Help! Looking for good cans for metal!

[Electric_Eye]

Hello everyone!

I am new to the world of high quality headphones and my only experience is with the Sennheiser PC150's and they sound muffled & dull. After searching the forums i think the best phones for me would be the Alessandro MS-2's. Am i right? I will only be listening to hard rock/metal...(Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Metallica etc.). Source would be Audigy 2 or Pioneer Cd player.

I would like the sound to be intense, fun, highly energetic and from what i've read MS-2's will offer this to me. Can anyone recommend a good amp if i were to get the MS-2's?

Thanks heaps guys!

 

[Electric_Eye]

 

[Jazper]

price range?

Low price, MS-1s or SR225 + CMOY or A47

Mid price MS-2s or SR325 + Pimeta

Mid-high Sony SA5000 + M³ (opa637/627 opamps) - The sa5ks are a good option if comfort is a consideration also, but need a good amp.

High price MS-Pros or RS-2s + M³ or PPA

 

[zeyus]

I can most highly recommend the MS-1 + PocketAmp 2 v2 combo....it rocks out hard with metal!!

EDIT: I know you said MS-2s but I haven't heard them...but I would only assume that they are even better than the MS-1s (safe assumption I hope)

 

[J-Pak]

I would say SR-225 or MS-2 like the other recommendations, but I listen to more hard rock as opposed to metal. One of my friends whos a metal junkie swears by his Beyer DT880

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Going up the (new, USD) price scale, I'd recommend:

$20: Koss KSC35/75
$40: AKG K26P
$100: Sony MDR-SA1000
$160: Beyer DT 831 (more neutral) or DT 770-80 (bassier)
$250: Beyer DT 880
$370: Sony MDR-SA5000

I'm not a fan of the Grado sound, as all but the Joe Grado models are colored sounding in IMO an ultimately unnatural way that can sound cool for a while, but in the end becomes nagging and fatiguing. I've owned the RS1 and SR325 and had this happen with both. This is aside from their less than superb build quality (especially considering the price), their prone-ness to "grattle" and other such problems, and their hardly ideal ergonomics, which result in having to tolerate the heaphones for as long as your ears can take.

If you don't intend on spending some money on a decent hi-fi source and amp (which could be done for as little as $275 for a good PIMETA and EMU 0404 soundcard), don't bother going any higher than the SA1000's.

The most important things to good sounding headphones for metal IMO are their ability to reproduce fast attacks and decays without blurring the notes together, and a neutral response that does not become fatiguing with already aggressive music.

 

[chrisfromalbany]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Electric_Eye Hello everyone! I am new to the world of high quality headphones and my only experience is with the Sennheiser PC150's and they sound muffled & dull. After searching the forums i think the best phones for me would be the Alessandro MS-2's. Am i right? I will only be listening to hard rock/metal...(Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Metallica etc.). Source would be Audigy 2 or Pioneer Cd player. I would like the sound to be intense, fun, highly energetic and from what i've read MS-2's will offer this to me. Can anyone recommend a good amp if i were to get the MS-2's? Thanks heaps guys!

Pimeta and Ms2..

Get the can you want to get. Sure you will enjoy it. Get the Pimeta as good amp to run with it.

 

[Jam_Master_J]

SR-325 and some decent amplification.

 

[chrisfromalbany]

Well I think that would have been my first choice but not going to sound bad with the MS2s.

 

[go_vtec]

My current favorite pair phones for rock and metal is Grado RS-2 powered by MPX3 (6SN7) version. To my ears RS-2 sounds very much like SR-225, but slightly more refined, smooth and organic. It may be a bit old school, but you've gotta try Santana's Europa on this set up!

Of course, Grado SR-225 with a Gilmore amp (Lite or Gilmore V1) is a very nice combo. Very powerful, energetic, yet smooth enough to listen for hours and hours.

 

[aaroncort]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Electric_Eye Hello everyone! I am new to the world of high quality headphones and my only experience is with the Sennheiser PC150's and they sound muffled & dull. After searching the forums i think the best phones for me would be the Alessandro MS-2's. Am i right? I will only be listening to hard rock/metal...(Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Metallica etc.). Source would be Audigy 2 or Pioneer Cd player.:

I think that the problem you're going to encouter is that most metel has been recorded very poorly and won't sound much different on a pair of sr-80's as they would on 325's. I've owned both and would have been very disapointed if I had shelled out a ton of money if I listened to mostly metal. newer metalica will sound good If you actually like it. Deicide's Once upon the cross also sounds great but slayer black sabbath, Judas Priest and Iron maiden will not. I hope this helps.

 

[JunktionFET]

My Beyerdynamic DT-990 PROs work out great for metal, in my opinion anyway. The broad bump in the low frequency response really adds a lot of mass to what is otherwise top-heavy and busy music. The high frequency detail and added top-end sparkle adds a great deal of texture to cymbols and guitar (without being any more fatiguing), and the slightly darker-than-neutral "presence" goes a long way to make such music easier to take.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaroncort I think that the problem you're going to encouter is that most metel has been recorded very poorly and won't sound much different on a pair of sr-80's as they would on 325's. I've owned both and would have been very disapointed if I had shelled out a ton of money if I listened to mostly metal. newer metalica will sound good If you actually like it. Deicide's Once upon the cross also sounds great but slayer black sabbath, Judas Priest and Iron maiden will not. I hope this helps.

While there is a lot of not-so-well recorded metal out there, to impugn the entire genre is going a bit far. If what you are saying is true, I'd be perfectly happy with a K26P/AV710 fig which costs all of $65. However, I find more than enough compelling improvement to merit a rig costing over 20 times as much. Furthermore, I've auditioned the entire Grado line at one time, and really the SR80 is a toy compared to the SR325, whether listening to Kreator or Diana Krall. Our OP needs to listen to the gear himself, and decide on his own personal level of spending that gets him a level of sound he wants. But to suggest he shouldn't even try, due to the type of music he listens to is ludicrous.

 

[jrosenth]

Love SR225 with everything from classical to RnB, but they shine with guitars. I think the amp depends on price point, Aperhead 47 is a greater starter, I thought a very big improvement over a CMOY with the Grados; moving up the ladder, a Buleberry Emotion pairs very, very well with them IMHO.

 

[ken36]

Informative exchange of ideas. Thanks a lot.