[loghead]

I am starting this thread on behalf of a friend who is not on head-fi. He asked me to recommend a good pair of headphones for him to use to listen to vinyl and also for playing ps3/watching blu ray.
 
Budget: $300
 
He says the cans will be specifically for home use, and that he eventually plans to purchase a headphone amp.
 
I was thinking I should recommend something that is not terribly difficult to drive but would still benefit from a headphone amp if/when he decides to upgrade.
 
I have owned two Sennheisers in the past, the HD280 pro and the HD600, and I love them both. I was thinking of just telling him to buy the HD280 pro and to go from there, since they are good cans at a good price, but I want to give him some other options to research.
 
I love the HD600, but they are just a smidge above his target price range. He asked about the HD598s for $240, but I can't speak on the quality/value of those headphones.
 
Please give me some recommendations in that price range.

 

[Misterrogers]

I recently picked up a SoundMAGIC HP100 from Amazon. My main headphones are HE-5's, HE-6'. I picked up the HP100's to go with my MR-2 (portable SACD ftw!). For the price, I've been absolutely blown away by the sound from these things. They're closed but sound more open, are fairly neutral, hit hard and image well. They're very efficient too. There's been a number of reviews on these lately - they're generally regarded as an outstanding buy. Check them out. $199 at Amazon.

 

[loghead]

He said if he were to purchase a headphone amp and headphone at the same time, he'd be willing to go up to $450 total for both.
 
I'm thinking at that price, he could get the Schiit Magni ($99) and a decent pair of full sized headphones. This is an entry level purchase.
 
Any input is welcomed and appreciated.

 

[loghead]

Quote:

I recently picked up a SoundMAGIC HP100 from Amazon. My main headphones are HE-5's, HE-6'. I picked up the HP100's to go with my MR-2 (portable SACD ftw!). For the price, I've been absolutely blown away by the sound from these things. They're closed but sound more open, are fairly neutral, hit hard and image well. They're very efficient too. There's been a number of reviews on these lately - they're generally regarded as an outstanding buy. Check them out. $199 at Amazon.

Cool, I'll check em out.

 

[areinike]

The million dollar question.  I, too, researched until my heart's content to find some good headphones and my budget quickly went from $150 to $300 ... I scored a decent set of Denon D2000's for right around $350 and I'm VERY happy.  But interesting to find a recommendation for SoundMagic.  Interesting (and good) feedback on those.  I would have never thought.  I'll have to keep my eye on some price breaks - they sound like what I've been looking for before I dipped into the Denon's.  I did hit up on some Audio Technica ATH-A900X's some time ago that are very good sounding for about $150.  The amp I bought was the FiiO E11, but this Schiit Magni seems like a nice deal - I may just have to check it out.

 

[areinike]

Just reading the specs on the Magni .. holy cow!  Output Impedance: Less than 0.1 ohms.  That's pretty amazing and indeed made for every headphone out there!

 

[areinike]

I just bought the Magni.  Could not pass up a $99 spec'd out desktop amp.  There goes the budget!