[KG Jag]

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Given your limited budget for an amp/dac, you should check out the Hi-Fi Man EF2A and what Topping products that are available.
 
The O2 is also good, but leaves you almost nothing for a separate DAC.  The Magni/Modi Schiit stack at $198 is just above your budget.

Is the EF2A worth the money?  I've read such mixed reviews on it.  I'm looking ot try a tube amp as I've never experienced one before.  I saw this on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/SainSmart-Assembled-Headphone-Amplifier-Transformer/dp/B008BGLN5G/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1368102719&sr=1-1&keywords=sainsmart+headphone  And was curious.  I know nothing of them so I wanted an opinion on a good starter Headphone amp.  They'll be hooked up to my e07k (DAC) and driving my grado 225i's or hd280 pros.
 
Thanks!

I have two of them and have not had any issues with either--at least in the way I use them.  I don't have much use (so far) for the DAC section, but I very much like the amp section of this little tube/solid state hybrid amp.  It works great with my DT 880 Pro (250 Ohms) and other cans that need an amp.  They also took some of the treble sharpness of the 325is and (for the price) made that can into a great "rock your world" headphone.  This little amp is powerful enough to properly drive the HD 600, but not the HE 500.
 
That said, the 225i (your best can) does not really need much, if any, amping and is not as bright as its big brother.  As a result, it's a close call with regard to whether or not you should shell out the cash for this or almost any amp or amp/dac in this price range.  On the other hand, if you want to dip you toe into the water, this is a good and versatile product with which to start.

 

[Zixdey]

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Given your limited budget for an amp/dac, you should check out the Hi-Fi Man EF2A and what Topping products that are available.
 
The O2 is also good, but leaves you almost nothing for a separate DAC.  The Magni/Modi Schiit stack at $198 is just above your budget.

 
Considering the fact that I can go slightly over budget, would you recommend the Magni/Modi pair?

 

[BigCabDaddy]

Is the EF2A worth the money?  I've read such mixed reviews on it.  I'm looking ot try a tube amp as I've never experienced one before.  I saw this on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/SainSmart-Assembled-Headphone-Amplifier-Transformer/dp/B008BGLN5G/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1368102719&sr=1-1&keywords=sainsmart+headphone

  And was curious.  I know nothing of them so I wanted an opinion on a good starter Headphone amp.  They'll be hooked up to my e07k (DAC) and driving my grado 225i's or hd280 pros.

Thanks!

The Aune T1 gets lots of raves here if your looking for tube equipment. Interestingly, it's tube dac and ss amp.

 

[szwety]

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I have two of them and have not had any issues with either--at least in the way I use them.  I don't have much use (so far) for the DAC section, but I very much like the amp section of this little tube/solid state hybrid amp.  It works great with my DT 880 Pro (250 Ohms) and other cans that need an amp.  They also took some of the treble sharpness of the 325is and (for the price) made that can into a great "rock your world" headphone.  This little amp is powerful enough to properly drive the HD 600, but not the HE 500.
 
That said, the 225i (your best can) does not really need much, if any, amping and is not as bright as its big brother.  As a result, it's a close call with regard to whether or not you should shell out the cash for this or almost any amp or amp/dac in this price range.  On the other hand, if you want to dip you toe into the water, this is a good and versatile product with which to star

Good point.  I like the 225i's and might upgrade throughout the grado line, but I haven't tried enough phones to figure out exactly what to get next.  I think my next purchase will probably be the q701's once I find a good deal on them. and then eventually a pair of HE-400's.  So this thing would come into play at some point.  But holding out seems to be a good idea for now.  I was just trying to find a cheap tube AMP to add a little flair to my setup.  I've seen the bravo audio v1 and the one i've linked to in my post.  I don't really need the DAC piece as I genuinely enjoy my e07k at this point.

 

[KG Jag]

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Given your limited budget for an amp/dac, you should check out the Hi-Fi Man EF2A and what Topping products that are available.
 
The O2 is also good, but leaves you almost nothing for a separate DAC.  The Magni/Modi Schiit stack at $198 is just above your budget.

 
Considering the fact that I can go slightly over budget, would you recommend the Magni/Modi pair?

I have not owned or used them--so can only say that I have been well satisfied with my upline Schiit Asgard 1 and Lyr to date.

 

[TheArguer]

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Well, you have a few options. Firstly is the Shure SRH750DJ. A bassy, warm headphone, with outstanding value. Next is the Ultrasone PRO 550. Pretty balanced sound, with forward mids, and sorta laid back highs. Bass is just right, but not basshead. As well, there is the Audio Technica ATH-A700X. It's bass is a wee bit more than neutral, with slightly recessed upper mids and a peak at around 8K in the highs, but overall a soothing headphone. Lastly, you have the Ultrasone HFI 580, with a nice bass, a recessed midrange (more forward in the upper midrange though) and pretty piercing, harsh highs. An extremely fun headphone for dubstep. 
 
P.S. none of these will need an amp except the PRO 550 (but a little portable amp like an E11, Cmoy BB or a PA2V2 will do the job).

I could be wrong, but I think these are all too bass-heavy. I want to be able to listen to alternative, indie, pop, soul, funk, R&B, other genres, random YouTube videos, etc., while still having a headphone that sounds good with electronic music. Neutral is just too boring, what I really want is balance. I headphones that I can throw any genre at, but something that still sounds exceptional with electronic, considering that's what I listen to most of the time. With my budget and the requirements I listed in my last post, maybe my expectations are too high? 
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You say you're going to use them at home, and yet you don't like the way the M50s look... does looks really matter if you're using them in private?
 
 I don't know all that much about headphones that work with glasses, though. The best option would be something with huge earcups with minimal clamping force - something like the DT880, but that's outside your budget, and needs an amp. That also rules out the M50s, which has decent clamping and will probably hurt after an hour or so. The K272HD might be a good choice as it is very light on clamping but its sound signature is completely neutral, not suited for edm&house.
 
I might get flamed for saying this, but your best bet might be the SL300.

I see your point, but that's not how I feel. I'm not trying to impress other people with the looks of my headphones. If I'm not a fan of the way a certain pair of headphones looks when I'm in public, wouldn't I feel the same way in private? They don't look any better when I'm the only person around. I can easily look past that issue if the M50's suit my needs, they're not hideous, but they don't. 
 
They look pretty big, but I really like the AKGs, wish they weren't so neutral. Really don't want noise canceling (or rapper endorsed headphones), so no on the SL300.
 
Other ideas?

 

[cel4145]

Neutral is just too boring, what I really want is balance.

Sounds like what you mean by balance is a headphone that has the right tonal response to suit you. After all, a neutral response is an equally balanced frequency response across the audio spectrum. You'll have to describe what balance means to you in terms of bass, mids, and high emphasis.

 

[claud W]

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Both are excellent.   Ignoring the significant price difference, I'd go with the HD 800.  However, you need to upgrade your entry level desktop equipment to make them worth your while. 

Oddly enough, I rather like my stack of Shiit. The wires are actually worth more than the amp and DAC, and then there are the Amprex halo getter 6922s. I guess you could say that this is a Bifrost Uber and Lyr taken to the limit, With the very revealing, HD 800s I could get a bit more out of my tube collection. What about the LCD-2s? I have heard that they are great for rock, what about Jazz?

 

[slytherin]

Would i need an amp with the beyerdynamic dt770/250 ohms?

 

[TheArguer]

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Sounds like what you mean by balance is a headphone that has the right tonal response to suit you. After all, a neutral response is an equally balanced frequency response across the audio spectrum. You'll have to describe what balance means to you in terms of bass, mids, and high emphasis.

You're right. I was kinda hoping somebody else would know what I wanted or would figure out this balance for me. I know what highs, lows, and mids are, but I'm not sure how to find that "right tonal response." There's no trick to it, is there?

 

[Zixdey]

I have not owned or used them--so can only say that I have been well satisfied with my upline Schiit Asgard 1 and Lyr to date.

Well, I got the HD 600 for a good price, so I went ahead and ordered Schiit Magni + Mobi. Just a tad over budget, but seems like the best bang for my buck at this price range.

Thanks a bunch for the helpful advice!

 

[slytherin]

I just have come to some money and now by budget is 350 dollars, is buying a can of 350 dollars better than buying the ma900s and the jvc S500? Also I don't want to use an amp, onlyif extremely necessary, I am going to be listening with an ipod iphone ipad or mac, and listen to many genres of music, but mostly classic rock, which is the best option for a 350 dollars pair of cans? I already have the m50s and I enjoy them,if needed I could maybe spend 400

 

[ElectriKip]

I've posted in this thread before, but at the time I had a much broader selection of headphones that I was considering and since then I've narrowed my search down to three headphones, all pretty different from the other, so I figured it would be appropriate to post here again. Plus, posting again will hopefully get a few more perspectives and opinions from different people which is exactly what I'm looking for. Also, I'm no audiophile, so please don't hate me if the decision is blatantly obvious to some of you as to which headphones I should invest in.

So here're the contestants. The Sony MDR-V55, the Sennheiser HD 449, and the Monster Inspiration. I know they're not all the best headphones out there, and I know they're all considerably different from each other. But these are my choices for various reasons, and that's that. Besides, anything's better than what I have now. Anyway, I would be using the headphones for producing electronic music at home so a more neutral, balanced sound is desired, I don't have an amp and I would prefer not to get one though if I needed to I'd try to look for one, over the ear and closed headphones are more to my liking but that could be substituted for the overall quality of the headphones if needed.. and am I missing any other specifications? I don't think so, as the price isn't an issue really, so I have no budget. Thank you for any replies, I'm not sure what I should do.

TL;DR, the Sony MDR-V55, the Sennheiser HD 449, and the Monster Inspiration - what's a better balanced/neutral sound to be used for producing electronic music in a home environment?

 

[JamesB123]

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The Downtowns are excellent as far as isolation and leakage are concerned.  According to innerfidelity's measurements (http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/PhilipsCityscapeDowntown.pdf for the Downtowns and look for the other data sheets as needed), their 16dB broadband isolation is better than that of the Sennheiser Amperior (13dB), equal to that of the Sennheiser HD-25-I II (16dB), but worse than that of the Beyerdynamic ST1350 (19dB).  These three are considered to be excellent isolating headphones.  (Note, however, that the broadband measurement is a coarse measure that does not capture isolation at different frequencies.)  The Downtown was also designed specifically to reduce leakage.  See a discussion of this "MusicSeal" feature in Tyl Herstens's review at http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/philips-citiscape-downtown.  If you need an isolating headphone and do not expect a neutral presentation, the Downtowns make a very good choice for the price. It is my favorite travel can.  I can use it on a plane, and I do not miss my better headphones if I want to listen to 320kbs MP3 from a laptop or a phone for several days in a hotel room.

Thanks for the reply. I thought I'd updated this, but obviously I hadn't. I plumped for the Uptowns as they look bigger and sturdier. Hopefully they're just as good as the Downtowns at the above.

 

[Nath]

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Originally Posted by Nath /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
...
 
I need closed headphones, and while I'm not too big on bass, I'd like something balanced. I listen to a wide variety of music, but am kind of skewed toward classical and orchestral. I also use them for general computer use and some gaming. My upper limit is $100 $150, but if I spend that much I'd really like something that will last me.
 
Thanks for your time!

 
Bumping this with a new question. I'm really leaning toward the Shure SRH440s at the moment, but I see that on Amazon you can currently get the AKG K271 MK IIs, which are normally double the price, for only $130. From what I've searched on these forums, the seller, SMICorp, seems legitimate. Are the 271 Mk IIs a drastic upgrade? They both have replaceable cables, which I'm looking for, but if I can get a pair of $300 headphones for $130, it seems like a great opportunity.
 
Shure SRH440 vs AKG K 271 MK II?