[crimsontide]

Setting: home (no problem with open)

Music:
30% - trance (atb, paul van dyk, daft punk)
30% - classic rock (tom petty, eagles, led zeppelin, lynard skynard)
15% - rap (tupac, nas, bone, three 6)
15% - folk/country/vocal (robert earl keen, charlie robison)
10% - classical/instrumental (bach, john williams)

Full-sized Headphones: ~$200 preferably, $300 USD tops

Desktop Amp (doesnt need to be portable): ~$100 preferably, 200 max

USB DAC: ~$100 preferably, 200 max

GO!

 

[nickchen]

Only cans I've crossed that were able to handle all these styles were the AT A900s. No amp needed then.

Also thought of the Senn HD650 + some 200$ish amp, but that is pure theory.

 

[F107plus5]

Sounds like SR-225 is a shoe-in for $200 or, at the upper end; try the SR-325i or MS2i depending on whether you want a more "fun" sound or a bit more neutral presentation!!

Nope; you can get by without an amp just fine!

 

[Target1]

Howdy,

IMO it would be silly to get a set of SR225s or up and not get an amp. I can't really tell the difference between my 225s and my brother's 60s until I hook up the Glite. Not to say there isn't one, but it isn't more than 10%. I wouldn't spend an extra $140 on 10%. If you get the 225s and a nice amp, then you are getting way more than 10%. Tough to quantify, but its a big difference. That said, with your current budget I would plan on eventually getting a decent DAC, decent amp (read circa $200 each), SR225s, and another set of cans (I have HD580s) to offset. You can get by with just the 225s and amp for quite a while, and do further upgrades when you have the time, and more importantly, cash.

Target

 

[crimsontide]

thanks for the responses. am i going to get better bass response with a closed model? are the grados really as uncomfortable as people say? because i will be listening for about 2-3 hours a day while i study. where do the dt770s, dt880s and senn 595s fall in here? they are the two that originally caught my eye. i am coming from sony mdr-v600s if anyone has heard these and could make comparisons. where can i get that circa amp and is it my best bet? what about some DIY amps? thanks again!

 

[F107plus5]

I would normally agree about the amp...especially the Glie! That's the one I'm thinking of getting just as soon as I can. The Elpac first then the DPS later....anyway, I am RIGHT NOW listening to my new MS2i which arived in the mail about 1:21 ago, without an amp. And surprizingly, right outta the pizza box it sounds a whole lot better than my MS-1s also without an amp. I do have what may be a reasonably good source in my semi-ancient CD/DVD players' headphone jack. It ain't bad.

Hey! I've been wearing these that long with no problem! I'm used to reversed Senns 414s, and the bowls, while feeling a bit foreign aren't causing a problem!! Neat!!

Anyway...Even without an amp and right out of the box I am noticing quite a bit better controll of the bass than what the MS-1s had on these very familiar CDs. And quite a bit better upper mids and treble as well.

Like I mentioned; I may have a particularly good source, but generally, I agree, a good amp is important when the quality of the cans begins to rise.

 

[F107plus5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by crimsontide thanks for the responses. am i going to get better bass response with a closed model? are the grados really as uncomfortable as people say? because i will be listening for about 2-3 hours a day while i study. where do the dt770s, dt880s and senn 595s fall in here? they are the two that originally caught my eye. i am coming from sony mdr-v600s if anyone has heard these and could make comparisons. where can i get that circa amp and is it my best bet? what about some DIY amps? thanks again!

Are Grados' uncomfortable? I just received new Alessandros(Grados)with the standard bowl pads, and while I am familiar with my MS-1s with 414s, I was able to put these MS2i on almost two hours ago and have been wearing them ever since with no discomfort. I did a test a few weeks ago to see if I could handle the extra weight of these cans over the older ones by adding 100gm of mass to them. Wore the MS-1s that way for a couple months!! Anyway....managed to get in one ten hour test with no problem!!

 

[crimsontide]

595s and dt 770 & 880s? amps?

 

[Jerome G]

Quote:

Originally Posted by F107plus5 Are Grados' uncomfortable? I just received new Alessandros(Grados)with the standard bowl pads, and while I am familiar with my MS-1s with 414s, I was able to put these MS2i on almost two hours ago and have been wearing them ever since with no discomfort. I did a test a few weeks ago to see if I could handle the extra weight of these cans over the older ones by adding 100gm of mass to them. Wore the MS-1s that way for a couple months!! Anyway....managed to get in one ten hour test with no problem!!

x2. The whole Grado comfort issue is overblown IMO. They are not uncomfortable at all. New bowls may feel a little abraisive(sp?) in the beginning, but they "wear-in" quickly.

 

[nickchen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by crimsontide 595s and dt 770 & 880s? amps?

No 595s. They can't handle Trance, Hiphop and related.
No DT770. They can't handle Folk, Classical and also sound strange with Rock. Other extreme.
Dt880s might work, but they will not sound very beefy with Trance & alike.

I keep my A900 recommendation.

 

[F107plus5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by F107plus5 Are Grados' uncomfortable? I just received new Alessandros(Grados)with the standard bowl pads, and while I am familiar with my MS-1s with 414s, I was able to put these MS2i on almost two hours ago and have been wearing them ever since with no discomfort. I did a test a few weeks ago to see if I could handle the extra weight of these cans over the older ones by adding 100gm of mass to them. Wore the MS-1s that way for a couple months!! Anyway....managed to get in one ten hour test with no problem!!

To add to this: I got the new cans yesterday at 1:00 PM, I ended the day around midnight last night, but of those eleven hours I had the new cans with the bowls on for all but about two hours. I've had them on now for nearly two and a half hours(til the kids wake up!)listening to all my favorite tunes!

Got DSOTM on right now!!

 

[crimsontide]

thanks. im going to head over to guitar center to check out the a 900s. also what about the ad 900s? will any open cans have enough bass for me? im interested but have never heard an open pair before.

edit: by the way, i can eq in the sound (bass) im looking for. they dont need to be bass-heavy out of the box with flat eq. they just need to be able to give me the output i want after eq (+3-6db @ 40-150).

 

[Purgatos]

I'd also go for the SR-225s personally. They don't sound great with classical, but sound acceptable and then sound great with everything else.

The A900, on the other hand, I found to sound dreadful with every genre on the planet other than trance.

 

[crimsontide]

thanks for your help guys i know there are 20 of these kind of threads a day. i listend to the 770s at guitar center and ended up buying them. they are the dt 770 pro/80. i love them. the bass is incredible. much more than i anticipated. now its time to start thinking about an amp. i had my eye on the pa2v2. but what about gilmore lite for the 770s?

 

[F107plus5]

From what I've read about the Glite; if you really like your phones and you really like your source, then you'll probably really like Gilmore Lite!

I am of the impression that this amp is the proverbial "bare wire with gain!" so that if you want an amp to warm-up or modify the sound; this probably ain't it!

I am strongly considering it for my MS2i, but I have not yet heard it, but if you do a search, you may find it quite interesting!!