[babaman]

Hi everyone,

I've been lurking around the forum for a bit now, trying to get as much info as possible before making my final decision.

I enjoy rock music and the old school beatles, rolling stones etc. I have a Grado SR80 for my them but I want to upgrade my headphone to a more comfortable one and yet still maintain the Grado sound. Some say the Beyerdynamic DT880 is a good choice, others say no..

I am open to suggestion - my budget is around 300USD

My current sources are an unamped ipod and the PC speaker headphone jack. In the near future I will add the following:
PC: Tianyun Zero DAC -> Audioengine A2 and Little Tube Mk II or III -> SR80 & future headphone
Ipod: CMOY -> SR80 & future headphone

Please advise if the above setup is okay?

Hope to get some positive feedback from you guys

 

[nickchen]

Tough one.

If you want to maintain the Grado sound but want more comfort (and propably more soundscape?), the DT880/K701/HD650 is not your cup of tea IMO. These audiophile cans don't even come close to the emotion and energy a Grado provides.

Propably thousands will turn up recommending higher tier Grados, but beware, the sound differences between Grados are disappointing small compared to other brands.

Other candidates? You can try the AT line (the AD2000 and the W1000 come to my mind), these are more gradoesque, but they are very expensive and have coloured mids that push them out of the "everybody's darling" territory.

Suggestion: Diversify yourself, keep your SR80 in utiliuzation and try out, if you like that "other" presentation of more audiophile gear even so. I'd personally suggest the DT880 for your genres. Your other gear should be sufficient.

 

[Fixcinater]

Ever heard an AKG? Try to find a meet that has a Sextett present, and you might really dig those.

AKG K240 Sextett.

 

[babaman]

Thanks for the reply guys..
The New Zealand retail price for the Beyerdynamic DT880 is roughly 650-690USD *Faint*, and I would have to pre-order them as the NZ head-fi market is very small.

If I am ordering one, it will be from jaben for 299USD shipped to NZ. Unless anyone have better suggestions?

Thanks Fixcinater, I found some info about the sextett here
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/akg...od-akg-243339/
looks good but again I doubt I could get one of these.

nickchen - Thanks for your reply. I like the idea of diversify, what would you recommend? The AKG K701 is stylish (IMO) but hard to drive and picky on amps to complement it, I think this also applies to the Sennheiser HD650?

Edit: Another genre that I listen to would be, Nu Jazz / Ambient

There is so much information about audio equipment in this site it's hard to absorb all the knowledge.. haha. Great community btw.

Thanks again.

 

[nickchen]

If prices are a concern, you can take a look at the AKG K601, the 701's little brother. It's about 80% K701 quality, but on the other hand 150% of K701 emotion. I'd personally would have a hard time deciding between both sonically, but looking at the prices, I'd propably grab the 601.

Buying 2nd hand is also always an option to save budget. A good candidate besides the actual (over?)raved Sextett could be the AKG K400 or K401, a very good mixture between quality and emotion. Consider that 2nd hand fons often need new pads - not only for hygienical reasons, but also in order to get full audio quality back.

 

[thische]

Check out the Goldring DR150. However I have never heard it but I am very intrigued by the impressions thread that it has. Check that out.