[Chadly]

Well if you've read my other post you know that I got a pair of Senn 500s for X-mas. I'm very disappointed in them and I am going to return them and get a different pair. Well I was hoping that you guys could help me figure out what I should get.

I plan on using these for music listening at home. I plan on using them for transcribing jazz trumpet solos and for enjoying jazz and classical musical with the occasional listen of alternative/punk rock.

I'm looking for a pair of high end headphones with a limit of about $100/$120. Detail and clarity is very important.

Isolation of any form is not necessary.

I plan on building a DIY Cmoy headphone amp as soon as my parts arrive.

I am not an audiophile but I do play music so I have a good understanding of it and my ears are real good.

Your help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Chad

 

[Eagle_Driver]

chadly,

If you're going to use a $100 to $120 pair of headphones primarily for listening to jazz or classical music at home, consider the AKG K501's (or the K401's, if you listen to harder-driving music on an occasional basis). But if your primary listening type is that hard-driven type, Grados (such as the SR-80 and SR-125) are hard to beat.

 

[DLP]

If you have an amp on the way and have a limit of $120, what about raising that by a few bucks and getting an HD580 from Newegg?

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Oh, I fuggottaboutit.

 

[kentamcolin]

How long did you listen to the Senn's? I bought a pair of HD600's and when I first listened to them I hated them. They were bass heavy and very muddy. But, that started to change after as little as 5 hours of burn in, and by 8-10 hours they began to make beautiful sounds. Keep this in mind when trying new cans.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

kentamcolin,

Chadly has the HD500's - and no amount of run-in will change its boomy, muddy sound. And the HD500's will remain boomy, murky and muddy even with an amp.

And the HD500's are part of a mostly screwed-up 'bionetic' line of Senns that was introduced back in 1998 and 1999, with many models (HD490, HD500, HD570 - and to a lesser extent, HD590) that have gotten relatively negative reviews here at Head-Fi (they're either too dark and murky, or too bright and grating).

 

[kentamcolin]

Gotcha,

I only tried HD600's, and didn't know if this characteristic was typical for Senn's. I had Grado RS-1's for a while and they sounded great right out of the box.

Regards