[Alexnova]

Hello All,
 
First, I would like to thank everyone who has had a hand in keeping this forum open, so people like me can come here and ask questions. I also thank everyone who takes their time and energy to answer the many questions here no matter how poorly formed or contentious.
 
Second, I will try to keep my post short and allow any greater details come out if they might be helpful.
 
Recently my Sennheiser HD595s gave out. Thanks to me messing with the EQ on my X-Fi Titanium HD. However I have been in the market for new headphones for sometime, and have gone back and forth over the Senn HD650s.
 
Eventhough I am loyal to the Sennheiser brand, I want to branch out and try something different.
 
Enter the Grado PS500.
 
I hear it is the best bang for the buck and a bargain compared to the PS1000. I have ordered these cans along with the G-CUSH, since every reviewer has said to purcahse them along with it (wasn't too happy spending $45 dollars on foam).
 
However I am worried I may have chosen the wrong headphones for the money, can anyone here kindly put my mind at ease? Obviously I will need to listen to them first and have my own opinion, but I am just afraid I made a mistake and didn't choose a better headphone.
 
Secondly all I have is a portable E11 amp, and I am sure I would need a good desktop amp to drive them. Is a Little Dot IV excessive? What would be a great amp to pair with the Grado PS500s?
 
If it helps any. I listen to music ripped from EAC in an uncompressed WAV format, on my Sansa Clip+. As I mentioned above, I do have the X-Fi Titanium HD.
 
All your thoughts are greatly appreciated.
 
Thank you very much.

 

[thelostMIDrange]

what is at issue? what are you hearing? the good bad and ugle. spill it

 

[Alexnova]

I know it's just one review, but on amazon.com there is a recent review of someone saying they did not like the sound. This person was using the HeadRoom Ultra Desktop Amp.
 
I'm not sure his setup is entirely ideal for these cans though.
 
What kind of music am I listening to? Pretty much everything, although I listen to mostly rock, hip-hop, jazz, electronic, etc.
 
I will be receiving the headphones on Friday with the G-CUSH and adapter.

 

[thelostMIDrange]

if you find you don't prefer this sound, my advice is to give it some time or not, but don't go spending $ on various amps. They really don't affect things with this style headphone. At least not enough to cause a sudden turnabout in enjoyment. That would only happen if you gave it some time to adjust to this totally different sound than the senn.

 

[Alexnova]

Thank you.
 
I've read that Grado's (or maybe certain models) don't really need an amp to be driven. So are you saying that it would be of no benefit to purchase an amp or even a DAC?

 

[thelostMIDrange]

A DAC is key. totally different thing as the amp but I use that sansa clip as well and I think it's quite good sounding, so, again, what you are hearing is really just the ps500 and it will not change much if you swapped out the clip for another dac. It will still sound pretty much the same.

 

[Alexnova]

I'm actually relieved that I don't need to invest in an amp nor DAC for these headphones. That saves me alot of money. Because I said to myself if I was going to get these cans then I need to go all the way with an amp/dac.
 
I've skimmed your posts just now and you seem to have alot of experience with Grado's. What's your take on the PS500?

 

[thelostMIDrange]

yes, i'm glad to hear that sigh of relief. I can almost sense it through the internet ! saved you lots of money and just as important, lots of time......To my ears, the ps500 is a little 'grey' but overall an enjoyable sound. It's quite accurate for some of the music you listen to, namely rock n roll and jazz. it is not really designed to handle hip hop or electronic. so maybe grab one of the cheaper senns like you had, later when you can so you can have a phone that is more suited for that sound as well because senns do not do rock n roll or jazz right at all imo

 

[IPodPJ]

I personally prefer the HD650 to any Grado I've heard, as I'm just not a fan of the Grado sound. If you are used to the Sennheiser sound chances are you'll have a hard time warming up to them, but I hope for your sake I'm wrong, unless you can return the Grado if you don't like them.

 

[George2]

I have the PS500. Purchased them about a month ago, and I'm here to tell you I love them. I'm pushing them with the Fostex HP-1P amp/dac with an iPod classic. Everything in music is subjective so I'll let you be the judge.

 

[Alexnova]

Quote:

yes, i'm glad to hear that sigh of relief. I can almost sense it through the internet ! saved you lots of money and just as important, lots of time......To my ears, the ps500 is a little 'grey' but overall an enjoyable sound. It's quite accurate for some of the music you listen to, namely rock n roll and jazz. it is not really designed to handle hip hop or electronic. so maybe grab one of the cheaper senns like you had, later when you can so you can have a phone that is more suited for that sound as well because senns do not do rock n roll or jazz right at all imo

That's very interesting because alot of hip hop is dependent on having great bass and a lower bottom, no? I had trouble making hip hop pop the way I wanted to with the Senns. It's a classic criticsm of the brand because you hear it all the time that the bass lacks oomph. Jazz and Rock I was, for the most part, fine with. However take this all with a grain of salt because I never have been outside of the Sennheiser realm except for the Audio Technica's.
 
Quote:

I personally prefer the HD650 to any Grado I've heard, as I'm just not a fan of the Grado sound. If you are used to the Sennheiser sound chances are you'll have a hard time warming up to them, but I hope for your sake I'm wrong, unless you can return the Grado if you don't like them.

That's the thing, I really don't know what Grado's, AKG, Shure, etc. sound like because I've primarily relied on the Senns for years. Maybe to my ears I prefer them, but I want to try some other brands out to see.I tried the Audio Technica ATHM50S and I hated them. Senn to my ears have a precision that is cold and a desire to be as accurate as possible. So I wanted to get something similar to it, but have the Grado signature sound, and the PS500 fit the bill from the reviews that I had read. So I assume the transition should be smooth, but we will see when I get them.
 
Quote:

I have the PS500. Purchased them about a month ago, and I'm here to tell you I love them. I'm pushing them with the Fostex HP-1P amp/dac with an iPod classic. Everything in music is subjective so I'll let you be the judge.

How do you like them without the amp/dac? Would you recommend that amp/dac?

 

[wolfetan44]

Don't worry about one review, this hobby is about opinion. One of the reasons I hate this hobby. Well, the only one. Try it out, if you like it then keep it; if you dont, then sell it/return it. Get this, I recently tried top tier headphones. The LCD2 and 3, Senn HD800+HD700, Beyerdynamic T1, and the Stax 307. The Stax was the cheapest(at $600 less than the cheapest of the others the Beyer T1.), want to know which one I liked the best? The Stax. I'm sure somebody could come in and say that the others are superior. But I just preferred their sound signature more. 

 

[IPodPJ]

Alexnova,
The HD650 are anything but cold. They are a very warm headphone and will shine with proper amplification. I've always found Grados to have a thin sound to them, regardless of their lowest or highest end model, but again your ears may vary.

The 650 is a very different phone than the 595. The 595 has some nice traits but it can't really compare to the quality of the 650.

 

[Alexnova]

Quote:

Don't worry about one review, this hobby is about opinion. One of the reasons I hate this hobby. Well, the only one. Try it out, if you like it then keep it; if you dont, then sell it/return it. Get this, I recently tried top tier headphones. The LCD2 and 3, Senn HD800+HD700, Beyerdynamic T1, and the Stax 307. The Stax was the cheapest, want to know which one I liked the best? The Stax. I'm sure somebody could come in and say that the others are superior. But I just preferred their sound signature more. 

Yes that is something I need to keep in mind. The problem is I am not at an area where I can try headphones and see what they are like before buying them. Unfourtantely I am relegated to trusting the opinion of a lot of folks before comitting to headphones.
 
I wish there was more of a uniform opinion that such and such headphone is the best for the money, but sadly that doesn't exist.

 

[Alexnova]

Quote:

Alexnova,
The HD650 are anything but cold. They are a very warm headphone and will shine with proper amplification. I've always found Grados to have a thin sound to them, regardless of their lowest or highest end model, but again your ears may vary.
The 650 is a very different phone than the 595. The 595 has some nice traits but it can't really compare to the quality of the 650.

How about compared to the 600s?
 
Yeah I am sure the 650 is a very different phone, but I thought the Sennheiser signature was something just slightly colder than most other brands when trying to get the sound as accurate as possible. I guess I will have to lose that preconception then.