[Elysian]

I love my primary listening rig, but I don't love having to turn on a transformer and letting the tubes warm up for an hour before I've reached my happy hunting ground.
 
Consequently, I'm looking for a decent headphone to use when I don't feel like dealing with my transformer, DAC, preamp, amp, and tubes (particularly given how I avoid turning my gear on unless I'm actually going to be listening to it for awhile, and I can't leave it on unsupervised for safety reasons).
 
The SR225i would actually fit my criteria pretty well but I've gotten tired of the Grado house sound and it's uncomfortable.  I've washed the pads and have tried different earpad substitutes, but none of them feel comfortable.
 
Could someone please help recommend a headphone based on the following criteria?
- Less than $350.
- Will be powered directly through onboard computer analog out, so not a lot of power available (Realtek 889). (a cheap solid-state headphone amp in between, like the Fiio E6, is an option; none of the cheap solid-state headphone amps I've tried seem to add enough power, though)
- Comfortable.  K701 is a good example of headphones that are comfortable to wear for extended periods of time.
- Decently clean bass (does not have to be boomy or loud), good definition in the mids and highs.
- Smoothness preferred over edgyness, even if it means sacrificing some detail.  I can't stand grain.
- Colored sound is fine as long as it's not sibilant.
- Doesn't matter if open or closed.
- No IEMs.
- I'll be listening to mostly electronica, hip-hop/r&b, jpop/jrock/kpop, metal, rock, and gaming streams.
 
Some headphones I've been considering, but haven't had a chance to demo, are the Fostex T50RP and Hifiman HE-300.  It seems like the T50RP is bad out of the box but gets much better after burn-in.  I'm concerned that it needs proper amping, though.  I am concerned that my motherboard won't be able to power either headphone well.  The Sennheiser HD600 is out of the question, as, to me, it sounds thin and weak without proper amping.  The Grado is a great example of headphones that work well without a power amp.
 
I actually kind of like the K701, except for how they sound overly analytical and lifeless to me.  It's too bad as I like the K701's detail and bass, but something about the K701, through a subpar rig, gives me an uncanny valley effect when I'm listening to music.
 
Thanks for any suggestions.  I'm also open to any cheap solid state amp suggestions to stick in between, like the Fiio E6, but based on reviews here, none of the sub-$100 solid state options look worthwhile.  No tubes please.  My main rig already has 20 tubes and I don't need any more!

 

[Gwarmi]

It's going to be difficult to avoid the grain with the onboard, the lack of amplification is usually not the problem,
it's the fact that it is simply not very clean sounding.
 
I'd avoid the Grados as you say ~ 4 x onboard units over here (none in use), I've tested them all and they sound
positively wretched, even the M50 sounds like a nightmare through any of them.
 
Ummm, gee, really out of constructive suggestions here ~ AIAIAI TMA-1 is one, it's pretty noisy and lacks clarity
in the first place so it probably would mask the onboard's severe shortfalls.
 
 

 

[Elysian]

You are probably right   But, I'm hoping there might be something out there that I've missed.  I recently heard a MS-1 and HF2 to compare with my SR225i, and they all had grain issues, particularly in the high-freq range (and even in the mids, esp for the MS-1).  I would have tried the HE-300 out of curiosity but some people whose ears I trust are not that forgiving about it, hence my caution.
 
A few descriptions say the T50RP is tinny without proper amplification.  I think the K701 is kind of close to what I'm getting at, but the AKG is missing a certain something.
 
I know I won't have great clarity through onboard, but at least smoothness and some lack of grain would help.
 
I will read up on the AIAIAI TMA-1.  Haven't heard of that one before.

 

[Gwarmi]

Quote:

You are probably right   But, I'm hoping there might be something out there that I've missed.  I recently heard a MS-1 and HF2 to compare with my SR225i, and they all had grain issues, particularly in the high-freq range (and even in the mids, esp for the MS-1).  I would have tried the HE-300 out of curiosity but some people whose ears I trust are not that forgiving about it, hence my caution.
 
A few descriptions say the T50RP is tinny without proper amplification.  I think the K701 is kind of close to what I'm getting at, but the AKG is missing a certain something.
 
I know I won't have great clarity through onboard, but at least smoothness and some lack of grain would help.
 
I will read up on the AIAIAI TMA-1.  Haven't heard of that one before.

 
 Big word of warning though as I said with the TMA-1 ~ it might be the best for the job because it just gets worse and worse
 as you pair it with nice ancillary gear.
 
 I spent 10 minutes trying to pin point a hum and crackle last week in a rig, only to realise ~ oh it's the TMA-1
 
 Plugged it into the iShuffle just to double check, hmm, sounded ok. So, there you go, give it a clean source and
 it does not sound any better in my experience
 
 

 

[Eric_C]

I'm guessing most monitor headphones should sound fine out of onboard. After all, any given pair might get plugged into multiple setups over the course of a month...

The comfort bit is hard to predict tho. Try out the Shure 440, AKG K271, Beyerdynamic 250?

 

[RexAeterna]

the t50rp are bad out of the box cause of the horrible pads and it suffers from heavy enclosure resonance. it needs new thicker pads and the cups need to be stuffed evenly to kill the resonance. after that they're an insane pair of headphones. they like extra juice but are efficient enough to work great out of a computer or an ipod. i tried them earlier out my ipod touch and they still sound amazing with good enough loudness for me. if not the k271 are pretty good choice. i tried them at a recording studio for the college and they sound pretty good and work well with multiple sources.

 

[ZARIM]

The Sony SA5000 are highly recommended and they offers superb soundquality for there price. The other headphones are recommended like HFI2400, AD900, DT800(600 Ohm), D2000 and SRH940.