Which 'phones for Soul/R&B?
Sep 12, 2009 at 2:53 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 20

MrRJ

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First of all, hi to all of you. I have been a regular viewer here for about a year and used a lot of the advice I found to buy some Shure SE310 IEMs a while back.

I am now looking at a pair of full size headphones to be used at home in a quiet environment. I mainly listen to soul and R&b, but I am also a big fan of rap/hip hop. I also listen to various other genres, including electronic and pop.

They will be used for mainly music, very occasionally for movies and tv, but I want the emphasis to be on the music. They will be used from a Yamaha amplifier unless that is really not a good idea. It's fairly old, but I am very happy with it's sound.

I have read much about grado 225's and sennheiser hd595. The grado's appear to be more suited to rock and the senn's more of an all rounder. Having not had the opportunity to listen to either, I was initially leaning towards the grado's for the rave reviews I have read, but after delving a little deeper found that of the two the senn's may be more suited to my music choice. I don't listen to rock at all, so does this rule out the grado's, or are they going to be decent for my music taste.

I realise they are both fairly high end headphones, so both are going to sound good, I just want to make sure that I get the best my money will buy. My budget is around what the two I have mentioned are priced at.

I have a real problem with 'upgraditis' and I don't want to buy anymore after this for a while
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Perhaps there is something else I should look at?

Thanks in advance!
 
Sep 12, 2009 at 4:41 PM Post #2 of 20
I love the way classic r&b and soul (Marvin, Stevie, Smokey, etc.) sounds on the Sennheiser HD650s. Seems just right to me. Detailed, warm and bass that is just right. As a Jamerson nut, I need to hear those genius lines!
 
Sep 12, 2009 at 6:50 PM Post #3 of 20
I was in the same situation as you; had never actually listened to any of the phones I had read about, but decided Grados sounded too harsh- I wanted a pair of Senns. But than I went down to a local shop and to my surprise I loved the Grados. Bought a pair of sr225s immedietly after trying out Senn 600, 595 and some Akg 701s. Same old generalizations, but the Senns sounded boring and the Akg kinda Lifeless.

I listen to a broad range of music - everything from Metal to Drum & Bass. Everything I have thrown at my sr225 has sounded fantastic, I am more than happy.

Anyways, Good Luck!
 
Sep 12, 2009 at 9:17 PM Post #4 of 20
I have senn hd580's and they sound great for everything. but my grados (Rs1i's these days, but it's just as true for sr60's) are the kings of r&b for me. from marvin gaye to the roots. everything that makes them great for rock n roll holds true for r&b.

conversely,the grados are fine for everything, but the senns blow them away for large scale classical.
 
Sep 12, 2009 at 10:03 PM Post #5 of 20
Thanks for all of your responses so far.

I am leaning towards the senn's. They're about half the price of the grado's and they look a whole lot more comfortable. I haven't tried them, but to me, the grado's look somewhat uncomfortable and the sound quality is only useful if I can wear them long enough to enjoy! Plus, the senn's are about half the price everywhere I have seen online.

I have just spent some time reading through the appreciation threads for both the grados and the senns and it has confirmed my thoughts on comfort. I also read an interesting post; that this website is no good for post purchase deliberations... I have to agree. Wherever I look, there is a better review for this and they sound better for this.

I suspect I will be very happy with the senn's and will enjoy spending my savings on a set of Kef iQ5 speakers. Well, part of them at least
smily_headphones1.gif
I have been eyeing these up for sometime and I think I may finally push my girlfriends useless thoughts and opinions on saving the money away.

I thankyou all for your thoughts and apologise that I have disregarded them and made up my own mind
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RJ
 
Sep 12, 2009 at 10:10 PM Post #6 of 20
Thanks for all of your responses so far.

I am leaning towards the senn's. They're about half the price of the grado's and they look a whole lot more comfortable. I haven't tried them, but to me, the grado's look somewhat uncomfortable and the sound quality is only useful if I can wear them long enough to enjoy! Plus, the senn's are about half the price everywhere I have seen online.

I have just spent some time reading through the appreciation threads for both the grados and the senns and it has confirmed my thoughts on comfort. I also read an interesting post; that this website is no good for post purchase deliberations... I have to agree. Wherever I look, there is a better review for this and they sound better for this.

I suspect I will be very happy with the senn's and will enjoy spending my savings on a set of Kef iQ5 speakers. Well, part of them at least
smily_headphones1.gif
I have been eyeing these up for sometime and I think I may finally push my girlfriends useless thoughts and opinions on saving the money away.

I thankyou all for your thoughts and apologise that I have disregarded them and made up my own mind
confused_face.gif


RJ
 
Sep 12, 2009 at 11:44 PM Post #7 of 20
For your preferred genres, I'd seriously think of going Grado. I do have an HD650 and to be truthful, you shouldn't be disappointed with them. I do not like the HD595's and wouldn't recommend them. I have the Grado RS2i and the SR325is. The latter is very exciting with R&B and Hip Hop. That added sparkle blends very well with those genres.

Interestingly, it's Rock that I don't really like listening to with the Grado's. I much prefer my D5000's or HD650's for that.
 
Sep 13, 2009 at 12:55 AM Post #8 of 20
confused_face(1).gif
I was all decided with the 595's till I read that aimlink...

My concern now is that if I go for the senn's, I will wonder what the grado's would have been like and will probably start wanting those too. That's not the road I want to go down
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I think the best thing I can do is find somewhere I can test them both out..
 
Sep 13, 2009 at 1:11 AM Post #9 of 20
I listen to mostly r&b, funk, rock... the D7000s are my favorites. On a tighter budget, maybe some D2000s (plus mods if the bass is troublesome to you.) The D1000s sounded pretty good when I sampled them. All three are extremely comfortable, much more so than any Grados or Senns that I have tried.

As usual, best if you can try for yourself!

Good luck.
 
Sep 13, 2009 at 1:26 AM Post #10 of 20
I definitely agree that if at all possible, you should try them before buying. I wondered the same way that you did and ended up with all of them.
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If you're going Senn, I definitely recommend the HD600 or 650. The Grado's are definitely worth trying, as well as the Denons. Audio-Technica is also an interesting choice. My ESW9A's are very good too, but those would be the same sort of cans as the Denon AH-D1001K's.
 
Sep 13, 2009 at 4:44 PM Post #12 of 20
hd600/650, really laid back. too laid back. i really prefer either beyer or ultrasone. i like beyer dt880 for the likes of babyface, maze, jill scott or en vogue. dt990 for silk, shai, jagged edge or maxwell but it all depends on the mood. i like kem with hd650 though. ultrasone hfi2200 is ok for everything, not great though. relax but not too laid back.

by the way, not agree with what sound good with rock sound good with r&b/soul. for example, not like hf2 for any r&b/soul.
 
Sep 13, 2009 at 5:14 PM Post #13 of 20
fhuang, I tend to agree that the nature of R&B and Hip Hop music engineering is such that a more forward presentation makes those genre's sound quite a bit better than what the Senns would offer. Although what tends to cure the laid back sound of the Senns, making it not too bad is an extra turn of the volume knob.
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For me, it's a Grado for Hip Hop and R&B.
 
Sep 13, 2009 at 8:43 PM Post #14 of 20
I love my vintage DT880's for Utada Hikaru, which is japanese RnB.

I would bet that the new DT880's would work even better.
My HD580's are definitely nice for RnB too, but the DT880's are definitely much nicer.
The female vocals... along with the detailed... err.. rhythm.. makes them delighting =)
 

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