Give me a running start, audiophiles!

[Nanago]

Alright, first off I'll make it clear that this is another "help the new guy out" thread, if you haven't already gotten that message from the title. Now, since I'm slacking off right now, I'll make a nice detailed little explanation of how I got involved with Audiophilia.

---If not interested in a kid reminiscing about his short life span, skip this part---

I'm 15 and ever since I was a little kid, I've had a problem with listening to music through speakers, headphones, or earbuds. It might have had something to do with having above average hearing, sensitive ears, or the Water and Power building right across the street of my house that lead to me developing a mild case of tinnitus. So as a kid through 13 years of my life, I avoided listening to music through anything but open instruments like the plague. Having relatives and a brother who listened to music like Linkin Park or whatever happened to be popular at the time through noisy/crappy car speakers didn't help. Only music I could stand was the sound of live instruments like my early piano playing and later violin playing. By the time I hit 7th grade, I joined orchestra, and continued growing musically (at least in terms of classical music). Music started sounding good, and got used to the noise made by my tinnitus(which still bothers me in times of silence). By high school I decided to buy an iPod shuffle and started widening my collection to beyond the OSTs of games I played and classical music. Buying a shuffle was a waste. My ears couldn't stand the buds nor how the music sounded. Used them for the whole of about 4 hours total and forget about them.
Listening to music through my Sony Laptop was bearable at 15. My music collection grew and I decided to test my luck and get a slightly higher quality pair of buds (Denon c351 $50, 2nd worst cord design ever and almost useless without a extension cord, makes an annoying noise when the extension cord isn't strapped down). While buying the Denons, I saw a Bose display and it was playing Chopin's Etude #3 in E, Op 10/3 on the Triports. As it was one of my favorite piano cantabile solo, I decided to slip in a hearing.

Whoa. Wow. Hand me a tissue, I just creamed my pants.

First thing I noticed was the comfort. Played around with it a bit and then clicked the play button. Needless to say, the canals of my ears which had winced and avoided the sounds of all other headphones and speakers like the plague, decided that music was orgasmic. For around 30 minutes I just stood and tested out the Bose line. After that a sales rep tried to sell me a pair and I beat a hasty retreat.

---You may read again now---

So after trying the Bose line and deciding my ears were lobbying my brain pretty bad for a pair of orgasmic headphones, and naturally, I browsed the net for reviews. Surprise, surprise, turns out Bose wasn't the cream of the crop. So in searching I've found several headphones and, being unable to listen to any of these, I've decided to let you head-fiers choose which pair takes the chastity of my virgin ears.

So-o-o on to the specifications:
- My budget as a student is tight, and relatively speaking, above 300$ and my parents will have a heart attack.
- I listen to music from my Vaio FE-690 series and my iPod Touch. No amps whatsoever YET, cause I decided I would build up my system one at a time.
- Closed or Open phones are what I'm looking for, trust with earbuds have gone with my Denon c351s, and I prefer Closed simply because I've always preferred enjoying my hobbies alone and the isolation would help.
- No portables, cause the school I go to has a tendency to make people lose stuff in the bags of other students.
- Music preference: I dislike bass heavy, metal, heavy metal, most electronic, country, and hoarse screaming male vocals. Basically. I listen to a small amount of classical, jazz, a sprinkling of hip-hop/rap, loads of OSTs from various games/anime/movies/etc but what my ears seem to crave are lush, rich female vocals.
- Nothing like "try this or that before going further" because my ears are spoiled. Ever since I've tried out those Bose, everything else sound like cheap goods to me.

So far I've looked at the ATH-A900/ESW9/W1000(Way outta budget though, if you say it's worth it, I might got for it), Seinheiser 580 (not preferred), several Grados, the AKG 240S/271S/701(Outta budget, not as willing to go for it), Denon D2000s, and several others. Only considering buying an amp together with the phones: AKG 240S/Grados SR-60s.

If you've read this far, then I beg of you help me out. My ears can't wait much longer.

 

[Tomikans]

Yes, triports are alright in sound but the price just doesn't justify it. when i listened to them, it felt like the bass was over exaggerated and no sense of balance. The on ears are much more worse too. There are way better alternatives that have a smaller price tag.

"try this or that before going further"
sorry but i'm going to type this. Listen to suggestions, but don't buy them. Listen to them first.. If you can't audition them, buy them and use that 30 day return policy.

I Prefer the grado sound.
try some sr60's , then the sr80's. or even the ms1's

 

[MaloS]

K271s might be the best item for you - no brightness nor extra strength in bass and great midrange, one of the better cans for classical, especially in its price range. HD580/600 which you apparently are not keen on is actually another very inoffensive, relaxed can that reproduces classical/jazz very very well...if I did not need small closed can, I would stick to it myself.

ESW9 is fairly bassy, but relaxed. You decide if you can deal with the bass, but to compare things, its bass quantity will probably sound similar to Bose, although far more qualitative and across the spectrum things are smoother...but the thing is, if you are fine with just using phones at home, HD600/K271s are the better choice, so I generally would recommend against it. (I use one, but I also mainly listen to goa-psy, with jazz/classical being only in 2nd place for listening time).

Oh god no don't try Grado's, they are good with rock/metal...and their top item, RS-1 is good with strings/small band jazz, but you can do better for the money for classical if you consider lower end items.

If k701/w1000 are out of budget already, don't bother with them. They are finnicky about source and amplification material.

Keep Denon D2000 on your radar just because, but be careful, they are fairly bassy.

That's about it. If you really crave for female vocals - one word: midrange. K271 and HD580/600 are the best choices for that purpose out of what you seem to be able to afford.

 

[Nanago]

Thanks for the replies guys, I've managed to kick the Grado's off my list. However, I forgot to mention this, but how comfortable are some of these phones? I've seen some threads about the 580s and people complain about how they dig into your head. I don't want to get headphones only to get tired of them just because some minor comfort issues.

Also, the s271s, how good are they, and should I get an amp with them?

 

[-=Germania=-]

I would highly reccomend the audio techincas for your purpose. They make some of the best closed headphones. They don't sound closed by any means.

If you can, get the a900. If not, the a700 is 90% of a a900.

 

[Fungi]

The "mainstream" ATs I've heard had a funky way-too-airy and thin sound. Honestly, I think you'd like the Etymotic ER-4 from what I've read around. I know you want full size, but maybe give it a chance?

 

[-=Germania=-]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fungi /img/forum/go_quote.gif The "mainstream" ATs I've heard had a funky way-too-airy and thin sound. Honestly, I think you'd like the Etymotic ER-4 from what I've read around. I know you want full size, but maybe give it a chance?

You forget sir, my main headphones are k400's - I like nice big soundstage.

I have im716's and have heard ety4's many times. They are OK for classical, they do not have soundstage or big bass. The 271s would work very well, but they are heavy on your head. The AT's are light, closed, and have soundstage. They are some of the best when it comes to unamped full-sized ans. When you add that there is a need for closed, the two options are AT and AKG271s for great sound.

The akg 271s while being a bit hefty - will never break down on you. They are true studio monitors and are that durable.

 

[Nanago]

Agh, back to 271s vs. A900, my original dilemma. If anyone has both would they mind giving me a good comparison? How is the 271 heavy on the head? Are they uncomfortable after a few hours of listening because they stomp on you or do they just make it hard to move about with the phones on?

Also, how would the 271s compare with the K601s? K601s are only relatively more expensive and would a 271S with an entry level amp (say a cMoy or Little Dot MKI/II) be able to compare?

 

[Covenant]

At this price range, everything is going to have some sort of drawback. I would have reccomended the SR60's myself, as they have that Grado house sound of warm, lively musicality that lends itself well to female vocals.

However, soundstage and instrument seperation are almost non-existant. They're also very spartan headphones that dont attribute well to comfort, IMO (with the bowls anyway, which again IMO give the best instrument seperation and detail).

My only experience with Audio Technicas are their higher end models, but i've noted that they seem to have a 'house sound' of mellow, laid-back, soothing non-offensiveness that lets you sink into the music. Not sure how much of this is sacrificed on their lower end models though.

Sennheiser appealed to me as the best blend of musicality, ease of listening, soundstage, instrument seperation and detail, with their HD600. However this is subjective.

The ideal is to listen to a few before you buy. Do you have any hi-fi stores nearby that allow you to demo headphones? Or local head-fi meets in the planning? Once you've heard a few yourself you get a much better impression of the sort of sound you're after.

 

[dcpoor]

my head is hueg and i have no fit or comfort issues with the hd580/600/650's, in fact they're downright comfortable for me.

while k701's barely fit when tilted the right way and k240's are a bit too small.

lol

 

[Fungi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by -=Germania=- /img/forum/go_quote.gif You forget sir, my main headphones are k400's - I like nice big soundstage.

I use the K501 and AD2000 myself, but I just couldn't like any of the lower end ATH cans. YMMV, of course.

 

[facelvega]

Easy. For your tastes and situation, I'd get some vintage Stax, maybe an SR-5, with an SRD-6 or 7 transformer box. It'd beat anything mentioned so far, and it's too heavy to steal. You'd need to add in an amp; something small and cheap like a T-amp will still leave you at a little over $200 all told. That leaves you $100 to start thinking about improving your awful sources. The only thing the Stax doesn't satisfy is that it's open, but otherwise it'd be a nice fit, unless of course by nothing portable you mean something biggish but portable.

 

[Nanago]

Stax? Haven't heard of those much, wouldn't mind adding them to my list of potentials. However, ultimately I would want either the A900 or the K271S I think. Just a matter of choosing between which midrange sounds better and which is more comfortable I think.

So people, A900 or AKG 271S, what is the verdict? Anyone tested both on vocals/classical/overall all types of music? I'd like a firm grip on which is better than the other at which.

P.S. Where would the best place to buy these phones be? I think I would prefer New 'cause I'm a little OCD about being first-hand owner. Would buy used if price and condition was worth it.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nanago /img/forum/go_quote.gif P.S. Where would the best place to buy these phones be? I think I would prefer New 'cause I'm a little OCD about being first-hand owner. Would buy used if price and condition was worth it.

Try one of the Head-Fi sponsors, like HeadRoom or Todd the Vinyl Junkie. Both have given me great service and I'll buy from them again.

Though buying used isn't bad, either. My collection is about 50/50 new and used. I haven't had any problems with used ones, either. You'll find good deals in the For Sale Forum and it helps out a Head-Fi'er when you buy there.

 

[cyberidd]

I haven't had any experience with the A900's but the A700's are great. They are very good for female vocals (listening to Celtic Women on them is mouth watering). They do have a pretty big soundstage (they sound like you're listening from a ways back from the music, like a live show).
Good luck!