[viralcow]

Most best buy's have the headphones on display. If they have the Magnolia section then they certainly have several models on display. Give them a call.
 
And the FS/FT trade here is very good. I've bought all of my headphones except one or two on the FS threads here.

 

[JCRG]

Quote:

Most best buy's have the headphones on display. If they have the Magnolia section then they certainly have several models on display. Give them a call.
 
And the FS/FT trade here is very good. I've bought all of my headphones except one or two on the FS threads here.

I'll give it a try, thanks.

 

[redrich2000]

Quote:

You don't sound like a real audiophile, the world is not that limited.

 
So you've been on head-fi for 5 seconds and you've decided you're a "real audiophile"?

 

[JCRG]

Quote:

 
So you've been on head-fi for 5 seconds and you've decided you're a "real audiophile"?

Never said I was.
Please refrain to make unhelpful comments.

 

[obobskivich]

Oh, one more thing to note if you're going to demo cans at Best Buy - bring your own portable player to plug in; their demo music selection (it's an automated machine that exists at all Best Buys (afiak)) is pretty terrible.

 

[JCRG]

Quote:

Oh, one more thing to note if you're going to demo cans at Best Buy - bring your own portable player to plug in; their demo music selection (it's an automated machine that exists at all Best Buys (afiak)) is pretty terrible.

I'm pretty aware of that, in fact, I've burned some of my most complex songs I had in WAV format.

 

[lltfdaniel]

I whole heartly agree that the soundstage and position of sound regarding the k550 sounds 3d like has potential to sound 3d.
 
I Prefer 3d sound on the k550, when you hear rain in a game you can hear the dimensions to sound 3d and since these sound 3d with 3d sound it is more easy for me to tell where the sound comes from.
 
Been said these shine with chamber vocal trance etc...3d chamber sounds amazing with it's spacious sound.

 

[Nicolas L]

Sorry to dig up this old thread, but which pair of cans did you end up going with?

 

[JCRG]

The ATH-A900X
Very good cans indeed!, though the headwings suck, fixed it with hairbands lol.

 

[takato14]

  Well, as title suggest, I'm looking for the holy (affordable) grail of headphones.
Current cans are HD280 pro, yes, you can laugh at me, these are my first "real" headphones, I've had them over 2 years now.
Now please don't suggest something like the Senns HD800, because I'm still just a student, and I'm not in the position to sell my car for some (almost perfect) cans.
The top I can spend at the moment is around 200 USD, tough if there's a really good candidate, I might try to save money for it (300 USD is still comfy).
Also, it's a HUGE plus if the headphone is available in popular stores in the US (best buy, target, etc.), the reason for this is that I don't actually live in the US, but I sometimes do some shopping there.
I would also really appreciate if you'd provide frequency charts, as I kinda personally prefer something objectively measured (not trying to bash personal opinion though).
 
I've come across some really good candidates, well, at least in the flat response aspect, soundstage still needs review-research:
 
Audio Technica ATH-A900X
Audio Technica ATH-A700X
Audio Technica ATH-A900
Audio Technica ATH-A700
AKG K271 MK II
Shure SRH440
Shure SRH840 (graph from headphone.org shows a crapload of low-bass)
Shure SRH940
Sennheiser HD380 pro
Beyerdynamic DT770 (mids are garbage though)
 
Edit:
KRK systems KNS 8400 ; bad soundstage according to some reviews.
KRK systems KNS 6400 ; same problem as above, sub par soundstage.
Fischer Audio FA-003 ; praised for neutrality and soundstage, however I can't seem to find them at any store.
BRAINWAVZ HM5 ; rebranded FA-003s, praised as well, also SUPER cheap.

Go with the FA-003 or one of its rebrands, its the closest thing in production to what you want, and it's reliable.
 
The Sony MDR-CD3000 is the only other closed headphone I know of that has a flat response (almost perfectly flat, see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJh8B1QfEn0). They are also extremely rare, go for a lot, and are timebombs because the drivers deteriorate. I'd stay away from them unless you want the absolute best, bar-none, and are willing to shell out $800-1k for it, and willing to see it die a sudden, swift death in the next 1-8 years.

 

[JCRG]

Well, I now have the ATH-A900X, and I'm pretty content. However, I'm looking forward to alternatives that bring other things to the picture, like better isolation, and better fit. Currently, I'm interested on the following:
German Maestro GMP 8.35 D
Fostex T50R Nevermind, they're semi-closed. Replaced with the Mad Dogs instead.
Shure SRH 940 (though I'm afraid to acquire this one because it seems brittle as crap)

 

[takato14]

  Well, I now have the ATH-A900X, and I'm pretty content. However, I'm looking forward to alternatives that bring other things to the picture, like better isolation, and better fit. Currently, I'm interested on the following:
German Maestro GMP 8.35 D
Fostex T50R Nevermind, they're semi-closed. Replaced with the Mad Dogs instead.
Shure SRH 940 (though I'm afraid to acquire this one because it seems brittle as crap)

Stay away from the T50RP and any mods of it, they all have some treble hash due to the T50RP driver's poor modal behavior, and the headphone is damn awful sounding in stock form. Shure's headphones are all notoriously bad and harsh sounding up top as well.
 
You might want to try an AKG K/Q701 as your next upgrade though. Very neutral and transparent, extremely clean, ruthlessly revealing, excellent soundstage, though you need a pretty good amp to handle them. If you do in fact need a closed can, my earlier recommendation (the FA-003) remains a very good contender in the closed can scene.

 

[JCRG]

I'm really looking forward to closed cans, since I have a noisy neighbourhood.
Also, I've been interested in the FA-003 titanium version, am wondering if it's worth it.

 

[Claritas]

  Stay away from the T50RP and any mods of it, they all have some treble hash due to the T50RP driver's poor modal behavior, and the headphone is damn awful sounding in stock form. Shure's headphones are all notoriously bad and harsh sounding up top as well.
 
You might want to try an AKG K/Q701 as your next upgrade though. Very neutral and transparent, extremely clean, ruthlessly revealing, excellent soundstage, though you need a pretty good amp to handle them. If you do in fact need a closed can, my earlier recommendation (the FA-003) remains a very good contender in the closed can scene.

 
I'm sensing a degree of fire-breathing exaggeration.
 
Even the two non-commercial T50RP mods I've heard are good, though I wouldn't call them neutral. It's chameleon-like in that it really depends on the modder. Maybe the reason is its mid-centricity, which a modder is working around. Stock is too loose, and worked for me with only the most aggressive music such as Norwegian black metal, but expert modding will improve it to being a very good closed option.
 
I don't recommend SRH940 because it's too bright, though you hear a lot of detail that way. SRH840 sounds perceptually more neutral. It's warm and inviting, and everything sounds good on it. I like it for piano music because of the way it accurately places the piano toward the front of the soundstage. It has a heavy headband, which can be completely modded.

 

[ostewart]

German maestro GMP 8.35D is the closest to neutral I've heard. That or the SRH440.