[mookid]

Hey, I'm new.

I currently have Grado SR60's. They're pretty good, but I want to pick up some better phones. I'm looking for something with a closed design, more bass than the Grados, and a more durable construction. I also want something that isn't so harsh in the highs like the SR60.

Here's what I've been looking at:
Beyerdynamic DT250-80
Sony MDR-V6
Sennheiser HD 280 Pro

I'm leaning towards the Beyers, but I'm worried about them not being sufficient in the highs and too much in the mids.

I listen mostly to rock. Which of the above (or others in/around the same price range) would you recommend?

Edit: I'm also thinking about picking up an amp. I was looking at the Airheads, but they seem a bit too overpriced and cheaply made. Where can you buy the home-made ones, like the one contained in an Altoid box? Also, how much do these go for, and how does their sound compare to the ones made by headroom?

 

[fewtch]

Can you hang with some relatively uncomfortable (imho) but excellent sounding cans? Denon AH-D550 at $65 are something like a closed Grado SR-60, with more bass and somewhat more treble detail as well. They can also handle insane volumes without distortion, nearly perfect cans for rock imo.

http://www.epinions.com/elec_Audio-H...-Denon_AHD-550

Edit -- there are other online sources for these cans (see Google), just thought I'd post the above URL mostly for the reviews. If you decide to try these, let me know what you think (and so I can welcome you to the exclusive club known as 'Team AH-Denon'

).

P.S. just my opinion, but for rock listening please skip the Senn HD-280 Pro's, unless you prefer a bad headache to good music. I'm referring to SQ here, not comfort... my head was hurting bigtime from the heavy treble overemphasis after about 5 minutes of listening to those.

 

[mookid]

The Denons look pretty good, but from what I've read it doesn't seem like the sound quality is that much better then the SR-60's (other then a little added bass). Also comfort would be an issue for me as I tend to listen to music on headphones for several hours a day. Does Denon make any higher models that would offer a step-up in sound quality and comfort?

 

[averydonovan]

The Sony MDR-V6 does have somewhat harsh highs, especially when paired with poor equipment or bright sources. But with the right sources it can be tamed. From what I understand from around here it is not as harsh as the Grado phones though. They sound a bit grainy overall and the soundstage is rather narrow, but are pretty good overall. I like using mine for portable use, despite the long cord. The bass is also quite good, and very punchy, but it is not as deep or nearly as detailed as the Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro's I have. I haven't personally heard the other phones you listed.

Actually, if you like lots of bass and plan to get a good amp (at least a MINT), you might want to consider the Beyer DT770's. They are roughly in the same price range as the DT250-80's and I use them for a lot of industrial and rock. They are a lot of fun to listen to.

You can get the homemade amps by private messaging Head-Fi members JMT, tangent, tigger, or fiddler.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally posted by mookid The Denons look pretty good, but from what I've read it doesn't seem like the sound quality is that much better then the SR-60's (other then a little added bass). Also comfort would be an issue for me as I tend to listen to music on headphones for several hours a day. Does Denon make any higher models that would offer a step-up in sound quality and comfort?

Unfortunately they discontinued their top 2 models, altho you can find them used. Got a pair of AH-D750's and love them (see my mini review at the link in my .sig below) and a pair of AH-D950's on the way, in the mail.

I think Denon succumbed to the lure of multichannel and 'home theater' almost completely by now, must be why they cut their headphone product line. It's a shame... maybe they'll bring it back eventually.

 

[mookid]

bump

 

[soupy]

Ill second the DT770's if you really intend on providing some amplification. If you don't want to go through the trouble of dealing with an individual DIYer and chooosing what parts to have on your amp, try headsave.com or something to get a cmoy or meta.

 

[hero zero]

for closed headphones, the AKG K271S is pretty good.....there are also the Ultrasone HFI-650 Trackmaster and DVD edition, the latter of which is supposed to have more bass emphasis....the new HFI-550 series are supposed to be pretty good also

 

[AIM9x]

he said closed, not semi-open, so stop recommending the denons.

ok, v6s are painful, the hd280s are horrible, haven't yet heard the dt250s or the hfi-650s, so i'd suggest one of those two (they can't be worse than the first two).

i remember my old AH-D550s had a heavily compressed soundstage and sounded as if everything other than the high frequencies was being played through a layer of foam. Muddy, unclear, horrible, with piercing highs... just what the majority of america likes (sadly enough).


oops, fixed typo in first sentence...

 

[snausages]

I found the MDR-7506s (V6) to be very unmusical and almost unlistenable because of the harsh highs and sibilance. The DT250-80s would be a great choice IMO; relatively neutral sound and incredibly tough construction. Although I tried pairing my 250-80s with a Meta-42 amp and didn't notice a huge improvement so you might want to check out the DT770s, if you're going to go that way.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally posted by AIM9x he said closed, not semi-open, so stop recommending the denons.

The Denons are near enough to closed that they could either be called closed or semi-open. There's no appreciable sound leakage, merely venting on the earpieces which appears to 'vent' only midbass and low bass, and they isolate as well as typical closed cans do.

I'll stop recommending Denons when you stop knocking half the top recommended closed models out there. If you don't like closed cans, why are you even bothering to reply? Yeah yeah, your avatar says 'bad attitude'... how quaint.
Quote:

Originally posted by AIM9x i remember my old AH-D550s had a heavily compressed soundstage and sounded as if everything other than the high frequencies was being played through a layer of foam. Muddy, unclear, horrible, with piercing highs... just what the majority of america likes (sadly enough).

Agreed... they're very "typical" in character for decent closed cans, although I wouldn't necessarily agree with "muddy, unclear, horrible" (unless you hate closed cans -- which I get a strong impression you do from your posting). If you think the 550's are bad you probably haven't heard the Koss Porta/Sporta's (bass is about 5 times muddier and much more overemphasized). You have to think about price ranges in painting with your brush, lest your strokes are overly broad.

The AH-D750's add a great deal of tonal richness, much smoother and more fluid highs, cleaner bass, better soundstage/'headstage' and they're also much more comfortable.

I received the AH-D950's today (not broken in, I don't think) and as far as I can tell these are a great deal more neutral than the 750's but lacking in some of the richness and "good" coloration that adds to listening pleasure (for me). As they sound a bit on the boring side, you'd probably like them better, if I'm reading you correctly.

Anyway, sorry for going off topic... just had to throw in a "Team Denon" statement.

 

[pbirkett]

Go for the DT770's, you know it makes sense

Seriously, even after I got my 880's, I still feel the 770's are excellent for the money, and they still continue to get a lot of use for when I want more excitement and bass than the 880's can provide. I reckon the 770's are really excellent cans for the cash...

 

[stymie miasma]

I have both the Grado SR60s and the Sony MDR 7506/V6. I find that the vast majority of my listening is done with the Grados as by comparrison, the Sony's presentation tends to be analytical. For rock, the Sony's are just no fun. For electronica however, both cans are great, but I still go for the Grados because they are more comfortable.

I must qualify this by saying I run my headphones out of the headphone jack on my NAD C740 receiver. I am not sure how this stacks up against dedicated headphone amps. Also, I do not find either headphone to be particularly harsh in the highs, but i do find the Sony's to be reccessed in the mids (compared to the Grados at least) which I think contributes to them sounding less 'fun' and more analytical than the Grados.

Bottom line - for rock I don't think you will enjoy the Sony's. That said, I would like to purchase a MAD Ear++ one of these days, and I have a strange suspicion that the Sony's might actually take on a new life with this amp

 

[fewtch]

I've found that rock requires good "punch" in headphones, ability to handle high volumes without distortion, and good bass. A 'forward' or 'in your face' quality can be nice too, depending on the music.

IMO, everything else is pretty much secondary -- I couldn't see an analytical quality either helping or harming most studio-recorded rock music (except it could give a good headache if all of it is in the treble).

IMO the Grado SR-60's are ok for rock, but nothing special... some of the impact, punch and kick (dynamics) seem to be lost out the backs of the headphones. Just my opinion again -- closed cans are probably better for most rock music.

P.S. I'm talking 60's-80's rock that actually has dynamics. I wouldn't have a clue what would make today's rock (with about 2db of used dynamic range) sound any good.

 

[stymie miasma]

Quote:

Originally posted by fewtch I've found that rock requires good "punch" in headphones, ability to handle high volumes without distortion, and good bass. A 'forward' or 'in your face' quality can be nice too, depending on the music. IMO, everything else is pretty much secondary -- I couldn't see an analytical quality either helping or harming most studio-recorded rock music (except it could give a good headache if all of it is in the treble). IMO the Grado SR-60's are ok for rock, but nothing special... some of the impact, punch and kick (dynamics) seem to be lost out the backs of the headphones. Just my opinion again -- closed cans are probably better for most rock music. P.S. I'm talking 60's-80's rock that actually has dynamics. I wouldn't have a clue what would make today's rock (with about 2db of used dynamic range) sound any good.

I agree - punch is definately required for rock. Certainly the SR60s have their weaknesses, but unlike you, I find my SR60s serve up enough punch and excitement to keep me happy

I guess my acid-test is foot-tapping, and the Sony's just don't do it for me

My comment regarding the analytical nature of the Sony's really comes down to a leanness in the mids which is where guitar has a lot of its bite, not to mention the vocals. For that reason alone, the Sony's come in second to the Grados for rock* in stymie-land

*For rock, my tastes vary from Led Zeppelin through to The Jesus Lizard, PJ Harvey, Midnight Oil and more recently, The Mars Volta