[Aaron909]

How are you guys doing. I'm trying to decide which headphones to purchase for myself. My budget is $150-$220. I listen to 80% hip-hop/rap, and 20% rock. I will eventually pair the headphones with a headphone amp like a Little Dot or something around that price range. But right now I wanna get the headphones first. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

 

[chews89]

Hi Aaron and welcome to Head-fi

Although you listed a good range of requirements, you missed out a very important factor. Do you need open or closed headphones? If you've been reading around here enough, you might've read that one should nearly always go for open headphones as they generally sound better(but not always the case). But if you need isolation, closed is the way to go. Where will you be using your cans primarily?

 

[Aaron909]

Thanks for the welcome.

It doesn't matter to me whether they're open or closed. Whatever sounds best. They will be used in my room 99% of the time.

 

[Z4N5H1N]

Grado SR-125s are within your budget.

I listen to a decent amount of hip-hop on my SR-80s, and they sound quite good, even without an amp.

On a side note, though, I've heard nothing but bad things about Little Dot amps. Perhaps choose a different amp; there's lots of different brands out there.

 

[EraserXIV]

hey when you get an amp you should look into the meier XXS or headsix (they're the same thing). they're pretty affordable at just over $100 and they sound great!

Meier-Audio

(the headsix is cheaper since it is a charity project. for every headsix sold i think $15 goes to head-fi.org)

 

[Aaron909]

I've read alot of good things about Grado headphones, but I have a couple questions.

How do the Grado SR-125's compare to the Alessandro MS-1's?
What is the difference between the SR-80's and the 125's?

 

[paaj]

sr125 has a 1/4" plug, sr80 has 1/4". this way, sr125 is better for home use as most amps use 1/4", sr80 is for portable.
I noticed a better (lower) bass with the sr125 (and thus was the first grado I took home while I was actually searching for HD595/600/650

)
don't know the ms-1, maybe using the search function will help?

You could also look at the Beyer DT770-PRO for your hiphop needs.

 

[chews89]

Yeah, if i remember correctly there is a huge thread comparing the MS-1 and SR-80. Use the search function, the thread should come up fairly easily. But purely from what I have read, apparently the MS-1 is a slightly different version of the SR-125, except being less harsh and up-front.(not 100% sure on this though)

 

[chews89]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Z4N5H1N /img/forum/go_quote.gif Grado SR-125s are within your budget. I listen to a decent amount of hip-hop on my SR-80s, and they sound quite good, even without an amp. On a side note, though, I've heard nothing but bad things about Little Dot amps. Perhaps choose a different amp; there's lots of different brands out there.

Hey Z4N5H1N, I'm curious to know what are those "bad things" that you've heard about Little Dot? No point having a statement like that without any details to back it up.

 

[Aaron909]

^Was thinking the same thing. I was almost 99% sure on the LD, but now I'm having second thoughts. Maybe I should get a Zero DAC instead?

Would a Zero DAC be enough to run the Beyerdynamic DT770's 250ohm?

 

[Tacoboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron909 /img/forum/go_quote.gif How are you guys doing. I'm trying to decide which headphones to purchase for myself. My budget is $150-$220. I listen to 80% hip-hop/rap, and 20% rock. I will eventually pair the headphones with a headphone amp like a Little Dot or something around that price range. But right now I wanna get the headphones first. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

Audio Technica ATH-AD700s, usually go for around $100 mail order.