[tigger]

OK, here is a list of my travels through the headphone world in search of nirvana, which to me should be sonically accurate but musically involving. Oh yeah, and I have a 'wife induced' budget of $200!

I am really stuck right now and floundering all over the place. I need some good advice to help me focus on the mission!

Here is my list of trials with brief comments. And yes I have used the search function TO DEATH.

Grado SR60 - Thought they were ok but sizzley and poor bass

Sennheiser HD580 - Smooth and silky but lack of definition

Grado SR125 - Better than SR60 but still colored ind tizzy

Grado SR225 - Best Grado for me but the Grado sound is tiring

Grado SR 325 - You can't accuse me of not giving Grado a fair chance. Liked the 225 better

Etymotic ER4s - Loved the sound but hated the hassle and too much isolation and pain!

Sennheiser HD600 - Should have learned with the 580

So here we are today with no 'phones and no clue.

I use my headphones mainly for home listening, with occasional portable use. I have both Panasonic SL-SW890 & Sony D EJ611 CD players Grundig eTraveller AM/FM/SW radio, and a Porta Corda II amp.
Music preferences are mainly Jazz, Blues and older 60's- 90's Rock.
I welcome some suggestions

 

[psyco1]

How about the HD-250 for 99$ at newegg?

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...tby=14&order=1

 

[Mystic]

You may want to look into some Beyers. I have the DT770 and the DT911, which are sonically very different from one another. The 770s with slammin' bass, fairly nice highs and slightly recessed mids (though sweet sounding). They are great for rock and not bad for other styles of music. They are not extremely detailed, so most music sounds good, even mp3's. No matter how you define the word, these things definitely groove. Though some say they are a little too colored for their tastes.

On the other end, the 911s (predecessor to the 931s) are brighter with very forward mids, beautiful highs, and an extended but not too pronounced bottom. These are very revealing and source dependent. I personally think they are very musical, particularly with jazz and classical, and not too shabby with other forms of music.

People are beginning to post opinions about the 880s and they sound promising. They may be more neutral than the 770s without losing the fun factor

 

[wallijonn]

BD DT531 at $125
Senn HD590 at $185
ATH A900 at $200

 

[tigger]

Wallijonn,

BD DT531 at $125
Senn HD590 at $185
ATH A900 at $200

Have you owned/reviewed these?

 

[Maxvla]

you can get the 590s from etronics for 165.

 

[wallijonn]

Tig,

inference.

There was a used HD590 for $125 in the used section days ago. not many people selling their DT531 or A900s. dang.

 

[williamgoody]

I second the recommendation for the DT 770's. Really really great for grooving. I was listenijg to the newest Al DiMeola disc with them and my Meta at lunch yesterday. Really, really fine, and captivating.

 

[tigger]

I thank you all for your input, but so far none of the recommendations would fit this criteria;
__________________________________________________
"which to me should be sonically accurate but musically involving."
__________________________________________________

Anyway, I'll probably get flamed for this, but I went ahead and purchased AKG K501's new for $125, and Sennheiser PX100 for $40 for portable & radio use, so we'll see what happens.

I really don't think I could live with the colorations of closed headphones.I've tried HD590's in a store, but did not like them at all.

 

[plainsong]

You guys that would like 770, but are afraid of taking the plunge because of the "too much bass" reports might be happy with the 990s.

I don't know how these sound as your sources improve, but if you're using a good pcdp and a good portable amp, the 990s will show you the love.

My experience with this is with the new 990s, a portacorda II, and a solid PCDP, the Grundig 4100. The 990s can also almost make an imac sound good - almost. But that's not all. For a few years we had the old 990s, hooked up to one of the old Sony really good PCDPs. - and again the setup was great.

If you check over at Meier-Audio, that website pretty much says what I'm saying..

Of course, I haven't even bothered to see what kind of sources you're using, so if you have some kind of uber-setup then I'll just do a Rosanna Rosannadanna "nevermind"

 

[Mystic]

tigger, let us know what you think of the K501 when you get them. They are on my short list for my next purchase.

 

[plainsong]

Ok, perhaps if you have a system that can handle the AKG 501s, then I was completely off-base with the 990s. Oops, I'm sorry. Please continue this previously scheduled thread, already in progress.

 

[tigger]

plainsong; no worries!

Mystic; You can count on it!

I realize the Porta Corda II may not do them justice, but who knows until we try it. After all it can run in class 'A' and has the capability to use an external power supply up to 28v.
Besides, I like to listen at relatively low levels.
I also have access to a Creek OBH11 which some people say is a very good match with the 501's.
According to my research, the AKG K501 is inneficient (94db) but has a very flat impedence curve, not varying much from 120 ohms throughout the frequency range, so it needs voltage but shouldn't be too current hungry.