[Satanier]

Well, not only did the recent posts get deleted, but all new accounts got deleted as well(don't think the admin realizes this. I just had to remake mine.)


I'll try to recreate my post:

I want a pair of headphones to use with 50% music, 50% gaming.
Budget is $100 max.

I listen to:

Rock - 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s - Everything from soft to vocal to metal
Some Techno
Some Hip Hop
Some Classical guitar /// Instrumental

I've narrowed my choices for a new pair down to three models:

Grado SR-60/80
Sennheiser HD-555
Audio Tehnica AD-700

I like clean highs, smooth bass but nothing boomy.
The phones need to be comfortable for 8+ hour sessions.

Here is the catch: I'm currently using a pair of 1974 Sennheiser HD-424s, which have been modified to be circumaural. I can wear these headphones for 10 hours at a time and they sound quite nice. The thing is they don't get very loud with my computer, and I'm getting some kind of light distortion on highs in certain tracks, I think because of the headphone output I'm using from my 5.1 computer speaker package. (I hear the same distortion on my cheapo phones)


I would want a huge improvement in sound quality over what I currently have if I was going to spend up to 100 dollars on a new pair. Would I be better off properly driving the pair I have now? I've heard something about amplification from speaker outs but I don't really understand what that means.


Any input would be great!

 

[Satanier]

bump!

 

[Satanier]

bump!

 

[Satanier]

bump!

 

[nylan8301]

The SR-60's do not have much in the way of sound stage/positioning (you may have read this from other reviews). You can play games with them, but I find them really hard to play something seriously (unless an MMO, where positioning doesn't matter).

If you FPS, then you may want to go to an AD-700, which supposedly (according to consensus on head-fi) has a better sound stage. I've never heard the AD-700, but every review I've read says that they have a fairly large soundstage and are easy to drive from a computer, and (most importantly) are comfortable.

Grado's are great, but comfort is very hit and miss with people.

Nylan

(Oh, and I can't comment on the Senns because I dislike every Sennheiser product I've ever heard...sorry, I just can't stand Senns).

 

[Stevie B]

The grados have liquid mids and really nice highs but are VERY uncomfortable after an hour or so. If comfort is a big factor to you then you might want to pass on the grados (unless you mod them

).

 

[Calypso]

The Grado SR60 are actually quite comfortable, the SR80 are not.
But 10 hours are a long time, to wear a headphone.
You could mod the Grados with the Sennheiser HD 414 pads however.

 

[jonathanjong]

8 hours? Denon AH-D1001. Suit your requirements too.

Also, bumping four times in a row is annoying.

 

[Satanier]

Only bumped when it left the front page never to be seen again.

Sounds like the AD-700s might be a good bet for me, I play a lot of FPS. How are they for music? Will they be better than my Sennheiser HD-424s?

 

[BluesDaddy]

If you are hearing distortion from different headphones, the problem is in your soundcard. A new set of headphones will not solve that problem. Higher quality phones will only make it stand out worse. Get a new sound card with better quality output. There are a number of good ones out there that will not break your wallet.

 

[Satanier]

I stopped using the headphone output on my speaker system and I now use the rear output of my computer into a pioneer receiver and then I have the headphones plugged into that. There is no more distortion and they get a lot louder now so I guess I'm back to my original dilemma, will one of the new pairs I'm looking at give me a significant improvement in sound quality?

 

[Satanier]

Any more input?

 

[charonme]

555

 

[Satanier]

Anyone else have any input about the quality difference I would notice with one of these new pairs versus my current HD-424s?