[fjrabon]

I'll just dive right into what I'm looking for

1) will play mostly out of an 80 GB iPod classic, although occasionally a stock laptop audio out powered by a stock sigma tel sound card.

2) Music is mostly in 128 kbps, some of my favorites are in 256 kbps (yes, I need to store it in 128 and 256 because I don't really know of a 500 GB iPod, I'm currently running at about 70 GB of music, with 90% stored in 128 format)

3) I want as much sound isolation as possible without having to use active sound canceling.

4) Listen to probably 75% rock, 10% pop, 5% jazz, 5% hip-hop, 5% other (almost no metal, the rock is mostly rolling stones/Oasis/allman brothers/Led Zeppelin/ type) But when I do listen to my Jazz (keith jarrett, miles davis, etc) I want it to really be super focused.

5) I'm open to using a cheap, super portable amp (think fiio e5), definitely don't want one that is "picky" about what amp is used.

6) I'd ideally like a really light pair, with a single short/medium cable going into one side of the 'phones, with as much padding as possible. (comfort is a huge priority, the cable is not a huge deal)

7) I like borderline basshead response, but by no means overwhelming. Definitely want the bass to be tight and focused. as little bass flatulence as possible.

8) I like punchy mids, I find most rock recordings have the mids a little too "present" for my tastes.

9) I mostly just want the highs to be clear and cut without being sibilant at all. I HATE it when crash cymbals overwhelm a piece of rock music.

10) don't want to cross into the $200 plus range, ideally I'd like to stay around $100, but if I found something that was exactly, exactly what I'm looking for, I'd go up to $200.

11) to give you maybe a slightly better idea of what I typically like my sound to sound like, my favorite set up at home is an Apple iPod Hi-Fi, using the audio output from my computer, using the iTunes equalizer set the following way:

slight boost at 32 hz, slight boost at 125 hz, pretty large boost at 64 hz, decent sized cut at 500-1K, sizeable boost at 4K, slight boost at 8K and 16K

12) I'll mostly be using these on trips and for just messing around the house when others don't want to hear my music blasting.

 

[billybob_jcv]

Are you set on full-size 'phones, or is in-ear also an option? Several of your requirements (3, 5, 6, 12) seem to point to IEMs as a good option for you.

 

[fjrabon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by billybob_jcv /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are you set on full-size 'phones, or is in-ear also an option? Several of your requirements (3, 5, 6, 12) seem to point to IEMs as a good option for you.

Yeah, I'm pretty set on cans. I've found that if I wear IEMs for really long periods of time it throws off my equilibrium in really subtle, but unsettling ways. And I just generally don't like the feel of IEMs. Maybe if Had some custom fitted, maybe my issues with them would go away, but the typical "small medium large" pieces that I've found with them dont really do it for me.

 

[Emooze]

I believe the AT A500 or A700 would be ideal reading what you want.

 

[m0ofassa]

although it doesnt fulfill all of your criteria, i think an ATH-AD700 would be a fine choice for a portable set. (main drawback being that it is open + not 'bassy' in your case).

 

[Katysax]

Used Beyerdynamic DT770-80 for $99. Plenty of bass. Good isolation. Very comfortable.

 

[m0ofassa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katysax /img/forum/go_quote.gif Used Beyerdynamic DT770-80 for $99. Plenty of bass. Good isolation. Very comfortable.

imo these need a semi-decent amp.

 

[1Time]

FWIR... tight bass with comfort for ~$140, M-Audio Q40 modded with Beyerdynamic pads.

 

[dum656]

read up on the denon d1001 (if you're not already overwhelmed) it's got great bass response and amazing comfort fwir and doesn't really need an amp plus it's only $80 if you're patient

 

[mbd2884]

Starter set...

First off considering your source as iPod with 128 kbps and occasional 256, who cares if you using better headphones or not. Cause better headphones will make your music sound even worse as they will make it very obvious the limitations of your current ipod setup with 128 bit rate files.

The suggestions with the A700, A500, D1000 are solid once you get rid of your current iPod with 128 bit rate files setup. I agree forget the DT770. Yes the DT770 will sound fine with your ipod, although you will have almost no leeway room on volume, the iPod don't really have the power to drive the DT770s, I don't have DT770 but recently heard it through a G5 and well, wasn't impressed. Needs better amp as someone said, why bother getting the DT770 if it won't sound proper?

If you are using an iPod as source, I would just buy a cheap IEM from RadioShack, they got those V-Modus or whatever they are called IEMs.

But my starter set recommendation. 200 Dollars won't nearly cover it. You will need around 550-600 USD in total for this setup.

Get rid of the iPod as source. Get yourself a PC/Laptop with Foobar2000. If you use XP setup it with ASIO4all and ASIO plug in. If you use Vista, use the Wasabi plugin.

Get rid of all your itunes Mp3, AAC whatever. Buy only .wav or FLAC versions of the songs. Or better yet, buy the freaken CD. To save space if needed, convert your songs to 192 Variable MP3 or 256 Constant Bit Rate Mp3, Lame or Fraunhofer IIS encoders are fine. I use Fraunhofer IIS 192 variable high quality, slow encoding. If you have space, keep it in FLAC, or convert the .wave and CD to FLAC

Get yourself a Zero, and use that as your DAC, can be had for as little as 150 Shipped, be very careful who you purchase from, the Quality Control doesn't exist for these units.

Get yourself a Little Dot MK 1+ hybrid. This will cost 99 USD plus shipping, probably around 150 shipped also.

Then I would get the D2000 from Denon for Closed. For open the AD700 or AD900, I say go for the AD900.

Make sure you have the proper interconnects to support all this and re-terminate your 3.5mm plug on whatever headphone you choose with a Neutrik or Furutech 1/4" plug.

That would be my starter kit, just jump right in and go all out for a low budget borderline Mid-Fi setup.

As you can see from my Sig, I am a proud and very happy Mid-Fi headphone Head-Fier.

 

[m0ofassa]

x2 for a starter set taking 500 or 600 dollars...
for most starter sets you're looking at an amp and a headphone, which can get pricey very fast.
if he must have a closed phone that drives fine from an ipod, the a500/700 isnt a bad option.

 

[fjrabon]

maybe this is the wrong place to be saying this, but if I want real hi-fi, I'm going to use my home speaker system. At this point in my life I do get to listen to speakers at a decent volume most of the time. The iPod is basically for trips/being on the go/just messing around the house. At this point, the convenience of the iPod outweighs the marginal gains of a truly great setup.

I've done a lot with pro-audio, and over the best speaker set money can buy, I can tell the difference between 128 and 256, but I can't tell the difference between 256 and anything above. And with 128, I really only care if its something with a lot of crash cymbals (128 makes them just sound like static to me) or a lot of bass that has to be highly articulated. For most pop/rock, 128 is really fine with me. Oasis is my favorite band and it really doesn't make a bit of difference if you listen to (What's the Story) Morning Glory? over 128 or 256 or FLAC. The mastering is going to sound like crap regardless, but its still one of my 10 favorite records of all time. To be honest, the way most things are mastered these days, 256 and flac just irritates me because you realize just how bad most things are mastered.

 

[mbd2884]

What you just posted reaffirms my recommendation. Forget all the good headphones that were suggested. Run to Radio Shack and get those V-Moda IEMs, they cost I think 39 USD.

I can tell the difference between 128 and 192 on What's the Story Morning Glory. And it sounds craptastic at 128, especially with my setup.
Also the mastering with Oasis I believe is intentional whether you like it or not. They were going for the 60s rock sound, bring back the old british rock and roll sound. And well, I disagree with anyone who claims that mastering on vinyls or cassettes are superior to current digital formats. Oasis definitely wanted that garage sound, so yes, their mastering you refer to being crap matches their sound perfectly to me. Would sound weird otherwise, but that's me personally.

But for me, What's The Story Morning Glory is by far their best album and the intro to Some Might Say is awesome. Love that song.

And if the way music is mastered now a days in digital format irritates you, I feel sorry for you. Sounds like you will be one miserable music lover for a very long time, as its not likely current mastering methods will change, nor the use of digital formats such as Mp3, FLAC and .wav

As for home setup, headphone setup and speakers are two totally different things. Headphones are personal, speakers are not. Everyone around can hear them, especially if you live in an apartment or condo, people below, people above, next to you. Cannot blast your music or even listen at a soft level past 10 o clock at night with speakers before you get complaints from neighbors and your landlord. Headphones solve all those problems.

But if you have a house, then yeah, I agree, speakers way to go. Although having that personal sound of headphones, speakers won't replace that.

 

[fjrabon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbd2884 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I can tell the difference between 128 and 192 on What's the Story Morning Glory. And it sounds craptastic at 128, especially with my setup. Also the mastering with Oasis I believe is intentional whether you like it or not. They were going for the 60s rock sound, bring back the old british rock and roll sound. And well, I disagree with anyone who claims that mastering on vinyls or cassettes are superior to current digital formats. Oasis definitely wanted that garage sound, so yes, their mastering you refer to being crap matches their sound perfectly to me. Would sound weird otherwise, but that's me personally. And if the way music is mastered now a days in digital format irritates you, I feel sorry for you. Sounds like you will be one miserable music lover for a very long time, as its not likely current mastering methods will change, nor the use of digital formats such as Mp3, FLAC and .wav As for home setup, headphone setup and speakers are two totally different things. Headphones are personal, speakers are not. Everyone around can hear them, especially if you live in an apartment or condo, people below, people above, next to you. Cannot blast your music or even listen at a soft level past 10 o clock at night with speakers before you get complaints from neighbors and your landlord. Headphones solve all those problems. But if you have a house, then yeah, I agree, speakers way to go. Although having that personal sound of headphones, speakers won't replace that.

well, it's only the mastering on the first two Oasis albums that bother me (whether or not it's a coincidence that those were musically their best albums is hard to say). On Definitely Maybe, it certainly wasn't intentional. It was that Noel Gallagher put down like 20 tracks of guitar on every song, the producer had to strip it down without re-recording and he did the best he could. Everything sounds a bit jumbled on these two albums compared to say, Heathen Chemistry (which I like a lot more than most). On WTSMG it was that they were trying to replicate the feel/sound of DM, not really 60s rock. The producers and mixers were told "hey, Definitely Maybe did better than we ever thought it would, lets make this record sound as much like that one as possible, given that the songs are a little longer."

For an example of an album of about the same time period in roughly the same genere, that I absolutely ADORE the way its mastered, have a listen to Shake Your Money Maker by The Black Crowes. Everything is tight and crisp, the bass hits you just right, the vocals are crisp and powerful, yet not overwhelming, the organs sound warm, the drums are tight. I once met the guy who mixed that album and was tempted to hug the guy for making such a beautifully produced album.

As to my usage of "today" I guess I have issues with just about every era and how things were mastered. For instance, I absolutely hate everything Phil Spector ever did. A lot of the music itself was brilliant, but I hate "the wall of sound" and the way he mixed things. It's understandable, because it was designed to get the most sound you could possibly get out of crappy car speakers, but on even a medium quality sound system, it sounded awful. My issue with "today's" sound is just that it would be great if it wasn't trying to be so upper mid-rangey. I guess a lot of that can be solved with a decent EQ, but I digress.

 

[aragornmustdie]

ATH-ES7 + FiiO E5

im a big fan of rock as well and i should say this can does it for me. ive compared it with grados and alessandro MS1, but i still prefer the solid bass provided by the ES7. its even better for metal (black sabbath) though.