Recommended Headphones for Metal?
Sep 4, 2010 at 3:56 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 21
dngkgk999

dngkgk999

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Since i broke my last IEM, I've been looking at posts on head-fi for the past few days trying to look for a headphone that's suited to metal, but im still having difficulty choosing the right one. I'm looking for closed cans (its for portable use and I don't want the sound to leak out in public places) for under $200 - although I will pay more if the headphone is that much worth it.
 
For genre clarification (as there is a wide spectrum of what's considered 'metal'), I listen to symphonic/death/black metal with lots of atmosphere/soundstage like Dimmu Borgir and perhaps Opeth. So ideally im looking for headphones that'll blow me away with these artists.
 
 
 
Some headphone research done in this forum:
 
Grado/Alessandro series: Generally hailed as excellent cans for metal, but I heard they comparatively lack the punchy bass. So I'm assuming they're good for other genres of metal (which many people in this forum seem to normalise as genres like metalcore, or old metal like Metallica/Iron Maiden) but perhaps not so good for mine which needs depth/atmosphere?
 
Denon D2000: Heard the bass with the D2000 was powerful and many people recommended it for metal aswell. I'm assuming it'll be a decent fit for the type of music i listen to (is it?), but the price tag on this is bit of a concern (350) so i'll only get this as a last resort if I cant find ones cheaper.
 
Ultrasone HFI-780: Clear and bassy and again recommended by many for metal, but I heard they were Very uncomfortable / perhaps a bit too "bright"?
 
Beyer series and audiotechnica: Didn't get much about this series.
 
 
Recommend me a good headset for me please!
 
Sep 4, 2010 at 4:03 AM Post #2 of 21
Did I just read Grado's lack punchy bass? That's their signature, Rock cans with good slamming bass. While their mids are great for vocals and guitars, their highs crisp and clean for the crash of the symbols. Most Grado's exude rock genre's with the up most Fidelity and high energy bass to keep things fun  and driven. To say they LACK the one thing that makes them unique is a bold statement, and one I've never read, in fact I'm 100% sure you miss read a few posts that said the opposite.
 
By the way I've been listening to more prog metal then anything lately. My first metal was Blind Guardian, with some good old classic Power Metal( or thrash/speed depending on the cd/song). I like some Death Metal, especially stuff like Equilibrium which tends to blur the lines between Power, Folk, Death, and to some extent prog.
 
EDIT: We had a discussion on what made bass "Punchy" and it cleared a few things up for me. You see drum sets have a certain frequency that when listened to with the right headphones can feel punchy. Most Grado's have a similar sound they just move towards greater Fidelit. they say start with something like SR60i's and see if you like them. If you do then you should upgrade right p the ladder to something like an RS1i, just for the fact that it will have that signature sound.
 
Sep 4, 2010 at 4:09 AM Post #3 of 21
Never heard a Grado but the Alessandro MS-1 (fits your budget) has punchy bass, I find it to be enough for metal and rock but it's not a bassy headphone.  They are quite bright and some poorly recorded material can sound quite sizzly with them.  Opeth sounds great.
 
I wouldn't really say they were bad at the music you listen to and better at other stuff like Metalcore but I don't find them as good with stuff that is liberal with use of the cymbals and hi hats and this would differ from band to band.
 
Sep 4, 2010 at 4:10 AM Post #4 of 21
Well to assure u I didn't misread them, a few comments did say that they lack the punch and may feel lightweighted.
 
So which one from grado would you recommend that ISNT bass lacking? 
 
Sep 4, 2010 at 4:40 AM Post #9 of 21
I didn't mean that you couldn't listen to music with cymbals and hi hats, it's just not particularly good in that area especially because a lot of death/black metal is very poorly recorded and it really shows in that area.
 
Sep 4, 2010 at 4:48 AM Post #10 of 21
Grados don't lack the "punchy" bass, they lack the extended low bass, punchy or rumbling. Like 50cent's voice will sound a lot better than I normally hear them (which is on MTV) but my TV has louder, if all over the place, low bass.
 
That said you should be able to hear enough of all the percussion and then a tad bit less of the bass guitar in the more complex passages. Look up the SR225, although for ssymphonic Metal I got the HD600 later on because the 225 just didn't separate the instruments that well. Plus at times they are kind of weird: I can hear cymbals way off to the right or left, beyond my ears, but everything else is coming from between my ears with vague left-right placement. Read up on what the jumbo pads do to them though because whenever I pull the drivers away from my head the problem is less audible, but then at that point, the bass gets weaker too.
 
Sep 4, 2010 at 6:56 AM Post #13 of 21
In my opinion, the ultimate closed-cans for metal are the Sennheiser HD25-1 II. They sound like they're tuned specifically for this genre. Punchy bass, good mids and detailed highs. The soundstage isn't even that bad for a closed can. I listen to a lot of atmospheric black metal, thrash, death and progressive stuff and these cans just blow me away. I own two Grado cans (SR225i and SR60i) and, while the SR225i are great, the HD25-1 II sounds way more visceral and, dare I use the word, BRUTAL! 
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