[Junji]

After about a 3-4 days of searching the forum and reading about headphones I STILL cant figure out what I should get. Heres the situation I need a set of headphones mainly for my guitar amp but also for listening to music and for gaming on my pc. The problem is that for the guitar I need a flat or semi-flat response for the headphones so that I get a really true tone instead of the guitar tone plus the headphone tone, but at the same time don't want music to sound flat and dull. I was doing some looking around on harmony-central and a lot of people were recommending the AKG 240Ms for this but I thought they were hard to drive. Also I had a pair of the Sennheiser 212 pros and they were too bass heavy for my guitar useage. Also I was able to demo the Sennheiser 590s and liked them a lot for music but I'm unsure how they'll sound on my guitar.

I guess the bottom line is can I do all this with one set of cans or do I need to split it up and get something flat for the guitar and something with some tone for music/gaming. My budget isn't too limited but I would like to keep it under $200 total either for one set or a pair. Also I'm leaning more towards open headphones but closed are fine as long as they don't completely block out all sound like the 212 pros did where I couldn't hear anyone yelling at me :/

Thanks in advance

 

[blessingx]

Welcome to Head-Fi, sorry about the confusion...

Okay, not the most neutral, but have you considered the Alessandro's... basically Grados "neutralized" for those in the music industry. They'd be very open though (zero isolation), but would be very easy to drive. $99 shipped.

The Senns 590's are reportedly a little more Grado-like than most Senn's so you may see a connection there.

 

[Junji]

Well since i only got one response ill use this as a bump and to help further describe what im looking for. First off I finally got to feel and look at the grados just not listen today and i can't stand the way they feel or look so i'd preferr to avoid grado or grado like phones as much as possible. Comfort is a big concern for me because i would like to be able to wear them about 3-4+ hours a day which is why i like the senn 590s so much. I will be using them mainly for rock/metal/jazz/classical listening so it has to be something good for that. Next thing is i really dont care for bass, anything thats dark or has extra bass of any type is not something i really want to look into if possible. If the headphones are a little bright thats fine but since this is going to be for guitar/music production i probably need as close to flat a response as possible. If the flat response isn't going to be too big a deal for listen to music/gaming thats fine otherwise ill guess ill just have to get a second pair for that as well. Can anyone out there advise anything else?

 

[braillediver]

How about the Beyerdynamic DT831's= closed or the DT931's =open? There's a pair of 931's in the for sale section for $130. A little brighter and more forward than the Senn HD600's which are a little laid back.

Probably need a headphone amplifier for these?

Very comfortable.


Mitch

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Junji,

I hate to tell you, but a neutral set of cans will be quite expensive and harder to drive. Most headphones are very unneutral in their freq. resp. so most cans that are in your budget will not help you with the guitar monitoring.

A pair of Senn 580s, althoug at 300 ohms will be hard to drive, will probably be more neutral for your use, and you should be able to easily locate a pair for well less than $200. If you need an amp to run them with a CD player or something, you can always add that later with the difference in cash.

 

[MagusG]

Get a used pair of Grado SR-225s for music and a pair of Sony V6's for gaming. If you can get a good deal on some used SR-225s you should be able to do they whole shabang for a little over $200.
-Mag

 

[Junji]

braillediver thanks for the advice about the beyers those look like they might work for what i want, now i just need to find a place to listen to em although if they're up used for 130 i may just have to pick those up although they'll need an amp at 250ohm which is something i really dont want to get into now especially since i may have to use some of my headphone money on a new cell phone blah.

ServinginEcuador well but wont i not be able to use the 580s without an amp? I was under the impression that they were not worthwhile without an amp of some sort am i wrong? I'd love to get a set of 580s but i was looking at the 590 instead because of the fact that i heard the 590s were a better choice if i wasn't going to be able to get an amp.

Also i guess if it comes down to it whats available thats not a grado for the pricerange thats more bright than dark so atleast i get a bias towards the end of the sound spectrum that i preferr.

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Junji,

The 580/600 won't sound its best without an amp, but will work without one. They will be flatter and more neutral than the 590, so if this is your criteria they will work better than the 590s.

I will second the Beyerdynamics, although you will be in the same boat unless you go with the 250-80s. The rest are 250ohm cans, and will need an amp just like the Senns will.

 

[NewSc2]

I second the vote for HD580's.

It was my first pair of headphones and it still is my main pair of headphones.