[niko-time]

We are wanting to get my grandfather a set of headphones for christmas. He mainly listens to classical music out of his cd player and speakers and his wife is getting annoyed at him as he plays his music too loud

I was thinking of some electrostatic headphones, possibly stax, but I'm not sure. Any ideas? Preferably either new or vintage headphones.

 

[facelvega]

Quote:

Originally Posted by niko-time /img/forum/go_quote.gif We are wanting to get my grandfather a set of headphones for christmas. He mainly listens to classical music out of his cd player and speakers and his wife is getting annoyed at him as he plays his music too loud I was thinking of some electrostatic headphones, possibly stax, but I'm not sure. Any ideas? Preferably either new or vintage headphones.

There are no electrostatic headphones available for £75, more like 2-30 times that budget. You might get some electrets for that price, but dynamics would probably serve your grandfather better. You might get a pair of K501 for that price, but it's hard to say if your grandfather's system has the power to make them sound good. What sort of cd player and amp does he have?

 

[wae5]

Get Alessandro MS1s. They're retro looking which may put a big smile on his face. They're slightly bright and forward sounding which will be helpful if he has any high frequency fall off which is common in older people and they're quite comfortable which is mandatory for senior phones. I listen almost exclusively to classical music and have other phones like K701s and HD600s but I think for $99 including world wide shipping they're a great deal and I often find myself listening to my MS1s when I could be listening to supposedly superior phones.

 

[nosleep]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wae5 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Get Alessandro MS1s. They're retro looking which may put a big smile on his face. They're slightly bright and forward sounding which will be helpful if he has any high frequency fall off which is common in older people and they're quite comfortable which is mandatory for senior phones. I listen almost exclusively to classical music and have other phones like K701s and HD600s but I think for $99 including world wide shipping they're a great deal and I often find myself listening to my MS1s when I could be listening to supposedly superior phones.

Can you provide a link to those. I'd like to see what they look like.

 

[fuild]

Hmm. MS-1s have a pretty narrow soundstage, so they might not be that suitable for classical music. Most people find MS-1s to be rather uncomfortable too, as with most of the grado line.
MS-1s can be found here: http://www.alessandro-products.com/headphones.html
They're the black ones.
What about HD555s? I think they should be around your budget, or slightly over. But they're warmer than MS-1s though, maybe they might not be that suitable if your grandfather experiences any high frequency fall off in his hearing like what wae5 said.

 

[EdT]

Its funny I sold at least 2 pairs of SR80s to senior citizens this year because they wanted some cans that they can hear better. They did the reasearch themselves and just bought from me, no advice was given on my part !

 

[kpeezy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fuild /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hmm. MS-1s have a pretty narrow soundstage, so they might not be that suitable for classical music. Most people find MS-1s to be rather uncomfortable too, as with most of the grado line. MS-1s can be found here: http://www.alessandro-products.com/headphones.html They're the black ones. What about HD555s? I think they should be around your budget, or slightly over. But they're warmer than MS-1s though, maybe they might not be that suitable if your grandfather experiences any high frequency fall off in his hearing like what wae5 said.

I know some people like the MS-1's for classical, but I really really don't. I much prefer my HD580's which are in your price range. I have to say get the HD580's or I won't like myself.

 

[wae5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fuild /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hmm. MS-1s have a pretty narrow soundstage, so they might not be that suitable for classical music. Most people find MS-1s to be rather uncomfortable too, as with most of the grado line. MS-1s can be found here: http://www.alessandro-products.com/headphones.html They're the black ones. What about HD555s? I think they should be around your budget, or slightly over. But they're warmer than MS-1s though, maybe they might not be that suitable if your grandfather experiences any high frequency fall off in his hearing like what wae5 said.

I'm a classical soundstage fanatic but consider SS, like scotch, to be an accquired taste and frankly think for someone who's receiving phones later in life there may be more important considerations like COMFORT, treble emphasis, and enough EXCITEMENT to put a big smile on their face. I have my soundstage phones: K701s, HD600s and PK1s and my soundstage amp: Little Dot MKIV SE but I also appreciate my MS1s which have a bass that doesn't muddy the midrange (like SR325is do and by guilt by association, MS2is may do too), have a slight treble emphasis that may be an important hearing compensation for an older person, have lots of snap, crackle and pop or excitement or PRAT and ship worldwide for free which may be a consideration for someone who asks about phones costing less than £75. Yes, there are many better classical phones but MS1s hit the mark in so many areas that are important considerations for older classical music listeners and the fact that Alassendro goes out of its way to ship world wide for free makes the MS1 an obvious choice for the OP.

 

[F107plus5]

The MS-1 have a down side. While they are acceptable for classical for an older person; a Grandpa for example; they can be rather addictive and if he should learn of MS2i he may be looking for something even better next Christmas!

I guess I qualify to comment, being a Grandpa with grandkids old enough to have kids of their own!

I like to switch between MS2i and HD600 for classical depending on whether I want to hear close in or further out, but I do wear the MS-1 now and again as well.

I don't know if I have any upper frequency hearing loss as yet, but I do know that I like what I'm hearing from Alessandro and HD600. I'm not to the point of turning up the speakers yet...shucks; I keep telling the kids to turn their music down!

As far as comfort; I find the MS-1 and MS2i to be acceptably comfortable for longer listening sessions, but for a more "Traditional Grandpa" type, a set of HD580, if they can be located could also work out quite well if classical is indeed the most listened to form of music.

 

[fuild]

I do agree that the MS-1s sound very good for $99, other than their lack of soundstage. I have a pair and I love it. I was just wondering, since the OP's grandfather has been using speakers up till now, the lack of soundstage might be too disconcerting.
But they have been pretty uncomfortable for me until I swapped out the stock pads with reverse-modded HD414 pads. Anyway, they didn't really start to hurt till about 1 or 2 hours of prolonged use, so I may have been exaggerating their lack of comfort.
Just my 2 cents on this issue, YMMV

Cheers

 

[Rlynn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by facelvega /img/forum/go_quote.gif You might get a pair of K501 for that price, but it's hard to say if your grandfather's system has the power to make them sound good. What sort of cd player and amp does he have?

The K501 is very comfy and sounds good to me with classical music. More important, however, is what facelvega asks - what kind of amp (pre-amp/receiver)? You might want to make sure that your grandfather's system has a headphone jack. My speaker system doesn't.

 

[wae5]

MS1s, unlike K501s, K701s, and HD600s (I have them all so I know) don't need an auxillary amp to sound their best. This means the next gift for Grandfather could be a bon marché, portable CD player rather than a headphone amp because MS1s sound great from the HP out of a portable CD player (or iPod for that matter but that's a horse of a different color). As for Grandfather being disappointed with MS1s because his speakers have a soundstage and MS1s don't, the OP describes his Grandfather as a classical music lover and not an ungrateful, cantankerous curmudgeon. As far as I'm concerned "classical music lover" and "ungrateful, cantankerous curmudgeon" are mutually exclusive expressions because I'm a classical music lover too and I'm none of the aforementioned -yet.

PS Since the OP only mentions headphones and not an amp I assume Grandfather has a headphone out on his receiver so he doesn't need an auxillary amp to begin enjoying his new phones.

 

[Nagasaki_Kid]

Aren't you worried about the MS1 sound leakage. Meaning his wife might continue complaining.

EDIT: I'm not implying that old people play music as loud as young kids, but the old people I know would probable play a grado at a level that would disturb anyone else around him.

 

[wae5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nagasaki_Kid /img/forum/go_quote.gif Aren't you worried about the MS1 sound leakage. Meaning his wife might continue complaining. EDIT: I'm not implying that old people play music as loud as young kids, but the old people I know would probable play a grado at a level that would disturb anyone else around him.

Good God when will this ever end!!!???

Classical phones leak because they're open phones but if leakage is now the consumate problem then Sennheiser MX400 earbud stocking stuffers and earplugs for Granny are the answers. I can't wait to see what comes over the transom next!

 

[niko-time]

Wow guys, thanks for all the posts.

Leakage isn't a problem as she often is in the next room along.
I can't remember off the top of my head what CD player and amp he has, it cost him about £800 including the speakers and I remember liking the make. I doubt the headphone amp will be hugely powerful though so maybe the Senn line isn't the best bet.

Judging by all your posts, it seems the MS1 will be the best choice for him. He will like the look of it and the sound (hopefully). He is no audiophile with his equipment but he loves his music, plus I want to have a sneaky listen to the MS1 as well to see if I should go the grado way

Now, say I was going to save up for the MS Pro. How much better does it sound than the MS1? Any differences or more of a bigger brother?

Cheers again