[kwonberry]

I'm looking for a full size open air headphone for use without amp (tall and annoying order I know). The only two I have found with the 32 ohms is Beyer's DT990 32ohms model and any form of Grado 325 or lower. I'm sitting on Westone um2 IEM's for actual physical travel but plan on using the open headphones in my art studio and home. Also the Hifi He400 claims no amp use but I'm a litttle hesitant about that. Any other suggestions? 

 

[NujaBlessed]

Quote:

You know what, I think I'll go with the D2000s.  After doing more research, they really seem like something I wouldn't regret.  Now, to monitor the FS/T forum until I've been here long enough to make my own thread.
 
I'd also like to say that this forum reminds me of paintball forums.  People buying $1000+ pieces of equipment and starting up collections of said gear, or selling/trading regularly to try a bunch of stuff out.  All the while looking insane to anyone on the outside.

i tend to think that this is one of the more tangible hobbies though. i'm not sure what kind of manchildren would fork out that much money for imitation guns that are used every other weekend or something like that.

 

[HamilcarBarca]

Quote:

I'm looking for a full size open air headphone for use without amp (tall and annoying order I know). The only two I have found with the 32 ohms is Beyer's DT990 32ohms model and any form of Grado 325 or lower. I'm sitting on Westone um2 IEM's for actual physical travel but plan on using the open headphones in my art studio and home. Also the Hifi He400 claims no amp use but I'm a litttle hesitant about that. Any other suggestions? 

 
I used the 32-Ohm DT 990 (Premium) without an amp for more than two years. They don't need one. I really like them with and without.
 
Whether they're right for you is another matter.

 

[hipster2010]

Quote:

People buying $1000+ pieces of equipment and starting up collections of said gear, or selling/trading regularly to try a bunch of stuff out.  All the while looking insane to anyone on the outside.

I wouldn't have it any other way 

 

[Apslac]

Hello nice people!
 
Help me find my new pair of headphones. My old Sennheiser 280 Pro are almost goners...
 
I like my headphones enclosing my ears and reducing the noise up to the point that I don't need to play the music extra loud. Just enough to get me by surrounding noises, but without reducing the quality of the music, mind you. The smaller to carry, the better, but my old Sennheisers, even collapsed, were pretty big and heavy, so it's not that big of an issue. They have to be comfy for long hours of listening while walking, commuting, DJing (hence my old monitors) and lying in bed. Sturdy is also something of interest since I don't want to take care of a thing as if it were a person, if you know what I mean.
 
I listen to a wide range of music, but so as to give you an idea: Dub/Roots/Reggae, Hip Hop, Wonky Beats, IDM, Noise, Experimental, Avant-Garde, Classical, Jazz (Free, Bebop, Ethio), Krautrock, Indie, Afro Beat, Cumbia, Salsa, and lots of (hate calling it like this) "World" music. So all in all, many many many things except for Metal and variations, Reaggeton, Electronica in the vein of Drum n Bass, Trance, Techno and some others I can't remember at the moment.
 
I like my Basses well defined and with an oomph without having to be exlosive in your face all the time. My concern is with the trebles being to harsh (especially with Merzbow or Massona or Keiji Haino) and the mids not being distinguishable enough.
 
My budget is up to around $120-130, so I guess I'm asking for a lot here. That's why I decided to ask around here to see what good recommendations you guys can share so I can try them out and find my new pair. I need them badly!!
 
THANKS SO MUCH!!

 

[hipster2010]

Quote:

Hello nice people!
 
Help me find my new pair of headphones. My old Sennheiser 280 Pro are almost goners...
 
I like my headphones enclosing my ears and reducing the noise up to the point that I don't need to play the music extra loud. Just enough to get me by surrounding noises, but without reducing the quality of the music, mind you. The smaller to carry, the better, but my old Sennheisers, even collapsed, were pretty big and heavy, so it's not that big of an issue. They have to be comfy for long hours of listening while walking, commuting, DJing (hence my old monitors) and lying in bed. Sturdy is also something of interest since I don't want to take care of a thing as if it were a person, if you know what I mean.
 
I listen to a wide range of music, but so as to give you an idea: Dub/Roots/Reggae, Hip Hop, Wonky Beats, IDM, Noise, Experimental, Avant-Garde, Classical, Jazz (Free, Bebop, Ethio), Krautrock, Indie, Afro Beat, Cumbia, Salsa, and lots of (hate calling it like this) "World" music. So all in all, many many many things except for Metal and variations, Reaggeton, Electronica in the vein of Drum n Bass, Trance, Techno and some others I can't remember at the moment.
 
I like my Basses well defined and with an oomph without having to be exlosive in your face all the time. My concern is with the trebles being to harsh (especially with Merzbow or Massona or Keiji Haino) and the mids not being distinguishable enough.
 
My budget is up to around $120-130, so I guess I'm asking for a lot here. That's why I decided to ask around here to see what good recommendations you guys can share so I can try them out and find my new pair. I need them badly!!
 
THANKS SO MUCH!!

It looks like you need a neutral sounding heapdhone in order to be versatile. I think in your range the KRK KNS8400 may be your best bet. It isn't small or super portable though, so that may be a problem. If you really need portable, I think this thread will help a lot.

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

I'm looking for a full size open air headphone for use without amp (tall and annoying order I know). The only two I have found with the 32 ohms is Beyer's DT990 32ohms model and any form of Grado 325 or lower. I'm sitting on Westone um2 IEM's for actual physical travel but plan on using the open headphones in my art studio and home. Also the Hifi He400 claims no amp use but I'm a litttle hesitant about that. Any other suggestions? 

We need to know the equipment through which you will be powering these cans and the sound signature you prefer.
 
I suspect that you have some bad advice about the HE-400, which is a planar--a relatively easy to power planar, but that only goes so far.

 

[Sheriksia]

Im a beginner audiophile and currently the only "serious" cans i own are beyerdynamic DT 770 80 ohm + FiiO E11. Just wanted to ask what headphones should i get next for different sound experience, i mean i dont really realize how sound may vary "v-shaped, u-shaped, dark, bright and things like that", it would be much easier for me to understand the sound if i get to experience opposite sound type of my cans. Im looking for 50-170$ headphones. Grados it is?

 

[veyrongatti]

Quote:

Hello nice people!
 
Help me find my new pair of headphones. My old Sennheiser 280 Pro are almost goners...
 
I like my headphones enclosing my ears and reducing the noise up to the point that I don't need to play the music extra loud. Just enough to get me by surrounding noises, but without reducing the quality of the music, mind you. The smaller to carry, the better, but my old Sennheisers, even collapsed, were pretty big and heavy, so it's not that big of an issue. They have to be comfy for long hours of listening while walking, commuting, DJing (hence my old monitors) and lying in bed. Sturdy is also something of interest since I don't want to take care of a thing as if it were a person, if you know what I mean.
 
I listen to a wide range of music, but so as to give you an idea: Dub/Roots/Reggae, Hip Hop, Wonky Beats, IDM, Noise, Experimental, Avant-Garde, Classical, Jazz (Free, Bebop, Ethio), Krautrock, Indie, Afro Beat, Cumbia, Salsa, and lots of (hate calling it like this) "World" music. So all in all, many many many things except for Metal and variations, Reaggeton, Electronica in the vein of Drum n Bass, Trance, Techno and some others I can't remember at the moment.
 
I like my Basses well defined and with an oomph without having to be exlosive in your face all the time. My concern is with the trebles being to harsh (especially with Merzbow or Massona or Keiji Haino) and the mids not being distinguishable enough.
 
My budget is up to around $120-130, so I guess I'm asking for a lot here. That's why I decided to ask around here to see what good recommendations you guys can share so I can try them out and find my new pair. I need them badly!!
 
THANKS SO MUCH!!

try the Aviators? 

 

[AK59]

Hello all- greetings from a complete newbie.

I have been meaning to buy a decent set of around-the-ear headphones for some time now and stumbled upon this forum thanks to Google. Given the insane number of choices, I am very glad to have found this place, where I hope I will find some answers. I have not had a good set of headphones thus far (have been getting by randomly picked inexpensive Sony, Philips etc).

1. I will use them (for the most part) on my iPad to watch movies and listen to music. In terms of my choice of music, I dont know most of the genres that the post above me refer to (I was looking for some inspiration). I dont think I will ever listen to heavy metal type stuff though.
2. I will need them at home when I want to listen without disturbing family members, in flights (travel couple of times a month) etc.
3. I am thinking of a budget of around US$250-300 (can be somewhat flexible)
4. I dont know if I want open or closed headphones- Broadly speaking, I know the difference between the two, but I dont know what I want
5. Would be good if they are easy to carry (given I travel reasonably often)

Until last week was gravitating towards Bose/ Beats, but having spent a bit of time on this forum, I am getting the sense that these are not the names I should be going for. So far, these two look promising. Keen to hear opinions on these and get pointers to other options

- Sennheiser HD 598
- Audio-Technica ATH-M50

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[veyrongatti]

Quote:

Hello all- greetings from a complete newbie.
I have been meaning to buy a decent set of around-the-ear headphones for some time now and stumbled upon this forum thanks to Google. Given the insane number of choices, I am very glad to have found this place, where I hope I will find some answers. I have not had a good set of headphones thus far (have been getting by randomly picked inexpensive Sony, Philips etc).
1. I will use them (for the most part) on my iPad to watch movies and listen to music. In terms of my choice of music, I dont know most of the genres that the post above me refer to (I was looking for some inspiration). I dont think I will ever listen to heavy metal type stuff though.
2. I will need them at home when I want to listen without disturbing family members, in flights (travel couple of times a month) etc.
3. I am thinking of a budget of around US$250-300 (can be somewhat flexible)
4. I dont know if I want open or closed headphones- Broadly speaking, I know the difference between the two, but I dont know what I want
5. Would be good if they are easy to carry (given I travel reasonably often)
Until last week was gravitating towards Bose/ Beats, but having spent a bit of time on this forum, I am getting the sense that these are not the names I should be going for. So far, these two look promising. Keen to hear opinions on these and get pointers to other options
- Sennheiser HD 598
- Audio-Technica ATH-M50
Any help would be much appreciated.

Closed....
So what do you listen to? as in artists not genre 

 

[AK59]

I'm Indian, so a lot of what I listen to is Bollywood music. In English music, I mostly listen to artists I grew up with (am in my 30s now)- so the likes of Eagles, Bon Jovi, Pink Floyd, Staind, Sinatra. I actually looked at my music folder to answer this question, I think its more around songs I like than artists I like.

 

[iCupboard]

Dear everyone! 
I decided to ask it here. I had posted my question about the headphones that I liked, but the member I came across only knew the V-Moda LP2, in which I was interested.
 
So:
 
What am I looking for?
A closed headphone with lots of isolation. 
 
Which genres?
Indie rock, indie folk, audiobooks(!!!! those are so important for me) and a little bit of dubstep
 
Where do I want to use them?
Everywhere! To give some examples; In the bus, in the train, on the street, in the car, on the bike (BADDIE! Traffic!)
 
Something else?
I am hoping to find a headphone with a detachable cable. my K272HD died, because the cable broke...
 
Which headphones do I have in mind?
 

1. V-Moda LP2
2. Sennheiser Momentum
3. AKG K550

 
If you have any headphone you want to recommend to me, feel free to do so! 
 
 
Thanks for your time!  

 

[hipster2010]

Quote:

Im a beginner audiophile and currently the only "serious" cans i own are beyerdynamic DT 770 80 ohm + FiiO E11. Just wanted to ask what headphones should i get next for different sound experience, i mean i dont really realize how sound may vary "v-shaped, u-shaped, dark, bright and things like that", it would be much easier for me to understand the sound if i get to experience opposite sound type of my cans. Im looking for 50-170$ headphones. Grados it is?

If you want a different sound experience, you are going to want something that is more mid-centric and lighter in the bass (and highs). The DT770 is quite "V" shaped meaning it emphasizes the bass and the treble. You might look into the Sennheiser HD558, the Koss ProDJ100, or some Grados (though it has a ton of treble too). The Fostex T50rp also has a mid-centric sound and for those who like to mod things, they can be made into incredible sounding headphones than compete with others worth several hundred dollars.
 
Here are a few graphs to give a visual of what I just said:
 

 

 
 

 

[hipster2010]

Quote:

Dear everyone! 
I decided to ask it here. I had posted my question about the headphones that I liked, but the member I came across only knew the V-Moda LP2, in which I was interested.
 
So:
 
What am I looking for?
A closed headphone with lots of isolation. 
 
Which genres?
Indie rock, indie folk, audiobooks(!!!! those are so important for me) and a little bit of dubstep
 
Where do I want to use them?
Everywhere! To give some examples; In the bus, in the train, on the street, in the car, on the bike (BADDIE! Traffic!)
 
Something else?
I am hoping to find a headphone with a detachable cable. my K272HD died, because the cable broke...
 
Which headphones do I have in mind?
 

1. V-Moda LP2
2. Sennheiser Momentum
3. AKG K550

 
If you have any headphone you want to recommend to me, feel free to do so! 
 
 
Thanks for your time!  

If you want isolation here you go 

 
 
More seriously though, you probably want a fairly balanced sound signature since your genres are quite variable. Since you listen to audio books, the heapdhone must have good (or at least not recessed) mids. Obviously you probably need portability since you are planning to use them all over the place.
 
I'm not as good at recommending portable headphones as my experience is more limited. I had the V-Moda M80 and liked it though, so it may be one to at least consider as the sound signature should work with your genres. I think until someone else responds, you should look through this portable headphone review.