[themissingelf]

Hi all,

I'm fortunate to own a pair of Grade 325e and Santa is bringing me a Schitt DAC (Modi 3) and amp (Magni 3) for Christmas, however, my stocking is not yet full.... ;@)

My wife and I share an office space and she's not too happy about the leaky Grados. So... I'm in the market for a pair of closed back headphones. I use some AKG 52s at work which are OK (more than OK for £39!) but I'm after something better as my 2nd choice for at home for when I'm not disturbing the other half.

Sony MDRV6s (or the 7506) have peaked my interest but I'm not adverse to spending more so interested in recommendations - bearing in mind the 325s are my current benchmark. Also interested to know if closed backs are simply not worth spending a lot on because they'll never come near open back?

I'm also not adverse to finding some closed backs that beat the 325s and just consolidating to a single pair of headphones.

Recommendations?

 

[PurpleAngel]

To me the Sony MDR-V6/7506 are more for monitoring audio (boring sound), then audio enjoyment.
Check out the Soundmagic HP151 (fun sounding) headphones.

 

[arakel]

Check out 1more triple drivers (over ear headphones) They're $250 but they've been on sale lately. I just got a pair for $150 and I like them better than my meze 99 neos.

Definetely keep the grados though.

 

[themissingelf]

Thanks both. Much appreciated.
The only 1More Triple Drivers I could find were in ear?

 

[Monsterzero]

Look here and here.

 

[themissingelf]

Great. Thank you!

All recommendations so far are of interest... Buy, upping the ante, what if I were to spend more? For exmaple Shure SRH1540: https://www.whathifi.com/shure/srh1540/review

 

[toby23]

I love my Oppo PM-3's. Fantastic all-round performer, made even better with the Oppo Ha-2 amp.

 

[JediMa70]

Meze 99 classics, they are simply fantastic

 

[ohsigmachi]

I recently bought a used pair of ATH-W5000 they are phenomenal especially with a solid state amp. Also the Beyerdynamic DT-1770 Pros are my house favorite, but paired with tube amps only.

 

[themissingelf]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Keeping me busy researching etc. I'm currently auditioning the Shures (SRH1540). Certainly a nice sounding pair of phones and can't fault the quality of the sound and the detail. My only complaint... My Grados make it hard for me to be genuinely thrilled by the Shures.I'm telling myself I will learn to like love them and I'm just not sure that's the right way to start a relationship? They do keep me engaged in the music, even when I'm trying to work, which is a good sign as I can often listen to track after track with headphones of a lesser quality to the Grados and Shures and have no memory of what I've listened to. They do have quality I can't quite place my finger on and explain... Currently listening to Sacrifice by Lisa Gerrard and it totally distracting me from writing this post. Perhaps this is where the close backs really work over open back - the isolation with this type of music. By contrast, the Grados had the edge with She's My Bible by The Bible. They say the relationships are the ones that grow on you vs instant infatuation. I'll cease rambling...

 

[buke9]

Your brain can take a bit to get used to a new sound signature and Grado is a different than most sound signature. Don’t know the Shures so can’t say but the 1More Triple Drivers were better than I thought they would be to be honest. If the Shures didn’t thrill you because of the Grados then forget the Meze nice bassy headphones but the high end is a bit rolled off.