[ablahblah]

Hey everyone,
 
Checking in again after enjoying a pair of EPH-100s for months; I'm thinking about just going for closed full-size headphone right around now, but I'm not sure what price range I'm looking at for what I want out of them.
 
I have a FiiO E11 that hasn't been getting much use given the EPH-100's 16ohms. I like the EPH-100's honestly, stepping up from $30 cheap ones from Best Buy

, but I feel like the soundstage is still too compressed for what I'm looking for. Little too bassy as well, and the 4kHz drop in the frequency response has been really starting to kill me lately. The dip helps out with making listening less tiring, but I find myself having to pay more and more attention to the sound; call me a budding treblehead, haha. The bass boosting EQ's on the E11 have essentially been ruled out for me with this IEM, in other words. I am planning to ditch them in the near future, just because I'm going to phase them out for long-term listening and use cheaper IEM's for portable; I'm starting to also get afraid of accidentally pulling the cables out at some point..
 
I listen to an excess of EDM, some rock and pop now and then. Particularly, I'm also learning to mix/dj a bit, so comfort and durable swivels are something I'm also looking for.
 
To be honest, completely lost here. Had a little bit of knowledge going into IEMs, but watching DJ's run off headphones in sets confuses me. I can't for the life of me understand how one makes due with hingeless LP2's, or how Armin Van Buuren deals with the treble response on his DH1200s.

 

[Doc-holliday]

Hello Head-Fi community!
I've been looking around for a new pair of headphones for awhile, but now that my most recent pair of headphones (Steelseries Siberia v2)were destroyed by the dog I'm forcing myself to buy. I'd like to add that I haven't tried anything better than my last pair so I'm probably going to lean towards entry level.
Music:
Rock, Metal, Country, Rap, Hip Hop, EDM, pretty much anything. I'd say I lean more towards bassier music but I don't want to be overwhelmed with bass.
Uses:
Mainly at home, but I'd like to be able to use them (without a portable amp for now) on my portable devices.
Comfort:
Not a big issue here, but I would like to wear them on my big noggin without too much fatigue.
Design (this is why I'm posting in this thread):
Closed
The most important thing for me is minimal branding. I don't mind looking like a space cadet, but I'd like to avoid it if possible. I've done a lot of browsing here and elsewhere with not much luck on finding anything to my liking that wasn't going to break my bank.
Modification:
I'm just keeping an open mind with this because I like to take things apart after I'm "done" with them. So if I can make a safe buy into a better pair of 'phones then that'd be cool!
Price range:
Up to $150
TL;DR:
Entry level, sound great for EDM type music but still good everywhere else, minimal design with little to no branding, closed, possible mod ability, $150.
Thanks in advance!

The ATH M50 is in that range and would be suitable for EDM. It has been as low as 100 dollars new as recently as a few days ago on amazon. It does not need an amp which makes it a great option if you are on a budget. They are durable and fairly comfortable. Not really a headphone I have seen much success with modding but a good headphone.

Another headphone that I don't yet own but have been dying to try you could look up is the CAL (creative aurvana live). It goes for around 60 bucks on amazon and is supposed to sound amazing for the price.

 

[lolwatpear]

edit

 

[Doc-holliday]

[SIZE=10pt]Hey everyone, I'm new to the community and just wanted to introduce myself I suppose. I'm by no means an audiophile (yet) as I have just begun this "journey". Furthermore, I enjoy listening to my music at a higher sound quality than that seen in apple ear buds. After reading over multiple reviews on this site and others I decided to start my journey about 6 months ago with a set of Ultrasone HFI-580s and a Fiio E11 portable amplifier. I was quite impressed by these almost immediately, however, I'm left wanting more as I'm not sure if these fit the genres of music I listen to most often.  [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]I probably listen to about 80% rock (everything from Bob Seger and Boston to Breaking Benjamin and Creed) and about 20% rap/hip hop. I feel like the 580s do a better job with rap and hip hop as compared to rock. Therefore, I'm looking for a new set of full-sized cans that will really only be used for listening to rock music. I'm going to have about a $300-400 price limit on the headphones and amp if one is necessary. Also, these are only going to be used around the house so I have no preference as to whether they are open or closed. All suggestions/advice is appreciated, thanks![/SIZE]

The DT880 250ohm would be a nice choice well within your price range. You can even use your E11 if you want to walk around the house with them and the E10 for $50 bucks will run them nicely too.

 

[cel4145]

Quote:

[size=10pt]Hey everyone, I'm new to the community and just wanted to introduce myself I suppose. I'm by no means an audiophile (yet) as I have just begun this "journey". Furthermore, I enjoy listening to my music at a higher sound quality than that seen in apple ear buds. After reading over multiple reviews on this site and others I decided to start my journey about 6 months ago with a set of Ultrasone HFI-580s and a Fiio E11 portable amplifier. I was quite impressed by these almost immediately, however, I'm left wanting more as I'm not sure if these fit the genres of music I listen to most often.  [/size]
 
[size=10pt]I probably listen to about 80% rock (everything from Bob Seger and Boston to Breaking Benjamin and Creed) and about 20% rap/hip hop. I feel like the 580s do a better job with rap and hip hop as compared to rock. Therefore, I'm looking for a new set of full-sized cans that will really only be used for listening to rock music. I'm going to have about a $300-400 price limit on the headphones and amp if one is necessary. Also, these are only going to be used around the house so I have no preference as to whether they are open or closed. All suggestions/advice is appreciated, thanks![/size]

 
The Grado SR225i is quite amazing for rock.  It does a great job with all the example music you list. 

 

[LostArk]

Quote:

Sounds like you should just get a pair of dt880s. Still have sparkle but more neutral than the 990 or 770. Don't know why you would not just keep your e10. Get a more neutral headphone first and then if u find a need to change your amp/dac then do that.

From what I hear even the 880's still have slightly recessed mids. The only reason I mentioned the E10 was because I hear it's insufficient to drive a pair of k701's, which supposedly benefit the most from a tube amp? 
 
edit:
 
I listen to mostly to extreme metal, singer-songwriter, and classical. 

 

[zeinharis]

Quote:

From what I hear even the 880's still have slightly recessed mids. The only reason I mentioned the E10 was because I hear it's insufficient to drive a pair of k701's, which supposedly benefit the most from a tube amp? 
 
edit:
 
I listen to mostly to extreme metal, singer-songwriter, and classical. 

 
What about Alessandro MS2i?, if you don't mind with on ear headphone, it suit with metal (very good on PRaT), good for singer-songwriter (good on mids especialy on vocal) but not with classical due to it's soundstage (very small) or for over ear headphone you can get the HE-400 it's excellent on metal (excellent on PRaT with solid bass hits like a rock), good for singer-songwriter (good on mids especialy on vocal), and good with classical due to it's large soundstage but not like k701 though, both headphone can be drivn by fiio e10

 

[LostArk]

Quote:

 
What about Alessandro MS2i?, if you don't mind with on ear headphone, it suit with metal (very good on PRaT), good for singer-songwriter (good on mids especialy on vocal) but not with classical due to it's soundstage (very small) or for over ear headphone you can get the HE-400 it's excellent on metal (excellent on PRaT with solid bass hits like a rock), good for singer-songwriter (good on mids especialy on vocal), and good with classical due to it's large soundstage but not like k701 though, both headphone can be drivn by fiio e10

I looked at the HE-400 and the FR drops off dramatically in the midrange. I think my Beyers sound just about purrrfect if I bump the EQ by 3db at 4K. Meh. I'm thinking it's probably not worth the money to upgrade to the k701's since I'd need to get an O2+ODAC too. Oh well.

 

[Idkthings]

 
What about Alessandro MS2i?, if you don't mind with on ear headphone, it suit with metal (very good on PRaT), good for singer-songwriter (good on mids especially on vocal) but not with classical due to it's soundstage (very small) or for over ear headphone you can get the HE-400 it's excellent on metal (excellent on PRaT with solid bass hits like a rock), good for singer-songwriter (good on mids especialy on vocal), and good with classical due to it's large soundstage but not like k701 though, both headphone can be driven by fiio e10

Quote:

 
The Grado SR225i is quite amazing for rock.  It does a great job with all the example music you list. 

I've heard a lot of great things about Grado for rock, and I'd be very interested in purchasing some. However, I'm curious as to why you chose the SR225i in particular. What about the SR325is? Also, how do the SR225i/325is compare to the Alessandro MS2i? Thanks to everyone for all the replies! 

 

[cel4145]

Quote:

I've heard a lot of great things about Grado for rock, and I'd be very interested in purchasing some. However, I'm curious as to why you chose the SR225i in particular. What about the SR325is? Also, how do the SR225i/325is compare to the Alessandro MS2i? Thanks to everyone for all the replies! 

 
I had already demoed the SR80i and really liked them (I kept the SR80i as a present for my son), but I was willing to spend more. In reading comparisons, many people indicated that they felt the SR225i to be the sweet spot in the line before jumping up to the RS models, and the 325is a little brighter--some felt too bright. 
 
One nice thing about the Grados is that they are fairly easy to drive with a low impedance source. My Clip+ does a wonderful job with them, although I just got a Little Dot I+ hybrid tube amp which sounds even better (should since it cost more).  They are just so good for rock. I haven't listened to metal much in over twenty years, and the Grados even got me back into that rock genre again. Hard to believe that I rediscovered Judas Priest's Screaming for Vengeance album again 

 
I got them off Amazon through a fulfilled by Amazon vendor. Instant gratification with Amazon Prime shipping, and easy to RMA. Figured no sense in not trying them first before the Allessandro version.  

 

[jchris80]

Hello,
 
I'm new here and have a question regarding the audio technica athesw-9a headphone. I've purchased 3 different headphones over the past 2 weeks and have found issue with each one. First I purchased the audio technica ATHM 50 i didn't like the fact that the cord was too long as I'm using them for commuting in NYC. The second pair were the Shure SRH 440 and I felt the sound was too low and didn't like the fit and lastly I just ordered the Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro and the cable was defective as it had a short in it and the sound seemed low as well lol. With all that being said, I'm in the process of returning the Shure and the Beyers and was thinking of just ordering the ATHM 50 again with the coiled cable since the sound was incredible and they were comfy but I really like the look of the ATHESW 9A. It says they are on ear and I prefer over ear but I do have abnormally small ears so I'm wondering if they still might conceivably be over ear headphones in my case. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.
 
Thanks

[size=140%]  [/size]

 

[bh2001]

G'day Folks
 
Has anyone had experience with Monster Inspiration and Denon AH-NC800 noise cancelling headphones? How do they compare, particularly with regard to sound quality and comfort? Price isn't an issue as I can get both for about the same price. I know there are other headphones with better noise cancelling but I hold sound quality as a bigger factor in my choice.

 

[headphone man07]

Hey guys I'm new here and would like some help choosing a full size headphone, nice and loud, will be using a fiio e6 and ipod nano 3 Isolation very important but no batteries also detacheable cable. Under #170
v-moda lp2 and logitech ue 6000 being considered

 

[Angular Mo]

I am looking for:

best mids for under $300, Open, over-the-ear full size headphone - to use at basement home office.
 
I have not yet experienced bass detail - curious about it.
 
I thought I had wanted treble detail, but the KRK 8400's hurt (even after burn-in)
 
> many years ago, I owned Grado 125, and enjoyed them.... but, that was before I got into portable amps, I forget their sound..
> AKG's seem interesting, I recall thinking they had refined power, maybe less raw punch, maybe less of a monitor than I have been accustomed to, I don't know enough...
> Classic rock, (Zep), Jazz, Zappa, Steely Dan, Vocalists (Lambert Hendricks Ross, Ella, Tony Bennet) and some stupid disco.  I like separation and soundstage.
 
 
I own:
DT 770 Pro 80s - recessed mids
KRK KNS 8400 - treble is piercing, hurts my ears, harsh monitor.
ATH-50m - out at Jay's to be re-cabled for the past month...so, I kinda forget what they sound like.
JVC-S500 - my portable commuter cans.
 
At home I use either:
 
MBP > Schiit BiFrost > Denon CD Receiver UD-M31 > headphone
or
iPhone or iPad or iTouch  > HRT iStreamer > iBasso Warbler P4 > Headphone 

 
 
Any recommendations?  I received only one reply.

Any recommendations? I received only one reply... maybe the idea of a single thread does not work.

 

[LostArk]

Quote:

Any recommendations? I received only one reply... maybe the idea of a single thread does not work.

I'm in the same boat as you; I own a pair of DT 770 Pro 80's and I'm looking for something more neutral. I'm leaning heavily toward the AKG Q701, which are known for their soundstage. Perhaps you should consider them as well.