[kylezo]

Hello everyone!

I am a bit worried given my propensity for addictions (www.badgerandblade.com and www.dpreview.com) and sadly this probably won't be the last enthusiast forum I get hooked on.

I have been browsing for many hours now and read through a lot on www.headphone.com. I was hoping to get some suggestions on my first pair of real hadphones.

I will be using them for listening to, and recording my own music - singing, guitar, piano, drumming. Also for silent digital piano rehearsal.

I am looking for something in the $80 - $150 range. I would also like supra-aural cans. Forgive me for not knowing all the lingo, ins, and outs, but it's hard to follow without many pictures for me! I just want something that's mid - sized that will not encase my ear. Some I have looked at with interest are the Sennheiser EH 350 - although optimally I would want something with only one cable on one side. I have a small head so I love snug fits and this is one thing that worrie sme about some cans - I have already bought a pair at Target and had to return them because they were too big. I also greatly prefer something with open pleather earpads.

Well I will leave more information if it is requested! My first symptoms of audiophilanthropy (is that a real word?) or Headphone Aquisition Disorder (HAD) are showing their faces! And I have you to thank.

Kyle

 

[Netminder]

yo! and welcome to headfi! You will get better sound from something like a senn HD580 all of the members here are going to need a lot more info before they can give help...for starters...

what music do you listen to
where are you going to use them
are you considering IEMs(In Ear Monitors)
do you have an amp
what will you be listening though...computer, gameboy, ipod, etc.

Scott

 

[IPodPJ]

Oh my god, there's a forum dedicated to wet shaving and razor blades?? And I thought WE were strange people.

But that's pretty spooky... a razor blade enthusiast has a bad day... uh oh... who will he take it out on? And will it be with the Bic or the Gilette?

P.S. Welcome to Head-Fi, and sorry about your wallet!!

P.S.S. Shaving cream and headphones don't mix.

 

[courierdriver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif Oh my god, there's a forum dedicated to wet shaving and razor blades?? And I thought WE were strange people. But that's pretty spooky... a razor blade enthusiast has a bad day... uh oh... who will he take it out on? And will it be with the Bic or the Gilette? P.S. Welcome to Head-Fi, and sorry about your wallet!! P.S.S. Shaving cream and headphones don't mix.

...and what about the baby oil strips? Does he use the razors with or without?

Maybe for fun, he mods them

. Next thing you know, he's whittling away at his RS-1, or Headphile-modded wood creation

!

 

[apostate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif Oh my god, there's a forum dedicated to wet shaving and razor blades?? And I thought WE were strange people. But that's pretty spooky... a razor blade enthusiast has a bad day... uh oh... who will he take it out on? And will it be with the Bic or the Gilette? P.S. Welcome to Head-Fi, and sorry about your wallet!! P.S.S. Shaving cream and headphones don't mix.

Perhaps even more extreme, there's one dedicated to just straight razor shaving enthusiasts:

http://www.straightrazorplace.com

There's also www.shavemyface.com for yet another wetshaving forum...

For the OP, the only thing that comes to mind is the Beyer DT231 for supra-aural with a single-sided cable but I've never tried them so I don't know how it would fit the rest of your criteria, though it's less expensive than the range specified.

Ant

 

[kylezo]

Thank you all. The fellas here may want to check out www.badgerandblade.com...it could change your life!....or at least your morning routine.


I will most likely not be using an amp, but that's ok as I don't need through the roof amazing sound quality, although I want something good of course. I listen to classical, acoustic, broadway, sometimes techno, tribal, didgeridoo, jazz, you name it. But I will be using them more often for my own music which is mostly acoustic, ie piano, guitar, my voice, hand drums, etc. I will be plugging into a digital piano (probably a decent drive from that) and my laptop (ok at best?). I don't really want IEMs...I find that they either don't work with my ear shape, or are very expensive for really great ones! Maybe I just don't like them, I don't know.

From www.headphone.com:

"The Beyer DT231, and Sennheiser EH250 are both very good sounding smaller-sized sealed headphones. The Sennheiser is probably easier to drive from portable players and a little more stylish, the Beyer may have a slight edge in sound quality with a slightly rounder, brighter overall tonality, but both are really quite good cans. "

Great reccomendation, I will read up more on that one.


Ant, you seem to know your way around a barbers shop -anything I should know about you?? Do you have experience/what's your gear (Oh no I am cross pollinating addictions)? But seriously the parallels are a sight to behold for me, between this place and the B&B forum!!! Are there any ladies named Sue here that make all natural headphones for members??

I will be using my new cans in mostly quiet situations.

Any other info needed?


Thank you all again for the warm welcome. I better remain detached or I will become a permanent appendage of this place!!!

PS. I really prefer the pleather pads over velour, am I being foolish? I don't know that I've ever used those types, I just know that I really enjoy the sensation of the pleather.

 

[kylezo]

It's official, I'm addicted. Wish I could afford the Senn HD 25. I think I'll sell my instruments to pay for it

 

[aaron-xp]

Grado headphones are probably the more popular supra-aurals, though I haven't heard them enough to know if the excel in vocals and piano, though their rock-oriented nature makes guitars and drums sound rather good on them. The SR125 can be bought for about $150.

 

[kylezo]

My music definitely isn't rock-oriented...although I have read about the Grados good rep. If I could possibly make it any more vague and harder on you all, I might go for full-sized cans - the Senn HD580 looks sweet. I mean, holy crap I found it for $125! What do ya'll think?

 

[jonnywolfet]

i wouldnt go for the hd580 unless you plan on getting an amp. if you are going circumaural, your opening up a lot of cans to consider.
i'm going to advocate my beyerdynamic dt770, as i listen to all types of music, often go unamped and also use in a home studio setting. since the dt770 have exelled at all of these tasks for me, i dont see how you could go wrong with them.
they are closed back, and are good for privacy too.

 

[kylezo]

Thanks for the words of wisdom Jonny. I don't want IEMs but I am considering circumaural now. Unamped performance is a must so it can be said that my standards aren't TOO high since I won't even go through the trouble of amping up. I'll check out the beyerdynamic dt770s. Thanks again!

 

[Davesrose]

A suggestion I'll give is the Sony MDR-V6. On Amazon, it's $64...is supra-aural, and doesn't need an amp. It's also relatively well balanced, and is very popular as a studio monitor. So it can handle piano, vocals, and guitar. The DT770 is circumaural, and has recession in the mids. It's bloated in the bass, so it's good for percussions, but not so good for piano IMHO.

 

[apostate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kylezo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ant, you seem to know your way around a barbers shop -anything I should know about you?? Do you have experience/what's your gear (Oh no I am cross pollinating addictions)? But seriously the parallels are a sight to behold for me, between this place and the B&B forum!!! Are there any ladies named Sue here that make all natural headphones for members??

Well, I haven't acquired all that much yet. I've got a Feather DE, an old Gillette travel DE (my grandfather's set from WWII) and my wife has a Merkur Futur DE set complete with matching silvertip, etc. I've pretty much switched to straight razor at this point but the DE still provides a great shave.

For straight shaving, I've got an old Diamondine 5/8 square point, a Tony Miller 4-sided paddle strop, a Vuflix 2197 pure badger brush, a few of TGQ (Colleen) soaps plus the standard Williams and Burma Brush gear everyone seems to accumulate in "just trying it out". Then there's the Witch Hazel, talc, Lynn Abrams DVD and all the other goodies. I figure I'll add a couple more straights, probably get a 3-4/8 and 6-7/8 next just to experiment a bit with sizes/shapes, a Tony Miller hanging strop , a Norton 4K/8K hone, some more of Colleen's wonderful soaps and more after-shave stuff and I'll be good for a little while

Larry at Headphile is the closest thing to all-natural, handmade headphones with his woodification of Grados, Beyers, Senns, etc. (though there are a few members that have done some beautiful customizations as well - there's a woody picture thread recently with some of the craftsmanship from various sources). His website is http://www.headphile.com .

If you're going to look at full size cans, with your original price range you may want to check out Senn 595s. They've got velour pads, one-sided cable, comfortable, the 50 Ohm version can be driven adequately without an amp, and I think they'd work well for everything you mention though they do lack a little of the impact I associate with drums.

Ant

 

[kylezo]

How would you all compare the hd595s with the hd580s? Are the 580s that much harder to drive? I would shell out the extra cash for the 595s if they are that great.

 

[apostate]

The 580s are harder to drive. Most people would say they need an amp, and to sound their best they do. How well they sound without a dedicated amp really depends on what's driving them though.

I'd contend the 595s also need an amp to sound their best but they're at least likely to have enough volume for most tastes with most sources without one.

As far as which sounds better, a lot of that will come down to personal taste. Some will say one or the other sounds better. They have somewhat different presentations so the 595 tends to be a little more forward and perhaps a little brighter, while the 580 will be a little more laid back and have a more bass.

Personally I like the 595 better than the 600 but that's probably an opinion in the minority.

Ant