Hey I think I need your help!

[chcokr]

Hi HeadFiends and HeadFriends.....

I'm a guy living in France, and currently looking for my first

"real" headphone set. I've done a lot of research, but I can't decide.

Since I'm a beginner, I'm setting my price

range to 70 - 100 euros (approximately $85 - $120). Of course,

if there is a better and cheaper pair, don't hesitate to inform me.


Till now I've spent some time with my cheap streetphones

finding what my taste is, and here is what I've realized.

- Bass: I'm not a bass freak... I care more about the quality of the bass,
not the quantity. The quantity has to be just average, not excessive
or too weak. I mean, I'd be satisfied with the bass, if it is strong
enough to support the mids and highs. Oh, I give a special attention
to the tightness of the bass drum.

- Mid: The mid will be just fine if the vocal is audible and makes a good
balance with the background music. Since I listen mostly to songs
without any vocals, I don't pay much attention to the mid notes.

- Treble: The part I care about the most. I love the clarity of this part.
Clarity, I think this is the term I like the most. You know what
I mean, I don't think I have to explain a lot about this part.

- Stereo: Here is my ideal 3D-ness (I don't know the term for
this...hmmm). The large sphere is divided into three layers. The
outermost layer is clear treble notes, hi-hats and cymbals. Each
sound can be sensed differently from other notes. The second
layer is filled with sounds such as the bass guitar and synth bass,
etc. The innermost is occupied with the tight bass drum, powerful
snare and clear vocal. I guess this is a little bit too imaginative... lol

I'd find it fun to find the following things in songs

- Sound of instruments like splash cymbals is clear and well spread throughout
my brain...hmmmmm

- The attack of piano is clearly felt.

- The sound of the elec guitar gives a feeling of kind of sharpness and all the chords are well heard....

I know it's impossible to find cans that will meet all these requirements..... I

just wanted to show you what my taste was. Well, sorry if I confused you

too much. Umm, plus I listen to hiphop and electronica (like DJ Shadow) the

most. Still I do listen to rock bands such as Nirvana, AC/DC, Green Day and

Sum41. I listen to jazz sometimes. I don't listen to stuff like Slipknot at all,

just to let you know. I'm going to use the cans for my sony portable cdp

inside, not outdoor. So it'd be better if you recommend open headphones

(not earphones).

(I love these

smilies! lol)


Well, it took a long time writing this. I'll be waiting for your kind replies. I'll

kiss the person who writes the best one if he/she doesn't mind. Thank y'all

HeadFiends (sorry if this sounds weird or offensive or w/e...)!

 

[Jahn]

I think the only can I've personally heard that would suit that description would be the new Sony SA5000. That can be found for $350, which is out of your price range, however. I have never heard the SA3k or SA1k, but reviews on site aren't too bad on them, and the price is right for you. Hopefully they will translate the same presentation to you, but they may not. Sorry to be vague, but there just isn't much experience with the new Sony line as of yet. Do a search on the SA1000 and SA3000 however!

 

[seeberg]

Welcome to HeadFi, sorry about your wallet

It's going to get a restraining order against you when you aren't looking

Jahn knows what he's talking about, and I have SA1000's on my head right as I'm typing this. For $100, these would definitely meet your criteria as I can understand it thus far-I've been running them nonstop since Wednesday morning, when I finally recieved them in the mail. Bass is deep and supple but not at all boomy- it's tight, impactful and not at all lacking like I've heard some people say. The mids are in practically perfect balance with the rest of the spectrum, they aren't grainy at all, they just have excellent balance.

The treble you might like: it's crystal clear, very crisp, although it's a tad harsh when brand new. Burning them in for 100 hours or so remedies this, and then the treble, which is said to extend far past the human audible range to 80khz, is ultra fine and smooth. On top of that, they are the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn apart from canalphones.

If you ever have the chance, listen to these-although I don't know what your options in France are. IMO, these are the cans that changed my opinion on Sony headphones, although I still hate the entire V-Series and all their cheapie around the neck garbage and earbuds, etc.

The other cans I'd suggest in your price range are Alessandro MS1's. Another open headphone, but is said to sound simply amazing for the money. I have two of the closest Grado equivalents of these heaphones, the SR60 and SR125 (Alessandro's actually come from Grado Labs but are marketed for studio monitoring and musicians).

hope that gives you a little more info about what's out there. Happy listening!

,
Abe

 

[chcokr]

thanks so much for your advice! I'm searching SA1000's and they seem to meet my requirements pretty well! I'll consider searching MS-1 too.

 

[seeberg]

Hey, no problem! In your searching, you might also want to keep shipping prices in mind, especially since this is an international affair(I'd like to visit France someday). In the states, the lowest price I've seen for SA1000's was roughly $107(shipping included), from etronics. I'm not sure what vendor has the lowest international price though.

,
Abe

 

[chcokr]

France is a great place to visit! It's kinda sad that there's not many places to
get interested in and learn about audio here though....Thanks for your advice
again!

 

[sgrossklass]

SA1000s cost €125+ (typically 130...140+) here in .de, so these are likely to be a bit out of the budget. I'd try the Philips HP1000. (There also appears to be a SBC-HP895 now, no idea how good that one is compared to the "old" HP890.) Maybe lend an ear to Beyer DT440s as well, and if all fails you could probably do worse than a Sennheiser HD555 or possibly HD595 (dunno whether these would be airy enough though).

 

[chcokr]

I'm leaning towards buying SA1000's even tho it's a little bit out of the price

range..... Darn, HeadFi just makes me lose my fear about money...lol

If you've read the long essay about my taste above and think

there's something better than SA1000's for me, plz don't hesitate

to inform me!

By the way, my concern about the 1000's: I saw that the impedance of

these cans are 70 ohms. Are these cans too weak to be directly connected

to a portable CDP, without an amp? If I have to buy an amp, that's a little bit

too much money for me.

Thank y'all for the help!

 

[Simplycant]

i would like recommended px200,~~its bass is fit your taste~
and the other parts are quite balanced

 

[chcokr]

I've heard that PX200's are closed? Many reviews show that PX100's

are better than those. By the way, can anyone please answer my question

about an amp for SA1000's? (the original question's above)

 

[chcokr]

Plus is there like a huge difference between 1000's and 5000's? I

guess 1000's will be ok for beginners......what's your opinion?

 

[seeberg]

Oh, sorry I couldn't get back to you last night- I had a major heartburn attack at the Portland, OR meet, and was too tired to set my equipment back up. If you check the thread of the impressions of that meet, there's some opinions floating around about mine, which have around 50 hours of burn in. Also, do a search for "sony shootout" or "SA shootout" and you should come across GSFerrari's review of the entire SA line, which is the 1000, 3000, and 5000.
Hope that helps! Gotta go- super busy!

PS-An amp with SA1000's is purely optional. You can drive them to at least adequately loud volumes without one, but an amp will bring about improvements. I don't have an amp at the moment, but as soon as I get the money, I'm going for a Z-Audio Epsilon, which is widely regarded as superior in every way to a CMOY or Mint. It's also smaller and more durable, and you can roll the opamp chip in it. I also know the guy who builds them, Zemo, so you might shoot him a PM if you can or check out his site.

,
Abe

 

[chcokr]

Hey seeberg

thanks for ur consistent help!

i'm thinkin bout gettin either alessandros or sa1000's

being a headfiend is hard......lol

 

[seeberg]

Hey, no prob!
I'd love to know what your thoughts are of whatever you decide on after 100 hours of burn in.

,
Abe