PLEASE Help a Desperate N00b Out...

[WulfmanJax]

Wow, is it possible that i've been alive for almost 18 years, all the while being completely oblivious to the whole world of headphones? I mean, all my life i've had headphones. A year back i bought my first set of "real" headphones, Sony MR-V600 for $100 and thought THAT was expensive... Little did i know. Anyway, now i'm learning about amps and chords and headphones that cost more than my 57'' Toshiba widescreen tv... Wow. It's alot to take in.

Well, i guess i should just start by saying i'm a huge music fan. So much so it's probably the biggest thing in my life. I have a collection of over 700 cds that i've amassed over a 5 year period. I'm mostly into rock and metal. Favorite bands include Opeth (progressive death metal), Dream Theater (prog metal), AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Alice in Chains, King Crimson, Iron Maiden, Yes, etc. But i also love other stuff when i'm in the mood. Radiohead and Mars Volta are good examples of the more alternative stuff i like. I listen to a little jazz and classical now and then. My tastes really vary depending on my mood. But i'd say about 2/3 of my collection falls into the rock/metal category.

But all this new found knowledge has left me with some major headphone GAS (a term used by guitarists, which i am. Stands for Gear Aquisition Syndrome). Anyway, i don't wanna start buying multiple headphones and amps and whatnot. I just want one GREAT set. I really have no idea where to start though, so any info and recommendations would be mighty appreciated. As far as my budget... I'm not really sure. Whatever i end up getting i'll most likely need my parents help to pay for and will no doubt end up being my Christmas present.

So, just to through a number out there, i'd say try to keep it under $1500 for everything. Feel free to recommend things that are more though. I just wanna use this thread as a good starting point.

 

[BigD]

Welcome to head-fi

Try looking at "List of Best Headphones in da world" thread.
Or http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=9242

Try looking at Neil Peart's Tier2...Looks like you got enough cash for this category.

 

[DanT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigD Welcome to head-fi Try looking at "List of Best Headphones in da world" thread. Or http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=9242 Try looking at Neil Peart's Tier2...Looks like you got enough cash for this category.

BigD, The tread started as a joke tread 2 years ago so it's more confusing than helpful ,
But Neil Peart on the second page is the only post that has some usefulness

 

[bahamaman]

I think most head-fi'ers would be in a better position to help if they had answers to the following questions:

1. Must your budget include the cost of headphone, amp and source?
2. With respect to source, are you looking to acquire a home-based dedicated source (cd player), will your computer be your source, or will the source be something portable (HD player, for example), or some combination of the foregoing? Or do you already have a source or sources?
3. Does your listening environment demand that the music from the headphones not "leak" out? Or, conversely, are open phones an option?

There are, as you have doubtless learned, tons of people at head-fi that can offer detailed advice based on experience.

And instead of saying "sorry about your wallet" let me rather say "welcome to your journey to audio nirvana". It can be a great ride.

 

[WulfmanJax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigD Welcome to head-fi Try looking at "List of Best Headphones in da world" thread. Or http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=9242 Try looking at Neil Peart's Tier2...Looks like you got enough cash for this category.

Thanks. I have a feeling i'll be spending some time here for a while. Yes, i read that thread, very interesting. Still trying to get over the shock that any set of headphones could cost 11k. But i recently saw an original 1959 Les Paul guitar go for 88k on Ebay so i guess anything's possible.

Those MDR-1s sound great. I think Amazon sells them for 2k. Probably over my budget. One thing i love about my MDR-V6000s is the comfy factor. Somedays i go for 5-10 hours straight with headphones on and my ears never get sore. And right now i think the Senn HD-650s would probably be my best bet. Cheap enough to allow me to get a good amp too. And i've heard alot of great things.

But whatever i get i'll probably have the same reaction i did when i heard my first electric guitar tube amp which is "Holy mother of God ****ing WOW!".

 

[bangraman]

I'm presuming you have a decent source. If you don't then I'll make another list

Metal-guitar-pickin' greatness? I think the RS-1 with flat pads has to rank highly as the headphone component. It is genuinely high fidelity but brings things to the fore to really drive things along, especially with the flat pads. I don't know how different the cheaper RS-2 would be as I've never owned them. I would say buy used if you can (and if it's a present, it's going to be difficult I know) as I would agree with some retailer's spot reviews that they aren't worth their retail price tag depite their nice points.


For amps around the $1000 range, unfortunately there's not a lot I can guide you with, the HR-2 is the nearest I woudl get and regrettably I haven't tried the HR-2 with the RS-1... but with that proviso I would stick my neck out and say you could do a whole lot worse than the HR-2 and the RS-1 combo for your preferred music style. The flat pads do improve comfort despite the on-ear fitting of the Grados and the phones themselves are pretty light.

 

[WulfmanJax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bahamaman I think most head-fi'ers would be in a better position to help if they had answers to the following questions: 1. Must your budget include the cost of headphone, amp and source? 2. With respect to source, are you looking to acquire a home-based dedicated source (cd player), will your computer be your source, or will the source be something portable (HD player, for example), or some combination of the foregoing? Or do you already have a source or sources? 3. Does your listening environment demand that the music from the headphones not "leak" out? Or, conversely, are open phones an option? There are, as you have doubtless learned, tons of people at head-fi that can offer detailed advice based on experience. And instead of saying "sorry about your wallet" let me rather say "welcome to your journey to audio nirvana". It can be a great ride.

1. Well, the budget includes the cost of headphones and amp for sure. What exactly is source? If you mean player, i'm using a Panasonic SA-HT700 home theater system for all my cd listening. Great system for the money. Got it for around $250. And while i'd like a state of the art system, this is also shared with my dad who would most likely not be willing to get a new one.

2. Ok, so i guess source does mean player. Well, i do all my cd listening on the above mentioned Panasonic SA-HT700. I have a portable cd player which i hardly ever use (i don't go that many places TO use it). And i rarely listen to my music on the computer. So whatever i buy will definitely be for that home system.

3. This is something i've given thought to and, to tell the truth i REALLY don't know. I live at home with my mom and dad and they usually don't mind me playing my music out loud. But for stuff they don't like (like death metal) i always ablige and put headphones on. My room is about 20 feet away from where my dad usually watches tv and stuff, and a good 50 feet away from the computer room where my mom is most of the time.

I've never had any "open" headphones so i don't know HOW much they leak. My main problem would be would they cut out enough outside noise, like my dad's drum playing, enough for me to hear the music real well. From what i've learned it seems that "open" headphones on the whole sound better than "closed" headphones. But, if anything, i'd still be able to use my MDR-V6000 for when i absolutely had to have that "closed" aspect.

For the moment i'll just assume that open will be the way to go. But i would like to know exactly HOW much sound leaks out and in of open headphones.

 

[WulfmanJax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bangraman I'm presuming you have a decent source. If you don't then I'll make another list Metal-guitar-pickin' greatness? I think the RS-1 with flat pads has to rank highly as the headphone component. It is genuinely high fidelity but brings things to the fore to really drive things along, especially with the flat pads. I don't know how different the cheaper RS-2 would be as I've never owned them. I would say buy used if you can (and if it's a present, it's going to be difficult I know) as I would agree with some retailer's spot reviews that they aren't worth their retail price tag depite their nice points. For amps around the $1000 range, unfortunately there's not a lot I can guide you with, the HR-2 is the nearest I woudl get and regrettably I haven't tried the HR-2 with the RS-1... but with that proviso I would stick my neck out and say you could do a whole lot worse than the HR-2 and the RS-1 combo for your preferred music style. The flat pads do improve comfort despite the on-ear fitting of the Grados and the phones themselves are pretty light.

See my above post for my source. Yeah, i'm really interested in trying out some Grados as well. So much to learn, so little time. Well, actually i have plenty of time if i plan on getting some for Christmas. But i'm uber-thorough when it comes to these types of things.

 

[FunkMonk]

I, literally, screamed aloud when I saw the names "Opeth" and "Mars Volta." You just hit some of my favorite bands man. First time I've seen actually decent if not amazing rock/metal bands stated by anyone online. Well, cept for those friends that I've forced into listening to the good stuff. Bah, sorry for the thread hijack, but I had to say.

I've listened to Opeth many times on friends headphones and mine and indeed have enjoyed the brightness of Grado's when (I'll just use Opeth as a standard) it's a nice backed high guitar riff, or a crisp acoustic solo. Yet, they are bright, and Opeth/Metal tend to not stay on the bright side of things. I, personally would like to see the high-end range and rock brightness of the Grado's mixed in on a well deep-ended set o' cans. When you get into the deep rolling godly sound that Opeth enjoys to give ya it seems that the Grado's make it too... string, in a weird sense. I definitely do not have the rounded experience to give ya a headphone that would fit that description, but I thought I would add my 2 cents.

FunkMonk

 

[bahamaman]

WulfmanJax - given what you've said about where you listen, I think you'd be ok using open phones. BTW, grados are known to be the headphones that probably leak the most. I have no experience with them, but I'm sure the RS-1 with some flats from www.ttvj.com would be amazing as bangraman suggested.

One thing to consider - with me, I have found that more and more of my listening occurs portably, whether at work or on the road. You might want to consider trying NOT to break the bank on your home set-up and even consider an amp that could do double duty at home or on the road. While not at the top of the audio food chain, why wouldn't the following work . . ?

1. Home rig: Amp, either Ray Samuels' SR-71 (again, www.ttvj.com) or Xin's soon-to-be-released Supermono (www.fixup.net). The former is $400 the latter will run between $200 and $350, depending on how it's configured. Add a headphone of your choice - HD650, HD600, ATH-A900, HD595 - you can find tons of info around here.

2. Portable rig: Well, the neat thing is that you've already got a great amp, just throw it in your bag (e.g., www.sfbags.com) and add your portable HD player (given how many cds you have, go for something with great capacity like a 40GB iPod or whatever flavor you prefer and rip at least at 192) and add some portable cans. Maybe some etys or shures if you can handle in-ear-monitors (again, tons of info available here) or some Koss KSC-35 or Senn PX100 (either of these latter choices will impress your dad at how frugal you are).

Just some ideas. There are plenty of great people around these parts who can offer 10x the assistance I can - I just wanted to get you thinking.

 

[CMacDaddy]

If all you've heard as "real" headphones are V600, I would really really reccomend trying out any headphone before you buy.

I can't say that I could see a difference with anything more than some nice Sennheisers (650,600, etc) and a nice $200-$400 amp to the $1000 + range, although I've never heard anything in the $1000 + range.

Make sure its worth it to spend that much before buying. Spending $1500 on your first system seems kindof overkill. Afterall, if you never start with a small setup (around here, usually Sony V6) you'll never get infected with upgraditis.

 

[WulfmanJax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FunkMonk I, literally, screamed aloud when I saw the names "Opeth" and "Mars Volta." You just hit some of my favorite bands man. First time I've seen actually decent if not amazing rock/metal bands stated by anyone online. Well, cept for those friends that I've forced into listening to the good stuff. Bah, sorry for the thread hijack, but I had to say. I've listened to Opeth many times on friends headphones and mine and indeed have enjoyed the brightness of Grado's when (I'll just use Opeth as a standard) it's a nice backed high guitar riff, or a crisp acoustic solo. Yet, they are bright, and Opeth/Metal tend to not stay on the bright side of things. I, personally would like to see the high-end range and rock brightness of the Grado's mixed in on a well deep-ended set o' cans. When you get into the deep rolling godly sound that Opeth enjoys to give ya it seems that the Grado's make it too... string, in a weird sense. I definitely do not have the rounded experience to give ya a headphone that would fit that description, but I thought I would add my 2 cents. FunkMonk

Oh, no need to apologize. I love talking about my favorite bands. And yes, most of what passes for "rock" and "metal" in the mainstream today (and with most teens) is quite pathetic. Metal has become such a devalued genre thanks to that nu-metal crap that MTV pushes that people don't realize there's a great, thriving underground scene. And i truly believe it's only a matter of time before Opeth takes over the spot that Metallica owned in the 80's. And you should check out the Harmony Central forums. It's supposed to only be for "musicians", but anymore there's more general talk about music and bands than anything else. I usually reside in Guitar Jam. Just stray away from any guitar discussions and you'll be fine. But there's alot of Opeth fans there. And if you haven't heard Dream Theater you should really check them out. They can get heavy like Opeth but without the growl vocals. They're all amazing musicians too (all graduated from berkelee). John Petrucci, the guitarist for Dream Theater, is absolutely amazing. As is the drummer Mike Portnoy.

And thanks for the opinions. Right now every little bit of information helps. Most places that i've found offer good return policies so i imagine i'll get a chance to try alot of these out for myself. Just wanted to get as much info as possible before i started testing.

 

[WulfmanJax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bahamaman WulfmanJax - given what you've said about where you listen, I think you'd be ok using open phones. BTW, grados are known to be the headphones that probably leak the most. I have no experience with them, but I'm sure the RS-1 with some flats from www.ttvj.com would be amazing as bangraman suggested. One thing to consider - with me, I have found that more and more of my listening occurs portably, whether at work or on the road. You might want to consider trying NOT to break the bank on your home set-up and even consider an amp that could do double duty at home or on the road. While not at the top of the audio food chain, why wouldn't the following work . . ? 1. Home rig: Amp, either Ray Samuels' SR-71 (again, www.ttvj.com) or Xin's soon-to-be-released Supermono (www.fixup.net). The former is $400 the latter will run between $200 and $350, depending on how it's configured. Add a headphone of your choice - HD650, HD600, ATH-A900, HD595 - you can find tons of info around here. 2. Portable rig: Well, the neat thing is that you've already got a great amp, just throw it in your bag (e.g., www.sfbags.com) and add your portable HD player (given how many cds you have, go for something with great capacity like a 40GB iPod or whatever flavor you prefer and rip at least at 192) and add some portable cans. Maybe some etys or shures if you can handle in-ear-monitors (again, tons of info available here) or some Koss KSC-35 or Senn PX100 (either of these latter choices will impress your dad at how frugal you are). Just some ideas. There are plenty of great people around these parts who can offer 10x the assistance I can - I just wanted to get you thinking.

Oh it will definitely make me think. It's just that i do very little traveling. I have a portable cd player that's pretty much just gathering dust. In all my years of listening to cd's i've always used my home system 1000x more than anything else. But one day i might wanna look into getting a nice portable system just to have in case.

 

[WulfmanJax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CMacDaddy If all you've heard as "real" headphones are V600, I would really really reccomend trying out any headphone before you buy. I can't say that I could see a difference with anything more than some nice Sennheisers (650,600, etc) and a nice $200-$400 amp to the $1000 + range, although I've never heard anything in the $1000 + range. Make sure its worth it to spend that much before buying. Spending $1500 on your first system seems kindof overkill. Afterall, if you never start with a small setup (around here, usually Sony V6) you'll never get infected with upgraditis.

Well, like i said, most places i've found have good return policies. I always love the buy and try method and just send/take back the ones i don't want and keep what i do. I'll definitely go into heavy buy and try mode eventually. I'm a big believer and getting the absolute best for what i'm willing to spend. I've found that's always the best method. And i know that when it comes to stuff like this, ALOT of the big decisions just come down to personal taste. And considering i have little, really no experience with "real" headphones and amps, then i don't even know what my tastes are. I'm just looking for some info before i start out.

 

[FunkMonk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by WulfmanJax And if you haven't heard Dream Theater you should really check them out. They can get heavy like Opeth but without the growl vocals. They're all amazing musicians too (all graduated from berkelee). John Petrucci, the guitarist for Dream Theater, is absolutely amazing. As is the drummer Mike Portnoy.

John Petrucci is quite "the man" in all respects. I do enjoy the wonderfull prog metal that is Dream Theater.

John Petrucci, Joe Satriani and Steve Via (g3 tour? yummie) are possibly the most gifted living electric guitarists. Petrucci's ridiculously technically gifted. The guy doesn't move but his fingers fly like nothing else. All I can really do now though is be sad that Opeth doesn't record until late next year.

And... uh... bah, get the ATH-A900's. There's some random advice so it doesn't look to un-headphone related.

FunkMonk