best headphones for folk-ish music

[jinp6301]

there doesnt seem to be alot of people here listening to folk or country music on the forum (or am i looking in the wrong places?)

Overall, im pretty happy with my 225s but i feel like theres something missing when i listen to folk, country, alt-folk, alt-country etc (rilo kiley, wilco, elliott smith, nick drake, ron sexsmith, johnny cash, neko case etc)

are there any phones that are especially good for the genres i listen to?

 

[Davesrose]

for folk or accoustic, I have always loved my HD580s. I recommend trying them since they are at $140 now. IMHO, they have nice detail in the mids, great soundstage for smaller ensembles, and a bass response that's perfect for jazz or Johny Cash!! Also, if you're a Grado fan, I think Senns are a good compliment since they're opposites in their tonal emphasis!

 

[jinp6301]

yea those were the ones i was thinking about

also does anyone know how the AKGs are with folk/country music?

 

[Davesrose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jinp6301 /img/forum/go_quote.gif yea those were the ones i was thinking about also does anyone know how the AKGs are with folk/country music?

Which AKGs were you thinking of? I would say that the 580s are 10xs better then the 501s for folk/ Johnny Cash. While I don't listen to a lot of country, I do listen to blues and Irish folk. IMO, the 580s offer the best bass response/ soundstage for it. The 501s are too soft in bass, and their soundstage is too big. Some say that the 601 has a lot more bass and smaller soundstage....then other posts seem to say it's not terribly different.....so I never know what to make out of the 501 series!!

 

[wolfen68]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jinp6301 /img/forum/go_quote.gif there doesnt seem to be alot of people here listening to folk or country music on the forum (or am i looking in the wrong places?)... are there any phones that are especially good for the genres i listen to?

I listen to a lot of folk and alternative country type stuff (no thanks on straight country). IMO, the likes of Neko Case, Johnny Cash, Gillian Welch, and Lucinda Williams have never sounded better when experienced through a "warm" Grado. The 225 is decent on this, with the RS-2 and HF-1 doing better yet.

I listen to this type of stuff on my HHF-1 and it really excells at the warm-smooth full midrange presentation with sufficent highs/lows to make things really interesting. If I want to show off my HHF-1's to someone...this type of music seems to impress the most.

 

[F107plus5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jinp6301 /img/forum/go_quote.gif there doesnt seem to be alot of people here listening to folk or country music on the forum (or am i looking in the wrong places?) Overall, im pretty happy with my 225s but i feel like theres something missing when i listen to folk, country, alt-folk, alt-country etc (rilo kiley, wilco, elliott smith, nick drake, ron sexsmith, johnny cash, neko case etc) are there any phones that are especially good for the genres i listen to?

I find that folk or country music is recorded much the same as much if not most, of my favorite classical rock tunes. My Wife has an extensive country collection(somehow I find it easier to blame "Her", but "I" listen to it a lot too!.....ok, more than she does.

)and I find it so well recorded in most cases that it can be just as much a joy to listen to as any other form of music in my collection.

And I bought my MS2i to highlight my classical rock collection.

The MS2i put the listener right there either in the recording studio or right there on stage with the performers.

.....with one Kingston Trio CD I have to be sure to keep my elbows in while listening so's not to bump their instruments!!

...yeah, the MS2i are good.

 

[Davesrose]

F107.....just wait for those HD600s!!!!! You'll be rediscovering country/jazz/ classical with them

Having not listened to the expensive Grados yet, I say that the $140 HD580s are the best bang for buck for this genre

 

[zombieDave]

There doesnt seem to be alot of people here listening to folk or country music on the forum (or am i looking in the wrong places?)

I listen to all the folk/alt-folk bands you listed. I was going to recommend AKG K501's, but they're a step or two down from your Grados (however, the 501 has a bigger soundstage than Grado and that will make them "different" enough in sound sig so you may dig them).

Checking out your sig, I'd pick up even a modest amp (V5 Go-Vibe?) and you may start hearing what you think (and you are!) missing.

 

[otprof]

I LOVE Neko Case on my 701s. They are awesome with the instrumental stuff (well-recorded bluegrass, Leo Kottke, etc.), but I think they are very nice for the genres you list. I haven't heard the 501s to compare, but I don't really notice a lack of bass on these. It doesn't thump, but it's there.

 

[zombieDave]

Sorry, didn't see you have a MisterX amp "on the way". Wait for it and re-listen to everything in your collection. You may not even want a new pair of cans after hearing your amped Grados. Plus, have you tried any pad-swapping on them? Sometimes you can squeeze a bit more depth/layers out of them with different pads.

 

[DJGeorgeT]

I love my HF-1 and SR60 with the Hornet amp for this type of music. Cheers!

 

[Davesrose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJGeorgeT /img/forum/go_quote.gif I love my HF-1 and SR60 with the Hornet amp for this type of music. Cheers!

SR60? I guess this shows everyone has different preferences in headphones! The only music I liked the SR60 for was faster paced rock stuff.....other then that, I thought they weren't very well balanced: to much emphasis in the high treble region. Blues and Johnny Cash demand some bass IMHO. The HD580s have some very nice mid detail and bass response to boot. Add a soundstage to that,and it's hard to beat for $140 now! I'm I the only one insane enough to think that there can be a marraige of Senn and Grado?

Anyway, I do recommend demoing the HD580 to see if you dig the Sennheiser sound.

 

[jinp6301]

wow thanks for the quick responses guys. i'm gonna wait till i get my amp and try out my music again to see of theres a significant change. i've been recommended the k501 and the hd580s before as alternatives to my grados. i guess i'll have to audition them to find out what i really want.

more opinions are appreciated!

 

[Davesrose]

As stated before, I think the HD580 is a better alternative to Grado then the 501. The 601 may be different (some posts do indicate it). But usually AKG is cited as being good analytical cans, Sennheiser more musical. Yep, they're warm sounding because the treble is soft (and their tonal emphasis is opposite Grados). But properly amped, blues and folk gets to be on another plane as far as liveliness

The Mister X amp should work well with the HD580 when you're ready to look into another set of headphones. One thing that's great about this forum is that it makes you want to try other house sounds.....or maybe that's a bad thing. My wallet always gets empty now

 

[jinp6301]

yea, i want to try EVERYTHING out, the only thing that kept my wallet from crying out with pain was the Koss KSC75s.