[ssillcollector]

Anyways, I found Sony MDR CD30 in garage sale and I'm pretty satisfied with it. After reading about what other headphones are selling for, I'm curious what I am missing with cheap phones. What exactly is the main reason for you to discard mainstream phones and invest on brands like Grado & Seinheisser? Please help this newbie know what I am missing. Thanks in advance.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

The problem with so-called "mainstream phones" is that most of them severely underperform for the price that you'd pay for them. That MDR-CD30 actually retailed for about $40 when it was in production, but (as we all know) none of Sony's lower-end headphones are worth even their so-called "low prices".

 

[OriginalReaper]

mainstream headphones:mainstream music :: good headphones:good music

But hey, if you're happy with it...

 

[Rizumu]

Listen to one and you will know.

 

[Sol_Zhen]

Find a distributor that will let you audition.

 

[Kelvie1234]

if you're happy with your headphones, I'd say, you shouldn't have posted here, and run far, far away....


(tell your wallet "you're welcome")

 

[lubetek]

well ill put my two cents in....you said you have the MDR CD30's....
well i have the MDR CD60's, i bought them new about 3 years ago or more. paid about 25 bucks for them. I knew they werent the best, but they were good enough for me....then as of late ive been wanting to try better cans out, and went on my quest to buy the right cans for me, with a budget of mmmm about 200 bucks, but i really didnt want to pay more than $150. well after hanging out here today i was talked into checking out the Sony MDR V6 cans. I tried out those along with 6 others tonight....i found the V6's to be the better choice and for alot less money...$79 bucks. what can I say? AMAZING the difference a quailty headphone can make. Im simply stunned at the difference between these and my old MDR cd60's. they can not be compared.....Im running these through my Kenwood KRV-6070 home theater receiver....My PC is hooked to the amp.....all I can say is wow, and my parting words to you are: You only "think" you are satisfied with those cans.....

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Actually, the MDR-CD30 is from the generation before the MDR-CD60. The headphone generation that the MDR-CD30 belongs to includes the MDR-CD10, MDR-CD350, MDR-CD550 and MDR-CD850. The MDR-CD60 is a bottom-of-the-line headphone introduced in 1996 that replaced the MDR-CD10. (The current successor model of the MDR-CD60 is the MDR-CD180.)

The successors of the MDR-CD30 were the MDR-CD160, and now the MDR-CD280.

lubetek, you really like those MDR-V6's? No wonder why there is a higher-priced but virtually identical pro-audio version of those 'phones, called the MDR-7506. And there used to be a "high-fidelity" but also almost identical version of the MDR-V6, called the MDR-CD555 (not to be confused with the later MDR-CD550).

 

[lubetek]

Eagle, from what I understand the V6 and 7506 are identicle except for the gold plated jack on the 7506. I could be wrong but thats what some folk have been telling me...and yeah Im quite happy with these. I mean my cd60 sounded good to me...i just wanted more, but i was wrong about what sounds good and what doesnt....I have a better understanding now, infact im already thinking about investing in better cans, not right away but maybe in a few months. Id take these to work and get better ones for home.

 

[ssillcollector]

Hi folks!

Thanks for the replies so far. I posed the question to get some general reaction before I fork out my money for expensive headphones. I've always been discriminating against audio quality. I'd rather not listen to music unless the sound quality is good. Well, shortwave is an exception.

The most amazing system I listened to one time was a wall speaker. They were huge and flat. The sound was so clear and superb I was simply amazed. But I was told they cost upwards of $5K/each. I have never listened to headphones with that much clarity. But I always though it was due to the player/amps. Sometimes, electronics items are overpriced and more money spent not necessarily means good return.

And one final question. If I do get, lets say Grado, would I be foolish to expect a good sound from my portable cassette player or CD player? Would it be like driving ferrari in a dusty road?

Again, thanks in advance.

 

[soupy]

if it's just a portable, and you're reallyyyy curious, go find yourself a very used Grado SR60 or Sony V6 to get your feet wet. They run very well on it. (not to mention once you get a pair of these, there's no turning back....so dont say we never warned you).

 

[ssillcollector]

Time to sell that $10 headphone...
I listened to it few minutes ago and boy does it sound so bad!!!

I am going through some of my music collections and I am rediscovering what I was missing all this time. Thanks to each one of you.

 

[Rizumu]

You've caught the bug.

 

[Spaghetti]

I can't believe what my music sounds like through my Grado SR 125s. I have been missing so much...

 

[Sol_Zhen]

Quote:

Originally posted by Spaghetti I can't believe what my music sounds like through my Grado SR 125s. I have been missing so much...

You'll get that impression every time you upgrade.

That's why we say, "welcome to Head-Fi! Sorry about the wallet."