[cferneyh]

I'm having a tough time find my ideal headphones. I've had a pair of AKG-K501s for a couple of years and while I was pretty happy with them, they lacked the bass oomph that I wanted. Regardless, I went through a few different headphones to get to the "close enough" status - and to stop my wife from glaring at me when a new package arrived - I stopped there and figured I'd upgrade again in a couple of years.

As my 4 year old recently chewed through the K501's cable, I decided to give the famous "Grado sound" a try and bought a pair of the 325is. I gotta say it's also close-ish to what I'm looking for, but still not quite there. And I have to admit that after the comfort of of the K501s, I'm having a very difficult time getting comfortable with the 325is, which I think is impacting my perception of them.

I don't post a lot, but I spend a lot of time reading what other Head Fi-ers have to say, and it is pretty cool to see such a wide range in opinions for all of the options out there. So I'm hoping that I can get some advice. Right now I'm leaning towards giving the HD650's a go based on what I've read. Other things I'm looking for in addition to some bass oomph:

1. Detailed mids
2. Wide soundstage
3. Non-bright treble (the 325is seem bright to me)
4. Comfort

I fear that I'm describing myself as looking for a muddy sound, but that is definitely not the case. While I do want the bass oomph, I do want detail and clarity in the mids.

My content is Apple Lossless. My source is an Apple iMac. I've got the KECES DA-152 DAC/amp. I primarily listen to guitar driven rock/ indie music (Wilco, the Tragically Hip, the National, Ben Harper, Stephen Malkmus, the Whigs are among my faves).

Would the HD650's be a good match to my equipment and sound preferences? If not, what would be? Any and all advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance! I love this forum 10 times more than my wife hates it!

 

[Cankin]

K601 or HD600?

I've never heard balanced HD650, but for single ended, HD600 is more detailed and has a larger soundstage

 

[userlander]

DT990?

 

[grawk]

Without upgrading your amp, the HD600 would be a better choice than the HD650.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I think the HD-650 would be a good choice for you. However, you might want to consider the Beyerdynamic DT880, as well. It's fast and just a little bright like a Grado, but more neutral and the top end won't glare like a SR-325. Also, the DT880 might be the most comfortable headphone every produced.

 

[userlander]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think the HD-650 would be a good choice for you. However, you might want to consider the Beyerdynamic DT880, as well. It's fast and just a little bright like a Grado, but more neutral and the top end won't glare like a SR-325. Also, the DT880 might be the most comfortable headphone every produced.

Another good choice.

OP, you say the grado lacks "bass oomph," so know that the DT990 adds a little more bass than the 880. Whichever one is adequate for you would have to be a personal decision. I find the 880 enough, but some people like more.

Personally, like UE, I also find the beyers "closer" to grado than sennheiser, which without really good amplification sounds veiled in comparison. Not that the beyers sound like grados, but on the headphone spectrum as a whole I think they are closer than senns, which are almost like the polar opposite of grados.

 

[bass_nut]

sr325iS 6000hz spike?

1) inexpensive try ==> Grado soft/comfy pads on sr325iS

Grado sr325iS with comfy pads

2) you may also try it with tube amp from your friend who might have one

inexpensive one here.. Little Dot mk ll (with Mullard ef92 + 6N6P)

YMMV

 

[Cankin]

DT880 sounds really bright to me ears, but not everyone has problem with its brightness.

If one of OP's requirement is Non-bright treble and he is looking for headphone which sounds closer to Grado, I would say AD2000 is a good headphone too.

 

[MrGreen]

the DT880 being bright is an issue of under amping it as well as being used to sennheisers roll-off.
It is more neutral than the sennheisers, but what becomes neutral depends on what you listen to

 

[maguire]

Why not try HF-2? plenty of bass nice mids not as hot as 325i and a few for sale
although you may find comfort an issue simmilar to what you have now?

 

[mythless]

What about the german maestro line, you could give them a shot. From what I heard they have a pretty wide sound stage with good clarity and detail on all three, the comfort might be an issue, but those who have it change the pads.

 

[cferneyh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by maguire /img/forum/go_quote.gif Why not try HF-2? plenty of bass nice mids not as hot as 325i and a few for sale although you may find comfort an issue simmilar to what you have now?

Definitely was strongly considering the HF2 based on what I'd read - descriptions sound like what I'm looking for. But then I was thinking that the comfort issue might end up being a problem for me again.

Thanks for your 2 cents! Very appreciated (you and everyone else who have taken the time to respond).

 

[Cankin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrGreen /img/forum/go_quote.gif the DT880 being bright is an issue of under amping it as well as being used to sennheisers roll-off. It is more neutral than the sennheisers, but what becomes neutral depends on what you listen to

I don't not think my experience with brightness of DT880 is due to under amping since I used Headamp Dynamic which is an earlier version of Headamp GS-1. There are many people would colour their phones with different amps but I'm not in the camp, YMMV

 

[anetode]

DT880 - more comfortable and better detail retrieval than an HD650. The 650 has a good midrange, but it is designed to sound on the warm side rather than neutral, so the highs don't come through as much.

 

[sampson_smith]

The HF-2 would be a great way to go if you can find one at an affordable price. However, how long have you burned in the 325is's for? I found that after approx. 100 hours of burn-n, they DID become more mellow, the bass tightened up a bit, and the highs smoothed out. They are no longer glaringly bright cans, for me, anyway. Several people on here have also described this.