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Bronze Member Username: Macisgr8Jacksonville, FL USA Post Number: 12 Registered: Dec-05 | I hope so. There was a great thread on quality cans but can locate it again even thru searching. Anyway,I tried a pair of Senn HD580's and they sounded very nice but lacking clear punchy bass and were quite reserved in presentation. I didn't feel like I was "there". I mostly listen to '80's and '90's rock like RUSH, VH, Pink Floyd on a quality Music Hall turntable with tube preamp and tube amp. So I am going from the descriptions on a site called www.headphone.com. These seem to be the highest rated high-quality cans. I didn't list them in order of rated quality. I'm hoping to spend no more than $250. I'd really appreciate all replies, hopefully from experience. AKG K701 - $286 Beyerdynamic DT880 - $259 Senn HD 555 - $150 Senn HD 600 - $229 Senn HD 595 - $199 |
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Silver Member Username: ExerciseguyBrooklyn, NY USA Post Number: 400 Registered: Oct-04 | Headphone.com is a great site, and I'm sure you can & will get help here, but there is a headphone thread. |
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Silver Member Username: Ca_convertCardiffUK Post Number: 190 Registered: Jan-05 | We brits like the Grado range also, and judgeing from other review sites so do you guys. I recently bought a pair of SR80's. I owned a pair of Koss HV/X's in the ealry 80's for about 10 yrs till the cusioh pads disintegrated, and I loved them. The SR80's have a great mid/upper compared to the beyer DT231 I have. Despite What HI Fi's comments the bottome end is vague on them and the SR60's....I can hear better musical LF detail through my speakers which is surprising and perhaps slightly disappointing, given the similarity of design to my old Koss's and the masive impact they had on me all those years ago. That said I'd suggest listening to them since 20 million peeps and a handful of journos cant all be wrong. |
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Gold Member Username: Frank_abelaBerkshire UK Post Number: 1171 Registered: Sep-04 | Eric, ca_convert has it right. The latest Sennheiser range is far better than the older one (and 580s are older). The 595s will outperform the 580s, particularly in that reserved facet of their performance. However, if you want a headphone that likes to rock and that emphasises punch and energy, while having enough fidelity to make it a good headphone, then Grado are definitely worth a look. Lying somewhere in between the two brands is Beyerdynamic. Their cheaper headphones aren't up to much, but their more expensive ones (under $250) are actually very good. The other issue with headphones is of course comfort. Sennheiser and Beyerdynamic make predominantly cirumaural speakers. Grado make supra-aural ones. Comfort is a mjor factor so you MUST try before you buy. regards, Frank. |
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Silver Member Username: ExerciseguyBrooklyn, NY USA Post Number: 429 Registered: Oct-04 | I own the Alessandro MS-1s made by Grado (as well as the SR60s). The MS-1s are tweaked by Alessando to perform somewhere between the SR80s & SR125s. I love them, they're extremely revealing while still remaining neutral (Is that an oxymoron?). The Grado designed ear-pads leave something to be desired though, I've upgraded from the soft "closed" foam ear-pads to the "open" L-Cush pads. |
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Silver Member Username: GavincummNew York USA Post Number: 505 Registered: Feb-05 | www.head-fi.org take a look there for starters its a website and forum specifically devoted for cans and getting the most out of them. |
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Bronze Member Username: PaulfolbrechtPost Number: 40 Registered: Dec-05 | Nobody's yet mentioned Audio-Technica. They're Japanese and you can get them here: www.audiocubes.com They are GREAT cans and a bit of a well-kept secret. I have a pair of the 900LTD which, alas, are no longer available, but the standard 900 and WD1000 also compare very favorable to the Senns and 880s. Also, they use separate ground runs and so recabling is NOT necessary to get the most out of them, and it definitely is with the Senns and Beyers! Just my $.02. Check them out. Paul |
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Silver Member Username: Rysa4Post Number: 357 Registered: Jul-05 | Stick with the Grados or Sennhiesers and you will be fine. I use the Senns myself. |
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Bronze Member Username: PaulfolbrechtPost Number: 41 Registered: Dec-05 | "Fine"? That's the goal of high-end audio? |
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Silver Member Username: GavincummNew York USA Post Number: 508 Registered: Feb-05 | I myself use stax electrostatic headphones, and believe that you can NOT beat the detail, transparency, and resolution. Here is a post that I made from a review of my cans. -------------------------------------------------- The Stax SR-001 MKII is without a doubt electrostatic to the core. I am a college student that music fortunatly plays a very important part in my life. My home system consists of Magnepan MMG's driven by Rotel equipment, great for the music that I love, such as Diana Krall, Boney James, Chris Botti, Sarah Brightman, Keiko Matsui, James Taylor, Candy Dulfer, Ottmar Liebert, Norah Jones, Loreena McKennitt, and the occasional Madonna, Cher, and Destiny's Child. I know good sound reproduction when I hear it, and this headset does NOT turn tail. I was looking for a small headset that gave me the lions share of the performance of my maggies, in a package that I could take to school with me, and sound flawless. Those of you that are familiar with the electrostatic sound will know what you are in for, and that is a really rich, seductive, warm sound that is positivly orga$mic with well recorded material. The midrange left me absolutly slack jawed. I am talking transparancy equivalent to (or surpassing with great material) my MMG's here! Diana Krall sounds totally dreamy through these things, AND THEY ARE SMALL ENOUGH TO TAKE WITH YOU! Bass is full, fast, and super tight. It isnt the deepest I have ever heard, but it is deeper than my MMG's without a sub! The bass sounds CORRECT! that is the only way to explain it, no boom or overhang. A double bass sounds full and woody, while at the same time Madonna can pound. I have NEVER heard better bass performance from anything at this price. Treble... oh the treble... With the proper cable (not the OEM stuff that comes with the CD player) I use monster interlink, soon to upgrade to Kimber, the highs are smooth and extended. You will be able to hear the trill of a flute, or a piano plink like never before from a small headset. Overtones will suddenly become more obvious, and as a result, the soundstage will become wider. The only downside to this wonderful headset is: you feed it a poorly mastered recording and you will hear something you wish you didn't. All the artifacts of the processing will come out. I can't reccomend this headset enough. I absolutly love mine. It is, IMHO, one of the best audio purchases I have ever made. -------------------------------------------------- Stax makes a full line of headsets. I wanted to throw in a line that I myself use, and that nobody has mentioned yet. Some nay-sayers say that they can't play rock, but it all depends on how loud you like it. They really are quite dynamic. Stax are out of your current budget, but I would reccomend that you at least audition a pair to see what they are like if you arent familiar with them. I myself have the portable SR-001 MKII. The models that I would reccomend that you look at would perform even better. |
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Silver Member Username: TpizzlePost Number: 470 Registered: Apr-05 | I am listening to the AKG K26P right now and they are amazing. a company called headroom out of bozeman, mt sells them for $40 (i think they can be found on that headphone site you mentioned.) i actually live in bozeman and went to try out all their headphones. to tell you the true my AKGs sounded as good as every grado or sennheiser up to about $200, they guy working said they were the best headphone ever under $150. They dont sound quite as full and detailed as some of the higher end sennheisers but the HUGE price difference is not worth the hardly-noticeable difference. plus the AKGs kill any other headphone in the bass region. You will be amazed these were on $40 if you get them plus you save a few hundred. Another nice quality about them is they are sealed and do a really good job eliminating outside noise, the grados do not do this (plus the grados are the ugliest looking headphone out there). just another option for you- i love mine. |
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Unregistered guest | I could not help but reply to the discussion presented on the Stax SR001 MKII. I had a set until it was stolen a few months ago. The discussion by Gavin is entirely accurate and it has me seriously considering buying a second pair. This is helped by the fact that upon telling a friend of my loss, she indicated she knows a dealer friend that can sell a new Stax for a little over $200 (which is $100 less then what I had paid). It is interesting to see that Gavin uses MMG's at home. This adds to my notion that once you have listened to electrostatics or its hybirds, it begs for more. I am also about to place an order for a pair of MMG (wife permitting). The distinctive quality of the Stax is its clear and articulate midrange. After a period of time I found I began to search out female vocalists recordings and listening to country & western. The clarity and tonal qualities were unbelievable. Relative to its bass, it is not very deep but engaging and detailed, you can distinctly hear every note and its decay. On rock music, even on old recordings, listening through the Stax the music sounds more lively and fast, e.g. my old time favourite is Deep Purple's Made in Jaapn, a live recording, the experience is such that you can the visualize the sound stage and hear the expanse of the concert hall, a very enjoyable piece of music through the Stax. I cannot comment much on classical music as I do not have much of this material to make an opinion. If you are considering to audition the Stax, I would suggest to remember that they have different sized ear pieces, the part that actually sits on the opening of the ear canal. You will need to get a good fit otherwise, the you will lose a lot of bass. I hope my comments help. I certainly am more charged to get back to a better set of headphones. |