Portable closed cans for a girl

[Skobbolop]

I'm looking for a pair of cans for a girl i know... and i was hoping you guys could help me..

here's a list of things i know she would consider:

1. The have to be good lookin... "feminine" is the word i guess and not to bulky!..
2. closed or at least semi-closed (i know she would hate if the sound was leaking too much) and portable.. they are gonna be used with a meizu m6 or Creative Zen and a PC

she listens to pop, rock and indie...

Price Range 50-200$

she tried SR-60 and she really liked the sound, more than the HD555's. I guess i'm lookin for some portable closed phones with a gradoish sound?

i have been lookin at the Denon D1000, Audio-technica ATH-ES7 and AKG k 518dj

she actually liked the looks of the AKG k 416P but i'm not sure about the SQ

any thoughts?

 

[MaloS]

ES7!!!

I personally think they are the most feminine looking around, and probably very fitting with the white M6.

 

[episiarch]

The Panasonic RP-HTX7 is a little bit Grado-ish in its sound, and is at the lower end of your price range. As for looks, you'll have to decide for yourself. To some people it's very cute-looking, and to others it may be too retro.

I suspect the conventional wisdom in this thread will be to recommend the Audio-Technical ES7. It's a very good sounding headphone under the right circumstances (though in quite a different way from a Grado IMO), but I have a few caveats to mention.

First, I just plain don't like the ES7's sound unless it's amped. I'm in the minority on this point, I believe, so if your target is a less picky audiophile than I am then she may be fine with it unamped.

Second, although it is not bulky, the curve of the headband makes it look wide and ungainly on your head. You can fix this to a large extent by carefully bending the support wires just above each earcup; just be warned that if you take it straight out of the box and look in the mirror, you may not like what you see.

Third, it has a three-meter cable, which means you'll need some kind of cable management technique in order to use it portably.

 

[Capital R]

Of your choices, the ES7 will probably be your best bet. It's probably one of the best looking headphones out there in terms of mainstream style.

 

[shellylh]

Edit: Oops, I just realized (after writing this) that YOU are not the girl, you are buying this for a girl...

From a fellow girl head-fier:

The ES7 sound really nice and look pretty good (once you bend the headband to fit your head). I think you will be very happy with the sound if you like Grados. They are not the most comfortable headphones but are maybe similar to the comfort of a grado (at least for me). The one thing you should know is that they should really be called semi-closed since they don't isolate very well. There is no way that they would stand up to the subway or an airplane! I used to use them at the gym and had to change headphones [I switched to Senn HD 25-1 which are not very stylish but isolate well) because they didn't keep enough of the gym noise (music playing in the gym as well as idiots dropping 45+ lbs weights all the time) out of my ears!

As for the Denon's: I have never tried them because I have heard that they are sort good for people who have large heads. I often have trouble with headphones being too large. However, if you feel that the Grados fit you ``snuggly enough'' (I had to put a pad on the headband for them to fit me), then they Denon's may be ok.

 

[ericj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaloS /img/forum/go_quote.gif ES7!!! I personally think they are the most feminine looking around, and probably very fitting with the white M6.

Sure worked for Scarlett Johannson in Lost In Translation

(At least, near as i could tell. Something very similar.)

 

[RollsDownWindowsManually]

My ex used to wear my Beyer DT250-80's all the time.....they're just plain black 'cept for the "beyerdynamic" logo on each side, don't know if that qualifies as stylish or not.

 

[Skobbolop]

hm... i think they are to big...

i think the senn HD25 are just the right size, but not as stylish as she would want..

any stylish closed cans that aren't much bigger than HD25?

 

[kickassdude]

AKG K240 looks nice, don't know how it sounds though

 

[ericj]

K141-S or K171 maybe

 

[IPodPJ]

Whatever you do, keep her away from Skullcandy.

 

[TheBends]

The Es7s are quite elegant i suppose but i'm personally not a huge fan of massive mirrors/chrome. If she has a bit of a retro/hipster aesthetic (for example if she liked the look of your grados) i would say the panasonic rp-htx is absolutely perfect in cream. i need to get a pair eventually... i just don't know how they sound but they just look way too nice. if she is more into the retro look and depending on her personality and sense of style i think you can go with even more "masculine" or just less feminine cans and still have it work because she can just pull it off. so in the same vein as those panasonics, except bigger, are the akg k240s (which i also love the look of) but i don't know just how big they are, they have a long chord, and they also seem to need an amp. the portapros are open but they also fall into the retro vein and these are my go to phones for walking around in the city so i can still hear what's going on around me. Also these audio technicas are attractively designed and very much elegant in shape.

Also the sennheiser hd 25s arent unattractive, just a bit plain i suppose but i think they're overall a very clean closed design with the compact cups and dual headband. also, the akg k81dj aren't too bad though i would prefer an all black version (these are available outside the states i believe).

there was an iem for girls thread earlier and i noticed that people just kept suggesting small and white or pink. this is really far too stereotypical imo unless she actually is a very girly girl who ALSO loves pink anything, but i think you can definitely expand colour palettes with nice designs or even go beyond the traditional bounds of feminine appeal and get something that just isn't ugly.

okay i'm rambling, but basically i've suggested headphones that i find attractive and assumed that i have a decent sense of aesthetics.

EDIT: haha i spent so much time writing my stupid post i forgot what you had said. k so i second the akg, the k240 is too bulky, the portapro leaks too much, so either the ES7, the panasonic, the hd 25, or the audio technicas from what i suggested.

 

[TenaciousO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kickassdude /img/forum/go_quote.gif AKG K240 looks nice, don't know how it sounds though

I'm a fan of the k240s, but it's definitely not a portable headphone.