Sep 19, 2013 at 8:52 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 2

vegaobscura

New Head-Fier
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Sep 19, 2013
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My Shure SCL4s have finally kicked the bucket after a botched repair (We were so close...then a misapplied needle-nose ended that progress irreparably.) 
 
While I'm considering the out-of-warranty replacement to SE425s for $155, I'm thinking about full-size options as well. I like the form-factor and portability of IEMs, but if it were going to give me better sound/a bigger soundstage, I wouldn't mind switching to full-sized cans.
 
What could be considered an upgrade for a budget of $200 or less? Used, especially from Head-Fi, would be an option as well. (Trust me, the idea of getting Sennheiser HD 650s for ~$300 is certainly tempting me to go way out of my budget for this.)
 
I currently don't have any extra equipment at this time--I've generally been using the Shures with my laptop, Desktop (through a Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty Platinum), and phone without anything else. I may consider adding a portable amp/DAC (CMOY or E17, maybe?) over the holiday season if it's recommended.
 
My music tastes won't help much:
Ben Folds (Five)
Nine Inch Nails
Pink Floyd
Led Zeppelin
Mumford and Sons
Daft Punk
Blink 182
Talking Heads
David Bowie
Gorillaz

Other than that: I will be using these as my computer headphones, so any gaming on there would have to be taken into account (General consensus seems to be: Open > Closed for that).
 
Thanks in advance!
 
Sep 23, 2013 at 4:50 PM Post #2 of 2
Updating with additional information:
 
I'm currently planning on adding an O2 headphone amp into my setup (I wanted a DIY project to work on soon anyways). If I like that, I may introduce an ODAC in a couple months. The Fatal1ty Titanium in my desktop should be a decent starter DAC for now. 
 
I may eventually return the broken SLC4s for a pair of SE425s for portability, but in the meantime, I'm looking into a pair of over-the-ear open headphones.
 
Based on my research (scouring the forums and reading), I've seen a couple of recommendations.
 
Within my budget:
Audio-Technica AD700x (New: $170ish)
Audio-Technica AD900x (Used: $170ish)
Grado 225i (Used: $140ish, New: $200)
 
Stretching my budget:
Sennheiser HD650 (Used: $300)
 
While my wallet would love love to focus on under $200, the opportunity to get a pair of fairly new HD650s for $300 seems like a hell of a deal, now that Sennheiser is clamping down on their pricing. I would love to consider used HD600s if they would be more friendly to my budget, but I haven't seen any being listed FS in a while and second-hand on eBay puts them in at barely under what I could score those HD650s for.
 
I'm unable to audition any of these in person and just let my ears decide (unless I want to buy new online, then return after--but that seems wrong), as there are really no local sources around me, so I'm really only able to go off what the forums suggest and reviews tell me. That being said, anyone who knows a good shop in Southern CT, let me know. I still haven't found one.
 
Any thoughts, ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated...I feel so out of my element.
 

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