Headphone Stores (Minnesota in Particular)

[Cyrillic]

I'm looking for somewhere to try out some nice headphones. I live in the Twin Cities area (Minneapolis St. Paul), so there are a lot of chains and such in the area, but I don't know where to go. We have Guitar Centers around here so I'll try out the a900's there, but I'd like to try the beyer DT880 and DT770, Senn HD595/600/650, Grado/Alessandro (though I'm finding that they're hard to find), and maybe AKG or anything else talked about a lot around here.

Anyway, any help would be appreciated.

 

[tiberian]

there's one in dinkytown called 'needle doctor' and it has some grados and sennheisers.

 

[Mr.Radar]

There's a store in Minnesota that sells Grados?! Why didn't anyone tell me this before! Also, when I went to the Guitar Center in Edina a few months ago (to buy my DT770s) I noticed they carried the Beyer DT770, Senn HD280, Sony V600 (not V6) and MDR-7506, and AKG 240S and a few others I don't remeber, as well as the EMU 0404 and 1212m.

 

[tiberian]

i don't see any point of buying from a local retail store tho when headroom and todd have better price and don't charge for tax.

 

[Cyrillic]

lol I went to the Sennheiser distributor site and called the Guitar Center in Edina and the guy was having a lot of trouble helping me. Also, I called the needle doctor and something called Hi Fi Sound Electronics and they were both closed. Tiberian, do you know if The Needle Doctor carries SR325s or HD 595/600/650's?

 

[tiberian]

last time i asked do they carry the hd650s they said it's a special order item.

 

[Cyrillic]

Yeah Guitar Center told me it's a special order item if that's who you're talking about. If you're talking about The Needle Doctor, do you know which Senns they do have?

I'm not planning on buying here. I just plan to listen to see which one I like.

 

[tiberian]

i saw lower end sennheisers (2xx, probably the 595s too) and grados sr-x0s.

 

[Flasken]

wow you have it tough over there! Most hifi stores in Denmark carry the entire upper spectrum sennheiser line and all respectable musician stores have lots of beyers and akgs. Grado's I've only seen in one place but then that's an american brand.

 

[Cyrillic]

Update for us Minnesotans: I've been calling places whenever I happen to remember and they're not closed, and I've found that Hi Fi Sound Electronics has Grado SR60, 80, 125, RS1, RS2, but not the damn 325 which is what I wanted! The site of theirs says they carry Senns but they don't anymore, though they have the ability to order a pair if you want. The Needle Doctor seems to have the full range of both Senns & Grados on the site, but I haven't been able to get ahold of the store itself.

I'll keep looking, though...

 

[MN Ham Phones]

Try Stereoland.

They carry Grado, but don't recall if they have the 325.

 

[Beach123456]

Anyone know of places to try out headphones around the Philadelphia area?

 

[Cyrillic]

More info: The Needle Doctor, which is located in Minneapolis (Dinkytown, I think), has Grados and Sennheisers. I only inquired about the SR 325's and the HD 650's, but they had both of those. I'd imagine they have most of the full line of Grado and the higher end Senns as well as some other various lower end models. You can check out their website to get an idea of what they CAN have in stock, though I'm not sure they always have all of it in stock.

http://www.needledoctor.com/

The Needle Doctor also has other various hard to find Hi Fi equipment, esp. record things. I'm not affiliated with them in any way, btw, I just think it's one of the best bets for Hi Fi in Minnesota.

 

[GuineaMcPig]

Stereoland in Eden Prairie is great, and I believe they carry most of the Grado line and the big 3 Sennheisers. The owner is a really nice guy and doesn't pressure you at all.

Audio Perfection in Richfield has a much better selection but the owner is a pompous ass. I'd stay away from there unless you're desperate.

 

[Cyrillic]

Bah I tried going to Stereoland, but the closing time on the website said 9, but it said 7 at the store, and I got there at 7:30! I tried the needle doctor and they don't let you listen to anything that's not already open, which is mostly everything. They let me listen to an SR 60, though, and they were very friendly.

Hi Fi Sound Electronics has the SR 60, 80, 125, RA1 and RA2. They're a "high end" store, and are definately salesmen, and seem a bit elitist. If you go there, you might want to dress like you're going to a wedding or something.

Well anyway, they were nice enough to set me up well and allowed me to hear what I wanted. No Senns there, though.