Recommendations and leakage questions
Oct 8, 2013 at 10:34 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 2

pjcforpres2020

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First off, awesome community here and happy to become a part of it.
 
I recently got an 'office' job and being able to enjoy music while doing it is a huge factor to not going insane. So that puts me in the position of needing a good pair of headphones.
 
I am looking to spend up to $400 for my headphones, but would prefer to not use my entire budget if possible. In a perfect world I would go with Sennheiser HD598/558, but I am concerned their leakage would be too much for my environment (it is cubicles with four people to each pod, and very open air).
 
I believe this means I should be looking at closed cans instead of open ones. That leaves me at a quandary. I am looking for a pair of headphones with good sound stage, good clarity of instruments throughout the spectrum, in other words what you would think of when you think of an open can sound signature.
 
I have tried a co-workers Sennheiser 518s and they are nice, but the low end was a bit less than what I would ideal like.
 
I listen to a pretty wide mix of music, give you a few of my current favorites: Rob Zombie, Adele, Cat Stevens, Miranda Lambert/Pistol Annies, Mumford and Sons, Brother Ali/Grieves/Atmosphere... so really a mix from rock to country to hip-hop.
 
The common thread is I like music with an air to it because I like hearing the clarity of the composition and feeling the groove created by the least appreciated musical note, silence.
 
I am looking to keep an open mind to suggestions, so I guess I would describe my ideal cans as reference class with great clarity and a little extra bottom end so I can hear my drums and bass lines (I am a drummer, my dad was a bass player).
 
Thank you for your time and suggestions!
 
Oct 9, 2013 at 3:59 PM Post #2 of 2
A little extra information... I don't have much opportunity in my area to try out headphones, especially high quality ones. Sadly I am limited to Best Buy and their display. Out of what they had their, I really liked the Bose on ear ones, but they didn't perform well when plugged into an ipod. I also liked the SOL Master Tracks and the SOL V12 (I think, one step down from the Master Tracks)... but found the clarity of the low end lacking and bass a little over powering on the Master Tracks, and the V12s were about right in terms of balance, however lacking in clarity and and the definition of the lower tones was too muted.
 
I am eyeing Sennheiser Momentums, Amperiors, or not really sure after that. Clearly I am not super familiar with offerings from those outside Senn, a bit, but Senn is a name I knew and trusted going into this so have focused on them a bit.
 
My main goal, more clearly defined, is great sounding rock, blues, and country, but able to handle hip hop and classical without feeling out of place. I am a drummer so I really enjoy being able to hear the drums clearly, and am a big fan of clarity between instruments.
 

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