[JohnnySunshine]

Hi everyone,

Sorry, this is gonna be a noob post.

I don't really know anything about headphones. I'm looking to spend about $150 on my first decent pair. I don't really like buds, i find them uncomfortable. I was thinking more like DJ style headphones, I find those very comfortable.

Again, sorry if this is the kind of thing you get all the time. Just looking for some beginner advice. I probably havn't given enough information, but if you ask the important questions I can try to answer them.

Thanks so much.

 

[RichardCory]

I'm in no position to recommend anything, but I'm sure that the people who will make recommendations would like to know what kind of music you listen to.

 

[JohnnySunshine]

Ok. I listen to a lot of jazz, and if different headphones are voiced to play some genre's better than others, then I would want to favour jazz. This is what I want to really "hear".

I also listen to a lot of rock music, mostly indie stuff, and a little hip-hop.

 

[kramer5150]

WTTFSAYW

What kinds of music?
What is your source?
Are you plugging into a portable player?, what kind?
Are you plugging into a home receiver?, what kind?
Are you dead-set against an amplifier addition?
How important is isolation?
Any preference in cord type?... one side or "Y"?

Let's start with that....

Garrett

 

[JohnnySunshine]

WTTFSAYW

What kinds of music?

Jazz mostly, some indie rock and hip-hop aswell.

What is your source?

I'm not sure I understand the question.

Are you plugging into a portable player?, what kind?

I'll be plugging these into an iPod, a 20 gig.

Are you plugging into a home receiver?, what kind?

No.

Are you dead-set against an amplifier addition?

I'm not dead set against anything, but I'm hoping that these will be as portable as possible, and an additional amp sounds like it would hinder this.

How important is isolation?

Again, I don't understand the question.

Any preference in cord type?... one side or "Y"?

I prefer one side, but if one sounds better than the other, its not much of a sacrifice.

Let's start with that....

Garrett

 

[Sczervok]

The iPod is your source.

Isolation is blocking out outside noise. Earplugs have lots of isolation, open headphones do not. Isolation is good when used in noise environments. IEMs are good choices for isolation.

You probably wont desire an amp until you have a better sense of your musical tastes... then you can decide if you want to use an amp.

 

[JohnnySunshine]

Ok. Sorry again for my lack of knowledge in this stuff. And thank you for all the quick replies.

Isolation is not that important to me. I'd rather have a set of headphones with better sound quality that aren't noise cancelling than a set that are noise cancelling but don't actually sound as good.

 

[jagorev]

Alessandro MS1 or Sennheiser HD 555 will do nicely, methinks. And you'll have $50 left over.

 

[Sczervok]

Grado, Sennheiser, AKG, Sony, Beyer Dynamic
All make nice head-phones. Use head-fi's search function to look for reviews about phones made by each of these companies, and see if you can find a good match for jazz.

And avoid Bose if possible.

 

[mtkversion]

A different route I might suggest is ....

$15 - Koss KSC75
$40-60 - PA2v2 / Mint Amp - Check the For Sale forum for a nice deal
$20-40 - TurboDock2 w/ mini-mini cable / SiK ram din / Pocketdock

For around $100 you'll get a fantastic sounding little setup with your iPod and can put the leftover money towards ....... beer?

 

[kramer5150]

MS1. Take advantage of the ipod line out and amp with a mint or cmoy. Although the MS1 sounds very good unamped.

 

[Agnostic]

Sennheiser HD595
Pro's: Sounds very good unamped. Middle ground between the other senns and grado sound. Sounds very good with vocal jazz (especially female voices). Very nice soundstage. Sounds very good straight out of an Ipod 5g. A little more refined and definitely less grainy mids than HD555. Super comfortable, almost to the point where you forget you're wearing them

Cons: Might leak, sound, that is other people around you may hear sound when you are using them depending on your listening volume.

 

[skudmunky]

How about the nice shiny Audio Technica headphones, ATH ES7?