Compromises

neobop · « **on:** 26 Jan 2012, 02:57 am »

Thanks in advance for any light you can shed on this.
I need a new set of cans and you guessed it, I want to spend as little as possible. I'm looking for flat response and I need circumaural. I have a pr of Sony something V600 that I got 25 yrs ago. I've used them maybe 50 hrs all those yrs, but I find myself needing to use cans more lately. I don't want to play music or watch movies at odd hrs on speakers. They'll probably be for movies as much as music. I don't listen to much rock, but movie music tends to have similar requirements.

After reading a bunch of threads here and looking at a couple of sites, it seems like I'll have to spend around $150 to get something like an ATH-M50 or AKG-K240 MKII. If I could get away with spending less and find something decent, that would be great. I was hoping that something like the AD700 might do it, but I think they would be way too big and I'm not sure about the bass. I had to make pads for the headband for the Sonys to fit. Anyway, I saw that people like KRK 8400, Fostex T50RP and a couple of Shure. I was wondering if anyone has experience with something like ATH-M30 or 45. It would be great if they or something like the Grado SR80 would do it, but everybody says the Grado are bright and forward and I don't think that's for me. Any recommendations for something less expensive, or is $150 about what I need to spend to get something reasonably good?

mfsoa · « **Reply #1 on:** 26 Jan 2012, 03:13 am »

I'm not a really experienced headphoner, but I can say I really like the Sennheiser HD 518s I got over Christmas. (got a $100 Best Buy card and the phones were like $96 or so)
Very well rated by the folks at HeadRoom , one of their "Top 10"
http://www.headphone.com/selection-guide/top-picks/sennheiser-hd-518.php

I use them w/ my old Total BitHead.

Good luck with the search...
-Mike

saisunil · « **Reply #2 on:** 26 Jan 2012, 05:51 am »

Shure 840s are a step up from AT-m50. Regret selling them ... but I did that only to get the 940's ... but there was a sense of balance in 840s that is very hard to find ...
You could get used ones from head-fi for less

ajzepp · « **Reply #3 on:** 26 Jan 2012, 06:54 am »

...and if you happen to take mfsoa's advice, I have a pair of 518s that aren't even fully broken in yet that you can have for a really generous price...I have them listed up on amazon right now.

A lot of people love them, I just happen to prefer the Grados.

charmerci · « **Reply #4 on:** 26 Jan 2012, 06:55 am »

Before you discount the Grados, you should at least listen to them and that should be easy because any half hi end store should have a pair. I like them.

ajzepp · « **Reply #5 on:** 26 Jan 2012, 06:57 am »

Quote from: charmerci on 26 Jan 2012, 06:55 am

Before you discount the Grados, you should at least listen to them and that should be easy because any half hi end store should have a pair. I like them.

Couldn't agree more. I almost didn't even bother trying them because I happened to read some reviews from the anti-Grado crowd. That would have been a huge mistake, cause I've stumbled upon headphone nirvana and I haven't even heard their higher quality offerings yet!

ctviggen · « **Reply #6 on:** 26 Jan 2012, 12:37 pm »

Quote from: neobop on 26 Jan 2012, 02:57 am

It would be great if they or something like the Grado SR80 would do it, but everybody says the Grado are bright and forward and I don't think that's for me. Any recommendations for something less expensive, or is $150 about what I need to spend to get something reasonably good?

I have the Grado SR60's and listen to them at work, 8-12 hours a day. I play them through a tube amp. I think they're fantastic, and I HATE bright anything (headphones, speakers, etc.). For instance, B&W speakers are so bright to me (at least the older models), that I have to immediately turn them off. I find them unlistenable.

ajzepp · « **Reply #7 on:** 26 Jan 2012, 12:41 pm »

Quote from: ctviggen on 26 Jan 2012, 12:37 pm

I have the Grado SR60's and listen to them at work, 8-12 hours a day. I play them through a tube amp. I think they're fantastic, and I HATE bright anything (headphones, speakers, etc.). For instance, B&W speakers are so bright to me (at least the older models), that I have to immediately turn them off. I find them unlistenable.

What kind of tube amp do you have? That's exactly what I plan to do, as well....take my SR80i's to work

I cannot believe how much I love this headphone...it's very unexpected.

dwk · « **Reply #8 on:** 26 Jan 2012, 03:22 pm »

Quote from: saisunil on 26 Jan 2012, 05:51 am

Shure 840s are a step up from AT-m50. Regret selling them ... but I did that only to get the 940's ... but there was a sense of balance in 840s that is very hard to find ...
You could get used ones from head-fi for less

If it's not too much of a breach of etiquette, I have a pair of SRH-840s listed here in the classifieds if the OP is interested.

neobop · « **Reply #9 on:** 26 Jan 2012, 04:16 pm »

Thanks for the replies.
About the Grados, are they around the ear or on-ear? They're listed as circumaural but a couple of reviews talked about them being on-ear. I can't wear anything on-ear, not for more than about 10 min anyway. My first set was a pr of Sennheiser that were flat foam pads on-ear. I'll have to see what kind of cans are sold locally. There's no substitute for hearing for yourself. Reading all these reviews can drive you nuts, although one site had frequency response graphs. That's really helpful, but it got me wanting a pr of Denon _2000.

The 840 and 518 are both under consideration. Thanks for telling me about the listings.

Anybody have experience with $60 cans? I saw some JVC listed that might be OK. Maybe it makes more sense to get a used set of something better. Normally I'd spend 300 or 500 and and get something really good, but that's not an option right now. Although it might not take all that much to look for a used pr of D2000. LOL, I need to let it go for minute and think about it.

SteveFord · « **Reply #10 on:** 26 Jan 2012, 04:56 pm »

The Grados are on-ear pads which cover the entire ear, not over the ear cups.
They don't weigh much at all and if you gently bend the headband out you'll barely notice them. They're the type you can fall asleep wearing if it's a dull movie.
I would say that the sound is more "immediate" than bright or forward if that helps at all.
They're no Stax or upper end Beyerdynamics but for the price I don't know if you can do better at the moment. They certainly don't sound like cheap headphones.
I just keep mine plugged into the computer as they're real easy to drive.

eclein · « **Reply #11 on:** 26 Jan 2012, 07:21 pm »

Grado's are definitely a love them or hate them type of headphone. I was initially afraid of the sound as I heard a lot of folks say they were bright. When I finally did try a pair they were not too bright they were just right to me.

The thing with Grado's is getting yourself the right earpads...I got a pair of the donuts the same day my used Grado's arrived and I started tweaking them right away, it was work but it was also fun...now I got a nice set with Limba wood and a nice leather headband. These were originally JohnR's and I tweaked them and they still make me smile.
Someday I'll try the PS500's....they look awesome..

won ton on · « **Reply #12 on:** 26 Jan 2012, 08:14 pm »

eclein....... just got a pair of grado ps 500's,and they sound better than they look.useing a slee headphone amp which i broke i for 1000 hours. they are a lot nicer sounding than my senn hd 580 ( thou the senn's are a lot older ). also they are more efficient than the senn's

won ton on · « **Reply #13 on:** 26 Jan 2012, 08:19 pm »

eclein.......note that they are a very good match. www.gspaudio.co.uk

saisunil · « **Reply #14 on:** 26 Jan 2012, 09:45 pm »

So much depends on genre of music you listen to ...
For rock - Grados are the go to brand ...

I have practically owned almost every grado - all the way up to PS1000 (I have not tried the PS 500 - though I am mildly curious

)

I love grados but do not end up keeping them for fit, coloration or lack of dimentionality ...

neobop · « **Reply #15 on:** 27 Jan 2012, 01:33 am »

Eclain,
Your custom Grados look pretty cool. I can't really tell from the pic, but do those pads fit on or around your ears? I know a Grado dealer maybe I'll call him and see if he has the cans. I know he has the carts. I'm curious about the sound even if 98% of my music is acoustic. While I'm at it I might see what else is on demo locally. Those Sonys I have are 1/2 decent. I think they're like the V6 or those other ones they use in the studios. There are some brands I never heard of like Fischer, KRK, Ultrasone. I guess you guys just buy and try em, then sell the ones you don't want to keep. I'm still curious about the JVC HARX900
http://www.amazon.com/JVC-HARX900-High-Grade-Full-Size-Headphone/dp/B0013P3ZOE/ref=sr_1_18?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1327626376&sr=1-18

Maybe I'll check out the want ads. Those Shure 840s are probably better.

charmerci · « **Reply #16 on:** 27 Jan 2012, 02:09 am »

The Grado 60/80's have flat ear cushions. So you gotta buy these - http://www.amazon.com/Grado-L-Cush-Large-Replacement-Cushions/dp/B0006GCCO0/ref=sr_1_8?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1327630110&sr=1-8

eclein · « **Reply #17 on:** 27 Jan 2012, 05:03 pm »

Quote from: charmerci on 27 Jan 2012, 02:09 am

The Grado 60/80's have flat ear cushions. So you gotta buy these - http://www.amazon.com/Grado-L-Cush-Large-Replacement-Cushions/dp/B0006GCCO0/ref=sr_1_8?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1327630110&sr=1-8

BINGO!!! These are the most comfy pads I've had on my Grado's....I listen to fusion jazz, experimental Jazz, electronic, progressive, Blues, everything and it all sounds good to me...but its like I said, they are not for everybody. I shyed away from them because of that, then tried them and loved them....the thing with cans is you gotta hear them with your ears...I find it impossible to recommend headphones for people most of the time, its a totally personal sound. The intimacy of the sound and isolation for the most part of outside sounds makes us very, very aware of everything about the sound and we become immediately critical.

I love trying out new headphones, its the most fun part of this hobby to me....the way they fit, look, sound...all of it is what makes this part of the hifi hobby so much fun for me.

ebag4 · « **Reply #18 on:** 27 Jan 2012, 05:25 pm »

I'm not a headphone officianado by any stretch of the imagination, but I think the V-moda M-80 and LPT-2 cans sound great, seem to be well received over on head-fi which is why I bought them in the first place. This is what I wrote in another thread:

I bought my son the Vmoda M80s ($200) for Christmas, they are on-ear units and didn't have quite enough bass for him, I thought they sounded pretty great. We returned those and bought the Vmoda LPT2 (also $200) over the ear phone, he loves them. They have a little more bass than the M80s but don't seem to loose much if anything across the rest of the spectrum. He is a HS Wrestler and most of his team mates (lots of time waiting between matches) went with the Beats, I listened to them and they seem veiled in the mid and highs in comparison to the Vmodas, he thought so as well. Yes the beats have great (exaggerated IMO) bass, but the Vmoda has excellent bass that sounds more natural to me. I am not a headphone guy FWIW.

They come with a 60 day return policy.

Best,
Ed

ajzepp · « **Reply #19 on:** 27 Jan 2012, 06:09 pm »

Quote from: eclein on 27 Jan 2012, 05:03 pm

like I said, they are not for everybody. I shyed away from them because of that, then tried them and loved them....the thing with cans is you gotta hear them with your ears...I find it impossible to recommend headphones for people most of the time, its a totally personal sound.

Your recommendations are spot on, actually

I would have never bothered to play around with some of this stuff if not for your feedback. The Fiio stuff is probably my favorite recommendation of yours so far. I love this little amp!