Hi everyone, new to Head-fi, though I have been reading the various threads around the forums for a bit now (give or take a month).
I currently have the following sets (either bought, gotten from friends, or even picked up from the trash (!!!)):
Audio technica CKM55
Hifiman Re0
Audio technica ATH-SJ55
Audio technica ATH-A700X
And of course, the standard iPod/airplane ear buds.
I'm interested in purchasing a new pair of full-sized headphones; here is some information that should help with the decision making process:
Preferred: Closed, full-sized headphones
Price: 300 USD or under
Place of use: Home
Type of music I listen to: Classical (Mozart symphonies, piano sonatas, concertos etc, early Beethoven piano sonatas, etc), Opera (Mozart, Mitridate re di Ponto, Die Zauberflote, etc), Chinese/Japanese/Korean Pop (? I am not sure if you can classify it as such, I have included some links below for reference)
Korean:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBynjhUknzI
Japanese:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa7orJX6LQY
Chinese:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDL5LAuqRQs
And for the opera:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02yf6RHIQjQ
Sorry for the bad quality, being Youtube videos and such.
Listening source: Laptop (Asus N53Sv), On-board sound card, no other amplifier/DAC
Files: 320 kbps minimum, FLAC otherwise.
Having the various headphones, here is some things that I like/don't like about each one:
Audio technica CKM55: Bass heavy, and decent sound stage. However, the buds don't fit into my ears at all, so...
Hifiman Re0: One of the first headphones I purchased off of a recommendation from a friend; prior to this I was using iPod headphones...bass is a bit weak, soundstage seems narrow
Audio technica ATH-SJ55: Bass is strong, soundstage is not as wide as I would like.
Audio technica ATH-A700X: Bass is stronger than the Hifiman, but weaker than the other Audio technicas. Best soundstage of the 4 pairs I own.
While I am looking for a new pair that are (exclusively) for home use, I still would like a closed pair, mainly because outside noise is an issue (I live by myself, but next to a baseball diamond (Baseball field?), tennis courts, etc, so it can become quite noisy at times). A wide soundstage is preferred, though I know that wanting closed headphones and a wide soundstage is contrary.
I would prefer that the headphones not require an amplifier/DAC, but would be willing to spend ~200 USD (i.e. Fiio E17/E9 combo?) if required.
Anyone have any suggestions? I have a few in mind (AKG K550, DT770 Pros 80 Ohm), but still am not sure what is best.
Finally, I apologize for any spelling/grammatical mistakes I might have made; English is not my first language