[ojnihs]

Hey mates,

Well after lurking at Head-Fi for a very long time, I decided that I just need to set up an account and get posting and stuff, because the information and advice that people give here is amazing.

I'm currently in the market for some good hard rock and metal earphones that are less than maybe a buck fifty ($150) but I can stretch to $200 if I really need to.

I'm also looking for good hard rock and metal headphones as well and I was leaning towards the Sennheiser HD600's or the Grado SR60's, but I'm not too sure.

I don't know too much about headphones and junk, like how you can order some, test them out, and return them of whatnot. I live in Minnesota, so there really isn't too many places I can really go to to actually find some of these headphones to listen to and examine. So any help would be great.

Thanks a lot.

 

[Chefguru]

ER-4 or ER-6 for earphones

Sr-225 or Sr-325 for headphones

 

[Kirosia]

I second the chef.

 

[ojnihs]

I was definately thinking about getting the ER-4 or ER-6's, but I really don't know if I want to dish out that much money for some phones, I mean I understand that they are the best in sound quality and such, but I was really looking at two for portable use:

SR-60
Shure E2c

I was also looking at the Grado SR-225's for home use or leaning towards some Sennheisers, what do you guys think?

 

[blux]

I am currently in the same position that your in, Ive got the 10G ipod, but no good headphones.

As for Minnesota, there are a few places around here that carry the grado line, and a few senns. Most of them are in the cities, so if you live up north, it could turn into a wasted day, definetly bring your Ipod to plug these into so you can hear what it will reallly sound like..

HiFi Sound Electronics, 1226 Harmon Place, Minneapolis. In downtown Minneapolis Ph: 612-339-6351

(full grado line, along with amps. With a listening station, and one pair of senns, headphones are overpriced, but the store is amazing, you'll be there for hours..!)

The Needle Doctor, 419 14th Ave. S.E., Minneapolis. In "Dinkytown" by the U of MN. Ph: 612-378-0543

(3 or 4 pairs of grados, SR60s 80s 125s, you can only listen to the sr60s and the HD600s, they wont open the others up! they DO have the 580s though, along with grado amps, there is a listening station here, if you like to listen to music in front of a store counter with 50 people talking..although they have lower prices than hifi sound [10% discount], the store sucks, its a hole in the wall in DNKY town...)

-Stereoland, 2325 Hennepin Ave. So., Minneapolis. Near the "Uptown" area.. Ph: 612-377-1772
Also in Eden Prairie, Hwy 212 & Anderson Pkwy., 952-829-9700

-Audio Perfection, 7401 Lyndale Ave. So., Richfield. Just north of I-494 on Lyndale Ph:612-866-0083

-Audio by Van Alstine, 2202 River Hills Drive, Burnsville. South of Minneapolis: Ph: 612-890-3517
( I would call first, I have not visited these stores)

 

[Shang-Ti Chen]

Kirosia... who is the girl in the portrait? She's pretty; is she Asian?

 

[ojnihs]

Hey Blux, thanks a ton for the information on the stores that I can go listen to some Grado's at and stuff.

Really much appreciated, I'm going to check them out sometimes this coming week. Thanks a lot.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

The SR325 and HD600 are the best cans I've heard for this kind of music, the difference comes down to one of preference. The 325 emphasizes the attack, or initial strike of a note, whereas the 600 puts out a more full presentation of the note. The result is that the 325 hits harder, but lacks body compared to the 600. The soundstage is also much smaller with the 325, with less air around the instruments, so you are less likely to concentrate on a single instrument than on the overall sound.

My advice is to buy both from a place like headroom, and return the loser before your credit card bill comes due. I thought the SR325 was my headphone soulmate for a while, but the HD600 put me on a whole different level of headphone happiness. You really don't know 'till you try.

PS Grados, at least the 325, need the flat pads to have a proper tonal balance, and they also take them from being slightly uncomfortable to tolerable/mildly comfortable. $30 for two little pieces of foam may seem like extortion, but trust me, it's not

 

[Harrath]

My HD650's should be here Monday or Tuesday and I'll post my impressions. I listen to all kinds of metal.

 

[Chefguru]

Quote:

Originally posted by Iron_Dreamer PS Grados, at least the 325, need the flat pads to have a proper tonal balance, and they also take them from being slightly uncomfortable to tolerable/mildly comfortable. $30 for two little pieces of foam may seem like extortion, but trust me, it's not

Uhh, after a long a-b I find bowls have better comfort ( flats kind of clamp) and when you use flats the grado's become overwhelmed with bass and the sound stage becomes smaller. Because the sound stage is smaller you focus on single instruments not the music at whole. For 30 bucks I don't think they are worth it. The only headphone that I think works better with them is the hp-1000. But most people here dis-agree about it ( even though most of them haven't actual heard it

). All the flats do is make you even closer to the music ,make it more uncomfortable and overwhelm you with bass... there is a reason why john changed the pads lol.

 

[blux]

How do the senn 600s and the 325s compare on how hard they are to drive? Could they be drivin with an Ipod without an amp? Seeing that there is a budget, I dont know that these phones are going to work...Arent they also pretty expensive?

I recall the sr125s being about $130 and the senns being far more expensive

 

[Sovkiller]

Again???? Well the HD600, first is not in his budget (150.00-200.00) and IMO is not good for Rock neither, you can use it, as any other headphone in the world, but you will find a lot of cans much better for Rock under the price of HD600 (HD590 included)........the Grados, 7506, 7509 (if you could find it for 150), The V700DJ, DT770, among all those the one considered as the best, are the RS225, RS325, DT770.... Over this budget I like the CD3000 a lot...

 

[blux]

I have the same problem that ojnihs has, I have no idea what headphones to get, and its going to kill me to spend 200 buks on a pair, especially after the purchase of the ipod, lol..

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Quote:

Originally posted by blux How do the senn 600s and the 325s compare on how hard they are to drive? Could they be drivin with an Ipod without an amp? Seeing that there is a budget, I dont know that these phones are going to work...Arent they also pretty expensive? I recall the sr125s being about $130 and the senns being far more expensive

The Grados will be much easier to drive without an amp, the Senns need an amp or a device with a beefy headphone jack to sound good. I only brought up those two because they are the ones I have experience with, and you had mentioned the HD600 earlier. A SR225 vs HD580 question would go fairly similar, and both of those cans can be found in your price range.

Sovkiller: You must have had a poor-sounding HD600, as I had a poor-sounding HD590, because the HD600 I have (stock cable, no less!) can rock with the best of 'em. I don't want to get you started, so I'll just leave it here.

 

[ojnihs]

Definately looks like we're in the same boat blux, buying my iPod killed my wallet, although I'm very, very happy with my purchase.

I went to Ulitmate Electronics to see their very limited selection of headphones today, and I tried on the Senn PX-250's. They sound really great as far as I was concerned and did far better than even some of the bigger phones that they had there.

I was contemplating on whether the PX-200's would be a good investment for portable phones, but I'm leaning more towards E2c's at the moment.

Buying phones are so tough...