Hello Folks,
I'm new to head-fi and relatively new to the audiophile world, but I'm hoping you all might be able to help me out. I'm also hoping that I can phrase this well enough for you to understand what I'm asking
My first set of truly good headphones (RE0) died about a week ago, and I've been frantically trying to find a replacement since. Unfortunately due to the huge number of choices and the fact that most of this stuff seems to be very personally subjective I haven't had much luck. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Budget: $150 or less. I can stretch this a bit if need be, but not very far in my current circumstances.
Source: Galaxy S3 (no amp) streaming from Spotify (extreme quality setting if it makes a difference). It's not the best, but it's what I have.
Musical taste: Mostly rock, acoustic guitar, and some classical.
Headphone history: Bose IEM (can't remember the specific model). I find them to be way too bass heavy and the mids are washed out. -- HiFiMan RE0. I absolutely loved these. -- JVC HAFX40. For some reason I can't stand these things. Nice high end, but the bass is a touch too much and the mids seem distant. Plus it has a constant bit of quiet static that I never had with the RE0 (same source).
The reason I loved the RE0 so much is that they were the first headphones that I could hear every single instrument being played in any given song. It may be my imagination, but I swear I could hear the guitar pick clicking on the strings during some tracks. It absolutely blew my mind. I agree with the reviews that the bass was lacking a little in these, but it really didn't bother me. Just a hair more would have been perfect.
I see that the RE-400's just came out, but I'm concerned about how long they'll last. The RE0 I had lasted about 2 years, which seems pretty short considering the care I took with them. I'm afraid I would be spending another 100+ dollars on another set in a year or 2.
Hopefully that's enough information to make a suggestion or 2, but if you need more I'll be happy to oblige. Thank you in advance!