Noob here too. I started where you are right now. I'm assuming sound quality is your reason for upgrading -- my reco leaks a lot of sound but if you want to forego that, here it is.
For your music, I suggest the SR60i with a Fiio E3 mini amp -- buy them together on Amazon and shipping is free
. With the volume turned up, you get a sense that you are onstage/in a studio playing versus sitting in the audience listening. .What's great about Grados is you can sell them if you hate them at close to what you got them for.
I really suggest that you add a couple more bucks and get the SR80i with an E3 -- you will put your in pals with $ 300 Bose and Beats to shame. It has more detail and it gets better and louder with maybe a month's use. Plus if you look hard enough, the tax and shipping on your $ 70 headphones might amount to the same thing especially if you get the 80i tax free without shipping.
Alternatives are really a massive downgrade in detail. I will not tell you how they sound in terms of highs mid lows -- you can use EQs for that. When I say 'detail' I mean you get separate, more realistic instrument sounds you can then use Equalizers to emphasize what you want.
1) AKGs below $ 80 -- louder but not as detailed, IMHO, you get upgrades with comfort as you reach $ 70 but essentially you get the same sound as $ 30 K44 (which I find uncomfortable). These are good but not as good as an SR60i, fiddling with the EQ settings just makes parts of track louder/softer. An Sr60i will respond with both volume and clarity - - sometimes for individual instruments (at least that's how I perceive it).
Also AKGs are a pain to resell
2)Refurbished Sennhieser HD 25 SP II - you will see these come up every now and then on sites like New Egg for $ 74 with a factory warranty. These are comfy and light, you sometimes forget they were there - they were used as passenger headsets on Concorde. Cables are detachable and replaceable, build quality is light but solid. Sound isolation is great. These sound nothing like the more expensive non-SP HD 25. They are not as loud as either SR60i or AKGs. You won't get as much clarity as the AKG or SR60i -- things just seem to be just blended together. You can amp and EQ the heck out of this headset and you still won't get it to sound like an SR60i much less a an SR80i.
So there, I suggest a Grado SR60i with a $ 7.50 fiio E3 but please do try everything to get a new 80i with all the warranties. It is absolutely worth much more than what you're trying to save.
I'm speaking from my own experience, I don't know how similar or different it is from everyone else's.
Hope this helps.
