[Duckman]

Personally, I would avoid Denons, unless you're into massively emphasised bass. Used to own the D5000 and the bass bloat was head-ache inducing to me. If I were you, I'd go AD900.

 

[ABathingApe]

HF-2's if you don't mind spending a bit more

 

[tev]

If large scale classical is your bag, go for a used pair of GS-1000's, even if it's a bit over your budget. The RS-1's are not as convincing for this type of music.

If you prefer small scale classical, you want to consider the Senns. The 600's are very nice and purer sounding than the 650's They have a lot of love for this type of genre here and are a real bargain.

Also, if you mod the Denon's, which is not that hard to do on your own, they are really nice classical cans that are great all-arounders. They are half-way between the Senn 650's and the Grado R's.

 

[wavoman]

I have Denon D2000s now Lawton 2000s (markl mod + recable + balanced by Mark Lawton at Lawton Audio), GS-1000s (re-cabled + balanced by Grado Labs using Stefan AudioArt Equinox), and Senn 600s with moon-audio silver dragon cables, both Balanced and SE.

I have only used them with an amp -- a balanced Beta 22, and a Head-Direct EF-1 (before the Grados and Denons were balanced).

The Denons do not leak sound. But they don't isolate well, as others have said. Very smooth and musical, but not the right choice IMO for rock and classical (amazing however on female vocal pop).

The Senn 600s will do better on large scale classical works, both orchestral and choral (I have not listened to much opera), better than the 650s (forget about those) for sure. The Grado GS1000s have empasized highs which makes some old-time classical LPs and CDs unlistenable, as the tape hiss is overwhelming. But on rock they will do very well. They are in a higher league than the 600s, no doubt, but I actually prefer the 600s most days, and the price is right.

Get the 600s. Add an amp when you are ready -- the EF-1 and most RSA amps were voiced for the 600. The EF-1 with an RCA cleartop, the 600s, and Heifetz doing the Tchaikovsky violin concerto will bring tears to your eyes -- you know where, in the first movement during that solo -- unless you are made of stone.

You can re-cable these yourself, going upscale and/or balanced, when you are ready, after you buy your amp.

 

[nizzki]

I'd love to get the GS-1000, but they are considerably out of my price range.
Based on the comments i've received so far i think it's a tossup between the Grados and the 600s, leaning mildly to the grados.

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

 

[JayB18]

I guess the choice will come down to which type of music you listen to more, rock or classical. Grados will have the additional benefit of not needing to spend more on an amp in the future. Instead you could upgrade your source. Adding an amp to your Macbook isn't going to be a good idea since you will only be amping a bad source. With the Senns you will need to get a better source and an amp in the future.

 

[charliex]

I'm surprised that you're considering Senn HD 650 if you were turned off by your friend's HD 580, unless your friends setup didn't have proper amplification which the Senn650s will also DEFINITELY need!
Grados sound more like what you're looking for - have you considered the new HF-2 which several hundred head-fiers are anxiously awaiting.
Another possibility is Audio Technica such as the ATH-ESW9. These lie somewhat between top line Senns and Grados and seem to be appreciated by grado users and they are easily driven not requiring an amp.

 

[nizzki]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I ended up finding a good deal on a pair of Grado RS-2i's on eBay.
I really like them so far, they bass is definitely punchier than my friends Sennheiser HD580's, but the headphones don't sound muddled the way my Shures do.
Overall i'm quite fond of them, except that prolonged listening makes my ears hurt due to the pads.

 

[alphaphoenix]

Good for you. I too got my RS2 on eBay for a killer price, and love the cans. I thought about the RS1, but I need to give my wallet a break.

 

[jdkJake]

So what do you think of the RS-2 straight out of your iPhone?

I like use my SR225i straight out of my iPod touch with 192kAAC files when I sit outside and I think they sound pretty darn good. Not as nice as through a real amp with lossless files, but, much better than expected.

jk

 

[nizzki]

I like them quite a lot actually. They work very well plugged straight into my macbook, and sound much better compared to the Shures i had before. Not really a valid comparison there, as the Shure's are in-ear, but still.
Compared to the HD580s, they work much better without an amp, and deliver much better bass without sacrificing the clarity and detail the way the Shures did.

Overall i'm pleased, and hopefully i'll be done with buying headphones for a while.

 

[auradud3]

the denons under the 5000 series are not a good choice the grados and senns are better choices, but the senns do need power to run properly, whereas the grados are just easy performers, and in truth you dont need to go all the way to the rs 2's to get great sound, the sr 60 are the best bang for the buck in the industry