Recommendation from following closed list

[mmcgeeve]

Hi,

I have been reading a lot about headphones on this forum the last couple of weeks (as well as elsewhere - e.g. headroom) and would appreciate a recommendation on which of the following phones to choose in terms of sound quality:

* Senn HD-25-1 (good marks on a lot of DJ sites in particular)
* AudioTechnica A900 (good marks here, except for a couple of reviews)
* AudioTechnica A700 (or even A500 I guess if there isn't much difference)
* Beyerdynamic DT 250-80 (good marks on headphone)
* AKG K271 Studio (again, good marks on headphone)

I have arrived at this list based on the following requirements, and I think all meet these requirements:
* No amp required - usually will be used from an iHP-140 or laptop/soundcard
* Doesn't need to be highly portable
* Work Environment, so can't leak a lot of sound and annoy my neighbours
* Isolation is a nice feature but not critical - e.g. I use Koss Portapro's now with no trouble - it's not a noisy environment
* I want to spend US$150-200, and get a good upgrade in sound from the Portapro
* I listen to mostly rock/alternative music - radiohead, tori amos, faith no more, coldplay, etc.

After all I have read recently here, I think I would like to consider Senn HD595 too, but having never used an open headphone like this I am assuming it may leak too much noise outside and annoy people, and also may not be best driven with a portable player - am I right?

Well, thanks for any help you can give. I want to buy in the next couple of days (I return to Australia from the US at the end of this month).

Cheers,

Mikey.

 

[commando]

Welcome to head-fi! Sorry about your wallet

It looks like you've done your research well. Having heard only the 271 and 280-250 from that list, I can't compare them all, but my picks would be the A900 or the 250-80. The A900 is meant to be like a closed little brother to the CD3K... i'm tempted to get one myself... for the collection, you know

Edit - you're right, the 595 probably isn't suitable for the office.

 

[EyeAmEye]

I've owned the HD25-1, K271S, and currently the HD595. You are correct in assuming that the HD595 is not suited for an office, which is too bad, because it is easily the best of the three.
Having said that, without an amp, the HD25-1 is a no-brainer over the K271S. Some say properly amped the K271S sounds great. I wouldn't know, because I used it either unamped, or with a supermicro. Under those conditions, the K271S sounded hollow and lifeless. On the other hand, the HD25-1 is quite detailed and lively amp or no amp, very efficient, top-notch isolation. Two drawbacks, limited soundstage and below average comfort, though in time either the band will stretch a bit or you will become more accustomed and less sensitive to the fit.

 

[ReDVsion]

Since you have no need for the headphone to be very portable, I would select either the AXXX series or the DT250_80 based solely on comfort, with the Audio-Technicas having the advantage. I'd probably go with the A900s just because the sound quality of the 250_80 seems debatable, judging by impressions of others here.

As a sidenote, I'll probably be getting a pair of the HD25s eventually, but I need them for portable usage, and my Ultrasones aren't doing too well in the comfort department, anyway.

 

[3lusiv3]

I would go for the AudioTechnica A900. Just bear in mind that they are bigger than your average headphone, if that matters to you.

It doesn't matter if you're in the US or in Australia if you get the Audio Technica because they ship from Japan anyway.

 

[v_1matst]

I purchased the A900 for office use and couldn't be happier. I use them un-amped (at the moment) and they sound great. If you do end up getting them just give them a little time for burn in/let your ears get used to them (whichever philosophy you go by

).

They are a little on the large size (anyone found a way to shorten the metal bands holding the cans together?) but their sound more than makes up for it.

 

[philodox]

it depends on how well the iriver mp3 players drive headphones... not sure myself as I've never heard one... if they do a good job of it you might be able to get away with the AKG, but you will eventually want to get a home amp to really bring it into its own... you wont have a problem with sound leakage or isolation... and tori amos sounds lovely on them

I think that realistically though, the A900 would be a better choice... it seems to be the house favourite for mating with a poor source...

 

[mmcgeeve]

Well thanks for all of these opinions - this and what I have read since then has lead me to decide on the A900's for a closed work headphone. Oddly enough it seems just as cheap or cheaper to wait until I get back to Australia to buy them seeing as they seem to be imported directly from Japan rather than having a US distributor.

But I still felt like buying something here so I just ordered some Ety 4p's from iDealSound (again, thanks for all the opinions - it was a toss up between these and the Shure e3c's...) for the plane ride home... there are roughly at a 40% discount from what they cost in Australia from what I could see

Thanks again!