[CJ Scudworth]

I've been listening to a pair of Grado SR60s for a couple of years now. I bought them when I was still a student, and they were my first foray into mid-fi cans. I've since bought a pair of Shure E2Cs for use with my iPod. I still use the SR60s when listening at home.

I've been pretty happy with the Grado sound, and the sound from my Shures, but I've got an itch now to upgrade/experience something different. I've been reading up on other open headphones that sound interesting for home use -- namely the Senn HD595, the Audio-Technica ATH-AD900, and of course the SR225s. I don't think I'm ready to invest in an amp yet, so that's one limiting factor, though if you have recommendations for a relatively inexpensive amp pairing (is something like the Bithead just not worth getting?) I'd be interested.

I listen to a pretty wide variety of music, but some of my favorite artists are Dream Theater, Led Zeppelin and other classic rock bands, the Flaming Lips, Echo & The Bunnymen, the New Pornographers, and the Pixies.

I'm not sure where I would go to try out other headphones, so I guess one of my concerns is that if I upgrade to something else more "upper-mid-fi" I might be underwhelmed. On the other hand, I'd like to not spend more than $250 or so for the cans.

Any thoughts?

 

[Rednamalas1]

SR225 - based on your music preference.

 

[grawk]

The bithead is an ok choice, and I LOVE SR225s. Best value in headphones going. There are a lot of similarities between the bithead and the predator in the design.

 

[Tomikans]

all this sr225 talk is making me want to upgrade !! and i just got my sr80's last week!

 

[Daveed84]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tomikans /img/forum/go_quote.gif all this sr225 talk is making me want to upgrade !! and i just got my sr80's last week!

Haha, same here. The SR80's don't give me the bass I want and the sound is almost too bright for me. And everything seems to blend together... it's kind of a strange sensation. And the poor comfort of the Grado bowls is making me seriously reconsider my decision to go with Grado altogether.

I listen to alt. rock, and ambient electronica, and IDM. I don't require an insane amount of bass, but the results I'm getting from my SR80's perhaps aren't exactly what I'm looking for. Given my music preference, and a budget of around $150-$200, can anyone recommend me a good pair of cans or IEMs? It doesn't matter to me if they're open or closed headphones. I just want something nice

 

[CJ Scudworth]

What do you think are the differences between the SR60 and the SR225 that I would be likely to notice?