Need Recommendations

[dingyibvs]

Hey everyone, I'm not an audiophile or anything, I'm just looking for a good pair of headphones and need some recommendations. Unfortunately, I can't find many local vendors to try them out, so I need to order them online and pray for the best. Normally I'd just read some reviews, but when it comes to sound, everybody has different tastes, so I'll tell you the music I listen to and how I liked the sounds of the headphones I've tried so you can have a better idea of my taste. I'd like to keep the cost at around $100, less is better, of course

Also, I won't be using an amp and :

First, I listen to all types of music. I listen to rap/hip-hop as often as I do light rock and classical music. However, I seem to be much more sensitive to good bass than good high/mid. You'll probably see from my experiences with headphones:

1)Koss UR-20: Just terrible throughout, quickly returned

2)Sennheiser HD457: Satisfactory mid and lows, no bass to speak of.

3)Sony 7506: Very good mid, tight bass, but simply unbearable sibilance. Woulda been perfect if it wasn't for that. Maybe it could be helped with EQ?

4)Skullcandy GI: Bass so boomy it hurts my head, terrible mids and lows. I tried this out of desperation.

5)Sony 7509HD: Perfect sound for my untrained ears, too bad it's a bit out of my price range

6)Bose On-ear headphones: Surprisingly adequate sounding to my trained ears, actually. A bit expensive and looks flimsy though.


I'm kind of thinking about the Sennheiser HD212Pro, Equation RP22x, and the Grado SR-80 right now. What would you guys recommend?

Much appreciated.

 

[EugeneK]

if you listen to a lot more rock than classical, go with a grado.

I personally like AKGs for classical.

 

[Towert7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dingyibvs /img/forum/go_quote.gif 5)Sony 7509HD: Perfect sound for my untrained ears, too bad it's a bit out of my price range 6)Bose On-ear headphones: Surprisingly adequate sounding to my trained ears, actually. A bit expensive and looks flimsy though.

If you have a hard time finding headphones that sound good to you, and here you have listed 2 headphones that you think sound good.......... well I would say just get them if you like the sound. (Especially if you can't try out the others you are considering).

You say you didn't like a sibilant sound. Chances are the budget grados will not suite you then.

 

[Dr Evil Dan]

I have the SR-80s, and I have to say that unequalized, they are basically useless and empty sounding. However, if you use your computer for audio, then you should be good with them, because they are definitely good cans that just need a bit of attention, by which I mean some tinkering with the equalizer.

 

[compuryan]

From reading what you like, the Equation RP21 might be just perfect. I owned a pair and really loved them. If you want to get the RP22x version for the extra bass thing, go ahead but I think its kinda unnecessary.

 

[dingyibvs]

Thanks a lot for the suggestions thus far!

The reason I was thinking of the RP22x and the HD 212 Pro was mostly for their extra bass. From the reviews I've read and my own corresponding experiences is that most audiophiles(i.e. people who post here) tend to favor headphones designed more for classical and then rock. I, on the other hand, listen to a good amount of rap/hip hop/dance music as well, and those types of music are mostly bass/beat-driven. I also seem to have far less tolerance for sibilant sound than most people I've met, so a pair that's more focused on bass, even if at the cost of a muddier high end is acceptable to me(after all, at ~100 dollars I can't expect good everything). But the Bose cans are about as far as I can accept as far as muddy mids/highs go, the skullcandys were just atrocious(muddy everything). Thus, I figured that perhaps a pair of headphones whose bass is just out of acceptable range of most audiophiles' acceptable range, but not very muddy-sounding, would suit me.

BTW, I looked at the frequency response graphs provided by headroom and tried to compare between the ones I'm looking at and the ones I've already tried, and I noticed something kind of odd. I compared the HD457 and the HD212, and it seems like the 457's have a much more exaggerated bass, yet the 457's sounded like it has very little of it. How does that happen?

 

[Headphile808]

However, I seem to be much more sensitive to good bass than good high/mid.
If this is the case, I would suggest something more like Audio-Technica ATH-AD700s. They're sound signature matches what you describe your ears to like.
Detailed highs, beautiful mids, great soundstage & tight, punchy well-balanced bass. Hard to find a better deal in it's price range IMO. $104.96@Amazon. Highly Recommended.
Good Luck & Happy New Year

Aloha
Headphile808

 

[Towert7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dingyibvs /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks a lot for the suggestions thus far! The reason I was thinking of the RP22x and the HD 212 Pro was mostly for their extra bass. From the reviews I've read and my own corresponding experiences is that most audiophiles(i.e. people who post here) tend to favor headphones designed more for classical and then rock. I, on the other hand, listen to a good amount of rap/hip hop/dance music as well, and those types of music are mostly bass/beat-driven. I also seem to have far less tolerance for sibilant sound than most people I've met, so a pair that's more focused on bass, even if at the cost of a muddier high end is acceptable to me(after all, at ~100 dollars I can't expect good everything). But the Bose cans are about as far as I can accept as far as muddy mids/highs go, the skullcandys were just atrocious(muddy everything). Thus, I figured that perhaps a pair of headphones whose bass is just out of acceptable range of most audiophiles' acceptable range, but not very muddy-sounding, would suit me. BTW, I looked at the frequency response graphs provided by headroom and tried to compare between the ones I'm looking at and the ones I've already tried, and I noticed something kind of odd. I compared the HD457 and the HD212, and it seems like the 457's have a much more exaggerated bass, yet the 457's sounded like it has very little of it. How does that happen?

If that's the case, you might want to look at the HD25-1 II. Lots of bass, without sacrificing the mids/highs too much. Closed, portable, block out a little bit of noise....

You do have to be careful of frequency response graphs. You might initially think 'loudness' of bass corresponds to what you think of as bass, but that's probably not the case. You probably associate bass weight to bass which is what most people start off thinking.

 

[compuryan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Towert7 /img/forum/go_quote.gif If that's the case, you might want to look at the HD25-1 II. Lots of bass, without sacrificing the mids/highs too much. Closed, portable, block out a little bit of noise.... You do have to be careful of frequency response graphs. You might initially think 'loudness' of bass corresponds to what you think of as bass, but that's probably not the case. You probably associate bass weight to bass which is what most people start off thinking.

I agree with this. I know the HD25-1 II is above your price range, but if you feel like going for it, you won't be disappointed. Its a really great headphone.