[autoteleology]

I'm not necessarily looking to buy as of right now, but are there any fairly neutral, highly detailed, good isolating headphones? Essentially, what I'm looking for is a good portable live monitor. Budget is mid-tier.

 

[nirvana420666]

Bareyb, Sennheiser HD 598's would fit your needs nicely, wide soundstage, clear and detailed yet smooth highs and pretty decent bass. They go for about 250 on Amazon.

 

[dryvadeum]

Quote:

I'm not necessarily looking to buy as of right now, but are there any fairly neutral, highly detailed, good isolating headphones? Essentially, what I'm looking for is a good portable live monitor. Budget is mid-tier.

Shure 940's but as for portability they're quite big but isolate well. For under $300 I doubt you will find a better headphone in terms of neutrality & detail. These are proper reference headphones. I have a barely used, immaculate (maybe 6 hours) pair in the for sale forum for $200.

 

[cicar]

Quote:

I don't know how you'll do much better in a full sized over ear headphone.  After all this is the section of the forum in which you posted.

Yeah, I want over ear headphones, but being light and confortable is also a requirement. From the pictures I saw, KRK KNS 6400 seems more bulky compared with HD-449, but I didn't saw it for real, so maybe I am wrong.

 

[zepp]

I am not too sure if this is the right area but I have a question and am looking for suggestions on sound card and headphone amp options.
 
Me and a friend have a pair of Sennheiser headphones he has the PC 350's and I have the HD558's... My question is: Is a sound card going to help these headphones at all? And if so which sound cards would be best? I have been looking around and only see asus or creative and have heard some big negatives about both.. The price isnt an issue unless its above 180 or so but would prefer something around half that.
 
Would like to get suggestions on sound cards and headphone amps for both headphones if possible..
 
thanks for any advice, help with this.. I am really wanting to get everything out of these headphones. I've been told that my headset (the HD558's) need an amp and sound card to really get everything out of it and figured the PC 350's might need the same

 

[Trendkill]

My wife and I just got our tax refund and I have the green light to spend some dough. My max budget is $500 (that includes an amp if needed)
 
What I listen to: Opeth, Porcupine Tree, Pantera, Metallica, Megadeth, AC/DC, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, ZZ Top, Boston, Zeppelin, Sabbath, Floyd, Cloudkicker, SRV, Tool, Van Halen, Dave Brubeck, Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, Pat Martino, Kurt Rosenwinkel.
 
I currently have the ATH M50S. While I really like the sound for all genres, I just know there is something missing, like some of the mids!
 
I will be listening at home at my desk using FLAC or 320 Mp3's. 
 
What I want: Detail, Instrument separation, quality mids, Controlled bass that can go deep and most importantly - comfort. I have a big head and I wear glasses. I would be using these for movies and gaming so I have to be able to wear them for long periods of time. I do not want anything that would be considered "veiled" either. I want clarity. Oops- I almost forgot to mention - the headphones MUST be OPEN. 
 
I would be willing to skip out on an amp if it meant getting the right headphones right now. I can always save a little and get a proper amp later. 
 
Please do not recommend anything that costs more than my budget - I can't spend more right now.
 
I welcome responses via PM. Thanks for looking.

 

[viralcow]

Quote:

My wife and I just got our tax refund and I have the green light to spend some dough. My max budget is $500 (that includes an amp if needed)
 
What I listen to: Opeth, Porcupine Tree, Pantera, Metallica, Megadeth, AC/DC, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, ZZ Top, Boston, Zeppelin, Sabbath, Floyd, Cloudkicker, SRV, Tool, Van Halen, Dave Brubeck, Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, Pat Martino, Kurt Rosenwinkel.
 
I currently have the ATH M50S. While I really like the sound for all genres, I just know there is something missing, like some of the mids!
 
I will be listening at home at my desk using FLAC or 320 Mp3's. 
 
What I want: Detail, Instrument separation, quality mids, Controlled bass that can go deep and most importantly - comfort. I have a big head and I wear glasses. I would be using these for movies and gaming so I have to be able to wear them for long periods of time. I do not want anything that would be considered "veiled" either. I want clarity. Oops- I almost forgot to mention - the headphones MUST be OPEN. 
 
I would be willing to skip out on an amp if it meant getting the right headphones right now. I can always save a little and get a proper amp later. 
 
Please do not recommend anything that costs more than my budget - I can't spend more right now.
 
I welcome responses via PM. Thanks for looking.

 
Get an AKG Q701 for $200 and get a good amp. Low-budget amps like the Fiio E9/E10 is the minimum to drive these but they open up more with amps in the $200-300 range. 

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

I am not too sure if this is the right area but I have a question and am looking for suggestions on sound card and headphone amp options.
 
Me and a friend have a pair of Sennheiser headphones he has the PC 350's and I have the HD558's... My question is: Is a sound card going to help these headphones at all? And if so which sound cards would be best? I have been looking around and only see asus or creative and have heard some big negatives about both.. The price isnt an issue unless its above 180 or so but would prefer something around half that.
 
Would like to get suggestions on sound cards and headphone amps for both headphones if possible..
 
thanks for any advice, help with this.. I am really wanting to get everything out of these headphones. I've been told that my headset (the HD558's) need an amp and sound card to really get everything out of it and figured the PC 350's might need the same

There are spcific forum sections for computer audio and amps.  Also you might want to check out the appreciation thread for HD 598.

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

My wife and I just got our tax refund and I have the green light to spend some dough. My max budget is $500 (that includes an amp if needed)
 
What I listen to: Opeth, Porcupine Tree, Pantera, Metallica, Megadeth, AC/DC, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, ZZ Top, Boston, Zeppelin, Sabbath, Floyd, Cloudkicker, SRV, Tool, Van Halen, Dave Brubeck, Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, Pat Martino, Kurt Rosenwinkel.
 
I currently have the ATH M50S. While I really like the sound for all genres, I just know there is something missing, like some of the mids!
 
I will be listening at home at my desk using FLAC or 320 Mp3's. 
 
What I want: Detail, Instrument separation, quality mids, Controlled bass that can go deep and most importantly - comfort. I have a big head and I wear glasses. I would be using these for movies and gaming so I have to be able to wear them for long periods of time. I do not want anything that would be considered "veiled" either. I want clarity. Oops- I almost forgot to mention - the headphones MUST be OPEN. 
 
I would be willing to skip out on an amp if it meant getting the right headphones right now. I can always save a little and get a proper amp later. 
 
Please do not recommend anything that costs more than my budget - I can't spend more right now.
 
I welcome responses via PM. Thanks for looking.

The very efficient Grado RS 2i is an excellent cans, but comfort is an issue you will have to personally resolve.  There are folks on both sides of the comfort issue--which I will say one more time on this thread--is a very individual thing.
 
The Q701 is one of the best every day values that currently exist.  However, coming from the M-50, I doubt that it will have enough bass for you.  The K 702 65th Annies limited edition are a better match, but they cost significantly more than the Q 701, even on sale, and need as amp just as much.
 
The DT 880 (+/- Pro) in 250 or 600 Ohm versions are also excellent--and need amping as well.

 

[bumonskateboard]

Okay posting my first post in here after reading around a lot, so hi to everyone.
 
I'm looking to get a setup in the ~$1000 range (might go a little more for the right setup). I find myself listening to music roughly 6-8 hours a day as I work online right now, and think it's time to get a nice set of headphones. Currently I own Bose QC15, Bowers & Wilkins P5, and some SOL Republic Tracks HD, but I want to move to something a bit better. Right now I use a laptop, so using a full size desktop amplifier is rather difficult so I think I might be stuck to a portable amp, and I will need some suggestions on those as well. The headphones I'm looking at right now are:
 
Hifiman HE-500
Audeze LCD-2
Grado GS1000i
Sennheiser HD650
 
 
Basically what I'm trying to decide is should I go for a priceier headphone and run it off a more affordable amp, or go for some hifiman or sennheiser and buy a slightly nicer amp. I know it's probably over said here but I do listen to everything from classical to dubstep so I'm trying to find a good "all around" headphone. 
Thanks!

 

[dryvadeum]

Okay posting my first post in here after reading around a lot, so hi to everyone.

I'm looking to get a setup in the ~$1000 range (might go a little more for the right setup). I find myself listening to music roughly 6-8 hours a day as I work online right now, and think it's time to get a nice set of headphones. Currently I own Bose QC15, Bowers & Wilkins P5, and some SOL Republic Tracks HD, but I want to move to something a bit better. Right now I use a laptop, so using a full size desktop amplifier is rather difficult so I think I might be stuck to a portable amp, and I will need some suggestions on those as well. The headphones I'm looking at right now are:

Hifiman HE-500
Audeze LCD-2
Grado GS1000i
Sennheiser HD650


Basically what I'm trying to decide is should I go for a priceier headphone and run it off a more affordable amp, or go for some hifiman or sennheiser and buy a slightly nicer amp. I know it's probably over said here but I do listen to everything from classical to dubstep so I'm trying to find a good "all around" headphone. 
Thanks!

Definitely buy better headphones.

 

[eucariote]

Quote:

Definitely buy better headphones.

 
X10

 

[bumonskateboard]

Quote:

Definitely buy better headphones.

 
Quote:

 
X10

Alright that brings it to the LCD-2 and the GS1000i then, anyone have any opinion on these two? Or any other pair that's right around $1000?

 

[dryvadeum]

Alright that brings it to the LCD-2 and the GS1000i then, anyone have any opinion on these two? Or any other pair that's right around $1000?

Ive never heard either of them but from what Ive read Id pick up the Lcd 2's as I prefer a darker bassier sound signature.

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

Quote:

Definitely buy better headphones.

 
Quote:

 
X10

Alright that brings it to the LCD-2 and the GS1000i then, anyone have any opinion on these two? Or any other pair that's right around $1000?

You can't properly drive the nearly $1,000 planar LCD-2 without a decent (probably desktop) amp--so strike it.
 
If I were you, I'd get the HE 500 and something like the new Asgard 2 desktop amp.  This assumes you already have a good DAC--built in or otherwise--and are OK with heavier planar cans on your head for the length of your listening sessions.
 
Also study this:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/634201/battle-of-the-flagships-57-headphones-compared-update-hifiman-he-400-added-12-24-12#user_HE400