I think I would prefer to be in the audience.

They are closed-back though. Open-back headphones have a more realistic sound don't they?

Hmm ok maybe I will go for the HD 558 then. I see one on ebay for 120 euro. Thank you for your help and patience.

"Velty smooth"? Would the Grados be better for listening to rock then. That's mostly what I listen to. Every kind of rock except heavy metal.

Which have a more neutral/balanced sound would you say? Sorry about all the questions!

Yeah that's the only decent alternative I have come across from reading other threads. Is there a big difference in sound quality between them and the Grados do you know?

Initially I won't be using an amp. I will probably get an amp eventually when I can afford one.    I will be mainly using my headphones for listening to music on my laptop. I also have an iPod 5.5g which I plan to iMod some time in the foreseeable future. I will mostly be using IEMs with the...

Ok well what are the best over-ear headphones (preferably open-backed) for under 150 dollars. I'm finding it really difficult to choose. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

So there's no over-ear headphone that can contend with it for this price?

What if I do care about "accurate, relative positioning of the instruments"?

Thanks for the reply. What is so different about the Grados from anything else in my budget?

Hi, I want to buy a pair of open-back headphones and have been seriously considering buying the Grado SR80e. I have tried them out and love their sound.   However, the Grados are on-ear headphones and I would prefer over-ear headphones. I was just wondering could anyone recommend a pair of...

OK. Thanks for the info. I've established that if I have the choice between 24 bit and 16 bit, I might as well go for the 16 bit to save space, as I won't be able to hear a difference anyway.

Hi,   Lets say I have a device that can play 24 bit files but nothing above 48 khz.   I have a track in 16 bit, 44.1 khz FLAC format and I also have the same track in 24 bit 96 khz FLAC. But I will have to downsample  the second one to 24 bit 48 khz so it will play on my device.    Which...

So are you saying the iPod can't play 24-bit files?