Help me choose my first cans (music, gaming, hd280, a500)
Oct 29, 2008 at 7:51 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 13

jaynoon

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I'm looking for a first-intro to hifi phones, and have found myself stuck in my decision making, as I can't test most of these locally. I would like to spend no more than $100, and have listed the two phones I'm really considering right now. I have also thrown in some ones that I considered but generally have decided against. Feel free to convince me I'm wrong.

Uses: Music (rock, hip-hop), Gaming (non-competitive), and lots of podcasts.

I would be driving these without an amp, and without an EQ.

Sound preferences: Even though I listen to hip-hop, I'm not looking for something that overly emphasizes bass. I would like bass to be present and tight, but not over the top or muddy. I definitely appreciate good mids and highs.

Short list:
ATH-A500 (wish they folded up a little)
HD280 Pro (like that these fold, don't love the coiled cord, and have read some fairly negative stuff about these)
Denon D1001

Probably not making the cut:
ATH-A700 (a little more than I would like to spend)
ATH-AD700 (I think I prefer closed headphones, but I have spent very little time listening to open ones)
ATH-ES7 (read lots of good things, but a little pricey, but I prefer around ear cups)
JVC RX700 (seems too good to be true for the price)

Thanks for your opinions. Of course, if my list is missing something, or you feel like I should choose one of my "probably nots" please don't hesitate to try and convince me
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Thank you.
 
Oct 29, 2008 at 7:32 PM Post #6 of 13
well, the better suggest to you is:
Go to a dealer and test several models and take your conclusions.
Test several headphones both with audio systems and portable ,preference your if you use and find the best sound you wish and dream
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Oct 29, 2008 at 7:37 PM Post #7 of 13
I wish there were more dealers with headphones on display. I went to a local place that had Senns and Grados, and I liked the HD280 versus the cheaper Senns they had, but there wasn't anything else to compare them to.

It really makes shopping for headphones a frustrating experience.
 
Oct 29, 2008 at 8:24 PM Post #10 of 13
Quote:

Originally Posted by felichella /img/forum/go_quote.gif
where yu from jaynoon?


I live in Seattle, WA. I was able to listen to the Sennheisers and Grados at Magnolia AV. Heading to Guitar Center to see if I can convince them to take some Audiotechnicas out of the box.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ashirgo /img/forum/go_quote.gif
It would be better if you considered open headphone design over sealed unless the second is a must. Why? For the same price you are going to get much better sounding cans (open). Sealed are harder to design to sound properly.


I'm not against this idea at all, I just have very little experience with them. I tried on some HD 555s at the store and thought they sounded a bit "empty" but maybe I needed to turn up the volume a little to drown out other ambient noise.

I have the ATH-AD700 on my list, which people seem to generally really like, and they're right in my $100 sweet spot on Amazon. Aside from isolation/leakage, is there anything else I typically lose going from closed->open?
 
Oct 29, 2008 at 8:48 PM Post #13 of 13
jaynoon is simple:
Go to webpages from these manufacturers ,choose the dealers more closed to your zone and test test test ,compare and buy the better to you man...
You live on the States dude
smily_headphones1.gif
 

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