[Derek1984]

This is my first post on here and I need some help! I am in the market for buying my first pair of nice headphones. Basically what I am looking for are headphones with the best sound quality I can get for $250 or less. I do not care what style they are, ear buds, cans, etc. I just want the best quality that I can get. I would really like to possibly hear instruments in the background that you can't hear with a cheap pair of headphones. I want rich, full sound. It does not matter to me if the people around me can hear the music that I am listening to. They type of music I will listen to with these is mostly R&B, Pop, and Jazz. Music like Earth Wind & Fire, Michael Jackson, George Benson, etc. I will listen mostly to mp3's and plug these into a computer or mp3 player. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time.

 

[Lumient]

Maybe Grado SR-225. Good with or without an amp.

 

[achristilaw]

What would be helpful? List of your associated equipment. Source, amp etc.

 

[Derek1984]

Quote:

Originally Posted by achristilaw /img/forum/go_quote.gif What would be helpful? List of your associated equipment. Source, amp etc.

Associated equipment? Source? Amp? I am sorry, I am all new to this and a little confused. I know I still need to do a lot more research. Basically, I will be plugging these headphones into my ipod and my desktop computer. Am I supposed to buy other acessories with my headphones?

 

[dominator]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Derek1984 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Associated equipment? Source? Amp? I am sorry, I am all new to this and a little confused. I know I still need to do a lot more research. Basically, I will be plugging these headphones into my ipod and my desktop computer. Am I supposed to buy other acessories with my headphones?

No worries. Some of the people on this forum own a lot of other products to increase the sound quality of their headphones. Don't worry, because while they of course make your phones sound better, they are by no means necessary.

A source is simply where the music is coming from, e.g. a CD player, or in your case, computer and iPod. An amp is a device that takes the signal from the source and amplifies it to a loud enough volume for you to listen to it through your headphones. In your case, the desktop and iPod both have a built in amp, however, some people buy special headphone amps such as this one HeadRoom Total AirHead @ HeadRoom - Right Between Your Ears to increase sound quality.

Edit: Also, that site I linked to is an excellent resource for learning more about quality headphones. It might be worthwhile to browse that site and look at the different types of headphones (e.g. open, closed, canal) to see which you might like because if your only criteria is under $250 and good sound quality that's pretty broad, and hard to recommend for especially since you've never purchased nice headphones before. Undoubtedly any headphone in that price range that you tried would sound miles better than what you own now.

 

[crappyjones123]

im fairly new as well, but i just heard the sr 60s for the first time yesterday and the detail was much much better than my 595s. yes its supposed to be the other way round but i dont know how to convince my ears. the bass was kinda lacking though. either way grado sr 60s are an excellent pair of headphones for entry into audiophilehood. you can get them for 70 new or perhaps 55 used. i would recommend getting them used just because it would be cheaper and that leaves you with much more money for getting an amp.

pros - the headphones will probably already be burnt in and you'll be able to enjoy good toones from the get go.

cons - the headphones will already be burnt in. i dont know about others but i find it fun to burn in headphones and take a few listens once in a while. you can honestly hear the music and the effect it has on you change over time. personally i would go with the new one simply because just like me you are new as well, and its fun to learn these things from the ground up instead of making the mistake of spending 160 dollars on hd 595s and then having a harder time really enjoying upgrades compared to people who started out with sr 60s and then moved up slowly.

this might be completely disagreeable to other senior members and i by no means regret buying my 595s. they are great phones but it would have been nice to start at the entry level and work my way up, would have given me a little more maturity.

either way welcome to the family (can i say that yet? or do i have to have been here longer =/ )

ps. head fi also has a trade/sale forum that i didnt know about for a few days after i joined headfi. might want to check that out before you go out and buy anything from a store.

 

[Musicboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by crappyjones123 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I would recommend getting them used just because it would be cheaper and that leaves you with much more money for getting an amp. .

If you do not want an amplifier, don't buy it. If you use more money on the headphones, you will get a much bigger result as the amplifier does not increase the sound quality as much as buying a better pair of headphones.

 

[crappyjones123]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Musicboy /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you do not want an amplifier, don't buy it. If you use more money on the headphones, you will get a much bigger result as the amplifier does not increase the sound quality as much as buying a better pair of headphones.

true to the last word. BUT i used my 595s ampless for about 100 hours. and yesterday i got a little dot mk v solid state amp and all i have to say is, they sound phenomenal. while people might not find the addition of an amp into their audio loop wildly different, it adds to the overall experience so much its addition almost borderlines requirement. but its just my opinion

 

[trevorlane]

i feel the very much the same way about listening to the ER-4 ampless, and then using the gilmore lite. i'm gonna try the HD650 once that gets in and see how that does.

 

[stayfrosty]

Look hard and spend mabey just a tad more and get some akg k701s?

 

[Musicboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by crappyjones123 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I used my 595s ampless for about 100 hours. and yesterday i got a little dot mk v solid state amp and all i have to say is, they sound phenomenal. while people might not find the addition of an amp into their audio loop wildly different, it adds to the overall experience so much its addition almost borderlines requirement. but its just my opinion

If you want the full potential of your expensive headphones, then buy an amplifier!

 

[Derek1984]

Okay, first off I want to thank everyone for replying. I really appreciate it. Second, I have read many reviews and have narrowed down by list to two headphones. Either the Grado SR-225 for $200 or Sennheiser PX 100 for $50. Huge price difference but I plan on having these for a very long time. Is the sound quality that much better on the Grado SR-225 compared to the Sennheiser's to justify to big price difference?

 

[Musicboy]

I have not listened to the grados you mentioned, but don't buy the sennheisers. They have a thin sound compared to other products at your budget level.

 

[jrosenth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Derek1984 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Okay, first off I want to thank everyone for replying. I really appreciate it. Second, I have read many reviews and have narrowed down by list to two headphones. Either the Grado SR-225 for $200 or Sennheiser PX 100 for $50. Huge price difference but I plan on having these for a very long time. Is the sound quality that much better on the Grado SR-225 compared to the Sennheiser's to justify to big price difference?

Yes - it's not even close. Totally different ballpark. Most sound for $100 you'll ever spend.

You can pick the 225s up used on the fs boards fairly frequently for $150-150. Take the difference and use it to get a little amp like a CMOY or Gary's Pocket Rocket for $50. (or buy the 225 new and get the little amp when you get another $50) or get a $100 portable amp used of the boards (like a Mister X xp).

That is probably the best use of $200-250. With that you should be able to tell the difference between poorly encoded MP3s and a CD as the source so you'll want to begin thinking about using CDs or lossless files or getting MP3s with a high bitrate.

 

[otprof]

The 225s are indeed fantastic, in my opinion. If you have any interest in portability, however, I would go for the Etymotic ER4P. Actually, having both would be nice.