Looking for some headphone recommendations

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Zero82z

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Jan 20, 2004
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So the wire on my old HD437s gave up on me, and I'm in the market for a new set of cans. Looking for a pair of open headphones, and my budget is around $100, although I'd be willing to spend a bit more if it's worth it. I'll be using these at home, so I don't need anything lightweight. Used is fine; I'd rather save a few more bucks if possible. Any recommendations would be much appreciated :).

Also, I'm in Canada, so please don't post any links to US stores unless they ship to here for a reasonable price. And if you're selling something that might interest me, feel free to let me know.
 
I'm not interested in any "gamer" headphones, nor anything with an attached microphone.
 
450 said:
Have you looked at the Audio-Technica AD700?

http://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATH-AD700-Open-air-Dynamic-Headphones/dp/B000CMS0XU

I recommended a friend one of these sets and have heard them many times and can't think of anything better for the price.
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I've considered them, but as I explained in my first post, I live in Canada, and I need to find a retailer that will ship to my location. Unfortunately, Amazon.com does not, and Amazon.ca doesn't list those headphones. If you know of a place that will ship here, please let me know.
 
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Zero82z said:
I've considered them, but as I explained in my first post, I live in Canada, and I need to find a retailer that will ship to my location. Unfortunately, Amazon.com does not, and Amazon.ca doesn't list those headphones. If you know of a place that will ship here, please let me know.
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My bad, I assumed .com and .ca stores would be identical.

Is your budget $100 USD or $100 CAN? Also a more specific location where you live (like a postal code) would help for calculating shipping costs.
 
My budget isn't firm, and since the CAD is about $0.9USD these days anyway, you can consider it to be either one.

Don't worry about shipping costs; first I just need to find somewhere I can buy from, and once that's taken care of I'll see if the shipping is reasonable myself.
 
Hell if there's not a source, I should set myself up reselling the things cross-border. Easy money. Of course, Amazon could shut me down any time they liked. :p

Audiocubes and AxeMusic both have them. Costs more than in the states.

I think your best option by far would be to buy used off Head-Fi. You'd have to poke around until you found something you liked from someone willing to ship to you, so there's a time factor. But it would eliminate a lot of the price markup and give you as many options as you have the patience for. If you want something specific like the AD700s, it would be a good idea to post a WTB thread.
 
450 said:
Alessandro MS1 ... I reccommend you read about this headphone before ordering though. It might not be what you are looking for in a headphone.
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Yeah. They're very good but also very specific. People often find the way it sits on the head either very comfortable or very annoying. The sound signature also tends to be very distinctive. They also don't play nicely with many portable media players unless you're packing an amp, which would also go for some of the weaker sound cards.

But if you like them, they're really damn good for the money.
 
450 said:
Alessandro MS1 is $99-109 with free shipping.

http://www.alessandro-products.com/main.php?p=headphones
Go down to the Music Series One.

I reccommend you read about this headphone before ordering though. It might not be what you are looking for in a headphone.
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Second this. I ordered a pair but they are currently in "back order" (MS1i btw). From what I heard Grado is the secret brand with high renown in the audiophile world, while the rest of the population fell to the "Bose" trap :D.
 
As a fellow Canuk, best of luck finding anything that reasonably priced in this country AND is decent. I picked up some JVC HA-RX700s recently, and am pleased with them (though am looking forward to hearing how they develop as they burn in).

If you're looking for ATH-AD700s, here is at least one retailer: http://www.economik.com/audio-technica/ath-ad700/
 
Hi,

I ordered the grado sr80i from av-hifi (avhifi.com), they ship to Canada (5$), add in a 15% off coupon, it came out to 102 cad. I thought i got a pretty good deal on them, considering bay bloor sells it for 160 lol.
 
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450 said:
I reccommend you read about this headphone before ordering though. It might not be what you are looking for in a headphone.
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Can you elaborate on that? I haven't been able to find anything other than people raving about them while commenting on their coloured sound, but nothing specific as to why someone might not like them. I'll add them to my list of considerations since they do seem to be quite good.
DamienThorn said:
As a fellow Canuk, best of luck finding anything that reasonably priced in this country AND is decent.
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Well, I don't necessarily need to buy from within Canada, just from someone or somewhere that will ship to here.
 
Well, you might not like the MS1 due to tight fit of the headphones, comfort of the earpads, somewhat bright sounds, not too bassy. Most of the problems aren't really a big deal though. For example, the tight fit issue can be fixed by stretching it out with a few books, and the earpad issue can be fixed by ordering a different set of pads (the pads that come with the MS1 don't bother everyone though). If I were you, I'd get the MS1, its definitely a good buy.
 
450 said:
Well, you might not like the MS1 due to tight fit of the headphones, comfort of the earpads, somewhat bright sounds, not too bassy. Most of the problems aren't really a big deal though. For example, the tight fit issue can be fixed by stretching it out with a few books, and the earpad issue can be fixed by ordering a different set of pads (the pads that come with the MS1 don't bother everyone though). If I were you, I'd get the MS1, its definitely a good buy.
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Well, I'm not obsessive about the bass, but I'd like to be able to hear it well. I wouldn't be satisfied if the mids and highs overpower the lows.
ashmedai said:
See post #10? It's a very "love it or hate it" headphone (as well as pretty much all the other ones associated with Grado Labs).
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I see "they are very specific", as well as "People often find the way it sits on the head either very comfortable or very annoying" (fair point, but there's really no way to know whether or not I'll find them comfortable without actually trying them), and "The sound signature also tends to be very distinctive".

What I'd like to know is in what way is the sound signature distinctive? How are these headphones particularly different for any other pair? I understand that they are different, but without a pair of Grados to listen to myself or any way to test these before buying, the only way I can get any sort of idea regarding whether or not I'll like them is by reading some descriptions of what they sound like (obviously not as good as listening to them, but that isn't possible).

I've also looked at the Sennheiser HD555s, but I take it that they aren't as highly-regarded given that they haven't been suggested yet?
 
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Let's just say that I've never heard of a neutral Grado.

I think they're nice for some types of rock, sometimes, but I'd never use them for gaming or classical or movies. Too distorted, not enough detail. Note that the degree of refinement and clarity changes considerably when you compare their various price levels...but they still all have a fairly distinctive pattern of distortion.

I could use a lot of adjectives, but it would really be a lot of hand waving. IMO you have to hear it yourself to understand it properly.
 
Well, I'd be using them for a lot of music (classic/hard/prog/whatever rock, metal, whatever other random things I might listen to, but probably not much classical), plus a lot of gaming and some TV and movie watching. For gaming I don't care so much about how it sounds as I do about positioning and being able to hear what's going on around me, and I'm not bothered about the sound quality for watching TV and movies. I'm mainly looking for good sound quality while listening to music.
 
JVC HA-RX700

Still breaking these in but so far I'm amazed. I haven't heard sound like this out of inexpensive equipment in my life. Even if you manage to mangle a pair you'll only be out $40 or so.
 
saedrin said:
JVC HA-RX700

Still breaking these in but so far I'm amazed. I haven't heard sound like this out of inexpensive equipment in my life. Even if you manage to mangle a pair you'll only be out $40 or so.
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They are closed headphones, but I'll consider them. I'd like to hear others' thoughts as well regarding how these compare to the other suggested headphones.

I have to admit though, I'm considering getting a pair of those just for the hell of it considering how cheap they are. If I can get a decently-priced pair shipped to where I live, that would be a very tempting prospect.
 
The HARX are good all-rounders and have an abnormally good soundstage. They're based off the closed half of the Audio Technica ATH-A700 / ATH-AD700 line.

The MS1s will be definitively better than say, Grado SR-60s. But I really wouldn't pick them out for a gaming / movie phone. Great for some types of music.
 
ashmedai said:
The HARX are good all-rounders and have an abnormally good soundstage. They're based off the closed half of the Audio Technica ATH-A700 / ATH-AD700 line.
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So how would you rate them compared to the AD700s and MS1s (for music)?

Also, why specifically do you say the MS1s aren't ideal for gaming?
 
Zero82z said:
So how would you rate them compared to the AD700s and MS1s (for music)?

Also, why specifically do you say the MS1s aren't ideal for gaming?
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The MS1's don't have the best soundstage. You can't always tell where stuff is coming from.

MS1 = you're sitting on the stage
HARX = sitting a few rows back
 
The sort of distortion that can be positive for music also tends to be negative for speaking (therefore movies) and low-detail effects (thus gaming). Grados very intentionally have distortion that varies across the spectrum in a way that creates a very specific result. More neutral headphones tend to be better all-rounders simply because they're more neutral. They're not great for anything specific, but they get along with everybody.

Neutral headphones give you what's in your source, for good or bad. Grados (among others) attempt to give you a more organic experience, but become less true-to-source to accomplish this.

Also yeah the soundstage is kinda meh. But that's not what they're for.
 
The MS1's and Sr80's are based on the same design right? They look awfully similiar. With my Sr80's, music is awesome, gaming not so much. Also it can be a little harsh sometimes, but I am hoping, after some breakin, it will settle down. Rock music, however is a stunning blast with these phones.
 
Mystic-Micro said:
The MS1's and Sr80's are based on the same design right? They look awfully similiar. With my Sr80's, music is awesome, gaming not so much. Also it can be a little harsh sometimes, but I am hoping, after some breakin, it will settle down. Rock music, however is a stunning blast with these phones.
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No from what i read, the MS1's are based on the grado sr125 drivers, so for around $100 new, its a steal.
 
In that budget I would recommend a number from the JVC line. The JVC HA-RX700, or RX900 are very well liked with audiophiles that are on a budget. And if you are willing to spend a little more the DX1 and the DX3, from JVC, are known for blowing the 2 lesser quailty ones out of the water.
 
I picked up the JVC harx700s about 6 months ago after reading the thread posted earlier. I use them for gaming, movies, and all kinds of music. I'm no audiophile but they sound really good to me.
 
Okay, so the front-runners are the AD700s right now, and I'm looking into ways to get a pair shipped to me without paying ridiculous amounts of money. I'm also looking at getting a pair of the HA-RX700s as spares (just for kicks mostly).
 
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