I second MacDEFs emotion: No matter what else you decide to buy, be sure to get a pair of Koss KSC-35s. Martin Tibbs sells them on Headwize for $24 shipped. Every headphone has champions and detractors on this forum. But the Koss KSC-35s come closer to universal approval than anything...

If you like the SR-125, consider the Alessandro MS-1. It is virtually identical to the Grado SR-125 except that it intregates some of the higher-end elements of the SR-225. And at $99 shipped direct from Alessandro's website, it's a very good deal. --Bill

All the suggestions within your budget have been fine choices. In terms of bang-for-the-buck-on-a-limited-budget, allow me put in a plug for your buying two pairs of Koss KSC-35 earclips, one for home use, and one for portable---or one to use and one to save (just in case, since they are no...

Chuckie: I listen mostly to mp3s on my Powerbook using the iTunes software. With or without my CHA-47 amp, I get none of the shrill treble you mention. Occasionally, I do come across some glitchy recordings or subtle compression artifacts in downloaded music that was badly encoded at 128K...

MacDEF: I'm with you all the way. I own a bunch of nice cans---Senn 580, Alessandro/Grado MS-1, Philips 890, Sony V-6. Each of those beats my two pairs of Koss KSC-35 in various distinct ways. The Senn is much more detailed, the Alessandro is livelier, the Philips has a wider soundstage...

PepsiOne1: I own the three cans you mentioned (plus Philips 890 and Senn 580). At their respective price points, the KSC-35 ($24), Sony V-6 (~$60) and Alessandro MS-1 ($100) are all terrific headphones, in my opinion. I don't own either of your sources, but I do have a CHA47 that performs...

rawhit: The RatShack pads are inexpensive, all right, but they're also cheap (as in crapola). The foam is low-quality and badly molded (injected? foamed? whatever the manufacturing process). They're also much thinner in thickness and smaller in circumference than the my stock comfies---they...

pepsi: I own both the Alessandro MS-1 and the Sony V-6 cans (as well as Senn HD580, Philips HP-890, and Koss KSC-35). I also own (and always use) a marvelous little CHA-47 amp that's powered by a 12V wall wart and has high-quality components (upgraded pot, capacitors, resistors)...

Taphil, Yeah, I know that iPods work just fine with PCs. My point wasn't to denigrate PCs or extol Macs, but simply to share my own experience and point out the obvious: that finding the good stuff takes time, and that it's wonderful when the component pieces fit together synergistically...

Very interesting thread, and a heck of a problem to solve on a message board, without real-life comparisons. I agree with most everything that's been said, as strange as that may sound, given the diversity of views. Everyone who's posted has offered thoughtful information and sincere...

As an alternative, consider the Alessandro/Grado Music Series MS-1. For $99 with free shipping from Joe Alessandro, you get a mixture of the best qualities of the SR-80 and SR-125 (with a tiny bit of 225 thrown in for good measure). The MS-1 is reputed by some here to be a tad less forward...

At your price point, musical preferences, and wanting isolation from outside noise (meaning that "closed" cans are preferable to "open" cans), the Sony MDR-V6 is the best choice I know. Grado's SR-60 is without question a great headphone and a terrific value, but it's an open design and will...

n4: I bought my Philips HP-890 from Jan Meier two months ago. Nice cans---huge soundstage, deep bass, very comfy to wear for long listening sessions, and easily driven by almost any mid-fi source equipment, including portables and PC sound cards. The 890 doesn't need a dedicated amp and, in...

This discussion and the various threads that spawned it are fascinating to me. While I appreciate reading about the wattage/current/voltage issues of various amp designs, I'm not an engineer or techie, so I can't add anything substantive on that level. I can, however, offer my personal...

woodface: Many do-it-yourselfers on this forum have built small, portable amps (both for themselves and for sale to others). The most "famous" designs are the CMOY amp with built-in crossfeed circuitry and the CHA-47 variation (without crossfeed), which are named for the members who designed...

ImMersion: Translating our individual and collective aural experience with headphones into written language is part of the challenge, the fun, and the difficulty of this forum. In three-dimensional terms, "soundstage" is about space. The music is presented from within an overall...

Anokha, If you're thinking about the Grado 125s, you might also consider the Alessandro MS-1s. They're made by Grado to Joe Alessandro's specifications and share much in common with the 125 and even a little with the 225. Some here have likened them to the Grado SR-80s, but I own a pair of...

delenda est, Excellent review! Comprehensive, sensible, fair-minded, and nicely-written to boot. Kudos. I also happen to agree with your assessment of the 890s as quirky (although I think I'd liken them more to an American SUV than to a Volkswagen, something like a Ford Expedition---big, a...

Last year I auditioned the Grado RS-60, RS-80, and RS-125 in a fairly serious 90-minute session at a hi-fi store. Brought a bunch of my CDs (Miles Davis, Mahler, Stones, Ry Cooder, Judi Collins, Bothy Band, plus my very own neo-Celtic CD), and used high-end sources (Marantz CD player and Carver...

xerx: That's a very interesting way to describe the overall effect of the Philips 890---"speaker-like." Yes, indeed. I think you may be on to something here. --Bill

RMSzero: I'd bet that many esteemed members here have considerably more experience than I with a much broader range of cans. (Presumably, standing in a store and auditioning headphones for two minutes doesn't count. I'm talking about either owning or borrowing phones and investing some...

Tempus: I'm not sure I can satisfactorily explain my preference for open versus closed phones. The "sound pressure" I mentioned with regard to the V6 is not relieved by simply turning down the gain, so perhaps some additional verbal metaphor needs to be added to translate my experience into...

I own both the Philips SBC HP890 and the Sony MDR-V6, and I agree with most of what's been said here. For your stated purposes---the styles of music you listed and your need for occasional portability---the V6 is clearly a better match. No contest. It's half the size of the 890, and cheaper...

Audio&Me: No, I haven't popped for a dedicated amp yet---but now that my "can collection" has peaked out, that'll be next. My thoughts are right in line with yours, that the logical, common-sense way to go is to order a JMT cha47 (presumably with the gain kicked up to 8 to match the Senn...

Driftwood: Yeah, the pics on eBay of the black D-25 did have the original Sony sticker on the coverplate, which was why I took a chance and bid. I'm not totally thrilled to have won the auction. I probably should have played it safe and ponied up the $45 for a D-25s from Silicon Salvage...