[Harinda]

Hi there,

This is my first post on Headfi. My brother just got a pair of HD650's and is in the process of burning them in. I was a bit surprised to hear the "tinny" sound of the headphones after all the reviews I have heard about the bassy-ness of these cans. Does the break in period really make that much of a difference?

Anyhow, I wanted to get some help in choosing a set of cans for myself. I listen to a variety of genres, but primarily electronica ranging from soulful house to minimal techno and progressive and vocal trance. I want something closed so I can use it for travel. Portability isn't too much of an issue for me.... don't mind if I look like an alien as I board the plane or go through customs. But moreso, I want sound quality...

I currently own a pair of Sennheiser CX500's that I use to work out. I absolutely love them and want more of that sort of sound in an over the ear, closed set of cans. My budget is around $500.

So, I have a few questions:
1) Is there a dealer in the McLean, VA area (and I'm willing to drive out to about an hour and a half radius to see one) that has various headphones for me to try out? Preferably, they would be broken in. If not, how do you all make your choices in buying headphones without hearing them first? My friends aren't really audiophiles, so they don't exactly spend the money on headphones -- rather, they don't mind using the white headphones that come with their ipods.
2) Your suggestions... I read a number of posts on electronic music and the appropriate headphones. With all the users on this forum, I'm amazed at the variety with the specificities of a particular request. It really does mean that we all have different ears and preferences.

Anyhow, thanks a lot to you all in advance. I love this website and am learning something new everyday. Look forward to all your responses.

 

[AmanGeorge]

Welcome to Head-Fi, and sorry about your wallet!

The best place to try out a bunch of equipment is at a local meet - unfortunately, you just missed the one we had last weekend.

There isn't much by way of local dealers, unfortunately. I think there may be a few places that carry a limited selection (Guitar Centers I think have some stuff, the Gifted Listener carries much of the Grado line), but I don't know how helpful much of it will be.

The whole "try-before-you-buy" mentality is usually a good one, but this niche market makes it tough. I think what most of us end up doing is constantly buying and selling. As long as you buy used (the For sale boards here and at Audiogon are two excellent sources for equipment) you can usually find good deals, and you won't lose a ton of money by reselling headphones that don't match your tastes.

In terms of good closed headphones in your budget, there are a number of options. If you really want bass, I don't know that there's much that's better than the Denon line - the AH-D2000 and D5000. The downsides to them are that they are very large and inconvenient, and would be a nuisance to travel with; additionally, they don't isolate from outside noise very well. The other excellent closed headphone I've had exposure to, which is a great travel buddy, is the Shure SRH-840. It has nice, deep, tight impactful bass, although not the same sort of head-rattling that you'll get from the Denons. It folds up, is very durable, isolates very well, and sounds pretty good straight out of an iPod. Unfortunately, I just sold mine a couple of weeks back, otherwise I'd let you take a listen.

Other options that I'm less familiar with are the Beyer DT770 and most of the Ultrasone line (which I personally hate, but some people seem to love it...).

Good luck!

 

[AmanGeorge]

PS - If it was me with that $500 budget, I'd definitely grab the Shures + the Head-Direct EF2 Amp/DAC

 

[Harinda]

Hey AmanGeorge. Thanks a lot for your feedback.

haha... I love that line on Headfi. And yeah... headphones have become a little bit of an addiction. I can't believe I missed the DC meet. I'm heading off to Europe in a few weeks, so maybe I can find a meet over there.

I've been really curious on the Denon's. I always sided with Sennheiser because of my experience with the CX500's... I tried the Denon in ears, but wasn't as impressed as with the balance the Senn's had. Anyhow, perhaps I can get a chance to try out the D5000's. I'm thinking the best way to do that is to order them, break them in, and if I don't like them, return them (if I can find an online store that will have such a policy). Anyhow, I also used to have a pair of the Shure's -- in ears.... E2C's (I think). Perhaps I didn't give it enough time to break in, but I was completely not happy with them, given that they were more geared towards Classical/Opera listeners...

I think I need to do some more research on Amps...

I have heard quite a bit about the Ultrasones... can I ask why you don't like them? Is your experience primarily during these meets? I'm really curious to actually go to one.

Anyhow, I'll order the D5000's as a starting point. Thanks again for the info.

 

[AmanGeorge]

J&R Music has a very generous return policy, as does Headroom (HeadRoom: Stereo Headphones, Amps & DACs, Wireless, Noise Canceling, Ear Canal, Earbud, Audio Cables & Accessories), but neither of them have a great price on the D5000 (although you could try calling J&R - they give their lowest prices over the phone).

I wouldn't judge full-sized headphones by the in-ears that the same brand makes - I think there's no meaningful correlation between how a company's IEMs sound and how their full-sized headphones sound (although some folks have said that the Shure full-size line tends to share a similar midrange presentation to the IEMs).

The Shure E2C in general I don't think is much loved around these parts (I think they're considered far overpriced for what they offer), while the same cannot be said of the SRH840.

Ultrasones I think tend to be a divisive headphone - many love them, many hate them. Based on when I heard the Edition 8 and Pro 900 at Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in October, I decided that I fall squarely into the latter camp (as I've posted about a bunch of times already... I should stop, people are going to think it's all I care about...). The Ed. 8 was being driven off a multi-thousand-dollar rig, and still sounded worse to me than pretty much every setup I heard that weekend. Very odd, grainy highs. But hell, to each their own.

Good luck with the purchase - just keep in mind that I was serious about the two drawbacks of the Denon for the type of use you're planning on: no real isolation to speak of, and totally impractical due to their size and inability to fold up (significantly more inconvenient to travel with than something like a Shure or Ultrasone).

One other suggestion - I haven't been keeping up with them too much but the initial impressions of the Shure SRH-750DJ were also very positive, IIRC. May be worth looking into.