[shadowdude77]

So, I went to J&R this morning with my Motorola Droid loaded up with some songs to try and find some new headphones. Admittedly not the best-sounding thing, but I don't have a laptop I can carry around anyway, and I figure if I like the way something sounds on a just-decent sounding device, it should sound a lot better on my desktop where I can equalize to my heart's content.

I'm looking for circumaural headphones. As for open vs. closed, I really don't care. If a headphones strikes me as good-sounding and it's circumaural and within my price budget, I'll consider it either way.

My music was all in WAV format when I played these songs (the only lossless format the Android OS can play at the moment...

). My sample for each headphone was Waking the Demon by Bullet For My Valentine, which is the type of music I generally listen to. It's metal, so it was probably recorded terribly with cheap sound equipment. I was basically trying to create the most accurate situation in which I'd normally be listening to music. And here was my take on each headphone:

Grado SR-80i: Yeah, I know it's supraural, but I wanted to see what these things that everyone was raving about sounded like, and personally, the sound was pretty meh in my opinion compared to the other things I listened to.
Beyerdynamic DT770: I couldn't listen to the song through these. That's all I can say. Every time the drummer hit a cymbal I flinched cause it sounded like a TV's static. I don't know if it's supposed to be like that...
Sennheiser HD555: This was a bit of a special case. Since it has a 1/4" jack and for some godforsaken reason they couldn't find their adapter, I had to listen to their sample music. I'm sure it was better driven than my phone, and since it was a pop song, it was probably recorded with super-duper-expensive recording equipment. That being said, I really liked the sound of it, but it's probably an unfair comparison there.
Shure SRH-840: I was almost going to buy this headphone when it first came out, until someone told me it was no good for metal and that kind of turned me off from it. Well, I listened to Waking the Demon through these headphones today and I actually really liked the sound of it!
Beyerdynamic DT250: These sounded really pretty as well. I could probably only notice the advantages over the SRH-840s if I was concentrating. It's there, but I don't know if I can justify the higher price over the Shures.

So, for those of you who somehow managed to get through my wall of text (sorry, I tend to do that!), I'd really appreciate your feedback and maybe some pointers on what I should do to make the right decision. Thanks, you guys!

EDIT: Hmm, I felt like it might be useful to point this out. Right now I have a pair of decent IEMs, the V-Moda Vibes, which I've used for the past two years and love. And I like that quality of IEMs that the music is more "in your head" than projected around you. But IEMs aren't very comfortable in my opinion, and I'm looking for circumaural headphones that can do that same "in your head" thing that IEMs do without shoving pieces of silicone up my ear canal.

 

[Necrolic]

I'd really need a price range to recommend anything, but I'm going to assume ~$250 tops since you have DT770 up there. I'm also going to assume that you'll be running it without an amp since you mentioned nothing of one.

Now first of all, the DT770s probably sounded like that because they were too hard for your portable player to drive, unless you were listening to the 32 ohm version in which case the sound just isn't for you.

But anyways, on to my recommendations for unamped, $250 or less headphones. Since you don't care if they're open or closed, most recommendations here will be open.

- Beyerdynamic DT880 32 ohm: Fantastic headphones, that is all.

- Denon D2000: Very nice for metal, but kind of require an amp to be worthwhile, so I'd skip them.

- Shure SRH840: Don't know who you heard they suck for metal from, they don't...

- Audio-Technica ATH-A(D)900: Fun headphones to listen to, a little lacking in bass.

- Grado SR225i/325i: I know they're supraural, but Grados really are the kings of metal/rock in my, and the vast majority of listeners', opinion. If you're really sensitive to sibilance, the 225 is a better choice here, but overall the 325 is better if the aggressiveness doesn't get to you. Definitely give these a listen first though to see if you like them.

- Sennheiser HD595: Not exactly the best for metal, but good headphones nonetheless.

 

[shadowdude77]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Necrolic /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'd really need a price range to recommend anything, but I'm going to assume ~$250 tops since you have DT770 up there. I'm also going to assume that you'll be running it without an amp since you mentioned nothing of one. Now first of all, the DT770s probably sounded like that because they were too hard for your portable player to drive, unless you were listening to the 32 ohm version in which case the sound just isn't for you. But anyways, on to my recommendations for unamped, $250 or less headphones. Since you don't care if they're open or closed, most recommendations here will be open. - Beyerdynamic DT880 32 ohm: Fantastic headphones, that is all. - Denon D2000: Very nice for metal, but kind of require an amp to be worthwhile, so I'd skip them. - Shure SRH840: Don't know who you heard they suck for metal from, they don't... - Audio-Technica ATH-A(D)900: Fun headphones to listen to, a little lacking in bass. - Grado SR225i/325i: I know they're supraural, but Grados really are the kings of metal/rock in my, and the vast majority of listeners', opinion. If you're really sensitive to sibilance, the 225 is a better choice here, but overall the 325 is better if the aggressiveness doesn't get to you. Definitely give these a listen first though to see if you like them. - Sennheiser HD595: Not exactly the best for metal, but good headphones nonetheless.

Yeah, sorry, I forgot to mention that. $250 is a little high actually, I dunno why I listened to the DT770s. I coulda sworn the bin they were in read $190. But then again, the SR-60i was in a bin that read $1399. <_<

My ideal price would be $150-200. Haha, and of course anything under that. But $150 is my preferred point, and I'd be willing to spend $200 on something if I really like it.

When I go to J&R's website and type in DT770, the only result returned is the 250 ohm version, which leads me to believe the one in the store was 250 ohms, and that's a lot to ask for a PMP to drive, so I think you're right.

I'm really leaning towards the SRH-840s. The sound quality surprised me for the price. And as much as everyone says that open headphones are much better than closed headphones, I thought these headphones were really nice sounding. But I'm not counting out the Senn HD555/595 because they didn't get a fair testing today cause they were hooked up to much better equipment and probably a song that was produced with better equipment.

About the Grados though, I don't know. The SR-80i REALLY didn't do anything for me. I'll listen to the SR-225i/325i the next time I'm in the city and near J&R, but I just think the Grados aren't my taste because when I listened to them a while back with some sample music, they didn't strike me as anything special then either.

And actually, I'd think I'm rather sensitive to sibilance. One of my hearing test results came back with normal results across the board give or take a few dB, and then around 16kHz it dropped to me hearing a noise 10dB below the "ideal" value. I don't know how that happens... And I constantly hear a very low-level hissing through most devices that I listen to music through, which isn't particularly intrusive, but it gets annoying, kind of like if you shut off a huge gaming PC after a while and realize JUST how noisy the fans were.

I appreciate your really quick and informative reply. Thanks for the pointers, I think I'll probably end up going back in a weekend or two and sampling the SRH-840 and HD595 next to each other again to make a decision.

If anyone else has any pointers for me, I'd appreciate them as well, of course!

 

[dweaver]

For actual in your head sound...

ATH M50 would be a good choice and the 840 you've already tried.

You might want to also consider newer IEM's they have gotton alot more comfortable to wear and some would do very well for you. I would check out the Klipsch S4 or if you want the inline controls S4i and also look at the portable forum, there are several good threads on these phones. They need about 100hrs to get rid of some hiss but they are a very nice sounding IEM and VERY COMFORTABLE. If you want mega bass and a soundstage the CKS70 are very nice as well and comfortable but they are very Sennheiser like for sound signature.

 

[shadowdude77]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dweaver /img/forum/go_quote.gif For actual in your head sound... ATH M50 would be a good choice and the 840 you've already tried. You might want to also consider newer IEM's they have gotton alot more comfortable to wear and some would do very well for you. I would check out the Klipsch S4 or if you want the inline controls S4i and also look at the portable forum, there are several good threads on these phones. They need about 100hrs to get rid of some hiss but they are a very nice sounding IEM and VERY COMFORTABLE. If you want mega bass and a soundstage the CKS70 are very nice as well and comfortable but they are very Sennheiser like for sound signature.

Hmm, alright, I'll also check out the ATH M50s if I find them, I don't think I saw them in the sampling cabinet at J&R, but I could be wrong. And hey, someone else reaffirming that the 840 seems like a good choice. That makes me happy.

As for IEMs, I don't know if it's so much that their uncomfortable, I guess it's that... well, my ears get itchy sometimes and it's annoying to take out the headphones, hold them, scratch my ear, and put it back. With circumaural headphones, I could just move one of the cups out of the way and still keep it on my head. Also, the form factor is convenient for me cause there are rarely situations where I need to put my headphones away COMPLETELY, and having circumaural headphones hanging around my neck is a lot better for me than having IEMs in my pocket cause they're easier to access and I think that's how my IEMs started to fall apart; the constant taking out and putting away.

I guess the sound of IEMs is for me, but the form factor definitely doesn't seem to be. Unfortunately, it seems like most circumaural headphones go for the 3D, giant soundstage more than the in-your-head sound.