[Sancor]

Hey there!
I was really hoping I could figure this all out by myself and spare this forum another newbie thread, but I've reached the point where I just don't know quite what to do.

I've set aside about 200$ from my summer job to try and get this going. I plan to use the headphones primarily to listen to music. Now the hard part is I like...a LOT of different genres. The music I'm probably most enamored with is alternative rock (if you know a band called Muse, they're my all time favorite thing to listen to).

I really like the sound I get from my loudspeakers (Swan M200MKII), but I realize that it just isn't really possible to get that from headphones. From what I've read though, it seems like the closest thing to that sound would be an open headphones, which has me a bit nervous since I've never had a pair of open cans. In fact the closest thing to good headphones I've had are my super.fi 4s (which I loved for their detail and clarity until they..broke). From what I've read the Sennheiser HD595s sound to be favorites, but I've also heard really good things about almost every brand of headphone!

I've tried looking up a place to go listen to some cans, but all the stores I find on dealer lists around the Atlanta area seem to be the apple store and random sketchy sounding places whose inventories I can't search on their websites (if they have one).

I'm kind of at the point where I feel like just picking a headphone to buy since I'm new to this, but I was hoping some of you might be able to refine my search a bit. Thanks so much you guys, I really appreciate any help - I realize how frustrating these threads can be.

 

[EugeneK]

The go to cans for rock are grados / alessandros.

 

[Sancor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EugeneK /img/forum/go_quote.gif The go to cans for rock are grados / alessandros.

I've been looking at the Sr225 since it seems in my price range and was recommended on the newbie guide. I hear that they're great for rock, but I haven't heard anything nice about any other genre though.

I realize I wont find headphones that will make all genres good - but out of curiosity could you tell me if things like classical music would sound terrible on these?

I keep seeing the alessandros mentioned quite a bit. Would you know which is more comfortable? I'd really like something that doesnt press against my ears very much.

And thanks for the advice!

 

[Sancor]

So I was looking at some more reviews and I don't think I could handle Grados since I do like to listen to a good bit of classical music - not to mention Muse has a lot of classical components to their music as well.

I was getting into the MS1 reviews- they sound pretty much what I was looking for, but from the pictures I'm seeing it seems like they are supraural which is a deal breaker for me since the last on-ear phones I owned (Bose..I was fifteen forgive me!) really really hurt my ears after just a few minutes.

I was kind of liking the Sennheiser HD595 but I'm a bit worried about having to amp them. Are there any circumaural cans that would be similar to the MS1s?

 

[JMT391]

See, in order to get into the head-fi spirit, you should simply not worry about having to amp them. Truth is, you're better off buying something you can improve on in the future, because you're going to end up spending more than you want. On things you didn't think you wanted. Because you were curious. Or because you want more. Or because you're addicted.

Basically what I'm trying to say is you WILL end up with some type of audiophilia, so you might as well plan for the future. I can't comment on any of the cans, but just some general advice

Welcome to Head-fi BTW

 

[RushNerd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMT391 /img/forum/go_quote.gif See, in order to get into the head-fi spirit, you should simply not worry about having to amp them. Truth is, you're better off buying something you can improve on in the future, because you're going to end up spending more than you want. On things you didn't think you wanted. Because you were curious. Or because you want more. Or because you're addicted. Basically what I'm trying to say is you WILL end up with some type of audiophilia, so you might as well plan for the future. I can't comment on any of the cans, but just some general advice

He's right you know >_>

 

[Sancor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMT391 /img/forum/go_quote.gif See, in order to get into the head-fi spirit, you should simply not worry about having to amp them. Truth is, you're better off buying something you can improve on in the future, because you're going to end up spending more than you want. On things you didn't think you wanted. Because you were curious. Or because you want more. Or because you're addicted. Basically what I'm trying to say is you WILL end up with some type of audiophilia, so you might as well plan for the future. I can't comment on any of the cans, but just some general advice Welcome to Head-fi BTW

That's a good point lol. I have a feeling I'll be going way over my self imposed 200$ limit already

 

[chinesekiwi]

This is Head-fi after all...
I came here looking for advice on the Audio Technica AD500..2 years later...uh, yeah