Going crazy here...

[Squirsier]

...looking for a new pair of headphones to buy, mainly to be used for music listening, no production

I thought I'd like to get comments from people here who have been using several pairs...

First things first.... I own a pair of Grado SR60, Sennheiser HD280 Pro, Sony MDR71, which are the ones I mostly use.

Now, I love the SR60, but... I wish it had a bit more bass. The Senns are nice, but too flat (great for when I make music, not so great for listening). I don't mind the closed back tho ears gets hot after a while. The Sony MDR71 are "nice", but lack in middles imho...

I know these 3 heapdhones are different. Open, Closed and Earphone. So in the new headphones I am looking for, I don't mind them being open, closed or earphone style, altho isolation is nice.

I had been looking at the Grado Sr225, Ultrasone HIFI 550, the AKG K 171 and the Klipsch Custom 2.

All are around the same price range, from 100 to 200$, which is what I am willing to spend

I have been reading reviews all week, and I am going crazy trying to decide. IF I could try these out before buying, that would solve a problem...

So, considering what I have been using, what do you guys suggest for something with a bit more bass than the SR60, but that would keep the tonal qualities of the mids and highs, for 100 to 200$ ?

Thank you

-Squirsier

 

[jgonino]

Sounds like you should just get another grado. I know the sr80 has more bass than the sr60, but i am not sure about the 225. Some say it is the sweet spot i the grado line, others say it sucks.

 

[Squirsier]

I forgot to mention, I also own a pair of Sennheiser PX100. I used to like these a lot for the bass (amazing), but the mids and highs are meh...

So huh.... anything exists that sounds like the bass of the px100 and the mids/high of the SR60?

Thanks again,

-Squirsier

 

[jgonino]

I am thinking sr80. It is the same as a sr60, but it has some more bass volume and punch.

 

[Squirsier]

I've seen that you've been recommending the SR80s a lot. I wish I would have got those instead of the sr60... heh

Now, I added to my list, the senn's hd25-1-11 and the new m-audio Q40... Gosh, I am SO far away from deciding

Too much good music out there, too much good cans

Thanks,

-Squirsier

 

[Squirsier]

Oh yeah, and the Beyerdynamics DJX-1 heh it never ends... It's gonna be a great showdown!

 

[tjohnusa]

What kind of music do you like?

 

[Squirsier]

I listen to mostly "electronica" music. That is, ambient, trance, psy(trance, chedelic, prog, dub), IDM (a lot), drum & bass, chillout, etc...

From a review of the m-audio q40 I read from here it appeared that it was pretty good at rendering IDM music...

What would you recommend then?

Thank you!

-Squirsier

 

[LaBreaHead]

Add the Future Sonics Atrio M5 IEMs to your list for consideration -- two definite steps up (at least) from the Sony earphones (I own both, as well as the PX100's, which I like a lot), good isolation, and unlike many in-ear earphones, very musical and listenable over extended listening sessions (even a bit of soundstage, compared to many in-ears). (I've listened on five-hour plane flights to random mixes including electronica, rock, 60's soul/R&B, world music, indie rock and classic rock, and the M5s do a nice job unamped on iPods, Sandisks, and other brands of players.) Not "real" headphones, of course, but not too far removed at that price point. Not quite the mids and highs of Grados, for example, but a lot smaller and more comfortable.

Rather than comparing them to Grados, I'd say they are everything you like about the PX100s, but with more detail, clarity and isolation. Versatile enough to listen to at home, if you want -- they make household chores a lot more pleasant, that's for certain.


__________________________
Phones (in order of purchase):
Sony MDR71, Sony MDR51, Etymotic ER6, Panasonic RP-HJ50, Shure E3C, Koss PortaPro 2, Creative EP630, Etymotic ER6i, Sennheiser PX-100, Sennheiser HD555, Future Sonics Atrio M5

 

[Squirsier]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LaBreaHead /img/forum/go_quote.gif Rather than comparing them to Grados, I'd say they are everything you like about the PX100s, but with more detail, clarity and isolation. Versatile enough to listen to at home, if you want -- they make household chores a lot more pleasant, that's for certain.

Thanks for your reply! I will definitly check those out (already on their website

) and add them to my way too long list... hello wallet, how fat you are today, how thin you'll be tomorrow...

Thanks again,

-Squirsier

 

[jgonino]

Wait, if you like electronic music. I would go with the Beyer Dt770. Really good with that genre.

 

[Luckyleo]

I love my Grado 325i's. The bass is really impactful, but solid and controlled. I don't think you'd go wrong if you wanted to buy one of those used.

 

[Squirsier]

I thought I'd update my first thread here on head-fi with what I ended up buying over the last few months after I posted my initial post about my quest for a better headphone...

So I listened to a few comments and got the DT770 Pro... nice... bass very booming, recessed mids tho, but pretty good highs... Oops... problem. They're closed back, which means I can't use them while gently rocking myself in my favorite lazy-boy chair while I have my head against the headrest because all I hear is scratching noises the headphones makes by making contact with the chair. Microphonics FTL! Since most of my listening is done in that chair...

Alright then. How 'bout IEMS... Got me a pair of Sleek Audio SA6... lovely, great customer service but wait... during passages of music loaded with different electronic sound, the sound lose all cohesion...

Okay then.... Triple.Fi, I have been recommended... Frankly love those, but at first had issues with fit, where they always felt like they were gonna fall off my ears.... so meanwhile, I went for...

Yuin PK1s! But hey... I'm trying to stop smoking, so why not give myself an incentive by purchasing a pair of Grado Sr325i while the PK1s are coming my way... Oh noes... Don't like them... In fact, the more they burn in, the more I hate them... Oh but the PK1s on the other hand... niiice.... But huh, yeah, less bass than Triple.Fi.

So, while I wait for new sleeves for the Triple.Fi (the dual flange ones I use have been worn down since last week), I got myself a pair of AKG k141s... which I also did consider back in january along with the k 171.

Over the ear, so I can use them with my lazy boy chair. Bass just like I love it, the mids, I don't know yet, either recessed or forward, hard to tell, considering I've been using the Triple.Fis a lot, which is what I can mostly compare it to. Treble is great and soundstage is adequate!

Dang. I found my pair! :O Well, I still have silver cables coming up for the Triple.Fi which will, apparently, extend the soundstage and detail, can't wait to hear...

But it took me almost 8 months to go full circle and go back to one model I was thinking of in the beginning...

It's been really fun tho, love the community here