[Ode2Joy]

Hi all,
 
As you can probably tell, this is my first ever post. I have a conundrum I am hoping to get help with. I love to listen to classical music (not an audiophile by any stretch of the imagination) but am tired of listening to it on Bose ie2's. I have some minor low tone hearing loss since I was a kid (I don't have numbers from the doc as to exactly what frequency I have problems with). It's harder for me to hear the really low tones of some men's really deep voices, unless they talk louder than normal. But, I am still trying to find a good set of headphones's that I can listen to classical with, without having to crank it up to hear the lower tones, and then get blasted when the higher notes come in. I realize I may not be able to find the perfect set, considering my hearing loss, but I still want to enjoy my music! I spend a LOT of time on the bus, and waiting for the bus, and out and about all over the place, so they MUST be Closed Back and sealed and be able to not only NOT blast everyone sitting beside me with my music, but also be really great about not letting any noise in, since, again, I spend a lot of time on noisy buses (you wouldn't believe how loud some people can be! lol), and because of my hearing loss (it's even harder to hear low tones the louder the place gets, just like anyone, but I think doubly so for me because of the reverse slope hearing loss).
 
Also, I only have about 200-350 to spend, don't know anything about amps, or headphones, and will basically be plugging into the iphone5, my home computer, and my cheap home stereo. I know those aren't the best sources to get high quality music from, but it's what I've got. lol! I am willing to get an amp, if I can find one that is inexpensive, helps me hear the lower tones without getting blasted by the higher ones, and I can carry with me cause I need to commute with the whole getup. I would just need suggestions on what amp to get with what headphone's.
 
I have been trying to do some research, but am having trouble because I have never looked into getting headphone's beyond the Bose that I got from Apple! lol But, I am tired of not really being able to enjoy my classical the way I want to, because of the hearing loss, the way I do when I go to a live symphony, where I can actually hear most of it (low and high)!.
 
So far, I have come up with these possibilities:
DT 770
AKG K272
AKG k550
srh840
ath m50
 
Obviously, I am open to ANY suggestions, so long as they are
over ear
closed back
non-sound leaking
highly noise isolating, but NOT active noise canceling type ones (they make me feel like I am underwater (pressure on the ears).
$2-350 bucks
amps ok, but would need suggestions
I don't care what they look like, or how bulky they are, or if they are neon green with leapord print on them. (okay, hopefully they don't look like That! yikes.
would be good if they could fold up, carrying case not necessary but nice.
and somehow helps me to hear the lower tones, without having to crank it up to be blasted by the higher tones.
 
Just want to say, sorry if I didn't do this right, first time posting and everything. I know I don't know anything about this stuff or anything, or even what I am talking about! LOL Any help or direction you can give at all would really be a huge, huge blessing!
 
Pax,
Casey

 

[pp312]

Hi, Casey. I can't help with your question but just wanted to say that you've set us a tough one and it may take a while to get any useful suggestions. In any case, welcome to Head-Fi and good luck in your quest.

 

[Ode2Joy]

Quote:

Hi, Casey. I can't help with your question but just wanted to say that you've set us a tough one and it may take a while to get any useful suggestions. In any case, welcome to Head-Fi and good luck in your quest.

Hi pp312,
 
thanks for respoding. I know, it is kind of an odd request! I do hope someone has some ideas though. I am thinking I may need something that just has a stronger bass or something, but I don't really know. I just know it is hard to hear the really low tones, and would love something that would help them be more pronounced, while holding back a little on the really high tones. But, I don't really know if that makes sense, or is possible! lol
 
Thanks!
Casey

 

[Ode2Joy]

I was also looking at the Sennheiser Momentum. They might be nice because they have a mic and controls for the iphone5. But, the most important thing is still what I mentioned above. So, any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[flatmap]

The Momentums are very comfortable.  I would say they don't isolate as well as the ATH M50s, for example, but also, correspondingly,  do not apply as much clamp force either.   They sound just fine out of your iPhone, so I wouldn't consider an amp necessary.  The sound profile might well be what you want; the mid bass is lifted a bit giving a warmish sound signature.  
 
I don't own these, but listened (from iPod) at a local audio shop.  For appearance, comfort, solid construction, I was very tempted to buy them.  However, in listening to solo piano, the left hand just seemed overemphasized for my tastes.  In your circumstances, that lift might just add up properly where you needed.   
 
But here's another course of action.  I would try this straight off.  Since you're listening via iPhone 5, purchase the  Accudio App & try out the custom settings on your current headphones.  Use "custom" mode to boost the bass relative to the reference settings and see if you simply lift the part of the audio spectrum where you need help.  At worst, you're out $5 for this and it might be a better approach than searching for headphones.  It reads the music and playlists from your current iPhone iTunes library.  No doubt there are other Apps as well.  Really should be pretty edifying....

 

[HFAUDIOPHILE]

The Denon D600 are very detailed in mids, with clear highs(smooth and not too.extended) and deep rich punchy bass, they sound very loud out of iPods, iPhones and they will improve further with AMPs help. V_Moda M80 offers very strong bass, rich clear mids, none extended clear highs and it's block most noise with onear design while Denon D600 are over ear closed back headphone.