[LazBro123]

Quote:

      yup..i tried that walking around NYC with Grado SR125's; all but useless every noise gets in. I use my SR125's at home unamped with my iMac, but i did take teh plunge and buy Audirvana+, made a hge difference even w/o an amp.
If that helps at all.

 
Exactly! Open headphones are meant indoors and nowhere outdoors. Tried to use my (sold) Ultrasone HFI 2400 at an airport, but couldnt hear my music lol! 

 

[bonfirehay]

Quote:

 
Sennheiser, I'm finding, is starting to produce "fun" headphones.  HD25/Amperiors, and Momentums are very enjoyable listens, and deal with things like weak sources, poor recordings, and lousy listening environments very well.  I'm glad you enjoy them.  I do too...

 
Starting?

 

[zackzack]

The K550s are efficient enough that they don't need an amp to drive them with most portable sources. Not sure about the iPad, but the Galaxy S3 is supposed to be pretty similar to my Galaxy Note 2 in SQ, which the K550s sound very good on. The E17 wouldn't really help a lot unless you wanted more volume. However, if you are using a PC laptop or desktop with sort of standard not so great SQ, the E17 could help because of its built in DAC.
 

 
In fact, the K550 sounds awful, trebly and peaky when driven by a powerful amp or DAC. 
Try  hook it up to a substantial DAC like the Gungnir (and a decent amp).
I have to turn down the high frequencies on most tracks in my collection. 
 
Strangely AKG gives a 3m cord when a 1.5m would be more fitting for
its intended use: portable listening.

 

[cel4145]

In fact, the K550 sounds awful, trebly and peaky when driven by a powerful amp or DAC. 

I find that that they sound very good with my Asgard 2 and ODAC.