[Osaire]

I'm looking for a headphone that doesn't require an amp to sound great. I've had Grado SR-60's in the past, which sounded excellent, but I wasn't crazy about how they fit or felt after long periods of time. I was just wondering what the experts here could recommend me. Thanks much!

 

[wagnerian]

Get the Koss Porta or Sporta Pro. They are inexpensive, very comfortable and sound great with a portable.

 

[Osaire]

Those seem a bit lower end than I was looking for, although everything I've read and heard basically puts the Grado SR-60's above all others when powered by a portable or other non-amped source, I wanted to double check to see if there was anything else I could look into. If you could give me a comparison against the Grado's, it would be extremely beneficial.

Money is not much of an object, I don't imagine a headphone can get very expensive when not requiring a seperate amp, but I would like equal to or higher quality sound than the SR-60's (without an amp).

 

[wagnerian]

The sony V6's (7506) might be good for you. I don't own them but I've heard them. But if you're lookin' to spend some cash get the Etymotic ER4P, they have a low impedance so they will sound good un-amped.

 

[MikeR17]

I second the V6's. I perfer their sound to the Grado SR-60's. They're around the same price and sound great un-amped. They're also much more comfortable. Hope this helps

 

[Osaire]

Any ideas on where I could find a comparison on the two cans?

 

[wagnerian]

Just start reading through old threads, I'm sure somebody has compared them 2 or 3 hundred times.

 

[Osaire]

Wow. I've been browsing through this board today (I'm a brand new member), and have heard some great stories and reviews.

I've been seeing a lot about an AKG K501 on the first page, someone said their portable could drive it decently but an amp really brings out the quality, and the cans can be found at a relatively low price... I can't say I know exactly what I'm looking for, the only decent pair of headphones I've ever owned were the Grados above, I've never had the pleasure of actually being able to listen to them before I purchased them, and I don't think I have an audio store near me that carries these brands. Anyways, I guess I will say what I enjoy listening to here and see what can be recommended from that.

I enjoy R&B primarily (not the new crap, nice old school stuff, at least for my age), I don't like boomy bass, I'd rather have a clean musical representation of the track rather than distorted or over(under)-exaggerated bass/mids/highs. I also listen to various Rock, Hard Rock, Rap, just about anything. I need to purchase a new portable player, and I use the audio out of my computer frequently for listening to CD and other music formats. I am also a PC gamer.

Reviews I've read on the Sony recommended above frighten me some, only because so many people tend to say that you can't beat the Grado SR-60s for general use, and I would be very disappointed to end up buying a headphone that didn't at least equal the Grado in sonic quality. The one thing I despised about the Grado was comfort. I thought it was extremely uncomfortable, the pads were scratchy, and the "spinny" speakers tended to twist the wires all around.

I guess my ideal headphone would be one that sounded better than the SR-60, was much more comfortable, and is under $200 (used or new). I don't know *ANYTHING* about headphone amps, and I'm not sure what would be ideal, without breaking the bank, if I ended up buying a headphone that would sound much better with one.

I appreciate your time and experience, thanks again!

Edit: Oh yeah, what is headphone "burn-in", and how is it done?!?

 

[Gluegun]

Do you still have your SR-60's?

Why not upgrade to SR-80's if you like the sound, and then do some of the comfort mods? Like, pad the earband, and do the sock mod....

http://headwize.com/projects/showpro...=grado_prj.htm

 

[Osaire]

Of course not, someone "lost" them for me....

 

[Nezer]

Quote:

Originally posted by Osaire Those seem a bit lower end than I was looking for

Hey, just becasue they are cheap doesn't make them low-end. Don't discount the 60 Ohm Koss cans until you've had a chance to hear them after they've been burned-in. I sear that the 35s and 50s are worth having just becasue they are so darned cheap!

 

[Gluegun]

Well, looking at those mods, do you think changing a set of SR-80's that way is feasible for you?

 

[Osaire]

Changing or making my own pads wouldn't be a big deal, but I'm not going to take them apart and modify for sound, I think that's their job when they are built.

 

[Gluegun]

Well, I think the SR-80's, with a replaced (sennheiser/padded) headband and the circumsock mod might be just the thing for you!!

 

[Osaire]

Thanks for the help.

Hopefully this thread will pick up some more replies, because I'd love to hear any other recommendations out there as well.

I might pick up a pair of those Koss headphones for jogging, they seem like they'd work pretty well for that without running around looking like a maniac helicopter pilot.