[smarrad]

Yes, I'm another one looking for cans for up to around $200 (£100).

I'll be using them with my ipod, unamplified, while walking around the city and on the london underground (noisey) so I want something that will keep out at least a little bit of the background noise.

It's probably worth noting that i'm upgrading from stock standard ipod ear buds. The only other cans I've listened to are the Bose in the Apple store and the ES7's so I dont have much to guage - and after listening to my ipod earbuds, these all sounded great. However, everyone on here seems to believe you can get something that sounds better for the saem price (£99 for the tri-ports or ES7's). Help me!

Most of the music I listen to is Rock - Acoustic, Classic, Indie, Heavy Rock, Industrial, Metal - although I do listen to a little of everything.

So far I've gathered the following info:

The Audio Technica ATH-ES7 look great, don't require an amp but apparently don't have the best sound or isolation. If the comments on audio quality were a little more positive I'd have bought them already!

The ATH-A900 sound great but are apparently not something you would wear outside your house.

The Senns HD595 and HD555 apparently sound great but would work best with an amp - and they look a little bulky to be wearing around town.

The Denon D1000 have, according to reviews, very poor isolation.

I'm willing to wear something bigger than the ES7's but dont really want to be wearing a huge set of cans everywhere I go. I also want something that looks ok - i'll be wearing them whenever i'm out in public.

Anyone got any comments or suggestions?

 

[weste47]

you should search around the forums, about the es-7. I did that before I ordered mine and hear they are really great sounding portable headphones. Nobody here from what I have seen will recommend you the triports because I hear Bose puts all their money into advertising, and the triports should only cost about $50. But if you search es7 or ath-es7 on the forums, you'll find some good stuff about them. I here they require a lot of break in to sound really good.

 

[Pappucho]

The best closed portable can is the Senn HD-25-1 (not the 25-sp version but the 25-1). Do a search on these great cans.

 

[pinkfloyd4ever]

Senn 555 & 595s are open, not closed. I'd say go with the Senn HD 25-1. Why? I'll leave that to those that own it: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=165299

edit: ya beat me to it, Papp, I type too slow

Watch sportscasters on TV, alot of em use 25-1s with the boom mic attachment (which I think actually makes them 25-[something else]) I saw some NFL announcers using em sunday, and I've seen em in movies too. Not that any of that is reason to buy a pair of cans, just thought I'd throw it in...impress your friends when you show em you've got the same headphones your fav sportscaster uses

 

[Drag0n]

Just get IEM's maybe,being its so noisey and you wont be using an amp.

 

[nosleep]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinkfloyd4ever /img/forum/go_quote.gif Senn 555 & 595s are open, not closed. I'd say go with the Senn HD 25-1. Why? I'll leave that to those that own it: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=165299 edit: ya beat me to it, Papp, I type too slow Watch sportscasters on TV, alot of em use 25-1s with the boom mic attachment (which I think actually makes them 25-[something else]) I saw some NFL announcers using em sunday, and I've seen em in movies too. Not that any of that is reason to buy a pair of cans, just thought I'd throw it in...impress your friends when you show em you've got the same headphones your fav sportscaster uses

I wish buy.com still had that insane deal for them. I'd pick them up so fast. Are these bulky looking in any way when you wear them?

 

[smarrad]

I've read a few posts that suggest that the HD-25-1's have no soundstage and tend to be quite analytical - which, as these seem like studio headphones, would make sense. Will this effect the general appreciation of the music?

Don't get me wrong - I dont take listening to music lightly. I want some cans that will give me the best possible listening experience while I'm on the move. I assumed this would mean cans with a decent soundstage.

Or am I looking too much into this?

 

[smarrad]

I've decided against IEM's. Looking seriously at the HD-25-1's but the whole soundstage (or lack thereof) thing concerns me. And I'm unsure whether they would be ideal for rock. I keep going back to the ES7's too.

 

[facelvega]

Quote:

Originally Posted by smarrad /img/forum/go_quote.gif Or am I looking too much into this?

you're not looking too closely, but I daresay you are asking too much-- unamped, portable, and in an noisy environment, out of a mediocre source like an ipod, you'll never get beyond a certain level. The sacrifices you'd have to make to get broad soundstage within these requirements and at your budget would mean lower SQ in other ways. Better to take great resolution with only okay soundstage and think about adding an amp, I'd say.

 

[smarrad]

Lol. And so it begins...

So, with an amp, what would you suggest? what are the next steps up to get me reasonable isolation (although anything will be better than what i've got now), reasonable soundstage and nice overall sound quality?

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by smarrad /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've decided against IEM's. Looking seriously at the HD-25-1's but the whole soundstage (or lack thereof) thing concerns me. And I'm unsure whether they would be ideal for rock. I keep going back to the ES7's too.

The (HD25-1) would be good for rock, but mine are not as fun for classical as my HD600's or Ultrasone HFI700DVD. I tried to go to sleep with the HD25-1 on last night, and with classical and it was a little flat, but with rock jazz electronic acoustic they aren't bad at all.

I only got them for portable, and so they're good enough for that, but I also got in on the $99.74 shipped buy.com deal and otherwise wouldn' have bought them at the current almost $200.

You might want to seriously consider the Ultrasone HFI700 which do fold flat or collapse into the headband, depending on what you need to stuff them into. New they are $249, but you can find them used for $150.

 

[facelvega]

Quote:

Originally Posted by smarrad /img/forum/go_quote.gif Lol. And so it begins... So, with an amp, what would you suggest? what are the next steps up to get me reasonable isolation (although anything will be better than what i've got now), reasonable soundstage and nice overall sound quality?

Well, don't let me push you into an amp if dragging it around with you is a serious issue! What I was trying to say was just that something like an HD25-1 would still have passable soundstage if not great, and satisfy your other requirements pretty well. You've read Skylab's comparison of portables at this price point, right? It's a great comparison for your question. He gives the 25 second place in soundstage, though it should be said he's kind of an HD25 fan and others might have given it less of an edge over those competitors.

You should definitely try to borrow or get an amp at some point to see if the added bulk and cost is worth it to you. You've got to give it a few hours at least, though, as the difference might sound relatively minor until you try to go back to unamped after your ear has become accustomed to the new sound, and find you can't return.

 

[WittyzTH]

use the HD650s cable instead. HD25-1s will have better sound stage and also better overall performance.

 

[p956lh]

Audio-Technica ATH-M50

I got mine a few days ago, and I love it. It sounds decent unamped (even through an iPod. The impedance is 38 ohms) and it's tough as nails, plus it's jet black and foldable, which I think is cool. It's pretty comfy and insulates pretty well (even against my Shure e2c). The soundstage is actually pretty decent in my opinion (I listen to FLAC and ALAC classical/romantic era stuff)... I can distinguish the different parts of the music easily...

 

[will-san]

Yeah I bought a small portable amp for my train rides in Tokyo and it turned out to be too big of a pain to be worth the hassle of carrying it around. It certainly is a sonic improvement but and amp brings out a level of nuance that I just can't appreciate while on the go.

As for The HD25-1's I, I auditioned them recently and they are my current front runner for a closed set run around headphones.
They sound great and are a reasonable size for being out and about. There are better cans out there but I think walking around london with a pair of audiophile headphones on would make you look like a "right tosser".