[pirahna1]

So I finally have money to burn on some gear for my production set up. Right now I'm rockin $30 Sony wal-mart phones and desperately need an upgrade.

I've been looking at the AKG K240 55ohm model for awhile set around $100. But I've been hearing a lot of good things about Grados. I managed to score an extra 100 bones and can afford to spend 200 on a set of phones IF I NEED TO.

I make electronic music and am looking for the FLATTEST response for the money. My style is kinda The Chemical Brothers / Boards of Canada type stuff. Maybe with a little bit of The Police thrown in for good measure

My question is basically, what is the BEST VALUE for my money. I want to save as much as possible to put towards more gear (looking at some hardware synths and need to save up). I'll be getting an NI Audio Kontrol 1 with whatever headphones I buy.

The phones I'm looking at:
AKG K240 (100)
AKG K240 mk2 (150)
Grado 225 (200)
Grado 125/80/60 (80-150)

I can't demo any of these models. There is no store within driving distance that sells phones. The nearest would be 2 hours away and that's only a Guitar Center - doubt they have any of these phones.

I'm sorry if this question has been asked to death, but I searched a bit and didn't find anything. Thanks for any help / opinions / advice you guys can give!

 

[Drubbing]

I don't know anything about those AKGs, but I wouldn't have thought Grado's were suited to production - they're not neutral or flat. Their sound is very up front and punchy, but the trebles are likely to be over emphasized for production useage.

I don't know how much they run to in your parts, but a DT250 (80ohm) would certainly be good for your purpose, and unlike some neutral phnoes, they are enjoyable for casual listening too. If not, I'm sure there are other flattish phnoes nearer you budget that people are aware of.

 

[catachresis]

What about the Beyerdynamic DT100 & DT150 for studio monitoring?

 

[pirahna1]

Beyerdynamics are a little out of my range. I really only upped my budget to 200 due to a fantastic review on amazon of the Grado sr225i. I really don't want to spend that much, but figured that they might have been worth it.

I know I won't get a super flat response at this price, I just want the best bang for the buck. I really wanted to stick around 100 if possible.

 

[Mr C]

Yeah forget about grado for music production.
Some headphones you could consider are sony V6, senn hd25 or ath m50.
None of them play with the sound too much and they are good/sturdy phones.

 

[pirahna1]

I was under the assumption closed-back 'phones were bad for monitoring purposes due to an exaggerated bass response and funky high end response? I've been looking at open headphones since I read that somewhere.