[Jaxnxay]

Hey everyone, this is my very fist post. I've been pulling my hair out trying to decide which headphones I should upgrade to from just the standard cheap sony earbuds. I know I want a full size circumaural headphone. I am still on the fence about whether or not I want to deal with sound leakage from an open headphone. I will be driving the headphones from my archos 604 and will probably purchase a fiio e5 or a cmoy amp pending further research. I haven't really liked the sound I've heard from any closed sony's or bose. I have listened to a couple of pairs of senheisers, one being a $700 pair of open ones that I was shockingly underwhelmed by. Perhaps due to no burn in? I have listened to grado i60 and i80 and was so moved by the detailed and rich sound that I almost cried lol. But since I could hear the music emanating from over 6 feet away from the cans I didn't get them. I wish I could find a closed headphone that had a similar sound to the grados. I have been tossing around the idea of getting a less expensive pair until I make up my mind but I am still overwhelmed by decisions. A big problem is not finding any retail stores in central FL in which to actually listen to a variety of brands of headphones. Oy!

I've been looking at two possibilities for purchasing the cheaper placeholder pair of cans: Both in the same price bracket, but the philips have very few reviews from which I can draw a comparison. I don't even know if these cans are in the same league. Maybe some of you lovely audiophiles out there have some advice?

Philips HP-910
Driver Unit Size:50 mm
Frequency Response:5 Hz - 32000 kHz
Impedance:32 ohm
Sensitivity:95 dB
Plug Type:3.5 mm
Plug Material: Gold


or


PANASONIC RP-HTX7
Max. Power Handling: 1000 mW Driver Unit Size: 40 mm Frequency Response: 7 Hz - 22 kHz Impedance: 40 ohm Sensitivity: 99 dB Plug Plug Type: 3.5 mm, 6.35 mm Plug Material: Gold




are they comparable? How much do they suck in comparison to the grados?
should I even waste my money on these if there is another great set of cans I'm not yet aware of?

Please help!

Love, Drowning in a sea of cans

 

[Katun]

I have no experience with the Panasonic phones, but I don't think they can even come close to the Grados.

So what your trying to say is: you want a closed headphone that doesn't leak, but sounds good? What is your budget.

Also, what kind of environment are you listening in? If you loved the Grados, buy 'em! If you are willing to give up SQ over leakage, then you might have to pay more money for a decent closed phone.

 

[ourfpshero]

the philips hp910 is an open headphone and will leak sound. i think they sound much better than the grados but the build quality is lousy. bigger range than the grados but less punch from a low power source.
the panasonics are closed, great build quality. kind of comparable to the grados in sound. more bass than the grados, but less warmth and detail.

honestly, the price differences here arent huge. get the grados and be happy!

 

[Jaxnxay]

Thanks to those who posted already, I need all the input I can get. My budget is around $100, for that "forever" pair of phones that I'm hoping will last me for a few years at least. I don't mind getting used headphones either. My listening environment is from my portable music player, as well as from my computer, both indoors as well as out and about. I would like to be able to sit in a coffee shop or tea house and not disturb people around me if I want to listen to my own music. So Ideally I would like a closed pair of phones that have a grado sound if that's possible? I may end up getting the philips for now since they are cheaper than the grados and I can work with their limitations until I have the chance to listen to more can brands.... But again, not sure if I'd like the sound better than the panasonic.. I definitely value detail in the music but I also don't like a sterile flat sound either. I enjoy a robust and probably slightly warm presentation. Guess that means I'm not a real audiophile. For instance with the grados i heard, they were straight out of the box with no burn in, I liked the warmth and bass of the i60 but couldn't believe the difference in detail level in the i80s. If I could find a closed combo of the i60 and i80 I would be in heaven lol.

 

[ourfpshero]

it sounds like a denon ahd1001 is for you. has a warm punchy sound, ez to drive, and is closed. also consider its twin, the creative labs auvana live. can be found in stores readily.

 

[ivanrocks321]

I just got the Panasonic recently and I have many Grado headphones, and I can say is the Panasonic is surprisingly good, they are comfy, isolate a good amount, and has a decent sound quality to them. They are definitely better than what you usually get for around $30 (what i paided at target on clearance). If you more a Grado sound go with the SR60 they are an excellent starter pair and in fact is what i started out with. I cant say much about the other headphone though since i never heard it before. Another consideration might be the Koss PortaPro, and there are a lot of ppl with them that are quite happy.

 

[the_equalizer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ourfpshero /img/forum/go_quote.gif it sounds like a denon ahd1001 is for you. has a warm punchy sound, ez to drive, and is closed. also consider its twin, the creative labs auvana live. can be found in stores readily.

x2

cheers!

 

[Katun]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ourfpshero /img/forum/go_quote.gif it sounds like a denon ahd1001 is for you. has a warm punchy sound, ez to drive, and is closed. also consider its twin, the creative labs auvana live. can be found in stores readily.

X3

(Why didn't I think of that...I'm smarter than this!)

 

[VALIENTE]

Please read the article below cos this may help you.

Click: Our 10 Best Headphones - HeadRoom: Stereo Headphones, Amps & DACs, Wireless, Noise Canceling, Ear Canal, Earbud, Audio Cables & Accessories

Select one headphone and be happy.

 

[jjinh]

yeh, although you might be able to hear them 6 feet away I find that once the headphones are on your head there actually isn't that much leakage (for those around you).

Plus you said you like the sound. Isnt that the important thing?