[TheEvilNarwhal]

I am new to the Head-Fi forums and want to start listening to music on high quality headphones. I have been searching for some high quality, balanced sounding headphones that would fit my budget of less than $250. I would use the headphones for mainly listening to music being mostly Alternative, Metal, and Classic Rock with a little bit of Hip-Hop, Old School Rap, and some House.I would also use these headphones for gaming and watching some movies. I have seen that many head-fiers recommend the Grado sr225i's for Rock and Metal. I feel these would be too much for a headphone that is more biased towards a few genres. I have really been thinking about the Sennheiser hd 598s due to the large soundstage and them excelling in gaming and movies. I feel that these would be somewhat light on the bass for Hip-hop. That brings me to the Beyerdynamic 770s which have been recommended for great bass. They are closed so I could use them in public places but they are also very large. What do you think would be the best route? Any recommendations?

 

[Rush1184]

If you are mainly listening to Rock, Metal, Alternative, and especially classic rock, I would totally go with the Grado SR-225i (also look into the MS-2 possibly as well).  They are not so heavily biased that you cannot listen to anything but rock (I listen to some rap both old and new, and they are fine).  They may not be bass heavy as some other cans, but there is bass, and it is detailed.  Basically, they are great cans that work well with alot of different music types (and I love them for movies as well due to the large soundstage), but where they really excel and sound truly amazing is with rock.

 

[TheEvilNarwhal]

Is it true that I can get some sr60i's and mod them to the point where they closely resemble the sr225i sound and spend $120 less. That is $120 in my wallet that I can use on other headphones.

 

[TheEvilNarwhal]

Or how about the Allesandro MS1s. How do they compare to the sr225i's? Are they as easily modable as the sr60i's?

 

[TheEvilNarwhal]

Bump. I would like some more input. Even if you agree with previous statements please.

 

[elwappo99]

Quote:

Bump. I would like some more input. Even if you agree with previous statements please.

 
Hi there! Welcome to these forums.
 
Based on your original post, it seems you might be unsure as to what you are looking for. The grado sr225 are a good starting point, but are not good for listening in public areas where you will hear all outside noise. For that matter the Beyer dt770 don't really 'seal' and block outside noise either. Where are you located? Any chance there's a good headphone store near you? 
 
I'd give these cans a look over:
 
Grado Sr225
AKG K5550
Brainwavz HM5
 
 
Also you are not going to mod a SR60 into a SR225

 

[TheEvilNarwhal]

I'm in Wisconsin area so there may be a store in Milwaukee I could visit but i am unsure. I guess I will focus on more of an at home open set up. I think that the akg k550s may be out of my price range. I am still open to suggestions though.

 

[TheEvilNarwhal]

Bump.
 

 

[TheEvilNarwhal]

Is there a good question forum section I could post this to where people would respond more frequently?

 

[wilyodysseus]

Welcome to head-fi.

Is there a good question forum section I could post this to where people would respond more frequently?

There is the general recommendation thread.

The SR225 would be a decent choice for your genres.

(It's preferred that posters not bump their own threads more than once a day.*)

 

[TheEvilNarwhal]

Thank you for the tip about bumping and I think I will go for the sr225i for my first headphone! It will most likely be my gateway drug into the headphone world. I have heard that the grados benefit very well from tube amps. Does anyone have any recommendations on tube amps or good sound cards to use with these headphones?
 

 

[zazex]

Quote:

I am new to the Head-Fi forums and want to start listening to music on high quality headphones. I have been searching for some high quality, balanced sounding headphones that would fit my budget of less than $250. I would use the headphones for mainly listening to music being mostly Alternative, Metal, and Classic Rock with a little bit of Hip-Hop, Old School Rap, and some House.I would also use these headphones for gaming and watching some movies. I have seen that many head-fiers recommend the Grado sr225i's for Rock and Metal. I feel these would be too much for a headphone that is more biased towards a few genres. I have really been thinking about the Sennheiser hd 598s due to the large soundstage and them excelling in gaming and movies. I feel that these would be somewhat light on the bass for Hip-hop. That brings me to the Beyerdynamic 770s which have been recommended for great bass. They are closed so I could use them in public places but they are also very large. What do you think would be the best route? Any recommendations?

 
 
The issue here, and I think the reason you're not getting many responses,
is
you're not going to get everything you're looking for in one set of $250 headphones.
 
You want balanced sound,
plenty of bass for hip hop,
dimensionality and openness for films and gaming, and
I'm assuming you'll also want some "edge" for metal.
You also seem to be leaning towards closed headphones
so you can use them outside,
but you don't want them to be too large.
 
Tall order!
 
The 598's are open, kind of big, and won't give you the bass you want
 
The Beyer DT770's have plenty of bass.
More bass by far than any other headphone you mentioned.
In my view, they have too much bass, tend to therefore sound somewhat muddy
and I don't recommend them (except possibly to bassheads).
 
The 225i's are an interesting choice; and I think a good one for starters
they're exciting and dynamic
bass doesn't thunder but is very consistent with the rest of their sonic spectrum
The only kind of music that I don't generally listen to on my 225i's is deep 'Berlin School' electronica
for trip hop and related genres, though, they do very well
 
I'd go for a pair if I were you
and as always, be sure they're returnable
if you decide you really don't like them.
(always a possibility
regardless of which headphones you buy).

 

[Rush1184]

Quote:

Or how about the Allesandro MS1s. How do they compare to the sr225i's? Are they as easily modable as the sr60i's?

 
They are the same as any other plastic grados when it comes to modding...  My GF has the 60's and I have the MS1s, and I perfer the MS1s, and really feel they are worth the extra $20 or so.  Much more open (probably mostly due to having the 'buttons' already removed, and a much closer tolerance of drivers, along with a few other tweaks.  If I could have afforded the 225s, I would have probably done so (though I would probably save for MS2s at that point), but I am very happy with the MS1s and don't feel like I am missing anything by not going with the 225s.
 
Also, two friends of mine have gone out and bought MS1s after listening to mine (and my girlfirends SR-60s side by side as well).  Everyone I give them to listen to is impressed with them.  I rarely get that reaction with my other cans in that price range when other people listen to them.

 

[panteraMetal]

[size=10pt]As always it really depends on ones preference. I only listen to Metal and I could not stand Grado 80i. Too annoying in treble region, congested mids , bass shy, and old sounding in general(low resolution). [/size]

[size=10pt]HD598 is not ideal solution for metal either but everything is better than Grado…IMO of course. [/size]

 

[TheEvilNarwhal]

Does anyone know any reputable source to buy the alessandro ms1i's from? It seems as if they are not on amazon.