[bln]

So what do you think is that other high-end can, Iron Dreamer? I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with Grado 325s as the main headphone in the system I'm putting together, but once I get some more cash I was considering Sennheiser 580s or 600s for more laid-back music. Your thoughts?

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

I think that is a good choice, my only reservation is that I personally find the midbass hump of those two Senn models to be a bit annoyng. It makes the music more exciting, but it is an artificial exciting, and I now prefer my K271S to the HD600

because I find it to be more neutral. The HD650 supposely has gotten rid of the midbass hump, so it might be the best option.

If you don't want to get involved in the Senns and their replacement cable games, you should consider the AKG K501 and Beyer DT880. I've not heard either, but they both garner very good reviews for more easygoiing music, the type you'd be using them for. The K501 is also a bit cheaper, if that helps you at all.

So to sum it up:
Open:
HD650
DT880
K501

Closed/canalphones:
ER4S
K271S
DT250-250

 

[bln]

The high-end Beyers appealed to me too, as something that wouldn't be as bright as the 325s but could still 'do' rock (the reason I want the Grados). Was also thinking about the Audio-Technica 900s for a good quality closed headphone, so that I'd have something better than V6s if it gets too loud in my dorm ... any thoughts? I really don't know anything about AKGs, so I'll have to look into that.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Trust me cans need not be bright to rock, I'm headbanging to Iced Earth's Something Wicked Trilogy on my K271's right now and they are anything but bright. I also really liked the HD600 for metal as well. At a certain level of sound quality, it's nor about performance, it's about flavor. I like the SR325 flavor (with flat pads A LOT), but it gave me inexplicable headaches. Fortunately I've been pleased by other flavors as well

I also wanted to say that the flats make the SR325 sound much fuller than in my previous post (which concerned the bowl padded version), but still just on the lean side of neutral, whereas the HP-2 is a little bit fuller (and quite neutral IMO).

The A900 is an exciting phone as is the Grado, but they are quite different in their presentation, and the Grados is on a higher overall performance level than the A900 IMO. The A900 would be a replacement for the 325, not a supplement, as the cans I mentioned in my other post.

 

[EyeAmEye]

Funny A900's come into this conversation, because they were the next option for me. In the end, I chose the Sr325 because I have never been truly satisfied with a closed phone, so I decided against the A900, even if it would have saved me some cash. I think I chose correctly, though, the Grado sound is just what I was looking for.
And that is very true, Iron_Dreamer, you don't need bright cans. For some time I was using the AKG K240S, and it did a nice job, but I prefer bass somewhat on the leaner side, and the K240S just had too much.