[s1mp13m4n]

Hello everyone. I am legally blind and live on a fixed income. I am in the market for a full size headphone for use at home. Here is what I am trying to do.

$100 or less for headphones
Will use an older iPod Touch or six year old computer to listen to music
I have a Headroom Total BitHead as a USB DAC and amp

The main material I will be playing on the headphones will be audiobooks, acoustic music such as Eric Clapton's Unplugged, acoustic music such as folk and bluegrass, and classical music. I have no intention to listen to modern pop or hip-hop.

Right now I am considering the Grado line of headphones. The reasons for this are they seem to provide quality at a budget price, do not need a powerful amp to drive them, and finally...they are made by a few people in a small shop in the USA. In other words I would be supporting a small business rather than a large corporate business such as Bose or Dr. dre. Thank you for your help and advice.

 

[JoshG1217]

They are more like $150, but the Beyerdynamic dt 770 is a great headphone, especially for the price. It outperforms other headphones costing twice as much. If you will be using from home, I would probably get the 80 ohm. The 32 ohm had a shorter cord and is more portable if that matters.

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

In that price range I would look at the Philips SHP9500s. They are comfortable, have good soundstage and imaging, the clarity and detail is good for acoustic music and are very easy to drive (they improve with an amp, but they don't need one)

 

[Relaxasaurus]

Check out the first three or so headphones recommended here. Looks like your Grado choice come recommended too

 

[Sgt. Ear Ache]

I recently got some AKG K240s. $99.99 canadian and they sound fantastic plus they are super light weight. They have a bit of a "cheap" feeling construction but fine really. Not too power hungry either...

 

[Mani ATH 87]

Do yourself a favor and do not pickup any of the lower end Grados, they sound absolutely terrible and the comfort is atrocious.

As mentioned above, the DT770 is a much better recommendation.

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

The OP said he was on a fixed income...the Beyerdynamics NEVER sell for under $100. If they did I would have a set of DT880.
I like the Grados for your usage....if you are not too treble sensitive and you are ok with an on ear design. Some people find the Grados unpleasant for those two reasons.
In the under $100 category the 9500s are a winner. You might enjoy them in stock form, I wasn't a fan of the original pads. I would recommend upgrading the pads to Brainwavz HM5 (I prefer the hybrids) ....or the Shure 1540 pads which some people swear by, but are a little pricey. (You would probably still be under your budget though). Unless you have a very large head, they fit better with a pad upgrade.
If the 9500s don't interest you or you want to save even more money, I recommend the Superlux HD681....the originals, not the EVO. (nothing against the EVO, I just have no experience with them, so I can't say one way or the other if they work for you)
With the 681 you HAVE to upgrade the pads, no choice, the stock ones are pretty bad. I like the HM5 round hybrids for those. With a pad upgrade they are very comfortable, you can wear them all day without any fatigue. They are a little bit brighter sound signature, some people find them too bright, but depending on your hearing/ usage they are fine. (for example, I am 48, a grown up 1980s Punk, so my hearing isn't so treble sensitive, I've lets say worn down my ciclia a bit over time and I don't find them too bright)

 

[Globox]

Around $100, I believe Grado is unbeatable !

 

[voxie]

Greetings.. here is a headphone that is worth considering its the SoundMagic P55. Great build and very comfortable. Its SQ is more on a the warm scale but it isn't a bassy phone. Has a nice overall sound. It should meet your music preferences..

 

[Monsterzero]

Around $100, I believe Grado is unbeatable !

Agreed.

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

Another great option to consider in that price, if you want to go with a closed back headphone is the NVX SPT100....it's a clone of the Brainwavz HM5. It is very clear and detailed and has really good soundstage for a closed headphone. In terms of comfort it is nearly unbeatable, very few headphones come close to it honestly.

 

[s1mp13m4n]

Question? What is up with all the headphone modifications out there? I am curious and learning. Lets say that you buy a Grado SR60. Why mod them? I could understand a better quality cable might offer better results on a piece of test gear, but in the real world....is the mod not snake oil or placeebo effect? In other words would not Grado make a headphone the best it can be within its given catagory?

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

Question? What is up with all the headphone modifications out there? I am curious and learning. Lets say that you buy a Grado SR60. Why mod them? I could understand a better quality cable might offer better results on a piece of test gear, but in the real world....is the mod not snake oil or placeebo effect? In other words would not Grado make a headphone the best it can be within its given catagory?

Short answer, no. There are a myriad reasons why manufacturers don't tune headphones as completely as they could, but the most obvious explanation is cost. It takes time and effort to properly tune a headphone....nearly every headphone in the under $100 price range can be improved with careful modifications. If we are talking about headphones over $200, sure, some thought and energy goes into tuning, and the higher up the ladder you go theoretically more thought and energy is expended.
I'll give you an example of 2 headphones by the same manufacturer: Philips Fidelio L2 and the Philips 9500s
The Fidelio L2 was designed to compete in the premium-portable market (think Sennheiser Momentum, Audio Technica MSR7) It is a well thought out, beautifully executed headphone....it is as good as or better in most regards to everything in it's class. It's a low impedance, highly sensitive headphone, so it sounds amazing out of a cell phone or portable dap, it's tuned to be very forgiving of bad recordings, yet has wonderful clarity. The bass is class leading, without being a basshead 'phone. It is built solidly, the mechanisms and materials, down to the density of the foam in the pads feels calculated. It's obvious a lot of time and care went into making them feel and sound a certain way. They retailed originally for around $300.
On the other hand the 9500s...the original pads are nothing to write home about, it seems as if they went to a pad manufacturer and said "we want x-y-z for a certain cost" and that's what they got. They said to their designers, "give us a headband that does this that and the other" and that's what they got. They had some some good drivers in their parts bin and they put those in. It's a good headphone off the shelf, but it doesn't seem to have received nearly the level of attention to detail as the L2....
BUT....with the right pads, and some magnets stacked on the drivers, and given a little bit of power through a decent amp? I genuinely prefer my 9500s over my L2s quite often.
Philips have a similar headphone to the 9500s that got as much time and care as the L2...it's called the X2 and costs 5 times what the 9500s does.