Grado, Senns or Beyer?
Dec 27, 2002 at 5:45 PM Post #16 of 32
Quote:

Originally posted by MartinB
But if I buy HD600 or HD580 I will have to buy a headphone amp?


I think you have or will have an amp, supposedly with a headphone jack...? The HD 580/600 do not necessarily need a dedicated headphone amp to sound good, but if you want the best sound they can provide, they in fact need some – a bit more so than most other cans.
Quote:

Is HD590 a better option then? But I still like the sound of Grados=)...


Which Grados do you know? If you like them, go for them! I got mine at eBay for good prices. The 225 is quite neutral, just the mids lack a bit resolution, while the more detailed 325 lacks neutrality... Both have an impressing bass, and if it's not too much for you, I think you will be happy, say, with the energetic SR-325, which surely is great for hip-hop and not too critical in terms of amps.

The HD 590 is a serious option too, of course, if you like a more bright and forward sound – I just haven't heard it so far.

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JaZZ
 
Dec 27, 2002 at 9:00 PM Post #18 of 32
I do not intend to heat the discussion but
Grado bass is tighter, faster and 'cleaner' compared to the HD-600. If this is the criterion, I'd say stay away from the Senns unless you intend to upgrade the cable and get an expensive amp (none of which I've done yet, but crossing my fingers for for the future).

If I could keep one and only one headphone, it would be a Grado, no contest.
 
Dec 27, 2002 at 10:28 PM Post #19 of 32
I live in Denmark and it's the same here: Grados are way more expensive than Senns. The grado SR125 cost exactly the same as a pair of HD600's, which is about $278. Roughly, I think you have 2 options here:

1. This is your last headphone related equipment, you'll ever buy or you simply don't want to spend more than your $300. Then a pair of Grados are really a good choice because they can deliver great sound out of almost everything. Where I live, you could get the SR125's.

2. You're a mad HiFi nerd who wants to spend a lot of money on upgrades. Then a pair of HD600's are a good choice. They may not sound as good as a pair of SR125's out of your regular amp's headphone out, but out of, let's say, a HA-1 or maybe a HA-2, things are starting to change. You could also consider cable upgrades, but I don't really have any experiences with them.

I used to own the Grado SR60's, but now I've replaced them with the HD600's and a Creek OBH-11SE headphone amplifier. It sounds good, but I'm not quite satisfied. The amp simply can't handle the HD600's. I paid $305 for the OBH-11SE and I think you'll have to spend a lot more on your amp if you want your HD600's to make sweet music.

BTW. I never no experince with Beyers. Sorry
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Dec 27, 2002 at 10:37 PM Post #20 of 32
Quote:

I think you have or will have an amp, supposedly with a headphone jack...? The HD 580/600 do not necessarily need a dedicated headphone amp to sound good, but if you want the best sound they can provide, they in fact need some – a bit more so than most other cans.


Yeah, I have a headphone jack on my amp. What model from Grado do you recommend for me? In sweden SR325 cost's about 450 dollars=(...and SR125 230 dollars=(....hmm...
I don't think I will stop buying headphones..haha...it's too fun! But I want one pair of serious headphones=) I am trying to tweak my hd497's the whole time=)
 
Dec 27, 2002 at 10:44 PM Post #21 of 32
IF you get the SR-125 AND you are a tweaker, I recommend getting an extra set of bowl pads, if they are available and experimenting with cutting them down so the drivers sit closer to the ear. This changes the sound (favorably, in my opinion) and makes them sweeter sounding at the expense of a bit of detail in highs.
 
Dec 27, 2002 at 11:51 PM Post #22 of 32
Quote:

Originally posted by MartinB
What model from Grado do you recommend for me? In Sweden SR325 cost's about 450 dollars=(...and SR125 230 dollars=


In Switzerland they're not cheaper... But I paid $160 for an SR-225 and $195 for an SR-325 on eBay (the seller of the SR-225 was the same as with the two links).

For hip-hop I would recommend the SR-325, for a wider musical variety the more neutral, but less detailed and energetic SR-225. Use flat pads (there are some compatible Sennheiser replacement pads)!

Quote:

Originally posted by recephasan
Grado bass is tighter, faster and 'cleaner' compared to the HD-600.


I disagree completely. It's just a matter of perception. My HD 600's bass is far more tight and accurate than my Grado's bass. I wouldn't make a difference with cleanness. The Grado bass is «bassyer» than the Senn's because of the pronounced mid-bass, while the HD 600 has a slightly pronounced upper bass, a leaner mid-bass and a more extended low bass.

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JaZZ
 
Dec 28, 2002 at 1:22 AM Post #23 of 32
Quote:

Originally posted by MartinB
But if I buy HD600 or HD580 I will have to buy a headphone amp?
Is HD590 a better option then? But I still like the sound of Grados=)...


might wanna look into my thread about all this...

I got Senns 580s...They're great, read the thread for detail on my opinion.

Nick
 
Dec 29, 2002 at 6:04 PM Post #27 of 32
Again depends on your tastes in presentation and music. I have the Creek OBH11 special edition as well as MG Head and Total AirHead for portable use. I found that all of my cans sound very good from the Creek. That includes the Grado 225 (sold it), Grado 325, Senn 580 (sold it), Senn 600, AKG 501, Audio Technica W100 and Etymotic ER6. Sure there are better solid state amps out there and more expansive ones. It’s a fine amp and I'm quite happy with it. On some types of music I have a hard time telling much of a deference between the three amps while on some recordings the deference is more pronounced in varies areas of the music reproduction. I use the Creek for rock, metal, techno/electronic and industrial and my MG Head for classical.
 
Dec 29, 2002 at 6:11 PM Post #28 of 32
IMO the sennheiser 590s are a great match for the Creek. They balance each others sound perfectly.
 
Dec 29, 2002 at 9:21 PM Post #29 of 32
Quote:

IMO the sennheiser 590s are a great match for the Creek. They balance each others sound perfectly.


I listened to the HD590 yesterday and thought they sounded nice. But I also thought that they sounded boring. I have the HD497 (I have modded them a little) and I think that the HD590 sounds like a bigger version of the hd497. More refined....but boring....

Quote:

Again depends on your tastes in presentation and music. I have the Creek OBH11 special edition as well as MG Head and Total AirHead for portable use. I found that all of my cans sound very good from the Creek. That includes the Grado 225 (sold it), Grado 325, Senn 580 (sold it), Senn 600, AKG 501, Audio Technica W100 and Etymotic ER6. Sure there are better solid state amps out there and more expansive ones. It’s a fine amp and I'm quite happy with it. On some types of music I have a hard time telling much of a deference between the three amps while on some recordings the deference is more pronounced in varies areas of the music reproduction. I use the Creek for rock, metal, techno/electronic and industrial and my MG Head for classical.


A relief that you say that all of your cans sound very good from the creek!=) You sold the SR225...I guess because you got the SR325....How much better are SR325 than SR225????
 
Dec 29, 2002 at 10:38 PM Post #30 of 32
Quote:

Originally posted by MartinB
A relief that you say that all of your cans sound very good from the creek!=) You sold the SR225...I guess because you got the SR325....How much better are SR325 than SR225????


I do find all of the cans sounding good on the Creek. It’s a fine and relatively inexpensive amp. I do have the special edition version with dual headphone outputs and upgraded power supply. That doesn't mean that for some types of music some cans don't sound better on a deferent amp. For example for majority of classical I prefer the Senn 600s on the MG Head over the Creek. But it still sounds good on the Creek.

Yes, I sold the 225s after I got the 325s. I had kept them long enough to burn in the 325s and do some comparison listening. The deference between the two cans for me was very minimal at least on the Creek and at that time NAD 522 CD player. The 325 is more refined, more tighter bass and perhaps better more detailed highs. Again the deference was hard for me to detect and more obvious one some recordings. I know I'm still learning to hear the deference and trying to train my hearing. If you don't mind the $100~ deference then the 325 will give you a better sound and nicer finish do to the leather band and aluminum construction. It was worth for me.

I just got the Black Sabbath's Sabotage remastered CD by Castle, I'm off to check it out on my Grado 325s and Creek
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