[Music Alchemist]

Must...offset...off-topic discussion...with...metal!
 
Lira by Nokturnal Mortum
 

Our forthcoming album “Verity” will contain “Lira”, a cover version of song by one of the oldest and worthiest Ukrainian rock bands KOMU VNYZ.

 
Kalte Aurora - Live In Lemberg II (Ambient Prologue) by KrodaKalte Aurora - Live in Lemberg II (HelCarpathian Black Metal Chapter I) by KrodaKalte Aurora - Live in Lemberg II (HelCarpathian Black Metal Chapter II) by Kroda
 

  Thanks Alchemist-great thoughts as usual. I was thinking the HD600/650 and HE400i would be obvious choices. And, good point, for a lot of kids that would be high end. But maybe the Fulla2 and something in the $100-150 range. And, then so many kids just want to listen to IEMs on the go.My daughter likes her new wireless Beats. I lost that battle-haha!

 
A few of the best headphones I've heard under $150, in alphabetical order:
 
Audio-Technica ATH-M40x
Koss KSC75
Koss KTXPRO1 (I still use this one. Costs $10 and sounds like a $300 headphone! Insanely good with metal too.)
Koss UR40
Philips SHP9500
Sony MDR-7506 (Only with EQ to make it stop being bright and harsh. Sonarworks works wonders.)
STAX SR-30 (Easily the best sound, but it's from 1982, so you have to get it used along with the exotic amplification, and it's not comfortable.)
Yamaha HPH-MT220 (Was $150 at one point, but you have to get it used for that price now. Has both strong bass impact and good clarity.)

 

[Selbi]

I'm not sure if I'm reading too much into it, but if I look back at the past few pages to see various music recommendations and best-of lists, a vast majority of it seems to be Black Metal and anything related to it. Is it a HiFi thing or is the set of people active in this thread just giving me that impression?

 

[Music Alchemist]

  I'm not sure if I'm reading too much into it, but if I look back at the past few pages to see various music recommendations and best-of lists, a vast majority of it seems to be Black Metal and anything related to it. Is it a HiFi thing or is the set of people active in this thread just giving me that impression?

 
Black metal is often about as lo-fi as you can get in terms of production, so I dunno how it'd be a hi-fi thing. It's just that experienced metalheads tend to gravitate toward the extreme end of the spectrum. I think most of us like all types of metal.
 
@Redcarmoose's album of the year for last year was the new Korn. Many others here loved it as well.

 

[metalsonata]

  A question from an ignorant person who enjoys metal from somewhat afar. What band is generally considered to have been the most influential in the history of the genre? I would say Metallica but I'm an idiot. Thanks for any feedback! I am trying to learn.

I'd say, as others have, Black Sabbath, though certainly there are a few bands that predate them that had some significant influence. The blues were a major influence on Sabbath, so look to Robert Johnson and Howlin' Wolf for some proto-Sabbath sounds and lyrical themes. And you can't ignore the sonic contributions that some 60's bands offered--someone already mentioned The Beatles, but I think you can hear it even more in early Kinks.

 

[markm1]

The Kinks were also an influence on early punk. You can hear it in the energy of their songs. Ray Davies should be as big a name as Clapton or any of the rest....what a great songwriter. 

 

[Navybsn]

A few of the best headphones I've heard under $150, in alphabetical order:

Audio-Technica ATH-M40x
Koss KSC75
Koss KTXPRO1 (I still use this one. Costs $10 and sounds like a $300 headphone! Insanely good with metal too.)
Koss UR40
Philips SHP9500
Sony MDR-7506 (Only with EQ to make it stop being bright and harsh. Sonarworks works wonders.)
STAX SR-30 (Easily the best sound, but it's from 1982, so you have to get it used along with the exotic amplification, and it's not comfortable.)
Yamaha HPH-MT220 (Was $150 at one point, but you have to get it used for that price now. Has both strong bass impact and good clarity.)

I just picked up a pair of Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 for $160 from the classified forum. There were several other sets on there for a similar price. I did add a set of Brainwavz pads, so another $25, but you may not find them necessary. Sound pretty decent with my iPhone 6 Plus. They have handled black metal, death, tech death, and most everything I've thrown at them so far. Color me impressed.

 

[Conjoiner]

, though certainly there are a few bands that predate them that had some significant influence. The blues were a major influence on Sabbath, so look to Robert Johnson and Howlin' Wolf for some proto-Sabbath sounds and lyrical themes. And you can't ignore the sonic contributions that some 60's bands offered--someone already mentioned The Beatles, but I think you can hear it even more in early Kinks.

The Kinks were also an influence on early punk. You can hear it in the energy of their songs. Ray Davies should be as big a name as Clapton or any of the rest....what a great songwriter. 

I agree that you can trace some elements back to these early blues/alt bands but to answer the 'most influential on the metal genre' question - not a chance (IMO).

Led Zep, Sabbath, Deep Purple and Judas Priest collectively influenced much of what followed. And then it spread like wildfire.

 

[Music Alchemist]

I just picked up a pair of Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 for $160 from the classified forum. There were several other sets on there for a similar price. I did add a set of Brainwavz pads, so another $25, but you may not find them necessary. Sound pretty decent with my iPhone 6 Plus. They have handled black metal, death, tech death, and most everything I've thrown at them so far. Color me impressed.

 
Cool. But in case you're misunderstanding here, I'm not the one looking for recommendations. I was just replying to what he mentioned about recommending headphones in a certain price range. I had the original MOMENTUM but didn't like it. I'm more into the more serious audiophile headphones, especially STAX. (Read through my profile for details.) Got the AudioQuest NightHawk today, which has a pretty unexpected and unique sound.

 

[Monsterzero]

  I'm not sure if I'm reading too much into it, but if I look back at the past few pages to see various music recommendations and best-of lists, a vast majority of it seems to be Black Metal and anything related to it. Is it a HiFi thing or is the set of people active in this thread just giving me that impression?

I tried to post more traditional metal for awhile but it gets ignored and buried under black-metal posts...ive given up as im sure many others who dont like death growls and blastbeats 24/7

I agree that you can trace some elements back to these early blues/alt bands but to answer the 'most influential on the metal genre' question - not a chance (IMO).

Led Zep, Sabbath, Deep Purple and Judas Priest collectively influenced much of what followed. And then it spread like wildfire.

You forgot Hendrix and his use of feedback and Motorhead

 

[metalsonata]

I agree that you can trace some elements back to these early blues/alt bands but to answer the 'most influential on the metal genre' question - not a chance (IMO).
 

Oh yeah, I didn't mean to imply that The Kinks are the most influential band on metal or anything like that, just that it can be fun to listen to the influences of the influences. Black Sabbath is the most influential metal band, full stop. They practically invented heavy metal and doom metal in one fell swoop in 1970. Other huge influences on modern extreme metal would include, in rough chronological order: Motorhead, Metallica, Hellhammer/Celtic Frost, Yngwie Malmsteen, Black Flag, Fates Warning, Bad Brains, Napalm Death, Mr. Bungle, Godflesh, Bathory, Earth, Type O Negative, and Kyuss. Obviously there's tons more, but I feel like you can safely trace most modern metal subgenres back to specific releases from the above progenitors. 
 
Edit: Note that I am ignoring, probably to our detriment, the late 60's/1970 heavy psych stuff that we could probably safely call proto-metal like Blue Cheer, Iron Butterfly, Atomic Rooster, and Sir Lord Baltimore.

 

[pureangus62]

  I'm not sure if I'm reading too much into it, but if I look back at the past few pages to see various music recommendations and best-of lists, a vast majority of it seems to be Black Metal and anything related to it. Is it a HiFi thing or is the set of people active in this thread just giving me that impression?

 
A lot of dudes in the thread just happen to really enjoy black metal. As @Music Alchemist said, may who have been into a genre for a while tend to start leaning towards the extreme. Personally, Im not much into black metal (been into more djent/prog/jazzy instrumental stuff lately). The guys who are just happen to be the ones posting suggestions most often

 

[sludgeogre]

   
Sludge, do you have a sense of how the Fulla 2 performs for an entry level system?  I only ask as I sometimes have people ask me what a good cheap entry into HP set-ups are and I think you're pretty tapped into what's there. For H.S/ college kids, etc. who only have a few hundred to spend? I originally got a Grado 225 and an Asgard2 and just ran it out of a CD player. But that was way back when the Asgard2 came out-around 2012. In today's market I'd have picked up a DAC. At the time I looked at the Bifrost, but I was still trying to keep the expenses low. Then, after that I went for a more complete system-with speaker and HPs and Sonos and never was in the computer audio market as so many people are. 
 
Working in a H.S., I think sometimes we forget what it's like to be 16 or 17 and have maybe $200-500 saved up from parents or an after school job and want to have a good way to listen to music. They're not going to have CDs, probably just stream and use a computer or their cell. Sometimes I'll talk to H.S. students about audio and I should have a better idea how good you get things to sound for under $500.....

I bought my brother a CEntrance DACport slim for $99 on Massdrop and a pair of Beyerdynamic DTX910 headphones for $40 and he was insanely happy about it, was able to hear new details and slam in ways that he hadn't before. I got my girlfriend a FiiO X1 and Shure SE215 IEM's and she was also very happy with it, but that setup doesn't have great detail retrieval, but great bass and tone.
 
The Fulla 2 is getting insanely good reviews, and it is very versatile with what you can use it with (PC, phones, etc). Pair it with any decent starter open-back and it'll sound way better than a phone and earbuds. I'd probably go with any lower end Beyer for lower budgets, and if they want to spend a couple hundred go with the HD6XX from Massdrop or the Meze.

 

[Rockin_Zombie]

Pain of Salvation released another track from their upcoming album a couple weeks ago, quite like it! Finally something heavy from them, oh how I miss their Remedy Lane days. 
 

 

[Music Alchemist]

Well, now I'm looking for more headphone recommendations under $400. I want as much accuracy as possible, but also powerful impact and dynamics.

 

[Conjoiner]

  Well, now I'm looking for more headphone recommendations under $400. I want as much accuracy as possible, but also powerful impact and dynamics.

I just got HE 400i for Christmas and I love them. They are fast and tight with good punch. Still in my first 150 hours though so apparently they might get even better soon. 
 
Paid $250 US on the holiday deal.