[Pianist718]

So, being a sound junkie, musician in my past life and pretty much someone who appreciates quality sound, I want to find a great pair of headphones to replace my Bose In Ear headphones.
 
I am going to buy today 4-6 different headphones just to try them out at home and possibly keep 1 pair that I feel sounds the best. I'll also write up reviews on all of them.
 
Some Info.
I do not plan to use an amplifier and most of my listening will be using my iPhone on the train (MP3 in 320kb and WAV at 1400). Would be great to get a pair that are not too big and easily fit into a case or collapse. This is the only reason why I keep listening to garbage in-ear headphones.
 
Music I listen to is:
Pop, Rock, Classic rock, classical, Smooth Jazz, etc.
 
What I consider quality:
When I can hear every instrument separately, amazing sound-stage, tight base, true sound that makes me feel as if I am right there sitting at the concert.
 
 
After some suggestions I created a NEW list of just Closed Headphones as those should suit me better
 
 
1) Beyerdynamic DT-770-PRO-32Ohm ($199)
2) KEF M500 ($299)
3) Grado Prestige Series SR225i ($200)
4) AKG K550 ($207)
5) Sennheiser HD 380 Pro ($140)
6) SoundMAGIC HP100 ($199)
 
 
What should I add to the list and what should I take out???
 
 
UPDATE 12/9/13
For anyone reading this thread ... to make more sense of it and not give false info that I have a lot here...
 
I was used more to the darker sound and thus HD380 appealed to me. I was also used to lots of sub as my home theater has a lot of it. So ... when I compared HD598, Grados, HD380 etc, etc the ones that had the most bass clearly stood out. This is not the right way of picking a headphone.
 
I can now say that .... after testing
Grado Prestige Series SR225i
Sennheiser HD598
Sennheiser HD380
Sennheiser HD600
Beyerdynamic DT-770
Sennheiser Momentum
Shure SRH840
Beyerdynamic DT-1350-80
SoundMAGIC HP100
KEF M500
 
You get used to the sound you listen to. Once something is different, we tend to possibly dislike or feel like it's bad. Get you ears to adjust first
 
I liked HD380 but now I hear that others like HD598, Grados, Momentum, Shure are much more detailed. They are also all brighter than HD380 which I now like. Now the HD380 to me sounds like a nice product but I am starting to like a different kind of sound.
 
It really depends on the music. Once song will sound best in HD598 and the other one is best on Grados (this happened to me). I think that there is no such thing as the best headphone. It really depends on your music you listen to and how you want to hear it.
 
Once you think about buying something "professional" grade .. it almost always requires an extra piece of equipment. Good example .... HD600 is a shame to listen to without an amp. For me, because I don't want to buy an amp, I found that HD598 is a better solution.
 
Comfort .... I didn't think that this is so important. It's crucial. I noticed that after 30 minutes I wanted to tear HD380 off of my head as it was just giving me a headache. HD598 is awesome. Grados are great for some songs but their fit is just weird. Momentum are great ... like I said before ... awesome for portable and again ... some songs it;'s good with and some it's really, really bad.
 
Final thought.
Pick 10 songs you listen to. The kind of music you will most likely listen to and run it on all headphones you consider. I can guarantee that no one headphone will beat other on all 10 songs. Just pick the one that had a majority. For me ... it seems like it's going to be HD598.   by the way .... when I added a bit of bass in my Winamp EQ, I wasn't too crazy with the outcome.
 
I really want to compare the Beyerdynamics DT880, 990, etc  but all of them require an amp and I don't feel like going too PRO with the whole headphones music arena.

 

[TrollDragon]

Originally Posted by Pianist718 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
most of my listening will be using my iPhone on the train
 
1) Sennheiser HD 598 ($189)
2) Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO, 80 ohms ($229)
3) Beyerdynamic DT 990 Premium 32 ohm ($296)
4) Beyerdynamic DT 880 Premium 32 OHM ($349)
5) Grado Prestige Series SR225i ($200)
6) AKG Q 701 ($219)
 

5 of those choices are open headphones and not that good for portable use, you will hear everthing around you and people will hear what you are listening too unless it is at a low volume.

 

[TrollDragon]

I have not heard them but you might want to look into the SoundMAGIC HP100, they get quite a good recommend around these parts for a closed headphone.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/616201/soundmagic-hp100-review

 

[mikek200]

Pianist,
You might wan to consider these:
There are semi-open,and need about 100-150 burn in.
Easy to drive
Read the reviews.
Excellent price
 
http://www.amazon.com/Superlux-HD-681-Professional-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B00BWUHHYE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1385483307&sr=8-1&keywords=superlux+evo

 

[Pianist718]

  5 of those choices are open headphones and not that good for portable use, you will hear everthing around you and people will hear what you are listening too unless it is at a low volume.

just read this thread http://www.head-fi.org/t/690850/my-new-dt770-pro-80-ohms-have-no-bass-is-it-defect   people saying that those 770 at 80 OHMs need an amp. The guy doesn't get any bass. I guess it's a Ohm issue? I'll change my cart to get the 32 Ohms version

 

[Pianist718]

  5 of those choices are open headphones and not that good for portable use, you will hear everthing around you and people will hear what you are listening too unless it is at a low volume.

I also heard that Open headphone will always sound better than closed.
 
So maybe something semi-closed?  And even if open ones do leak sound ... how loud do I have to run them to have people really give me the dirty look?

 

[blueangel2323]

In order to hear the details in your music clearly with all the background noise on a train, you would need to turn them up pretty loud. Consider the AKG K550/K551, KEF M500, and if you're willing to spend a bit more, the B&W P7.

 

[TrollDragon]

 
I also heard that Open headphone will always sound better than closed.
 
So maybe something semi-closed?  And even if open ones do leak sound ... how loud do I have to run them to have people really give me the dirty look?

They do sound better with a wider soundstage, but it is a catch 22... As the other people are sitting there talking, that is all you will hear. So you turn your music up to drown out the chatter and then they start to hear the music and talk louder. As well as all the announcements, track & car noises and there is always one in a crowd who has no inside voice.
 
The listening pleasure will not be there with open headphones in public. I use my Porta Pro's when I have to hear my surroundings but still want to listen to music at a reasonable level... Semi-Closed / Semi-Open are still open. 
 
I have no problem with people listening to headphones on public transit... If they are open and pumping out the latest Autotune Crap, I will ask you to turn them down, once. 

 

 

 

[mvrk10256]

I suggest getting some V-Modas for closed listening. Beyer COP is another good one for public spaces. BTW if you look up proaudiostar on ebay you can get many of those same headphones much cheaper. 

 

[Pianist718]

Ok, so message received ... stay away from Open headphones .... if I now want to test our 3 pairs, what should I get???

 

[Pianist718]

After some suggestions I created a NEW list of just Closed Headphones as those should suit me better
 
 
1) Beyerdynamic DT-770-PRO-32Ohm ($199)
2) KEF M500 ($299)
3) Grado Prestige Series SR225i ($200)
4) AKG K550 ($207)
5) Sennheiser HD 380 Pro ($140)
 
 
What should I add to the list and what should I take out???

 

[TrollDragon]

The Grado's are open, add the SoundMagic HP100 to your list, I can't link it on the mobile browser but Amazon carries it.

 

[Pianist718]

The Grado's are open, add the SoundMagic HP100 to your list, I can't link it on the mobile browser but Amazon carries it.

I'll add SoundMAGIC HP100 to the list.
 
Regarding Grado ... I thought the 60, 80, etc are all closed.
Weird

 

[TrollDragon]

Nope All open.

 

[Pianist718]

Sorry if I am being a pest and bumping up my own thread ... it's just a bit weird for me that on such popular forum with so many headphone enthusiasts, on a (in my mind) interesting question I have only 3-4 people responding. Is it that everyone is more of a lurker or do people don;'t feel like adding anything to this thread.
 
I honestly thought I'd get 10+ members adding headphone models they feel i should try and would be curious to hear the feedback.
 
Weird, sorry.