[PleasantNoise]

Hi all,
 

I am new both on this forum, and to the world of hi-fi.
I listen to a mixture of Prog-metal, Djent, and some classical and baroque music too.
I play guitar, So like Strong mids, and smooth highs, and bass to be present, but not over-powering or muddy

I have essentially joined this forum because after spending around 2 years listening to music through a pair of UE metro fi-200's and Senn Hd201's
I purchased a pair of Samson sr850's and found the audio to be astonishingly better (Hd201's are unbelievably bright, and empty sounding, metro fi-200's sound very tiny and dull)
whereas the sr850's sounded so much better in every way.
This lead me to wondering about how much of the music I miss out on from poor headphones, cd players, poor mp3 files, mp3 players etc.
So, I come in search of a greater Listening experience, and knowledge

 

my listening rig essentially consists of either my 2nd gen ipod nano or my cheap sony cd player and my Samson sr850's
I am in possession of a nice kenwood Cd player, but lacking in an amplifier for it

I would like to improve this, as much as possible (within reason and budget)
after reading through a few of the forums I am almost as stumped as when I began my search.

my questions are: (bet you haven't heard this before ) I would like suggestions for good, Full-sized Headphones, for under £120(ish)
                         -How necessary are Headphone amplifiers? (obviously it will depends on the headphones, and the source)                           
                         -would I be able to use a headphone amp to drive my headphones from the afore mentioned Kenwood CDp?          
                         -If the above is true, then what are some Nice, affordable headphone amplifiers for under say.... £40(ish)


Thanks in advance for any help ^^

 

[Chris_Himself]

Alessandro MS-1 would be gorgeous on that kind of music.
 
I didn't like my Metro.fi's very much and thats how I graduated to the Super Fi 3 Studios back in the day.
 
You don't really need to run an amp with Grados.
 
Search the classifieds for a nice used pair of Grados and PM the seller on what kind of music he listens to specifically and see if that lines up with yours. It's how I used to shop for headphones actually! You can see what kind of music I listen to in my profile. It's mostly really hot lead guitar instrumental albums, death metal, and I do actually like prog-rock, like Tool, Mastodon, Genesis, Pink Floyd, and I listen to a LOT of Dream Theatre as an audio benchmark. Coheed and Cambria is really good on these too.

 

[BotByte]

1. I'll keep this off until the end
 
2. Amps are not needed unless the headphones need a amp. 
 
3. Don't buy an amo
 
4. $100 is starter amp, $200 is good, $400 is best for a amp
 
OP, I find that you're looking too far into amps
 
You only need a amp if the headphones you have need that extra power that your source (ipod) can't provide.
 
Grado SR125i
Shure 840
 
are cans that DON'T need a amp because the amount of power sent to them is enough to drive them
 
 
OP, try if you can to collect enough money to get some Sony MDR-7509HD
Great cans, I can't find anything wrong with them
And they don't need a amp. From whatever you put them to, they will play perfectly.
They are balanced cans so they play the whole sound spectrum without covering everything up and will allow you to listen to genres without difficulty. Music Producers hail to glory at them.

 

[Chris_Himself]

Quote:

1. I'll keep this off until the end
 
2. Amps are not needed unless the headphones need a amp. 
 
3. Don't buy an amo
 
4. $100 is starter amp, $200 is good, $400 is best for a amp
 
OP, I find that you're looking too far into amps
 
You only need a amp if the headphones you have need that extra power that your source (ipod) can't provide.
 
Grado SR125i
Shure 840
 
are cans that DON'T need a amp because the amount of power sent to them is enough to drive them
 
 
OP, try if you can to collect enough money to get some Sony MDR-7509HD
Great cans, I can't find anything wrong with them
And they don't need a amp. From whatever you put them to, they will play perfectly.
They are balanced cans so they play the whole sound spectrum without covering everything up and will allow you to listen to genres without difficulty. Music Producers hail to glory at them.

Agreed.
 
You could buy SR-225's or the Shure's and be just dandy.

 

[BotByte]

Quote:

Agreed.
 
You could buy SR-225's or the Shure's and be just dandy.

But Grado and classical does mix
 

 

[Sonic Defender]

Yes, Grado sound is less suited to classical, but exceptional for rock, very good for electronica and pop music and also very nice for jazz. The SR225 is a great way to get into both good quality cans and the Grado sound. The amount of choice you have can be overwhelming so just realise that there are likely several headphones that would please you, but you are only able to get one set at first so just narrow your search down to a few candidates then take the plunge! Welcome to the community.

 

[BotByte]

Quote:

Yes, Grado sound is less suited to classical, but exceptional for rock, very good for electronica and pop music and also very nice for jazz. The SR225 is a great way to get into both good quality cans and the Grado sound. The amount of choice you have can be overwhelming so just realise that there are likely several headphones that would please you, but you are only able to get one set at first so just narrow your search down to a few candidates then take the plunge! Welcome to the community.

Electronic is the twist to Grado. For some apparent reason they do electronica amazingly well. But Classical will lack the soundstage but still be great. Take genre pairings with a grain of salt, OP

 

[PleasantNoise]

Grado Sr125 aren't Over ear are they?
the sr225s are out of my price range, and the sr125s would be about the limit I would be willing to spend.
I have a strong dislike for on-ear headphones, they tend to be painful to the point where I can't concentrate on the music...
The Classical music is more of something I dabble in from time to time, So I listen to alot more Prog Metal, Djent etc.

The amp thing was just out of curiousity, I was aware they weren't necessary.


 

 

[LCfiner]

Grados are all on-ear (except for the super expensive ones)

 

[PleasantNoise]

Well that sucks

I really cannot stand on-ear headphones at all.

 

 

[baka1969]

I would also look at the Shure 940 as it's a little more balanced than the 840.

The Grados are on ear headphones but are extremely light. Some, like me, think they're comfortable. Others hate the comfort. I would also suggest the Alessandro MS1 as they are cheaper to get in the UK than Grados are (you used Pounds as your unit of currency).

 

[PleasantNoise]

My HD201's sound alot smaller, and closed than the Sr850's, If I assume this is to with the closed. semi-open nature of them, then Could I also assume that Open headphones would give a larger soundstage, and a less sound-right -in-my-face kind of feel?
I don't like Music to sound too close, some distance (even if its only perceived) is nice.
 

 

[Croozer]

The amp thing was just out of curiousity, I was aware they weren't necessary.


 

LOL, that is purely personal preference.

I have not seen a pair of headphones that a amp did not improve the sound.

 

[PleasantNoise]

@Croozer
Not necessary means that they can be powered to a decent standard without an amp, as an amp is too pricey at the moment, so chances are that anything about 80ohms will be too difficult to drive?

Looking around, what are peoples opinions on:
AKG K240 (or K242, K240 Mkii)
Sennheiser HD 555/558
Shure Srh440
Beyerdynamic DT860
Audio-Technica ATH A900

any other suggestions?
anything above these models seem to be not only a jump in price, but also start requiring amps, (250ohm and above models)