[jacdan]

Can someone help me pick out a good pair of phones for primarily orchestral music? Cans should be closed, price range is $50 - $150, and usage will be primarly with my Sony STR-D711 A/V receiver (no portables). Eliminate the Senn HD 280 Pro from the list please. I just got though returning those as they had distortion that was unacceptable and would not go away with burn time (gave up after 48 hours). A shame really as I did like those phones otherwise. Thanks for any input.

 

[terrymx]

people highly recommend the akg k501 for this purpose.

 

[gpalmer]

I would try the AKG 271s, it's just over the top of your range at HeadRoom 179 - 18 (Head-Fi discount) = $160. There are a lot of posts about them in the forum!

 

[Music Fanatic]

I think that a Sony V6 would be nearly a perfect choice for you -- if you look around, you can find them near the bottom of your price range, they are closed, and have truly excellent detail and nice flat mids.

 

[riddley]

I auditioned the AKG K501s today - they sounded absolutely amazing when listening to Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 24.

However, they have a very light bass which was OK for me, but could be a problem if you liked the strong bass of the HD-280. They are also hard to drive and may not do well out of the headphone jack of your receiver - I was listening with a dedicated headphone amp.

Have you considered that the distortion you heard in the HD-280 may be caused by your receiver?

 

[jacdan]

I compared them to a pair of old Koss Pro4X phones I have and plugged into the 711 with no distortion at and above the volume levels that caused distortion in the 280s. I wish I had the specs for the 4X cans so I could make a more direct comparison as to why the Senns were more disposed to distortion.