[hEad*PhonEz]

Yea... im interested in buying a headphone... well yea, that part is obvious... haha

The thing is, i have about 100 bucks to spend on em, and i'm debating vs the Senheisser HD-495 and the Grado Sr-80 ... I have browsed around the forums a bit and have concluded that these are the best 2 headphones there are for my price range... (How much does HD-485 cost... i forget)

Now, my question is... what are the advantages/disadvantages of these 2 headphones? I will listen to all types of music and i have a set of Klipsch Promedia 4.1 and SBlive X.Gamer 5.1 for my comp... Btw, i have NO idea how an AMP helps the sound of a headphone and equally NO idea on how these two headphones work and compare in tasks such as playing MP3's offa my computer and also off my MP3 player (Nomad II MG)... so it would be nice if u folkz could include a short description of how things work! Thx Everyone!

 

[DanG]

The Grado SR-80 does not need a headphone amp to be listenable, but the Sennheiser HD-495 needs one to sound anywhere close to its best. I would suggest the SR-80 because it will cost much less than the 495 with an amp.

 

[joelongwood]

I'll second DanG's recommendation. The SR-80 is an excellent headphone which does not need an amp to sound good.

 

[dhwilkin]

If you want a sound close to your Klipsch, you'll probably want the Grados. I doubt either would be a better choice simply because you plan on playing mp3s. Neither are high-enough up the chain to reveal alot of source weaknesses.

 

[reynman]

head*phonez,

I have the Klipisch 2.1 and use it for gaming, great sound. For late night gaming I use the headphone out with my Beyer DT 250-80 (closed cans). I have not checked the specs on the power rating of the headphone out, but it's better than most, if not all sound cards.

I had the Grado SR-80, but sold them. I like the Grado impact and soundstage for PS2 and Dreamcast gaming forays, but the sound leaked a bit too much for my wife to handle. Alas, that was 4-5 months ago and now Grado fever has struck again and I have moved my listening/gaming rig about 30 feet away from the bedroom. I'm waiting for my 325s to arrive and contemplating buying the RS1.

For the price and performance get the Grados, but if you need a good set of closed cans for music and late night gaming, try the Beyer DT 250-80. Contact Todd at Headroom (http://headphone.com), he recommended the Beyers to me and I have not been disappointed.

Regards - reynman

 

[MacDEF]

Personally (and I know this goes against the grain here), I always recommend the SR60 when being used without an amp, even over the SR80 -- unless the headphone jack has an unusually large amount of power. Almost any Grado can be driven by a standard headphone jack, but as you go up the line, they each have more and more "potential" that is unfulfilled without an amp. I feel this is true even with the SR80s. IMHO, there really isn't much difference between the SR80 and SR60 when being used directly out of a portable or soundcard, so you should just save your money.

On the other hand, if there is any chance that you might get an amp someday, the extra $ for the SR80s is worth it.