[BluePhoneHead]

Hello Head-Fi members,
 
I began my journey into decent headphone sound with the Sony MDR-V6 headphones, the (NuForce Icon) uDAC-2, and physical CDs ripped into Flac format.  It's been enjoyable, but now I'm looking for another pair of headphones.
 
I've heard that the MDR-V6s are good for studio work, and sound engineers in that they have a reasonably flat sound and are great for hearing flaws in sounds… and that this means that they perhaps aren't the most "musical" headphones on the market
 
So having said that I'm looking for a pair of headphones that is less for monitoring sound and more for simply "enjoying" your music.
 
Budget: $100 - $200
 
Amp: (NuForce Icon) uDAC-2
 
Files: Physical CDs ripped to FLAC
 
Genres: Classical, jazz, acoustic guitar, alternative (Sarah McLachlan), folk (M. Ward).
 
Body Type: I'm not sure I have a preference regarding closed ear or open ear (one of my old co-workers had a pair of Grados that were "open").  I do find the MDR-V6's to be very comfortable.  However, based on my dac/amp / files / genre / sound preferences I'm more interested in what head-fi members think would suit me best (closed/open).
 
Sound: Obviously based on the music I listen to I'm not a bass-head, but I do appreciate a full low frequency sound.  I definitely don't want headphones that can be said to "lack" in that department.  I suppose I'm looking for something that has enough low frequency response to have a certain warmth and weight to the sound, but the last thing I want is bass spilling into places it shouldn't.  Aside from that I'd love any headphones that specialize in clear and warm piano and vocal reproduction.
 
My thoughts: I'm not particularly interested in "hi resolution" music files at this point in time, so one of my limiting factors is plain old FLAC files from physical CDs.  My other limiting factor is the uDAC-2.  I'm not sure how much "amp" power this digital audio converter has - it can support impedance between 16 to 300 ohm (and claims to have 2v analog output).
 
That said, there's no point in me "over buying" considering those limiting factors. I'm open to all suggestions and I love reading reviews of models - I'm just looking for suggestions and starting points.  Any input is appreciated
 
Thanks!!
 
EDIT - I just realized this should have been included in the dedicated "Recommendations" thread.  A moderator can please delete this thread unless they think it might be useful for other MDR-V6 users searching for similar information...

 

[blackzarg]

While the V6 has a decent amount of bass, I think the defining characteristic of the V6 is the large amount of treble you get. Having a pair of "darker" headphones would help, IMO. Try a pair of Sennheiser HD558, HD598, or even the Audio-Technica M50 (the M50's would be more along the lines of the V6, maybe not the type of upgrade you're looking for).
 
Hope that helps!