[Arkamond]

Hello, as the title refers I am new to high quality headphones. I've only had a really crappy wireless RCA 900, Apple Ipod headphones, Sony in-ear headphones and my current G930 Logitech headset. 
 
Now even though I dont have that great of a setup I can very much say that I am addicted to quality. I am a beginner in working with audio enhancement from being moderately experienced in video enhancement. So I decided, "It's time to upgrade!". I have a friend who uses a pair of Senn 380 HD's and says those are awesome but I'd rather get a bigger spectrum of information and experience from a forum like this.  
 
Here are the headphones I'm trying to decide with:
 
Sennheiser 598 
 
 

[size=1.7em] Grado Prestige Series SR225i[/size]

 
Sennheiser HD 380 Pro
 
As I've reviewed and researched the first two are open dynamis and the HD 380 Pro is closed dynamic.
 
So is it really all that noticable with open dynamics? Like if a person is sleeping in a room next to you and your listening to your toons at around medium volume or so. Or if your parents sleep upstairs and your blaring it at 2 in the morning .
 
If the open dynamic headphones really put out a lot of what your hearing then is there anything around the same price range of 300-350 (MSRP)?
which would go to around 200 on a site like Amazon. The best research I would think would be from experienced listeners since I've never had a good pair of headphones really. --Im upgrading my sound card to a ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 so it's sort-of-fit if not true Hi-Fi for these types of headphones. 
 
 

 

[Cheeznuklz]

Are you going to be using these for studio work or music listening?  What type of music do you listen to?
 
I can't speak to the Senn's but Grado's are about as loud off your head as on it.  They will keep up a roommate or wife sleeping close by.

 

[BotByte]

Quote:

Grado's are about as loud off your head as on it

That's funny, be cause it's not true!
 
Grado leak because they literally have a hole in the back of them, but on a good volume, when you take them off, you can hear them up to about 3 feet away. Unless you blast your music.........
 
If you don't want to take them anywhere, the HD598 are perfect. I use mine for browsing, movies and games. Call up J&R to get them for $180 shipped!

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
Opens leak. Someone next to you sleeping will likely hear it. Someone in another room with the door shut? Not so likely unless the house is dead silent and they try to hear you. In the same room? Yes they will likely hear you. Some are louder than others in terms of leak. Overall, I would suggest you go for open-air cans unless you plan on going portable in which case closed is pretty much the only way.  We need to know more about your taste in music and preferred uses, like movies and music or gaming, etc. It's a real toss up between the HD598 and the SR225i. They're both good headphones. The Sennheisers are more comfortable to me (and look really sweet). The SR225i's are more forward and bright though, which can be really fun depending on what you're listening to. It's a hard choice. You'd have to listen to both to know what you want.
 
Very best,

 

[Arkamond]

I'm doing mostly music listening but I do some studio work with audio enhancement, But I would rather go onto the better-music listening experience side.
 
My music tastes would be a mixture of Trance, Heavy Metal and Rock. 
 
If anybody is experienced with any of these headphones, how far can one hear it if it is turned up really loud? At night I dont have very much other noise around me so i'm mostly afraid that it would be too loud. 
 
Thank you all so much for your answers too <3

 

[Cheeznuklz]

They're loud enough that someone in a small room with you might be kept up.  There's no way someone would hear you from another room though.
 
Quote:

That's funny, be cause it's not true!
 
Grado leak because they literally have a hole in the back of them, but on a good volume, when you take them off, you can hear them up to about 3 feet away. Unless you blast your music.........
 
If you don't want to take them anywhere, the HD598 are perfect. I use mine for browsing, movies and games. Call up J&R to get them for $180 shipped!

 
You misunderstand.  I meant that about as much sound comes out the back of the headphone as the front.  I wasn't implying they were speakers  : P
 
 

 

[Arkamond]

Ah, that's very good to know. In my environment it probably wont be too loud. Now the question would be, which headphones to get?
 
From having 20 tabs open on google chrome from doing extensive research it seems the Grado SR225I are better for Metal and rock and the such while the Senn 598 are a little more balanced out for everything. I'm also adding a FiiO E7 to my headphones. 
Are there any details from any audiophile experts out there comparing these two? I dont want reviews from somebody who only own just the one of the two because of course it's going to be biased. 
 
I dont really care for design or comfort either, after having to deal with really ear-breaking RCA over-ear headphones my ears can pretty much take anything for long periods of time. 
Quality will always go over design since I can just mod designs too.