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$200 Cans

Which cans are best for me?

  • Grado SR-225

    Votes: 7 20.0%

  • Grado SR-125

    Votes: 1 2.9%

  • Sennheiser HD595

    Votes: 7 20.0%

  • Sennheiser HD555

    Votes: 4 11.4%

  • Sennheiser HD580

    Votes: 9 25.7%

  • OTHER (please specify)

    Votes: 7 20.0%
  • Total voters
    35
Z

zutme

Weaksauce
Joined
Apr 28, 2005
Messages
109
I am planning on upgrading from my Sennheiser HD212Pro to something at around $200. I've looked at the following, and I was wondering what my best choice is? The source will be audigy 2 zs for now maybe something nicer down the road, and I would be willing to buy/build an amp if that would be beneficial.

Grado SR-225
Grado SR-125
Sennheiser HD595
Sennheiser HD555
Sennheiser HD580
Other(Please Specify)
 
I voted for the AKG K501s but you better plan on adding an amp.


I've looked at the following, and I was wondering what my best choice is?
Click to expand...
What kind of music do you listen to?
 
Other: Audio Technica ATH-a900 or Beyerdyanmic DT 770-80 with amp iff you have to have your bass.
 
magnetik, would it matter if you get the 250 over the 80 ohms if you have a dedicated amplifier? im thinking of getting one to compliment my A900's, and right now i have a Gilmore Lite as my amp(getting a MisterX M3 once cash starts flowing :p), so driving the 250 wouldn't be a problem.
 
I listen to all sorts of music so I really can't be too specific there. I also would like to use them for gaming/movies. Ideally I want a pair of cans that perform relatively well at everything.
Also, I have read a lot of the sennheiser vs. grado comparisons, and I was wondering if anyone hear had an opinion on this. I would like to listen to see which I like better, but I don't know of anywhere in my area(Nashville, TN) where I could try before I buy.
One more thing, are the hd580s as ugly as they look in pictures? I know it sounds stupid, but appearance does play a factor in this for me.
 
Newbify2 said:
Other: Audio Technica ATH-a900
Click to expand...

if you dont want to spend more money on an amp, i'd say this would be your best bet...
 
I love my Grado SR-125s, but I know they aren't for everyone.

They are high maintenance. I have to pick hairs out of the earcups every few days or they somehow find themselves over the screen, thus making a buzzing sound.

They also require good amplification, otherwise they will be EXTREMELY harsh and bright. Plus these phones will basically pimpslap you if you have any signal clipping at all. Really it seems to acentuate clipping in a bad way, so so long as your source is good, then the phones are great.

There are better for games though. I like them for movies however, but I'm not big for trying to get surround out of headphones, whether psycho-acoustic trickery or mass amounts of tiny drivers...so hearing it as two-channel is fine for me :) For music, especially rock and any thing loud, these phones kick ass.
 
zutme said:
Would this be a good option for me?
link
Click to expand...
Only if you decide to build/purchase a good amp. That is a decent price on the 600s, but they sound almost exactly like the HD580s IMO. The 600s look better, and are made of better materials though.
 
Since you said the cans will be used for gaming you can pretty much rule out the Grados.
IMO The soundstage is to upfront and it doesn't work very well for games.
The HD600s are not bad at that price but it takes a very good amp to seperate them from the HD580s and some would say they are to laid back for most modern music (although I enjoy using them for rock and metal).
 
mustang_steve said:
They also require good amplification, otherwise they will be EXTREMELY harsh and bright.
Click to expand...
Naw, Grados are always bright (IMO). The only thing amplification does is enhance the bass a bit (again, IMO). The Alessandro line fixes the painful treble.
 
Mister X said:
Since you said the cans will be used for gaming you can pretty much rule out the Grados.
IMO The soundstage is to upfront and it doesn't work very well for games.
The HD600s are not bad at that price but it takes a very good amp to seperate them from the HD580s and some would say they are to laid back for most modern music (although I enjoy using them for rock and metal).
Click to expand...
What kind of amp would you recommend? I know nothing about amps, so if you knew of a good FAQ or something of that nature that would help too. Would the pimeta you are selling be what I need? I really don't need the portability, but it says it can be run on an external power supply.
 
I've got Grado sr-225s, and I love them. Currently using the headphone jack on my denon 1905 to power it, and it works pretty well.
 
If you're going to go Grado, check out the Alessandro line. The MS-1 has treated me well :)
 
I'd go with the 595 50 ohm if you don't need isolation, they pretty much do it all well.

If you want isolation, either the A900 or the 770-80, with the A900 being more versitile.
 
Senn 595s

While not as refined as the more expensive Senns, they are very well made cans and they are slighty "brighter" than other Senns. So the "veil" a lot of people complain about is reduced.

Great all around headphones.
 
saturnine2 said:
Naw, Grados are always bright (IMO). The only thing amplification does is enhance the bass a bit (again, IMO). The Alessandro line fixes the painful treble.
Click to expand...


They are, but amped well they aren't quite as bright. My amp choice was a Creek OBH-11 and it seems to mate very well with them.

It just seems the more underpowerred they are, the harsher they get. Grados really aren't all that efficient, yes they get loud as hell on 1mw, but it just is not a very enjoyable kind of loud :p
 
mustang_steve said:
They are, but amped well they aren't quite as bright. My amp choice was a Creek OBH-11 and it seems to mate very well with them.
Click to expand...
I have listened to the SR80, SR325i and RS-1 through my MisterX built PPA and a Dynahi built by Moon Audio, and they are all painfully bright IMO. I would definately consider the Dynahi decent amplification :p With a smooth tube based amp (woo3), the Grado's are pretty nice though.
 
reason why it's so smooth is the high frequency rolloff.

That was also the big complaint about the OBH-11. Thing is, Creek trys to emulate tubes in most of their amps. They do a pretty good job at it as well IMO.

That is also the downside of Grado is they design their phones around the presumption that most of their buyers, who are possibly fans of vinyl (read: analog junkies), and thus prefer tube amps over solid state. It holds some logic. I just took a blind shot in the dark when going through the audioadvisor website and bought this pair...worked out pretty good overall...I wished the amp had a bit more power though. 10mW is a bit thin IMO...I'd have preferred at least 15-20.
 
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