[allan-of-ca]

I listen to mostly soft pop and classical music and I am looking for a good headphone under $700. I read posts where the Grado headphones takes you into the music and makes the music exciting and lively. This seems very intriguing and makes me want to try the Grado RS-1 but I wanted to get recommendations first on which headphone others think I should buy.

Thanks for your help!!

Allan

 

[kdread]

I have never had the pleasure of listening to a woody grado. But for the type of music you seem to like, I would definitely suggest Grados in general. They do make the instruments come alive especially in rock/pop, anything with vocals, and classical.

It should not be hard to find somewhere to demo a pair of grados most places in the world. You may not need to go all the way to the RS-1 right away as well.

You could always resell them here on head-fi if you don't like them, as there is ususally a pretty good turn around on lightly used/demoed audio gear.

.

 

[kramer5150]

HD580/600 + SR71/Millet
HF1 + SR71/Millet (for a brighter, more aggressive sound thats more in your head)

For that price you might be able to squeeze a K240s and headroom micro stack into your budget

. Recable the AKG to tighten it up, and mod the cloth driver cover to taste to bring out more treble / mids.

Garrett

 

[allan-of-ca]

Are the RS-1 worth the price or are the other Grados just as good? Also, what other headphones should I consider? Should I look at the Sennheiser HD 650? How do they compare? OR is this crazy?


Thanks
Allan

 

[drarthurwells]

Classical music is very, very demanding on equipment - the best components are needed to reproduce a full orchestra with a rich and complex array of tones.

Natural timbre is a must for me - some headphone systems sound like the instruments are from outer space or from some unknown country - unnatural sounding.

Also important: lack of coloration, the best transient response and dynamic impact, great imaging with the ability to separate instruments in space in proper soundstage location, and great detail - particularly inner detail in complex passages.

My system does it best for me.

 

[kramer5150]

Quote:

Originally Posted by drarthurwells Classical music is very, very demanding on equipment - the best components are needed to reproduce a full orchestra with a rich and complex array of tones. Natural timbre is a must for me - some headphone systems sound like the instruments are from outer space or from some unknown country - unnatural sounding. Also important: lack of coloration, the best transient response and dynamic impact, great imaging with the ability to separate instruments in space in proper soundstage location, and great detail - particularly inner detail in complex passages. My system does it best for me.

Great point... My HF1 recommendation while preferable for some things, may not be the best for classical music.

to the OP, you can get a headroom micro stack for ~$600, knock off the 10% discount for head-fi members and youre looking at around $550. That'll leave you with $150 for an HD580 or K501. The K240s might also be too colored and not resolve enough detail for your tastes.

Garrett

 

[augustwest]

Unless classical listening is only a very small of your listening, I would forget about the Grado line. They just don't do classical justice at all, they work pretty well for pop, rock, jazz and with the exception of classical guitar.

If classical is a priority for you then you should be considering headphone from mfg. such as; Sennheiser, Beyer, AKG, AT, etc.

happy listening,

- augustwest

 

[allan-of-ca]

So, would my choices be Grado RS-1, Sennheiser HD650 or the Beyerdynamics DT880? Should I be looking at any other headphones?


Allan