[pawlo88]

Hi All

This is my first post in Head-fi forum. As i have seen, it's probabbly the most influential "can forum" in the world. That's why I have registered there, and I am asking you to help me decide, which home cans should I choose.

The factors, that are most important for me, are comfort and sound qaulity of course. I am looking for cans, that won't be fatiguing after 6 hours of listening would, have nice and pleasant sound sinature but not too boring. Koss Porta pro are in this terms good but, are little bit to shrill in long listening sessions.

Now I am thinking mainly about two models:

AKG 530 LTD
Sennheiser HD 555,

What do you think about it, what will be the better choice ? and what models can I also add to my list ?

I will be plugging it to my Onkyo - decent Reciever,
source will be creative x-mod soundcard in the notebook

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Sorry if there are some errors in the text, I am not english native speaker

 

[Joeshmo39]

What kind of music do you listen to? I assume you listen to a variety of music I guess, because you want something pretty neutral but if you do listen to certain genre more often than not, it could be something to mention so we can consider that. Also, if you are willing to buy used that allows you to open up your possibilities a bit more.
I know you can get new HD555 for like 100 bucks on ebay and those are good cans, definitely not a bad start. Don't know much about the AKG 530s, but if you are willng to buy used once again, you might be able to find some K601s. SR 225s are good for rock, a fun forward sounding can that can also be had at about 150 used.
I'm not sure about your onkyo though, I would assume the headphone port on that would push enough juice to definitely run any headphone but I have no idea to be honest. I would actually like someone to tell me that too, I would consider buying an onkyo stereo receiver for "desktop" amp purchases if the sounds is as good as the price warrants. Do you like yours?

 

[Jo-Vo]

Hey!

Maybe you just want to add the Alessandro MS-1 to your list.

Jonas

 

[pawlo88]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joeshmo39 /img/forum/go_quote.gif What kind of music do you listen to? I assume you listen to a variety of music I guess, because you want something pretty neutral but if you do listen to certain genre more often than not, it could be something to mention so we can consider that. Also, if you are willing to buy used that allows you to open up your possibilities a bit more. I know you can get new HD555 for like 100 bucks on ebay and those are good cans, definitely not a bad start. Don't know much about the AKG 530s, but if you are willng to buy used once again, you might be able to find some K601s. SR 225s are good for rock, a fun forward sounding can that can also be had at about 150 used. I'm not sure about your onkyo though, I would assume the headphone port on that would push enough juice to definitely run any headphone but I have no idea to be honest. I would actually like someone to tell me that too, I would consider buying an onkyo stereo receiver for "desktop" amp purchases if the sounds is as good as the price warrants. Do you like yours?

I listen to mainly many varieties of Rock like: art, symphonic-rock, experimental, progressive, jazz-rock etc....

Yeah, i can also buy a used cans.

I've heard that grado has the best singnature for rock ?
But what with their comfort and are they fatiquing in long listening sessions ?

Speaking about my amp, it's Onkyo receiver-cd hybrid and has only about 30 watts power provided to speakers (but it's pretty enough for my Jamo). It has some headphone out, earlier I had possibility to test some sennheiser eh 350 which had 32 Ohm. Frankly speaking at the half of volume it was pretty impossible to listen to it, it was so loud, I was to frightened to turn the volume even more not to blown my ears, so the amp has a power, comparing to koss plugged in, it's 60 ohm it was little more silent but, sufficently much power to destroy headphones

Speaking about sound quality, it's incredible, I think you can't go wrong with onkyo, and I can really reccomend it!

 

[okydoke]

perhaps ad-700's? they should do well for jazz and all that progressive and experimental ambient noises. please note I own a pair of these and im kinda bias about them

just really saying you could look up on those too.

as far as comfort go they're great

 

[Joeshmo39]

Hm I was thinking about getting a refurbished one for a fraction of the price and then I could use that for speakers/tv/movies/360 stuff like that.

If you do like rock then grado is a good bet, used 225s again around 150 maybe a bit lower on the forums, new ones are 180 plus shipping on headroom. 225s make guitars and stuff sound great, up front presentation though so it can be a bit overwhelming. Alot of people complain of fatigue and discomfort but mine are fine for me, so are my sr60s. I would say an MS1 is not a bad place to look either. More neutral I've heard but still a really good can and make in part by grado.

 

[Exediron]

If you're like me, then wearing Grado's (With stock pads) for more then about half an hour makes your ears hurt quite a lot. Yes, you do hear that they have the best signature, but of course nothing has the 'Best' signature, just different. Grados, as a rule, are very fast and punchy. If you can stand the comfort, they are good rock cans for the money. They do however leak like nobodies business, and I wouldn't recommend them for anything you want a even remotely neutral sound for.

 

[riceboy]

I would also suggest Grado's as well. You could get a used SR225 for around $150, but they usually don't last that long on the FS forum. For comfort I use the Grado pads, or HD414 either quarter modded or not. I don't mind the bowls, but some folks to have comfort issues with them.

Also, the Grados are open, so they will leak out sound. Just to let you know as some need sealed cans to keep the noise down.

 

[BigOakTopher]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Exediron /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you're like me, then wearing Grado's (With stock pads) for more then about half an hour makes your ears hurt quite a lot.

That was me also, with my SR-80s. I bought a pair of the Senn 414 yellow pads with the quarter-cut & reversed them on the Grados. To me, the sound seemed very similar to the original pads & they are extremely comfortable now.

 

[glac1er]

For your budget, AD700 is a good choice since you want an inoffensive sound and comfort.

I don't think I can wear Grados or Alessandros for 6 hours even with modded HD414 pads, more like 2 hours maximum. And Grados sounds best with bowl pads, which is uncomfortable. And though they sound good, I found their sound sig (SR60, SR80, SR225) to be even more offensive than Portparo. If you really want to go Grados though, your best bet is MS1 with HD414 pads.

 

[warpdriver]

If you found the Portapros a bit shrill, I don't think you will like Grados at all

I think the Denon D1001 would be a good all-around headphone. They are very comfy

 

[Max Minimum]

I vote for the Senn HD595's. They are nicely balanced and sound good with any kind of music. On my head they're the most comfortable headphones I've used (save for the 590's which, while fun, have some sonic problems), and that includes the Beyer DT880's which are generally considered among the most comfortable out there.

They're $181 at Amazon, and I'd say the $31 over your limit is worth it. If you don't think so, you can get them used.

 

[pawlo88]

Actually, i like koss porta pro signature, which I suppose is quite similar to the grados, but it's live and somehow agressive sound signature that don't allow to relax for a while, is lovely for short time, but quite embarassing in long term listening.

I think the only possibility will be now to get 2 pair of headphones, because I think it's impossible to connect two, so different factors.

But my budget is limited so, I am looking for something like be beetween those two characteristics. In methafore I would say, that i need something beetween speed and dynamic of ferrari and comfort and refinement of mercedes .

and thank you for all your previous advices...

 

[JMCIII]

Quote:

Originally Posted by okydoke /img/forum/go_quote.gif perhaps ad-700's? they should do well for jazz and all that progressive and experimental ambient noises. please note I own a pair of these and im kinda bias about them just really saying you could look up on those too. as far as comfort go they're great

X 2 from me. An excellent choice that will/should keep you well within your price range and offer wonderful sound. Oh, and they are very easy to drive, so you won't need a lot of power to get them to rock.

 

[Netminder]

Grado 225 w/ flat pads