[Breznikov]

Hi everyone,

Recently I'm looking around a bit for a more expensive headphone (well, more expensive than the $20 Sony I currently have). I've been hanging around on this forum for a while, mainly in this subforum.

So, I'm looking for new headphones. I'm looking to spend about €100, or $100-$150. Headphone prices will probably vary a bit between countries.

Well, I'd like to use the headphone with my guitar amplifier. I've read somewhere guitar amplifiers often have rubbish outputs so mainly every headphone would do. I don't know about my amps output. It's from a good manufacturer (Ibanez, guitar players will probably recognize that), but I don't know if that should make much difference.

Besides that I will use it to listen to music and watch movies on my computer. I listen mostly to (Classic) Rock.

About closed or open, I don't really know what would be best. Closed cans have upsides too, but so do open cans. I think I'm leaning towards closed cans, but I'm easily convinced since I don't know much about this.

I haven't picked out a few headphones that I particularly like, I was hoping for you guys to help me a bit with that. Of course I will have to make the final decision, but there are so much headphones to choose from that I don't know where to begin really.

 

[EugeneK]

Try a grado SR60/80 or a alessandro MS1. Both are open and both do well with rock.

I have very limited experience with closed headphones

You need to try them on for an extended period though, some people find that they are very uncomfortable.

 

[apatN]

Yeah you should look into the Grado (Alessandro) offerings imo. They are very expensive in The Netherlands so keep an eye out on the For Sale forums here.
Where are you located in the Netherlands?

 

[Kawai_man]

The sennheiser HD555s I had sound amazing with my guitar multi fx pedal. I think youll really like those. Ive also tried ad700s and grado sr60s but for guitar the sennheisers sounded the best for guitar

 

[paaj]

If you are alone in the room, in a quiet environment, you have more choices in open headphones and these often sounds a bit more spacious and well... open.
else, a closed headphone gives some isolation from the everyday noise around, and keeps other people from listening to what you are listening too, mainly advisable for going portable, but sometimes very useful at home too.

open:
HD555 for a relaxed smooth sound and very comfortable and also very useful for movies. somewhere around €80
Alessandro MS1, probably the only normally priced Gradolike headphone here, only available from their website. $99 shipped worldwide. You could also look for the SR60/80 but I don't know how much they go for out of the head. they share a fast and detailed sound, but lack some soundstage and are not the most comfortable.

closed:
AKG K271s, nice detailed intimate sound and good comfort, lacks some bass. about €130 shipped?
ES7, more like a closed Grado, fun sound with good amount of bass. like Grado, not as comfortable. also somewhere around €120.

IMO the Grado's are best at making guitar sound real (from CD, not really a guitar player myself) and are pretty easy to amp. If you play for long times they may not be the best choice though.

 

[Breznikov]

Thank you all for the advice so far.

As I said, I'm easily convinced. I realise I'm not in a noisy environment that often, so closed headphones are not that neccesary I think. Therefore it seems open headphones would be better for me. I do like to know how 'open' they would be. That is probably different for each headphone, but I'd like to know how much of noise from the outside I would be able to hear with open headphones on.

The Grado SR60 can be found for about €100,- so they would fit in my budget. However, I just saw the HD555 from Sennheiser. They look very comfortable. Obviously I can't judge that by just looking at pictures, but the earpads seem very nice. Also they aren't that expensive. I've found them for €78,- here. And as a true Dutchman I'd like to get headphones as cheap as I can.

Well, I should find a store nearby that has a lot of high-end headphones to test. There are a couple of larger electronic stores, but they don't have that much high-end headphones.

Also, I'll probably connect the headphones to my iPod occasionally. Normally I'll use my in-ears, but on some occasions I will probably use the headphones. I know for some headphones you need a small battery powered amplifier. Will I need that for the headphones mentioned here (Sennheiser HD555, Grado SR60, Alessandro MS1)?

EDIT: Something else I'd like to know is the sound leaking of these headphones. If I would listen to my iPod on a 'normal' volume (which means about 60% of the volume on my iPod, so not extremely loud), how much will somebody sitting next to me will hear of that? I'd like headphones that don't leak a lot. If any of these headphones are well known for leaking a lot of sound I will probably scratch them from my imaginairy list.

 

[EugeneK]

With open headphones, you generally hear everything, they have sound isolation of -0db.

Open headphones leak sound like a sieve leaks water.

I personally use closed headphones or IEMs when I'm in public as well, cause I don't want to bother other people. But once I get home, the closed heaphones and iems get put away, open headphones are way more comfortable and I think they sound a lot better.

 

[charliex]

Some 'can't go wrong' choices - for open try the Grado SR125 or Alessandro MS1 - for closed, consider the Denon D1001 (D2001 if you can afford it), or even try the Ultrasone line - I picked up a marvellous pair of Proline 650s recently.
PS - Open headphones are the way to go.

 

[Breznikov]

I can't find much shops that sell the Denon and Alessandro in The Netherlands. And I'd like to try to test them out first before I buy them. Buying from the internet isn't really a problem, but I like to test them out somewhere first. The Grado models and Alessandro MS1 don't seem that comfortable to me, but I'm probably wrong. Are those on-ear or over-ear? I'd like to have over-ear and with over-ear I don't like to have the them press my ears too much.

I do know where I can test out the Sennheiser HD555. Would you also classify those as 'can't go wrong'? Well, I'll try to go to the shop that sells them soon to test them out. If I like them I will probably order them. They're not that expensive. The Denon D1001 is slightly over €100 here, but if they really are that good I can stretch my budget a bit. But as I said before, I'd like to try them out first.

 

[plonkersaurus]

I play guitar myself and I would go with open. It's not that closed are bad its just I prefer being able to hear myself play (as in pick noise) as well as the sound out of the amplifier, its just more natural and more comfortable. That said if you were looking to just hear what comes out of the amplifier then closed might be better.

I have the HD595's and they are my preferred headphone to use when playing guitar so I would say you can't go wrong with the HD555's. They seem to have quite a natural sound balance to them. (quite similar to denon d1001's but with less bass)

 

[Breznikov]

I'm leaning towards the HD555's right now. They can be found at a lot of shops in Holland, were as I can only find one or two webshops (which I don't really like since I can't try anything out or see the headphones with my own eyes) that sell the Grado's and Denons. I can't find the Alessandro's at a shop in Holland, although I can probably order them abroad.

Well, I'll just have to try to test the HD555's next week or so. I really like to know how much sound is leaking. And perhaps test a few closed headphones as well. I know the sound is better with open headphones, but I do like to keep others from singing along with whatever music I'm listening.

By the way, nobody here has mentioned AKG's. Are they not really good for what I'm using the headphone for? There's a store nearby that sells a few AKG models. Not that much different models, but I might be able to order others there.
EDIT: No wait, paaj mentioned the K271s (s is for Studio?). I'm going to take a look at those.

 

[yourstruly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Breznikov /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm leaning towards the HD555's right now. They can be found at a lot of shops in Holland, were as I can only find one or two webshops (which I don't really like since I can't try anything out or see the headphones with my own eyes) that sell the Grado's and Denons. I can't find the Alessandro's at a shop in Holland, although I can probably order them abroad. Well, I'll just have to try to test the HD555's next week or so. I really like to know how much sound is leaking. And perhaps test a few closed headphones as well. I know the sound is better with open headphones, but I do like to keep others from singing along with whatever music I'm listening. By the way, nobody here has mentioned AKG's. Are they not really good for what I'm using the headphone for? There's a store nearby that sells a few AKG models. Not that much different models, but I might be able to order others there. EDIT: No wait, paaj mentioned the K271s (s is for Studio?). I'm going to take a look at those.

Could you tell us what the prices are for you for these headphones:

Grado SR80
Alessandro MS-1
Audio-Technica AD700
Denon D1000

For people in US, SR80, MS-1, and AD700 are all about $95. Denons are around $140. If your prices vary drastically from ours, buy the one thats cheapest, because you will avoid getting ripped off that way.

It's hard for us sometimes to make recommendations because prices are so much different from place to place. For example, HD555's, MS-1, SR80, and AD700 are all on a higher level then SR60's. If Grados are very expensive for you, like the 100 euro sr60's, then I would suggest staying away from Grados.

Besides, I'm not sure if you'd want one anyway if you care about leakage. Out of all the headphones I've used, Grados leak the most. The Senns and Audio-Technicas leak, but its very minimal; you could probably listen to them at a library using a reasonable listening volume. The Denons are closed, but they are more expensive.

 

[Breznikov]

Grado SR80: €139,- (SR60 are €99,-)
Alessandro MS-1: Can't find them in Holland so I would have to order them on the internet. That adds relatively high shipping costs and possibly tax if I order it outside of the EU.
Audio-Technica AD700: ~€150,-
Denon D1000: Cheapest I've found the in Holland is €110,- but at a shop that hasn't got a very good reputation.

Those are the prices I've found them here. Of course I can order headphones from the internet. In some cases that will probably be cheaper. However in that case I do have to pay international shippings costs and probably tax too, which is 19% in The Netherlands. But if I order it from somewhere within the EU I don't have to pay the dutch tax since I've already paid the tax of the other country.

So, the Grado's seem a bit expensive here and if they do leak a lot I don't that those are the ideal headphones for me. And to be honest I don't really like the look of the AD700. If they are brilliant value for money though that is not really an issue, but I don't like the purple color and they seem a bit too big.

 

[Breznikov]

Slight bump.

I have listened to the HD555's today. They sound great and are very comfortable, but I'd rather have closed headphones because I don't like the sound leakage. If I'm alone in my room that doesn't matter, but I'd like to use them while on the train for example, and I don't want to let everyone 'enjoy' my music.

So, closed headphones it is. The Denon D1001's seem to be good headphones, but I can't find them very cheap here and I can't find a shop where I can try them. I do like to try the headphones before I buy them.
What about the AKG K271 (Studio, MKII, I don't really know which one, but the normal K271 seems to be discontinued)? I am currently looking for a shop where I can try them, but they seem comfortable and I really like the velvet earpads that are included. My brother has an old pair of Beyerdynamics with velvet pads and I really like those.

EDIT: Actually those K271 are a bit expensive. I expected to find them a bit cheaper than I currently have, but I can't. Well, ignore what I said then, I'll look for something else

 

[paaj]

K271S should run somewhere close to €120, great comfortable headphone with a nice detailed sound. You can probably find them at the Feedback stores. Only drawback is the pleather pads and the light bass, you will want to listen for yourself.

MKII is a bit more expensive but includes the velours (you'll want those anyway)

btw, the MS1 is $99 with worldwide shipping included. I think that's cheap enough to dodge customs charges. they are open though, and not that comfortable (in the beginning).

For some good bargains you are practically bound to the internet shops. The more exotic stuff is difficult to find.