So many choices, what to buy?

[MikeHead]

HELLO!
I have been reading these forums the past couple days and must say I think this is excellent that there is a place for dedicated headphone people to chat it up. THis is my dream since its so hard to find some non biased opinions on headphones of all sorts without getting advice from someone who clearly wants to sell you the products they stock. I recently (well it's always been but it is now more than ever) have really developed my passion for my love of music. To the point where I want to get a really really nice pair of headphones and a portable amplifier. I have been researching for a month now, and *had* settled on a pair of grado RS2 headphones with either grado's RA1 amplifier or headrooms total airhead amplifier.
Upon reading many reviews on this forum I heard numerous complaints the grados were just far to uncomfortable for someone to endure long hours of listening without experiencing pain

I originally chose a product from the Grado line because I heard they could be powered sufficiently by a portable player, as well as the fact that they handled bass very well and "put you in the front row of the performance". This sounded great, but the reviews I read mentioned nothing about the comfort of these cans.
Other reviews on this site have peoples saying that the Grado's are too bright, or they sound harsh at higher volume levels, and other minor cons that actually bother me.
The thing is, everyone who reviews any of the heaphones always tests them with classical music, symphonies, classic rock, soft rock, jazz, or instrumental music. I listen to *FEW* of these types of music.
I listen to a lot live dj sets, like trance music, and hardhouse, and house and various DJ's. For those who don't specifically know this music then you could roughly classify it as "electronica" or "techno" even though it is far beyond that...or at least to my ears and musical preference.
I also listen to rap music and hip hop and some rock as well. On *occasion* i listen to jazz music and various artists, like around the world music. I have a wide variety of music taste but 90% of the time it is trance music, live dj sets, stuff like that.
I am looking for something that can deliver dynamic sound, give more depth to my listening experience, produce MUCH tighter bass. And not crap out at higher volume levels. I want something to deliver me a listening experience I wont ever forget. The reason for me wanting it portable is because I am in transit 2 hours to work, and 2 hours from work. I listen to headphones at work as well. And at home a lot. I listen to headphones an average of 10 hours a day + (it would be mor elike 20 if I could, but we all have to sleep

)
7 hours of that is when I'm on the move, hence the need for a portable amplifier.
I do not want a moderatly good headphone, or something cheap. I want the best I can get excluding Stax (way to high price tag, and they arent portable) and of course the ridiculously expensive R10 which I was oogling over earlier today.
The models of headphones I am looking at are...

-Sennheiser HD600 with Equinox cabling or Cardas cabling
-Grado RS-2
-Sony MDR CD-3000

I am having seriously doubts about the HD600 because I hear they are very soft sounding headphones, and my experience with all the senns I have tried is that they are geared towards classical music and symphonies, and I don't listen to anything remotely classical. I do not care about hearing the detail a bow resonating sound off the wooden surface of a violin.
I had a pair of HD570's and they couldn't handle the music I was playing and sounded distorted and unclear and downright crappy, even after a 25 hour burn in, I returned them promptly days later after my purchase for a full refund. I told the salesguy what I listened to and he said panasonics DJ1200's he said they are world famous DJ headphones so I ordered a pair. They are, how should I say...satisfactory. But my musical taste craves better performance. These can deliver an almost flat sound sometimes, and they are sounding distorted or crackly at higher volumes sometimes

So I figure its time for a much needed upgrade.
The HD600 may be very comfortable, but I do not like the open ear design where you can hear outside noise and outside people can hear your noise, that is not even close to what I want. I dont want to hear poeple chatting it up on the bus, or the buses engines clearly. I want to enjoy my music in peace.
I want isolation from outside noise, and people outside to not hear my music, although when it comes down to it for supreme sound quality I could sacrifice these two factors (although I'd really rather not)
I hear the RS2's are very good portably and produce very tight bass and bright sound.
btw I have no idea what bright means when refering to sound, can anyone clarify this for me?
Although I have been turned off to the RS2's because of the comfort issues I have heard off, I listen to cans for so long that if my ears started hurting after I coughed up 800$ CAD for headphones I would cry. Grados RS2's are still a very good possibility once I find out about the kind of sound they produce, I realize better earpads can be made, or I can have custom ones made.
The CD3000's I just learned about today, I have been totally turned off to sony products because of many simple comparisons and bad experiences with their products of all sorts simply being inferior to other brands products.
Upon a closer look, more research, and reading many customer reviews of their newer products I have changed my decision that sony still manufactures quality products (R10 was a factor in this, those things look AMAZING!

)
So a question Im posing is how do the CD3000's rate in comparison to the grado RS2's for overall sound quality? Is one of these clearly superior?
My budget is around $1200 - $1400 Canadian dollars. Which is $804 US
With this I hope to get a nice pair of headphones and a portable amplifier.
Anybody have reccomendations based on what I've said so far as too what a good pair of headphones would be, and any suggestions on portable amps would be very helpful as well.

Thanks a whole bunch for taking the time to read my post, any help is MUCH appreciated I hope to make a decision by the end of march.
Thanks everyone

 

[CRESCENDOPOWER]

Hi MikeHead,

This is what I would do with your 800 bucks:

Koss Porta Pros - $25.00 USD Coupon code 617A at checkout at Koss.com

Portable CD player of your choice - $70.00 USD

Beyer DT-770 pros - $150.00 USD

Gilmore Dynamic - $450.00 built just for you, contact Antness

Refurbished Denon DCM-370 - $100.00 Wishing there was more funds for one of those hot sounding $400.00 USD units out there.

I am pretty sure all of the next responces will be different, that's just the nature of this game. Good luck!

 

[MikeHead]

I already owned the porta pros for a good 2 1/2 years of my life. I got em radio shack and paid 15$ extra to get this special warranty where I could exchange for a new pair anytime. Boy i abused those headphones, and happily replaced them anytime something irrepairable happened to em.
Im not looking for a bunch of products Im looking for two:
A GREAT pair of headphones to be used portably, as well as a portable amplifier to accompany them.
Ill check out the denons and the Gilmore Dynamic (sounds like a home amp to me, I dont want a home amp)
Thanks for your imput though

 

[CRESCENDOPOWER]

Quote:

Originally posted by MikeHead I already owned the porta pros for a good 2 1/2 years of my life. I got em radio shack and paid 15$ extra to get this special warranty where I could exchange for a new pair anytime. Boy i abused those headphones, and happily replaced them anytime something irrepairable happened to em. Im not looking for a bunch of products Im looking for two: A GREAT pair of headphones to be used portably, as well as a portable amplifier to accompany them. Ill check out the denons and the Gilmore Dynamic (sounds like a home amp to me, I dont want a home amp) Thanks for your imput though

Meta42 - $250.00 USD Contact JMT
Etymotic ER4-S $280.00, or headphone of choice. Remember most headphones are not really portable in my opinion.

 

[phonatic]

I don't know, how different the 600s may be from the 580s... but my 580s do not sound remotely "soft", "laid-back", "veiled", or "murky". Perhaps I am lucky. My rig has quite a bright sound to it which may somewhat offset these alleged shortcomings of Sennheiser phones. I do listen to classical, jazz, ambient, trip-hop, and even some techno. 580s are bass-accurate, i.e. not great for confirmed bass-heads. I like them for all genres of music.

For your needs, you might like to consider some of the better closed Beyerdynamic headphones, or maybe the CD-3000. A closed design will offer low leakage. I think minya listens to quite a bit of electronica... you might want to check out minya's kit for some ideas.

 

[MikeHead]

Yeah I forgot to mention no etymotic headphones. I dont like earbuds whatsoever. Cramming something in my ear and having it that close to my actual eardrum is not my idea of a good time, regardless of how comfortable they are.
Earbuds = Not my thing

I seen those and thought about them, but no.
Thanks for suggestion though

 

[r3cc0s]

I have my rs-2's and I still find them my fav cans.
to me i love their warm sound, with great detail and deep bass, and impactful mid. I think their soundstage is just fine, and I really find them comfortable, their bowl pads are just fine and the weight is amazing.

I like them better than my akg 501's and my friends senn 580 standard cable.

to me the rs-2's are great for the applications that i use them for. Easily driveable so when I first bought them used them on an nad cdp, and my portable panasonic cdp. Then I got a total airhead which worked quite nicely and I liked better than even the ra-1, (i like the crossfeed). I also think that the wood aspect of them make them very unique and light.

yes they have grado's characteristics, but I love it, they are just such Musical cans. I can't say that my AKG 501 or my MDR-V6's are musical in the same way that I find my Rs'2s to be, they are just smooth, sweet, warm, detailed, beautiful

 

[r3cc0s]

though this,
i find them very nice and transparent for all styles of music including even hip hop and trance, trip hop etc..

they leak alot, and they don't isolate, (which i belive that if a pair of can's can give you the best dyanmic sounds and soundstage and transparency requires open cans).

So they may not be very good for taking the bus, etc..

 

[soupy]

I got a HD600 with Clou Red (recently sold) and being an avid trance listener, these were NOT for the genre. It was farr too laid back and boring for me. Though the bass was great, it wasn't fast enough for my taste. I prefer using the muuuch cheaper grado sr80 than my senn's for trance. The 225s i used to own were amazing for trance....i still wonder why i sold it.., though with your budget a 325 or even a RS1 would be a more enjoyable grado purchase. If you find comfort an issue and would like to maintain some energy into your music, I would recommend the highly acclaimed Audio Technica's that have been gaining wide popularity here (the A1000, W1000 and W100), they're not very hard to drive so a portable amp would be quite good with them (a supermini or portable meta would do the job fine). Some say they're in between the senn's and the grados..more so leaning towards the grados. However they don't have a family real sound like grados so you're gonna have to look into each one specifically.

 

[beastie]

i currently use denon 750 for listening purposes. they produce very good results for electronica i think. very tight bass and pretty clear and they can be power without the need for amp. save your money for music!

for a better set. i have a feeling beyer 250-80 will be fantastic for techno. many people praise their bass handling and fair mid and high. maybe that'll be good for your musical taste.

 

[Achilles]

The HD570 isn’t exactly a lemon but it shouldn’t be titled as an upper 500 model. Its inefficient, removed, and lacks all the clarity of the higher models. The move from 570 to 590 or 600 is indeed a gigantic leap.

That said, I would recommend the RS-2. Out of the three it would be the safest bet. Match it the RA1. But it is open, just as open as the Senn models. You will hear the outside, and they will certainly hear you.

If only a closed headphone will do then of the three only Sony MDR CD-3000 satisfies that requirement. It is a quality headphone, one I am still getting used too. Bright and large, both in sound and in appearance, these, like the Grado, will run fine out of a portable until you have time to find an appropriate portable amp. It sounds as different from Grado RS, as the RS sounds from Senn600.

 

[MikeHead]

Now im even more confused, but im happy at all the responses I got.
I figured there must be more than few people here who listen to trance and know what Im talking about. Im surprised to hear people recommending the RS2's and I have heard a lot of reccomendations about the 325's although my budget would permit me to go RS2 so I would do that instead.
I going to go to local Hi-Fi store and try a pair of RS1's to see how comfortable they are, and how much sound they leak and whatnot, just give em a good testing.
I haven't really heard of a lot of portable amplifiers, although I have seen some cheap ones. One that comes to mind is this "boostaroo" that mearly amplifies the volume level by 40% for people who want to go deaf listening to ultra high, horrible quality music.
I've definently ruled out the HD600's, I didn't think they were for me I only wanted them because they were ultra comfortable and could be custom cabled (i like custom things

) but I clearly realize they aren't going to be any good for what I listen to.
Nobody has said anything about the CD3000, especially in comparison to the RS2. Are they a bad headphone or what?
I am leaning towards them because I heard they deliver "loud" sound or something in the area of that, it sounds like sony is gearing headphones for todays rap music listenener, or rock or maybe even electronica. Grados soft, rich sound sounds like it would sound excellent with an orchestra, but maybe not portray a dj's set the way I want to hear it. Am I wrong?
So a few questions I got now are...
Are these audio technica headphones I've heard better than the RS2 or CD3000, same goes for the denons? (i never either of these headphones existed until I joined this forum)
Total airhead is a good portable amplifier? I dont want to buy a supreme or cosmic because with the amount I listen to music on the go, I would be replacing 4 D batteries every 2-3days for the whole month = big $$
Soupy what trance dj's do you listen to? G

Ok thanks for your replies everyone.

 

[elnero]

Ok, here goes.

I don't think the RS-2's or the CD3000 would ever be considered portable (although I'm aware that some have used both portably). First off the RS-2's like the HD600's are open so they will leak sound. Second, the CD3000 are said to be huge in size. Neither of these would be very convenient for portable use as they don't fold and I would think be rather delicate. If neither of these issues bother you then your fine. I can't really offer any advice which to choose as I've not heard either.

I will say this though, when you get into this region of headphones I don't think one is necessarily better than the other. It comes down more to a preference in the presentation of the music.

As for an amp a portable JMT built Meta42 would probably give you your best bang for the buck. Send him a private message for more info. You can discuss your needs with him and get it customized to your liking. Cost will vary widely depending on what goes into it.

 

[muzikk]

First you should really audition the RS2 first before making such a major purchase. You should be aware that some people here are disgusted by the grado sound but it is true that they are faster and more dynamic than the senns matching your kind of music. When you say the HD 600 leaks sound, Grados leak even more and both of them are not what I would call as portable. So audition a few cans and find your best match of headphones. I personally love the SR325 for trance and drum n bass. They have amazing solid controlled bass. For a portable, battery powered amp I believe that there is nothing better than a META42.

 

[MikeHead]

Hmmm...hearing that the RS2's leak a lot of sound has changed my decision quite a bit. Size doesnt really matter I just purchased a com safe headset case which will keep any headset/headphone completely safe while inside. So if Im not using it, then it will be safe.
I can understand what you mean bout when it comes to this price range its all a matter of preference for how you want to hear your music. I am really leaning towards the CD3000 because they are named digital reference headphones. And the music I listen to is created digitally and electronically so I would like this kind of headphone. Im not looking for realistic sounding instruments or super fine detail of classical music or whatever. I want headphones that can handle bass EXTREMELY well, can produce LOUD sound without distorting whatsoever. Heapdhones that can deliver a very clear and pristine presaentation, and something that can give my music a little more "depth".
Im not sure what bright means by definition, although I can sort of imagine it, although no words come to mind to describe it verbally. I will have to find a place to test these CD3000's before buying them. Because as I said before I am doubtful of sony products.
I will check into the meta42, thanks for the suggestion of that. A custom built amp sounds very nice I can tell him just how I want to ehar the music and hopefully he can work it out for me.s
Thanks for your helps everyone, now all Im asking is the CD3000 suitable for what I've described? Or is there something that could handle my "needs" better.
Thanks guys, happy