you can later sell for better components if the mood strikes.