[Armaegis]

Up here, ATH-M50's cost about $200, and Shure SRH 840s about $250. That's almost double the price in the US.

 

[dianazilla]

Yeah, audio equipment is pretty expensive in Canada.  I got my sennheiser cx300s from J&R for around $20ish a year ago, and shipping was $7 or so.  Still a pretty good deal though!  And my Panasonics I got as a gift, but they were only $30, and my "gifter" had it shipped to a cousin living in the states to bring over.
 
Best deal I've seen so far in Canada was HD555s for $90 at NCIX.  Stock was limited, mind you, and they sold out pretty fast.  I was pretty disappointed.

 

[clou91]

Long and McQuade don't have bad prices as far as lower ohm Beyers go. They were pretty on par with U.S. prices from what I recall.

 

[Armaegis]

NCIX has the Senn PX100-ii for really cheap: http://ncix.com/products/?sku=50510&vpn=PX100%20II&manufacture=Sennheiser%20Electronics
At $65, that's almost cheaper than the States.

 

[JJBug]

As far as bass on the MS1s, they are bass light I find with my Zune HD, and the eq makes the sound worse, but with my rockboxed Fuze, a 4dB bump up in bass and trebble (for balance) and there is plenty of bass. Im not a purist so I dont mind messing with the sound to get it how I want, even if the MS1s are meant to have less bass they can handle it just fine. I have no problem buying any headphones knowing my Fuze can add plenty of bass to them if need be. Rockboxing my Fuze was the single best thing I did, followed by good headphones and lastly an amp (amps now).

 

[kin0kin]

How about you pick up a pair of KSC75 from NCIX when they go on sale, or the portapros to see if you enjoy that kind of sound. If you do, you can go straight to Grado.

 

[dianazilla]

 
Quote:

Long and McQuade don't have bad prices as far as lower ohm Beyers go. They were pretty on par with U.S. prices from what I recall.

Thanks, their prices are decent.  I just wish they had more selection though.  Only model they carry (from what I can see from the website) that I mentioned were the M50s, and those ran for just under $200...
 
Quote:

NCIX has the Senn PX100-ii for really cheap: http://ncix.com/products/?sku=50510&vpn=PX100%20II&manufacture=Sennheiser%20Electronics
At $65, that's almost cheaper than the States.

Quote:

How about you pick up a pair of KSC75 from NCIX when they go on sale, or the portapros to see if you enjoy that kind of sound. If you do, you can go straight to Grado.

Well... the PX100s and KSC75s aren't expensive, but I'd rather save my money and buy something nicer.  I don't want to buy headphones just for the sake of buying headphones; I want something I'd actually use.  I mean, I still have my Panasonic headphones, and while they aren't amazing, they are pretty good for the price.  I'm sure the PX100s are fine, but for a little bit more I could be getting MS1s, which would probably be a huge upgrade.
 

 

[Armaegis]

I would actually choose the PX100 (haven't heard the ii version yet) over the MS1i... but that's just me.
 
AKGs through Long & McQuade are actually pretty good for prices, and they price patch as well. I usually check around on shopbot.ca or pricebat.ca, then get local retailers to price match for me.
 
The Fostex cans are also excellent for the price, but you'll need to run them out of a receiver since they're pretty power hungry.

 

[kin0kin]

 
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You recognize yourself as a newbie and you are falling right into the newbie pit and let me explain why.
 
You are reading too much reviews and there are way too many ideas going on in your head. The phones that you listed all have very different sound signature, there is no way a person who'd never heard them or could tell which is "better". While I agree that if you were to go with PX100, you should go straight to the HD555 but now that the $80 door crasher is over, the regular price isn't all that close to the PX100. However, the KSC75 is one of those phones that every head-fier should at least have a pair. It's just like every Nikon shooter should have the 50mm f1.8d lens. While it is bright, it will give you a very good idea of how the Grados sound like - particularly the MS2i/325i. Besides, they are only $20 after tax when on sale. Going from CX300 -> KSC75/MS1i is almost a 360 degree change, they sound very different. But going from CX300 -> PX100 isn't and PX100 (first gen) sounds like a baby HD650. Which is the actual Sennheiser house sound. The HD555 is almost like a "spin off" of Sennheiser's sound, they actually sound very boring, flat, and dull but still a fairly good phone for the $$ (when on sale). Audio Technica has its own sound, and most of the AT that I've heard has mid range coloration (W5000, W1000, W100, A900, A900LTD, and etc). 
 
Here's my take on the selection path. If you want to try the Grado sound, get a pair of KSC75 for $20. If you like it, but find it bright, you can go with the portapro. If you want to go Grado from this point, forget about MS1, MS2 blah blah blah and go straight to SR225 or RS2. I prefer RS2 but some would just stop at 225. They wont be comfortable, that I can guarantee you.
 
If you like your current CX300's sound you will find PX100 to be an improvement, and if you like PX100, you can go straight to HD650. If you want less bass and more details, you should go with the HD600.
 
If you want to try or go with AT, good luck, I cannot help and I don't like them anyway. OTOH AKG K701 is probably the best bang for the buck high end phone you can get out there.
​

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[eucariote]

I'd just get something from the FS forum.  Many sellers will ship and even live in Canada.  You almost break even buying and selling used headphones (plus shipping costs) so you could make it a journey and try all your dream headphones as they become available until you find something you really like.  If you're just playing them out a portable music player get the best Alessandro/Grado you can find within your budget, a Denon or SE530 as most other good headphones will be crippled by the low current drive.

 

[ianmedium]

Quote:

I'd just get something from the FS forum.  Many sellers will ship and even live in Canada.  You almost break even buying and selling used headphones (plus shipping costs) so you could make it a journey and try all your dream headphones as they become available until you find something you really like.  If you're just playing them out a portable music player get the best Alessandro/Grado you can find within your budget, a Denon or SE530 as most other good headphones will be crippled by the low current drive.

I think that is an excellent idea. I know I got my IE8's from a forum seller and it could not have been a better experience!

 

[dianazilla]

Thanks for all your help guys.
 
I ended up getting re0s and some HD555s from the forums at a price better than NCIX's last sale.  Looking forward to testing them out, seeing how I like the sound, and possibly getting more headphones in the future.