[Denver Max]

My musical tastes every week seem to shift towards more metal. The only new CDs I buy are metal.

Especially really technical metal, not slow groove metal. Grindcore, deathcore, gothenburg, etc. At The Gates, The Red Chord, From a Second Story Window, Amon Amarth, As Blood Runs Black, Darkest Hour, Between the Buried and Me.

I have been using DT770 80ohm headphones (straight out of my Macbook Pro's headphone jack, mind you) for the metal side of my listening tastes, and I'm ready to upgrade.

When I was initially looking for headphones for metal, I went with the DT770 because of the quantity of bass, not heeding to the warnings of people on this board that said they were too "slow," simply because I didn't know what that meant.

But now I do, and I want a fast headphone with more detailed rather than booming bass and an open-air design that is less fatiguing on my ears.

Depending on how much the headphone costs, I will be also purchasing an Amp and DAC for the first time. Probably an iBasso D1, it seems like a very good amp for the price. Or a Meier Aria if I can find one used. (I have no need for portability, so home amps are preferred).

So I would love some headphone suggestions for what I've described from you pros. DT990s seem logical, I've always been interested in Ultrasone Proline 2500s for some reason, but I don't know many other options outside this realm.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Bozz_Keren]

SR60 didn't suit your genres? if i want to listen to metal, first thing on my mind is grados

 

[Denver Max]

Wow, no. I even tried them today, remembering how much I used to like them, as they aren't getting as much use anymore. And compared to my beyers and my Klipsch iFi speakers (and also my ER-6is which I've been using more often during commutes).

One song I like to test with is The Quiet Place - In Flames. It has some generic riffs, some really simple vocals, some choir music in the background, some synth, an ongoing single-string melody that goes in and out.

With the Grados I feel like I lose a lot of the ambient stuff going on. They are also very bright, and most of the electric guitar is overpowering. Vocals sound fine. Drums are not as effective because the guitar is getting in the way. When all sounds are playing, like from 35-45 seconds into the song, there is simply not enough detail of all of the instruments, and most of what I hear is the rhythmic guitar.

With the Beyers I can hear everything going on. It is certainly a darker sound, and emphasis is on bass in almost everything that comes out of these cans. But during the busy sections of the song, I can at least hear everything going on. I can definitely see the shortcomings of the can though. It is boomy in all of the sounds that it makes. I guess I attribute this to the fact that it's a closed can, which is why I'm looking for an open one.

Is there an open can out there that will present me with the detail that I'm getting with my DT770s (by detail, I mean being able to hear all instruments well, even when they're all playing, something very common in grindcore), but the airyness and free feeling of my grados, and the ability to handle very technical music?

 

[SnuffJazz]

I'm listening to Psycroptic on my AD900's right now and it sounds pretty awesome.Super Tight bass and definitely sufficient (for my tase),and the cymbals sound especially great.I think these do technical death metal pretty well,though these are definitely not for bassheads.

 

[BassheadJazz]

Perhaps the AKG K 701 would be what you're looking for, have you considered them?

 

[Bozz_Keren]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Denver Max /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wow, no. I even tried them today, remembering how much I used to like them, as they aren't getting as much use anymore. And compared to my beyers and my Klipsch iFi speakers (and also my ER-6is which I've been using more often during commutes). One song I like to test with is The Quiet Place - In Flames. It has some generic riffs, some really simple vocals, some choir music in the background, some synth, an ongoing single-string melody that goes in and out. With the Grados I feel like I lose a lot of the ambient stuff going on. They are also very bright, and most of the electric guitar is overpowering. Vocals sound fine. Drums are not as effective because the guitar is getting in the way. When all sounds are playing, like from 35-45 seconds into the song, there is simply not enough detail of all of the instruments, and most of what I hear is the rhythmic guitar. With the Beyers I can hear everything going on. It is certainly a darker sound, and emphasis is on bass in almost everything that comes out of these cans. But during the busy sections of the song, I can at least hear everything going on. I can definitely see the shortcomings of the can though. It is boomy in all of the sounds that it makes. I guess I attribute this to the fact that it's a closed can, which is why I'm looking for an open one. Is there an open can out there that will present me with the detail that I'm getting with my DT770s (by detail, I mean being able to hear all instruments well, even when they're all playing, something very common in grindcore), but the airyness and free feeling of my grados, and the ability to handle very technical music?

seems that you like beyer sound, why not try DT990, they have nice bass, not boomy like DT770, but lean back mids, if you look in freq graph, they looks like bowl, emphasis on low, lean back on mids, and emphasis in high, i've done my reading here, they like metal genres with DT990

 

[mADmAN]

see muh siggy....

i use it for metal mainly and i love them...the whole recessed mids thing is actually very slightly recessed imho. but they are real fun cans though..especially for fast paced music.

not familiar with the kinda metal u listen to..but i mostly listen to Otep and Devildriver these days.. with some Metallica, SOAD, Korn and Cradle of Filth thrown in the mix every once in awhile.

 

[junes4u]

Audio-Technica's AD700 would satisfy all your needs.

These cans have fairly impressive treble and intense bass,

and direct connection to the portable players!

I just loved it for the first time i heard it

 

[MaZa]

For me Grados had always best balance between bass and guitars on fast paced metal. Never had problems with details.

But I guess AD700 or AD900 by audio technica could fit, I recall some metalhead praising them for their clarity.

 

[Denver Max]

Thanks a lot for your help guys.

Looks like I'm going to have to pick up a pair of ATH-AD900 AND a pair of DT990s and see which one I like best!

 

[cgrums]

That's really the only way you're going to know for sure, good decision. I would also offer that the SR225s addressed everything I found lacking in the SR60s...truly great with metal.

 

[MASTERTECH]

hi guys
the fact is for those of us in the technical domain

"you cant use a bad amp with good headphones and vice versa"

the more you focus on one or the other the more duleted you become

fact is there is distortion from both tranducer and amplifier

 

[britishbane]

SR-225 are the be-all-end-all rock/metal cans IMO.

 

[Wil]

I was listening to Amorphsis, Divine Hersey, Gutworm and The Red Chord via my MS2is and it was intense.

But i guess RS-1s would do the job nicely as well.

 

[KillersAreQuiet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Denver Max /img/forum/go_quote.gif Especially really technical metal, not slow groove metal. Grindcore, deathcore, gothenburg, etc. At The Gates, The Red Chord, From a Second Story Window, Amon Amarth, As Blood Runs Black, Darkest Hour, Between the Buried and Me.

I recommend Grado's 325i. I have extremely similar taste in music and they sound great no matter what I listen to. I can't compare them to the other headphones mentioned here because I've never heard them, but I've never once regretted buying them.