[Nextinline77]

I've recently started my journey into the audiophile world and have been looking to learn as much as I can to make the best purchase possible for me. I picked up a pair of Shure SRH1440's and loved the clarity but was disappointed by the small amount of bass and low impact. I by no means what a pair of Beats I was just looking for a bit more then the 1440's offered. I was actually intending to keep the 1440's and just use an eq to add a little bass if I was in the mood but started having an issue with the driver in the right ear and decided I would just return them rather then make an exchange since they weren't quite what I wanted.
 
So now that brings us to today, I've been thinking about getting a portable headphone as opposed to going with another open back set. I decided I'd take a trip to my local best buy and give a listen to some of their headphones with my ipod. I know that best buy has a less then ideal selection and I know that using an ipod doesn't give me a very high quality music file but for me to actually test some headphones this was my only option. I tried the Denon AH-D600, V-Moda M100, PSB M4U2, Bose QC 25, B&W P5 s2, and P7. I found them all to be pretty decent headphones but the P7 stood out as the best to me. They had nice clarity and solid bass impact and nothing seemed to be over done about them. I was hoping to like some of the less expensive options as I only paid $250 for my 1440's but I decided if I were to purchase any of the headphones I tried today it would have to be the P7. 
 
Now for my question considering the headphones I've listened to today is there any better portable headphone then the P7 in that $400 price range? I've been interested in the Focal Spirit Classic but would have no way to try it before I buy it so I'd like to get as many opinions as I can on how the two stack up. For my second question if I'm going to spend $400 on a pair of headphones am I crazy for not getting the HD650? I'd prefer to get something that is portable and doesn't require an amp but is it that much better then the P7 or FSC? At home will be my main use for them and they'll be running through my audio interface as a DAC then into my Macbook but I just like the idea of having something that's portable as well. If I where to purchase the HD650 I'd likely only be able spend $100 or so on an amp for a long time before I could upgrade so I'm not sure how much of a difference I'd hear using the DAC in my audio interface and a $100 headphone amp with the HD650 as opposed to getting the P7 or FSC. I'm open to any suggestions you may have not just the headphones I listed here. I listen to a pretty broad range of music just not much rap and no classical but as far as rock goes I like anything ranging from Bon Iver to The Gaslight Anthem weird I know... Anyways I appreciate the help

 

[Nextinline77]

Any reason why my thread doesn't seem to show up? Only way I can see it is by checking my subscriptions...

 

[benjitb]

Hi,
 
I have just been out  testing headphones in the U.K so I can give you my own take on the B&W P7.
The only decent headphones I have owned are the Logitech UE 6000. These are going back as I found them too jumpy and a bit bass heavey, although behind that is a good quality sound, i just find it too distracting.
 
I was using a pretty budget music player with flac/no amp in the stores. For me B&W P7 were by far my favourite. This is subjective of course, but i can tell you what music i was using for the tests, fleet foxes/pearl jam/Van the man on tracks i know well.
 
The most expensive/top range senn's i tried were the 518/558 & 598, it was noisey in store so i could not get the full effect of them (open), but the 2 stylish (momentum/urbanite) Senn's sounded weak. I also tried some fancy ones that were about £1000 but they def needed amping as my player did them no justice. The B & O H6 were good too but i didn't get to directly compare and it was missing that something the B&W P7 had.
 
I can't help you with the Focal or the 650's but the B&W P7 bested all that i tried (Dre/Monster/PSB & all that) I. I'm going to post myself to see if anyone can recommend a HP that is a "clone" or has a similar sound unlikely as it seems.
 
Something to condider, the B&W P7 was very clear in distinguishing between mp3's & flac of the same track's, as a HP of this price should be. Good luck.

 

[Nextinline77]

Thanks for the input. Not sure how much you're looking to spend and like I said I'm still trying to get some opinions on the FSC but you can get them for about $330 from musiciansfriend.com right now. I'm very tempted to just pull the trigger on those for that price but I really liked the P7's and really don't want to end up sending back another pair of headphones.
 
Just realized you're in the u.k.....

 

[benjitb]

I've been looking on Amazon.com as the prices are almost half what it costs in the UK, we get royally ripped off here. Not all ship free to the UK which is really annoying.
 
No i'm looking to spend much less than that. I'm def getting some Koss ksc75's and i'd like something for home listening for music & films. I's proving a hard choice, but i'm well educated in the HP models now! It depends on the model of course, if what i want is available and on sale  could spend a bit over $100, here in the UK that gets you not much.
 
I really liked the sound of the shure's i tried in store, although a couple of them seems creaky and possibly cheaply made. How did you find them?

 

[Roy Munson]

If you're looking for portability then no - you're not crazy for not getting an HD 650 as it provides no portability.
 
Sound is subjective. If you liked the P7 and believe they're worth the money to you go for it. I really liked the P7 considering the sound they offered in a portable headphone. 

 

[Nextinline77]

The Shures seemed to be built fine nothing special but I wasn't worried about them breaking. They were really comfortable at first then the headband would start to bother me after an hour or so.
 
Anyways I found a place that let me listen to some high end headphones Audeze LCD-3, Denon D7100, and the Sennheiser HD600. I'm probably just inexperienced but I actually found the HD600 to be on par with the LCD which I know is probably heresy on this forum but hey I thought they both sounded great. Anyways after listening to the HD600's I just decided to forget portability and go for either the 600 or 650. It had the awesome clarity I loved about the 1440 with solid bass and didn't have any of the overbearing highs the 1440 would sometimes exhibit.
 
I did a little price hunting and found the 650's for $309!!! Needless to say I bought them...now I just need to get an amp, let the journey begin. Oh and if anyones interested proaudiostar.com is where I found that deal. Seems to be one hell of a deal if anyone else is interested in picking them up.

 

[Roy Munson]

Very nice! Enjoy!

 

[benjitb]

Good to hear you found something you like, its all subjective, bet you had your eye on those 650's all along!
I'm thinking of one of these now:
£120 AKG Q 701
£105 AKG Pro 612
£70   AKG 551
A bit more than i was looking to spend, hpefully the sales post christmas will help.

 

[Roy Munson]

  Good to hear you found something you like, its all subjective, bet you had your eye on those 650's all along!
I'm thinking of one of these now:
£120 AKG Q 701
£105 AKG Pro 612
£70   AKG 551
A bit more than i was looking to spend, hpefully the sales post christmas will help.

 I have both the Q701 and K550. I don't think you can go wrong either way. I think you'll find the Q701 is a bit more gear dependent than the K550.

 

[benjitb]

 
 I have both the Q701 and K550. I don't think you can go wrong either way. I think you'll find the Q701 is a bit more gear dependent than the K550.

Thanks Roy, if i was to splash out on the Q701's how would my AVR fare? I have not yet grasped the Impedance/Ohms aspect as yet.