I don't know what i want

[kiz]

in terms of either headphones or an amp.

I was gonna go with some Senn HD580's, but recently I've been lookin at Grado 225's and Alessandro MS-1's. Both of these look much more uncomfortable than the HD580s. I want to use the headphones mainly for music (all types really) with some gaming mixed in there. And amps...i really have no idea where to start on that one. Would like to spend under 180 on the cans...amp should be somewhat cheap too.

Also, could i use the headphones without an amp for a while (until i can get some cash for a good one)

 

[adhoc]

welcome to head-fi, and sorry about your wallet..

[size=xx-small](kinda standard greeting around here

)[/size]

for 'all types of music', i would not recommend the grado/alessandros. they do best in music with stroing rhythm, basically anything head-boppin or anything that you can play air-guitar to - to use them for anything else (eg classical) would be a shame.

i cannot comment on the hd580s as i have not heard them, but i believe they will not run satisfactorily (ie comfortably audible) without an amp. the grado/alessandros can be be run unamped to insane volumes.

hope that helps!

 

[kiz]

sorta yea thanks. got any recommendations?

 

[adhoc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiz sorta yea thanks. got any recommendations?

well, based on my personal experience, for a decent, cheap(er) all-rounder type headphone i dont think you can go wrong with the akg k240s.

you might want to know though that it is an open-type headphone, which means that sound will leak out and in. this will be an issue if you intend to use your headphones in a noisy environment.

 

[kiz]

i'm fine with open headphones. I guess i'll have to go looking through some reviews. Comfort is sort of an issue as i listen to music almost constantly. I'm not really a basshead, but like the music as natural as possible.

 

[EdipisReks]

The Alessandro M-1 would be a great choice, as long as you find them comfortable.

 

[kiz]

the ms-1's look pretty good now after checking out some reviews. I'm between this and the HD-580. Also what amp would power these well without breaking the wallet (wouldn't want to do that this early in the game

)

 

[DevilDog]

Have you looked at the Sennheiser HD555? Comfortable, great sound, easy to drive, and it fits your price range.
I think it's a good alternative to the 580 if you still want a nice sennheiser natural sound, plus it's even more comfortable.

 

[kiz]

hmm those dont look bad. anyone else?

 

[Natsuiro]

I was in your same situation a couple of weeks ago or so. I was really considering the HD 555s, HD580s and AKG K501s. But instead I chose a closed headphone, the ATH-A900s.

I'm still not really sure why I chose these cans, but I think it was because they do not need an amp and they received mostly positive reviews.

Also I am hoping that buying these headphones will stop me from upgrading further for atleast a while, since it seems the upgrade over these would be the CD3000s which are much above my budget.

I figured that if I chose the 555s or 580s, they would almost certainly entail upgrading. As for the AKG K501s, I thought they would be too hard to drive.. and if I did buy those, I would constantly want to upgrade my amp.

 

[kiz]

where did you buy them?

 

[Natsuiro]

I bought mine from audiocubes http://www.audiocubes.com/product_in...4dfbf96dc15e29

 

[md01]

Is it me? Seems that A500 and A900 becoming a standard responce to many peoples' problems.

I almost don't want to recommend them out of fear of sounding mundane. But, those headphones are good for starters. Especially, if you don't know what sound you are looking for and/or going to run your cans unamped. Not that there aren't phones that sound as good or better. It seems that ATs can satisfy a large variety of styles and needs. There're just a good pair of allarounders, imo.