[cooperg]

I'm in a similar situation - I find my MS1s leak a bit too much for the office. I'm considering the AKG K81DJ, which are available in the UK for £35.

 

[nylan8301]

Quote:

Originally Posted by adswiftuk /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the HD-280 recommendation, they're definitely more in my price range than some other the other suggestions I've had. I'm still intrigued about the DT231s and the DR100s though... any experiences anyone?

I'm suprised no one has mentioned the clamp-force on the 280's. They have some SERIOUS pressure around the head. They certainly won't leak, but you really won't be able to hear anyone around you, which would include the phone, boss, etc. Don't get me wrong, they are a fairly good closed, circumaural headphone. However, with my huge noggin, they would be very uncomfortable for more than about an hour. You may be able to stretch the headband a little, but it looked like the headband on the 280 was plastic (could be wrong).

I just felt like this should be mentioned. Check out more reviews of the 280 here at Head-fi.

Nylan

 

[adswiftuk]

Thanks Nylan that's definitely something to bear in mind. Like I said, I don't really want to be cut out completely, just enough to enjoy my music.

As far as I'm aware Janruzinsky yes all the Grados are open designs but I'm an absolute novice about this kind of thing compared to most people on this forum.

It looks increasingly like I'm going to have to put my SR60s on ebay in order to finance a decent closed pair, so let me know if you're interested and I'll offer them to you first. I'll be honest and tell you I bought them for £61.50 inc. p&p brand new and I've used them for the duration of John Lennon's 'Imagine' album. Therefore I'll probably be looking to get at least £50 for them.

 

[janruzinsky]

adswiftuk: where do you live? In the UK?

 

[Chris_Himself]

you should give the AKG K271s an audition

 

[ackrmann]

I'm a Grado user at home (325i), and I am currently using some Sennheiser HD-201's in the office. They are VERY inexpensive. Around 20 to 25 bucks in the US. I find their performance very impressive for their price. In fact, I am really enjoying them. I found myself using them at home last night INSTEAD of the 325i. Crazy, I know. But I rather enjoy the 201's sound signature: lean, airy, clear, detailed. Not for a "bass head", but it excels at clarity in the mids/highs. They are closed, don't leak, are mildly isolating (but not soundproof), are lightweight, circumaural, and comfy. The only caveat, again, is with the bass. Some people dislike the lean presentation of the 201's (although I find their bass improving with burn-in). But if you like Grado's, which are not very bass-centric either, you may like the 201's.

For 25 bucks, it may be worth a shot.

 

[shomie911]

Quote:

Originally Posted by adswiftuk /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks so far everyone. I've had a bit of a scout around the forum this evening and in particular looked up the ES7s. It seems a few people have mentioned that they've been disappointed with the sound leakage from them too. I know they'll probably be better than the open Grados (a newbie mistake if ever there was one), but like I mentioned I want to be able to play the end of 'Glosoli' so loud that I can feel it in my chest and not bother the girl who sits next to me. Does this mean I really should be looking for truly closed design phones? If this is so and I have to have a slightly larger (physically) set than I originally wanted then so be it. Also is there much difference between closed designs and noise-cancelling ones? It seems other recommendations have led onto the DT770s, which to be honest - having just blown most of my budget on the Grados - seem to be just that little bit more than I wish to pay (same with the ES7s really). Ideally I was thinking somewhere around the £60 mark I could about justify to myself and warrant keeping the Grados for home use too (which could work considering I do a lot of projects in my spare time too). Would this be the best way to go though or do you think I'd regret it after a while? I'd say at work I'd use whichever new phones I get for approx 6 hours a day, which when I think about it is about the same amount as I sleep, meaning that's a pretty important chunk of my life. Would it be more advisable to cut my losses sell on the Grados and pick up an all-purpose sets of 'phones for around £120 or buy a different closed set for £60 and keep them both? This realy shouldn't be this hard but there's just so much choice out there! Hence any advice from true audiophiles rather than just music-obsessives like me really is appreciated... Thanks to all posters so far.

I'm thinking that your hearing wouldn't thank you if you did that.


Anyway, when I was looking for headphones I was recommended the ES7's a lot and they should be great for what your going to be using them for.

I have Beyer DT880's and they don't leak all that much, although I do listen to music at fairly low volumes. They are also Semi-Open so that helps.

 

[Makenzie]

sony mdrv6s...

 

[shomie911]

Quote:

Originally Posted by adswiftuk /img/forum/go_quote.gif Having looked up the DT770s I have concerns over their impedance rating. I think I remember reading they were around the 250 ohms mark, which compared with the Grados rating of 32 (I think) seems very high. Does this mean they will be harder for my little iPod to drive and will this afffect the volume level? If so, this would be a major stumbling block for me as after years of band rehearsals I find that my Nano is relatively quiet as it is. I would hate to buy the DT770 only to find out they're too quiet and have to run my iPod on near full volume all the time, as it would leave me with no headroom to go that extra bit louder for one of Godspeeds... trademark crescendos. Also whilst a headphone amp is a potential future purpose in a couple of months, I don't really want to be in position where I have to buy one straight away just to power an already expensive set of headphones like the 770s. I'll look up some of the other recommendations, but if anyone has any others please keep them coming, because I expoect I'm not the first, nor will be the last, that are looking for a pair of headphones with my budget to use at work (which by the way is completely silent most of the time). Thanks again.

I used to drive my 250 Ohm DT880's out of Ipod and my Nano could push them painfully loud. They're about perfect at 70% and at 100% I, personally cannot bear them at that volume.

So no problems with 250 Ohms, plus the Pro-80 Ohm ones are supposed to be better.

The DT880's are glorious with an amp though and I assume the DT770's would benefit the same.

 

[adswiftuk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shomie911 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm thinking that your hearing wouldn't thank you if you did that.

Oh it's too late for that now.

Again thanks for the suggestions, I'm going to look a few more of them up now. Ideally I'd like to have a short list of around 4 suitable options for when I take a trip to my not-so-local hi-fi retailers at the weekend.

Another question though:
How much difference will a headphone amp make? And what sort of price will a decent entry level amp cost? Would it be worth getting one of the cheaper recommended set of phones and an amp, or would it be better to just spend a bit more cash on the phones themselves and forget about an amp for the time being?

 

[adswiftuk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by janruzinsky /img/forum/go_quote.gif adswiftuk: where do you live? In the UK?

Yes Portsmouth to be precise. If you're interested let me know, otherwise they'll be on eBay by the weekend. Unless I have a severe change of heart of course!

 

[adswiftuk]

Hello everyone,

First of all, thanks for all the advice before, however somehow I've found myself almost in the same position again!

To update you, I decided to keep my Grado's in the end because the sound I was getting out of them with a bit more use was incredible. I also moved house not long after purchasing them and found that, due to the extra room I had where I could set up an office, I had a use for the SR-60s after all. Whilst I find the ear pads uncomfortable for long periods of time (my ears get hot and the foam feels itchy) the sound is so detailed that I feels exactly like I've got my Mission floorstanders strapped to my ears. This is exactly what I wanted from a set of heaphones, but is there anything I can do to improve the comfort of the SR-60s?

As for the decision of which phones to get for work, after walking around several hi-fi shops and trying different models, I decided on the px200s. My reasons for this were that all the closed headphones I tried sounded muddy to me. By this I felt that the bass was too boomy and there was a loss in clarity of the mids and the highs. In comparison to the SR-60s the loss of detail was incredible. Only on some of the high end models did the sound get anywhere near as good and at the time I couldn't justify spending a lot and keeping the Grados, so the px200s were a suitable compromise.

However, my px200s have now broken and I'm back in the same boat as I was before. I don't mind too much though, as I have to admit I was a little disappointed with the px200s. Because of the small size of the ear pieces I couldn't get a decent enough fit and I felt that not only affected the low end but also created leakage.

Being in this job for a bit longer now, I've realised that being cut off is not so much of a problem as I find that I can still see in my periphery if anyone needs my attention. Therefore I'm less specific about what type of headphones I'd prefer, except I still know that I don't want IEMs. Comfort is a real issue though (and a reason why I'm considering some Bose phones - they feel like pillows on my ear) and along with sound they are the most important things. Leakage is still quite important (hence I'm still looking for closed phones) but perhaps not quite as important as it was before as the general volume level has increased as we've taken on more staff.

What I really would like is some suggestions to some closed headphones that can offer a sound that is as detailed (or as close to as possible) as the grado's I've come to love and be confortable at the same time. Tough ask I know and I'm sure that due to the nature of closed headphones it will be impossible, but does anyone have any suggestions - along with the ones given already - that will provide something like the level of detail I'm after?

My budget for a new set is around £100. Usually I have them plugged directly into either my ipod or mac pro. My music tastes encompass pretty much most genres but in general I would say indie/rock/electro/instrumental.

Models that I tried in shops that I found either too muddy or just plain inferior included:
Beyerdynamic DT231 Galatics
Sennheser HD465
Sennheiser HD25sp (best of the bunch - almost purchased)
several others up the the £120 mark, that I can't remember.

Any help would again be appreciated.