[tehpressman]

I'm looking for a pair of headphones for my new computer. My setup will be a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz and Klipsch 5.1s.

I need headphones mainly for listening to music - mostly mpc's, lame mp3's, and some ogg's. In other words, not 128 kbps xing mp3's or wma's. I may or may not use them for gaming.

Anyway, I had my heart set on a pair of Grado SR80s, but then started wondering about a few things. First of all, I heard they're good for rock music. But how do they do for jazz, ambient, trip-hop, or just general electronic music? I do listen to certain rock & metal, but many other genres including those ones. Would I be better off with something else?

So, I'm basically looking for something that's:

- not closed
- good for jazz, rock, metal, and electronica
- comfortable for at least a few hours
- doesn't need an amp
- good for gaming would be a plus, but not essential

are there special headphones out there just for me?

 

[ray4jc]

hi

note sure if you looked around much yet but there are lots of post similiar to yours.


from experience i first used a pair of sennheiser HD497's for about the same things your looking for, its not too bad it can get a bit uncomfortable after a while and some people just don't like the fit period.

just my .02

ray

 

[jlo mein]

just curious if you dont mind me asking, why do you not want closed phones for your pc?

 

[tehpressman]

Quote:

Originally posted by jlo mein just curious if you dont mind me asking, why do you not want closed phones for your pc?

Would I be better off getting closed? I've been trying to read as much as I can recently, I've never owned a decent pair of headphones. But I assumed that I wouldn't really be able to hear my computer with a pair of open phones.

If you think I'd be better off going with something closed, what would you recommend?

 

[ray4jc]

most people don't want to hear there computer of course i guess thats only the people runnin a couple deltas hehe.....

well closed and open phones are pretty much diff i can't really say too much to that since i only own open phones however i do have some closed phones on the way

i like open phones lots of times cause i just don't like people sneakin up on me

but if your computer is really loud then you might want closed

i'm sure someone else could help ya with this that has used closed ones maybe HD280's or some beyerdynamics


ray

 

[taipeileviathan]

Quote:

Originally posted by tehpressman But I assumed that I wouldn't really be able to hear my computer with a pair of open phones.

i'm confused... why would u want to hear ur computer running? i have open (very open) headphones hooked up to my comp, and i just wanna smash that atx tower case in everytime i hear it buzzing in the background of a great musically silent moment, like at the climax of barber's adagio for strings...

i think closed cans are a good idea, cuz they can sound great, plus they also tend to be more portable, and u can listen to them without bothering ppl around u. u mite wanna look at some beyers...

 

[Guyferd]

How much are you willing to spend??

Do you like some 'bright' headphone?

If you have lots of cash, I suggest that you get Sony Mdr-cd3000. Reportedly very good bass and visceral impact, about the same as dt770pro.Great for you electronica and metal. Good soundstage for jazz. Some say the sound is alittle bright, but it all depends on your taste. The impedance is very low and can be driven even out of a portable cd player. It doesn't really need an amp too..

If I were you I would get this, especially since this may end your headphone journey ..hehe... it's a big step from 0 headphone to a hi-fi cd3000. I would really like to have a pair too someday when I have a cash.
Perhaps you might wanna try them out?

 

[a1leyez0nm3]

how much do you want to spend??

 

[tehpressman]

Looking at Sony's site, the cd3000's are unfortunately out of my budget. I'll say the max I'd spend is around $300, but I'm no audiophile so something that much better be comfortable

 

[tehpressman]

I did a little more searching around here (it's 8 am already? It was 4 am like 10 minutes ago...), and I'm considering the Beyer DT250-80's.

One question though - would I need to get an amp with it? I really can't spend much on an amp, the total airhead would probably be the best I can afford.

 

[Guyferd]

The dt250-80 doesn't need an amp.It is designed with lower impedance than its sibling(the 250 ohm version) with the purpose to run from portable, etc.. without amp.

 

[Geek]

I solidly recommend the DT250-80s. $160 from www.headphone.com and a great sound for the money. Closed, will block out that noisy cpu fan noise, and sonically sounds similar to the really great open 'phones (HD580, 600). Definitely sounds great unamped.

I've used them for probably upwards of a thousand hours, at least two hundred of those spent gaming away on my PC.

Cheers,
Geek

 

[tehpressman]

Thanks for the comments. I might get an amp later on, but for now I won't since I'd rather not spend too much money.

 

[taipeileviathan]

Quote:

Originally posted by tehpressman I did a little more searching around here (it's 8 am already? It was 4 am like 10 minutes ago...)

... i definitely feel you...

that's happened to me way too many times to be good for my grades (or my wallet).

as for a low-cost amp with great value, check out www.fixup.net . this one's gonna drive all my non-STAX hp's until i get enuff money for a sugden headmaster...

 

[a1leyez0nm3]

go etymotics!!! er4p!! ($289?? at headphone.com)