[ajreynol]

Warmest greetings to all.

I'm brand new here, but old to interwebs. I'm a moderator over at TeamXbox and a pretty heavy poster in general, though this will be my first in these illustrious forums. I found this forum during a conversation about headphones over at TXB and someone pointed me here. Glad to be a part of such an excellent resource.

Cutting to the chase, I'm looking to pick up a superb pair of closed air cans and I need your collective advice. I want you all to know that I took a lot of time out to research my dilemma before presenting it humbly to all of you for consideration, combing the Buyer's Guide threads, amp threads, and review threads for the individual headphones of interest to me...then reading what feels like hundreds of personal reviews on product pages at places like Amazon. After all that, I still have some questions that I believe a thread would solve more quickly than say...bumping 9 month-old threads.

My specific needs & limitations (which will hopefully add necessary direction and focus to the thinking):

1. On the ear or over the ear style (no in-ear; uncomfortable over time for me)
2. Must be closed-ear (minimal sound-leak, please)
3. I expect to travel with them regularly, so weight, size, and folding ability should be a consideration, though not mission-critical
4. I do not want cans that need an amp to sound good. I've read that many of the top tier do, but I'm just not there yet (in terms of willingness to come up off of $400+ for cans + amps). Cans that don't need an amp ever, or cans that sound great as is, but can benefit should I decide to pick up an amp later would be an acceptable scenario. But sounding great TODAY is the priority.
5. Looking to spend under $300. $350, max.
6. My musical tastes are: 50% Hip-Hop, 20% Gospel (big choir), 10% R&B, 10% Alternative/Rock, 10% Classical/Jazz/Latin. As such, cans should possess the crispness and clarity in the highs that will make my Alternative and Rock sound proper, the mids for the Gospel, and the refined bass necessary to not screw up my Hip-Hop.
7. Bass needs to show up and represent itself well, but not take over the party if you know what I mean. I'm not looking for a bass-heavy, muddy mess like many would probably be satisfied with. I'm a grown man with grown sensibilities. No 12"s in the trunk of my BMW, you know what I mean?
   
8. If there are any that have a smaller profile (as in not gigantic when on my head), that'd be cool, though not mission-critical in any way. But if I can avoid being stared at because of the size of my cans when I'm boarding an airplane, that would be a nice plus.

I've searched the forum and read the reviews of several products now, but most reviews and commentaries are pretty old and burn-in may have changed some opinions and softened some stances.

To date, I've heard the following in person:

1. Sennheiser HD 380
2. Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro

I found the HD 380's to sound excellent in the high and mid ranges, but only average in the lows...and perhaps needing a bump down there. I found the DT770 Pro's to be excellent in the high's, but noticeably weak in the mid's, lows and overall volume levels. I found the sound stages nicer than my Bose On Ears, but wasn't blown away. I assume the DT770's needed an amp (as suggested in the Buyer's Guide thread) which takes them off the table for me. So any phones that the Head Fi brain-trust might think of that are around the DT770's performance without an amp can be left on the sideline.

I plan on going on a road trip to listen to the Audio Technica a700 and a900 tomorrow. I was thinking of seeking out some of the Denon D2000's as well, but am not sure how those perform without an amp, relative to the competition.

All things being said, if there are few pairs of cans under $300 that don't require an amp to sound great and sound better than the HD 380's (as well as my Bose On Ear's) while presenting good (but not overpowering) bass as appropriate for bass-heavy music...please pass those suggestions along. I'll add them to my road trip for tomorrow and toss some pics from the day.

Thank you all in advance. Your time really is greatly appreciated. And if I've misunderstood the pricing for a quality amp (my understanding is $150-$300), please let me know. That would re-open the app-needy phones into consideration for me (though any that need an amp should be listed along side those that don't).

 

[Drubbing]

Beyer DT250/80ohm is worth considering. Meets many, but probably not all your criteria. Fairly neutral sound, so, for me, works with lots of different music. Doesn't need an amp, but will improve with one, as it also will with a good source.

THe ones you've mentioned don't lend themselves to road tripping, ATs are B I G, and DT770 doen't like to be folded.

 

[ajreynol]

thanks for the response.

I'll see if I can find a pair of those in my area.

additional recommendations are greatly appreciated from all. It's okay if they don't travel perfectly, btw. I could have lived with the DT770's if the sound made me feel it was worth it.

 

[wnmnkh]

Let's see... since you travel a lot, then quite many of over the ear style (a.k.a fullsize or circumaural here) headphones won't suit you that much since they are quite bulky. The Audio Technica's that you are going to hear, you will find out they are pretty too big for travel. So here are my recommendations of on the ear ones first...(a.k.a supraaural)


Actually, Bose On Ear is not that bad at your situation, and there aren't many headphones that both outperform and satisify your requirements. AT's ATH-ESW9A surely be a big upgrade from Bose and the price is within your budget (not to mention no need of amp.) Another top choice would be Sennheiser HD25, but they are quite uncomfortable....

And not many people are talking about these... but AKG K450 and Sennheiser HD228 are quite good as well. HD2x8 in general have rather recessed mids, but you won't find them that lacking. Both AKG and Sennheiser are cheap as well.

If you think you can handle circumaural ones, then there are a lot of options, RP21, DT770 (notice there is consumer version of 32ohm, and sound better than pro version), Denon D1001 and possibly 2000, Audio Technicas (that you are going to hear).... and there are some more that might satisify you.

 

[ajreynol]

Understood and thank you for the reply. I'm making note of all of these and will try to hunt down as many of them locally as I can.

and actually, I'm glad that there aren't a lot of headphones for me to have to choose from. It'll make the task of picking one easier.

I'll see if I can find the 32 ohm version of the DT770 as well as the Denons.

 

[ajreynol]

any other recommendations or thoughts out there?

 

[wnmnkh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajreynol /img/forum/go_quote.gif Understood and thank you for the reply. I'm making note of all of these and will try to hunt down as many of them locally as I can. and actually, I'm glad that there aren't a lot of headphones for me to have to choose from. It'll make the task of picking one easier. I'll see if I can find the 32 ohm version of the DT770 as well as the Denons.

I am sorry to say that but other than Sennheiser HD280, 380 (and some lesser ones) and Beyer DT770Pro, you won't get any demo-ing on local. I mean these days many hifi stores do not even carry Grados... do you are basically out of luck for this.

 

[ajreynol]

damn, you just read my mind.

I've called around to maybe 15 places based on the recommendations here, and simply put, NOBODY carries any of my final 6. Not a single reseller. And while places like Guitar Center can order them, they don't accept returns. This sucks.

At the end of the day, am I going to have to buy 3 or 4 of these and audition them all? I just don't see another way to narrow down my list. I have the finances to do that, but it just seems so over the top..

How did you guys do this? Narrow it down by recommendation and simply go on faith? Buy multiple products and sent back all but the one you like the most?

 

[Bullseye]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajreynol /img/forum/go_quote.gif any other recommendations or thoughts out there?

I think a good headphone (a bit big, depending on your head, that covers the rest of your conditions), is the ATH M50.

They sound great out of a portable player (say Cowon D2, Sansa Clip or Sony A820), don't need amplification (38 Ohm impedance and 99 dB sensitivity). With the latter you might need to crank the volume a bit more, but the Portbale player can drive it well enough.

They have a very nice bass, not overpowering and a very "flat response". It might take just a bit to get used to the headphones, but pads are comfortable. They can be bought from eBay for <$100 shipped. You have coiled cord version or straight cord version. It is pretty long but it can't be perfect

It has a 1/8'' jack with a 1/4'' adaptor that matches well.

Anyways you should research it. Read opinions onf it on Amazon or gearslutz.com. If you get this ones hope you like them.