[maverickronin]

After a bit of back and forth between many highly regarded open 'phones such as the DT880s, the 701s and the HD650s I suddenly realized that I'd do much better with a closed headphone to attenuate some of the racket in my listening environment. This racket includes, a window A/C unit, a ghetto rigged air purifier consisting of a furnace filter strapped to a 20" box fan, sometimes another normal fan, my fan cooled overclocked computer, and my parrot who may be angry that I'm not letting her out of her cage to play right now. At the moment, with the A/C compressor running, the ambient sound level is about 63 A weighted dB according to my radio shack SPL meter. My parrot can peak at 110 dB at 1 foot. No, I do not expect any headphones to do much about that. What I would like them to do is cut a bit of the fan noise. My parrot usually only makes a ruckus when I leave or when I return so it's not a major problem, or a hazard to my hearing.

My current headphones a the Shure SE530s. They sound great and isolate very well (I can still hear my parrot over the music though) but they are also fiddly, fragile, easy to lose, and annoying to remove. They are much better suited for use at work or on the go. I wire myself up with the PTH, clip the mic to my collar sit and my desk, having only occasional conversations with people who pass by. At home I usually don't wear a shirt with a collar so the cords never stay put, and when I lay down to relax and listen to something, the cables get all tangled up. That's why I'm looking for something full size that that's just easier to take on and off.

Right now I'm trying to come up with a list of models to try, hopefully at the CanJam, so I make an informed decision before I jump in and make a purchase. Here's what I've come up with so far and my impressions of them so far.

Denon AH-D2000
Highly regarded but I've heard it doesn't isolate very much, so I haven't looked into further

AKG 271
Also well regarded, looks great and the detachable cable is a big plus, but the bass my be a bit to lean for me. I'm not looking for huge booming bass, I love the flat bass response on my Shures, but the AKGs seem like they roll off the low end a bit to much.

Beyerdynamic DT770 600ohm
I head someone say you'd have to step up to something like the D7000 to find a nicer sealed can. An all black manufaktur would be icing on the cake, expensive though.

GMP 3.00/3.50
Don't know a whole lot about them but I've seen a few glowing recommendations. They look like they'll survive a nuclear holocaust as well. Definitely worth a try.

Beyerdynamic DT150
Don't know anything about them. They were just recommended to me in another thread.

I plan to use them mostly for just music, but with some gaming and a little bit of video editing thrown in. I listen to just about everything but country, with metal, rock, and electronica being the most common genres. Please feel free to correct any misconceptions about the 'phones I've listed, and to suggest anything I haven't. If possible, comparisons to my SE530s would be greatly appreciated, since they're the only high end head phone I've yet to hear.

 

[Neuromantic]

You could probably get away with open phones if you have not tried them. I have an AC unit right next to me, a crappy computer chassis with about 6 loud as hell fans, a dog barking on the other end of the house, someone blowdrying their hair in the bathroom, someone else using a blender in the kitchen, and an air purifier in my room and I can't hear any of it while listening to my music at a very low level. The only enemy is when a song's fading out. Of course this is just my situation and your mileage may vary.

But if you want to be on the safe side and have a can that will not only isolate a lot of noise but be good for portable use, add two Audio Technicas to your list: M50 and ES7

 

[maverickronin]

I suppose I should consider some open 'phone as well, but unless I come across a pair that really jump out at me, I'll go with something closed.

Audio Technicas M50 and ES7 are added to my list to check out.

 

[eucariote]

Quote:

Originally Posted by maverickronin /img/forum/go_quote.gif Denon AH-D2000 Highly regarded but I've heard it doesn't isolate very much, so I haven't looked into further AKG 271 Also well regarded, looks great and the detachable cable is a big plus, but the bass my be a bit to lean for me. I'm not looking for huge booming bass, I love the flat bass response on my Shures, but the AKGs seem like they roll off the low end a bit to much. Beyerdynamic DT770 600ohm I head someone say you'd have to step up to something like the D7000 to find a nicer sealed can. An all black manufaktur would be icing on the cake, expensive though. GMP 3.00/3.50 Don't know a whole lot about them but I've seen a few glowing recommendations. They look like they'll survive a nuclear holocaust as well. Definitely worth a try. Beyerdynamic DT150 Don't know anything about them. They were just recommended to me in another thread. ..If possible, comparisons to my SE530s would be greatly appreciated, since they're the only high end head phone I've yet to hear.

Of the ones you list, similar models I have owned are K271, D5000, D7000, DT770-80, DT250-250 and SE530. Out a decent amp and with my ears, I'd rate them:

D7000 > SE530 > D5000 > DT250 > K271 > DT770-80

So I think your SE530 will be hard to beat. I'd love to try the DT770-600 (might be my next headphone) which people with similar gear/taste really like.

If you're going to canjam you should try them all and school us on what you prefer.

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eucariote /img/forum/go_quote.gif D7000 > SE530 > D5000 > DT250 > K271 > DT770-80 So I think your SE530 will be hard to beat. I'd love to try the DT770-600 (might be my next headphone) which people with similar gear/taste really like.

Wow, you think they're that good? I really like them too, but like I said, I don't have anything to compare them to. I never really thought that I wouldn't be able to find something better in my price range. I didn't know I was so high up the ladder already. I just bought the SE530s because I really loved my E2cs till they broke.

 

[kobeclix]

How about shure's srh840? I was in the same position as you with my se530s. I was stuck between d2000 and hfi780 but ultimately went with srh840. They are great all around closed headphones. I think they sound better than the se530s because of more balance.