[DC5Zilla]

Hi, I currently own ER4P and usually listen to them straight from my ipod. My father is showing an interest on the sound quality I get from this portable and I think it will be a great idea to buy a quality headphone for his next birthday which is coming up in April. I asked him couple questions and came out with a list of things he would like.

1. Full-sized headphone is good!
2. little to no isolation so he could hear phone calls
3. Prefer no sound leak but open type is fine. Is it possible to have both little isolation and no sound leak?

4. Needs to be pretty comfy. We went to local grado dealer to try out the 60/80/225s but he didn't like any of them due to the padding.
5. Must sound great straight from laptop/playstation portable. He prefer not to use any kinds of amplifiers.
6. He listens to practically everything with exception of heavy rocks. He don't like very bassy sounds.

Price Budget ~$300

I'm currently thinking of ultrasone 2500 because someone here on forum said they don't need amp. I was originally planning about k701/HD600 but I guess you definately needs amp to power them up. Grado SR225 sounded also good but he didn't like the ergonomics of grados.

I will appreciate any kinds of suggestion!!

 

[as.we.proceed]

ultrasone is bass heavy. look at audio technica and sennheiser, not bass heavy and comfortable.

 

[cswann1]

Sounds like Audio Technica ATH-AD700's are a good candidate.

 

[Oggranak]

AD700s fit the description, but surely he can get something at least a little better with that extra $200?

Also, if my memory serves me the PSP's sound quality is less than decent...

 

[Acix]

1. For more budget RS-1...
2. You can go for new/used K-701 + amp, or sound card like the Echo Indigo DJ.

 

[DC5Zilla]

As.we.proceed, cswann1, thank you for the reply!! I just checked the ATH-AD700's on the official websites. Sounds pretty nice!! I was quite astounded by the price on amazon with $84

Are there any other candidate?

 

[Oggranak]

Are the AD900s any good unamped? If so, might they be a good choice?

 

[lucky]

I'd recommend the AD700. My K701 sounded fine to me straight out of my laptop, but they require more volume to reach the same level as the AD700, and their termination in a 1/4" jack creates an unneeded hassle. The AD700, on the other hand, end in a 1/8" jack, have plenty of volume, and to me, offer a richer, more enveloping sound.

 

[DC5Zilla]

>Acix
RS-1 is well over my budget

do all grados feel(ergonomically) the same?

 

[DC5Zilla]

>Oggranak
I can't find the AD900 on the website... is it discontinued? I guess I will have to search a little deeper into it

 

[Oggranak]

I know little about the AD900, but my understanding is that it's basically a more expensive version of the AD700 (I could be wrong). If it's good unamped (like I said, I know little about it), it might be a good option. Also, it's black, not gold and purple like the AD700, so it's a little nicer-looking.

 

[DC5Zilla]

I just did some little research and it seems that it works great even without amps!! Price did increase by about $200 but thats fine with me! And indeed the color makes them 4x better looking to me

I think I'm decided. Thank you to everyone who chimed in to help me out! I hope my dad will enjoy it.