[eclein]

Those amps by Fiio are great aren't they??? I'm going to get an E17 next month, its a DAC/amp and sounds very, very good according to all reviewers...cost...like...$150.00.....

Ed I will soon be trying the V-moda stuff myself, gotta check them out too.
 
Zepp here is the E-17

[ajzepp]

Ed: I have a little 1st gen iPod nano that I recently found out (thanks to maxcast on the apple circle) that Apple is replacing them with a new current version. What do you think of the little E5 and E6 Fiio amps? I was going to get one to pair with the nano...or do you think I should get another E11? I want to have another little portable system so that way I can keep one at work and have another for when I'm out and about.

That E17 looks nice! Makes me wish I had a need for the DAC so I had an excuse to get one! haha

[neobop]

WOW, the V-moda LP2 looks killer. I like the name too!!
http://www.amazon.com/Crossfade-Limited-Over-Ear-Noise-Isolating-Headphone/dp/B005HMBQR2/ref=pd_sim_e_6

Ed, I think you're right about having to try. We all hear differently.

Thanks Ed Ebag4 for posting about the V-moda.

I'm going to see what I can listen to locally. I read that V-modas are at Apple stores and I think my dealer friend has Grados. You never know till you try.

[eclein]

zepp-E6 is perfect size right?? or are they the gum stick ones which I loved and got rid of...damm, if you see another anywhere let me know...The pack of gum ipod...LOL....

[charmerci]

Ed: I have a little 1st gen iPod nano that I recently found out (thanks to maxcast on the apple circle) that Apple is replacing them with a new current version. What do you think of the little E5 and E6 Fiio amps? I was going to get one to pair with the nano...or do you think I should get another E11? I want to have another little portable system so that way I can keep one at work and have another for when I'm out and about.

I have the E5 - it's fine but I don't think it's much of an upgrade from what comes out of my (admittedly) weak (sound quality-wise) MP3 player. I have not heard the more expensive ones.

[ajzepp]

I have the E5 - it's fine but I don't think it's much of an upgrade from what comes out of my (admittedly) weak (sound quality-wise) MP3 player. I have not heard the more expensive ones.

Cool, thanks for that. Maybe what I'll do is have Jan Meier add in a corda stepdance portable when he ships my Corda Jazz desktop amp, and then move my Fiio 11 to nano duty. I really like the E-11, so might as well not mess with a good thing.

What aer you using for an MP3 player?

[ajzepp]

zepp-E6 is perfect size right?? or are they the gum stick ones which I loved and got rid of...damm, if you see another anywhere let me know...The pack of gum ipod...LOL....

Not sure what happened to my post...all it left was the little head scraty guy. Anyway, the new nano is a little square thing with a touch screen. It has a larger capacity, but I liked my gen 1, to be honest. It was thin and rectuangular shaped with a black front and shiny silver back. Very sharp!

[eclein]

I have a bunch of MP3 players... Sunil sold me a HM-602 which I ended up selling but really wished I hadn't. I use an ipod touch, Zen X-fi, Sandisk or Sony Walkman and will probably get a Cowon D3 or just get an ibasso DX1000 or HM-801 next but Fiio is working on an X3 DAP also so who knows....but its most the  ipod or X-fi

[dBel84]

If you are looking for "bang for buck" take a look at Tyll Hersten's comments on the new pioneer range on innerfidelity.com . They have a lot of chins wagging..dB

[DaveNote]

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?

I happened on KRK KNS8400 studio monitors at a pro music shop. I own Grado SR80, and I like the KRKs much better. Comfortable, well built, lots of sound isolation. Very linear, nothing artificial. I paid less than $200. They are worth a demo.

Dave

[ajzepp]

I happened on KRK KNS8400 studio monitors at a pro music shop. I own Grado SR80, and I like the KRKs much better. Comfortable, well built, lots of sound isolation. Very linear, nothing artificial. I paid less than $200. They are worth a demo.

Dave

Looks like the folks at Amazon agree!

http://www.amazon.com/KRK-KNS8400-Studio-Headphones/dp/B004ARUO2S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327726126&sr=8-1

Those are 50% more expensive than the Grado SR80s, but the 6400s are the same price ($99)...I may need to add a pair to my ever growing collection of lower end cans so I can see...errr, hear for myself 

Can these be driven with a Fiio headphone amp?

[DaveNote]

Looks like the folks at Amazon agree!

http://www.amazon.com/KRK-KNS8400-Studio-Headphones/dp/B004ARUO2S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327726126&sr=8-1

Those are 50% more expensive than the Grado SR80s, but the 6400s are the same price ($99)...I may need to add a pair to my ever growing collection of lower end cans so I can see...errr, hear for myself 

Can these be driven with a Fiio headphone amp?

I demoed the 6400s, and the difference is mainly about the wind isolation, and a couple of other bells and whistles. Anyway, I'm glad I bout the 8400s for the extra money, which in my area was about $50. I use them mainly for using with my iPod because they are semi-portable and quite light.

I have driven them with several Amos, including my Lyr, but have never owned or used a Filo. I doubt that it would be a problem.

Dave

[eclein]

I have almost pulled the trigger on the KRK's a couple times, I guess I should have..darn...you can find a lot of great stuff like these at headroom in the Bstock listings. I have bought a bunch of IEM's from them off that list and the boxes were bent...that was it. I'll always take a bent box and save $40 or so bucks....LOL....

[DaveNote]

I have almost pulled the trigger on the KRK's a couple times, I guess I should have..darn...you can find a lot of great stuff like these at headroom in the Bstock listings. I have bought a bunch of IEM's from them off that list and the boxes were bent...that was it. I'll always take a bent box and save $40 or so bucks....LOL....

Let me be clear. I own LCD-2s and love them. The KRKs, in my opinion, are certainly not as good. But I find them better than the Grados I have owned and not that far from the HD800s that I owned. In short, not top notch if you are looking for an LCD-like experience, but very good for a modestly priced set of headphones.

BTW, I bought them originally to upgrade my iPod listening of podcasts, with the purpose of getting lots of sound isolation, which the KRK provides to a high degree. Then I discovered they are excellent for music as well if you want the kind of clarity and accuracy that the HD800s provide. These are, after all, professional studio headphones made by a company that specializes in equipment for pro audio work.

Dave

[neobop]

Not surprising there's so many different cans and earbuds today. I saw the KRKs on Amazon. It's good to have a large selection but makes it harder to sort out. I read a pos comment about these:
http://www.amazon.com/Goldring-DR150-Fidelity-Stereo-Headphones/dp/B000R98E66/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1327758396&sr=1-1

I'm gonna try to listen to some today, right after I get a new battery for my car. At some point I think you just have to pull the trigger even if you haven't heard them. It's prob easy to get the wrong impression auditioning, depending on where you go. You could be listening to a pr not broken in or crummy source material. Headroom B stock is a good idea.

Who makes the LCD-2 and is it Sennheiser HD-800? Sorry, but this gets confusing.

[DaveNote]

Not surprising there's so many different cans and earbuds today. I saw the KRKs on Amazon. It's good to have a large selection but makes it harder to sort out. I read a pos comment about these:
http://www.amazon.com/Goldring-DR150-Fidelity-Stereo-Headphones/dp/B000R98E66/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1327758396&sr=1-1

I'm gonna try to listen to some today, right after I get a new battery for my car. At some point I think you just have to pull the trigger even if you haven't heard them. It's prob easy to get the wrong impression auditioning, depending on where you go. You could be listening to a pr not broken in or crummy source material. Headroom B stock is a good idea.

Who makes the LCD-2 and is it Sennheiser HD-800? Sorry, but this gets confusing.

The LCD-2 is made by Audeze in the US. It does not have many dealers. I bought mine online, without a demo, and it cost just shy of $1000. Not the low cost cans asked for in the OP. Yes, the HD800 is a Sennheiser, and it costs about $1500 or so.

Dave

[eclein]

I have experience with KRK studio monitors so I know the sound, and the build quality so that was what got me thinking about them. I own hifiman HE-5LE's and they are my favorites for all around sound and critical listening. That being said I use my Grado's at night a bunch with home theater stuff, movies etc... they are hooked into my HT setup and my HE5's are setup with the Asgard so I can just slap them on my noggin.
 The IEM's I use vary from outing to outing, I pretty much grab whatever is handy or I haven't heard in awhile so I get to hear the many different sound signatures....if they sound real bad to me I sell them or give them to my kids who are not yet as critical as I am with sound.
 Bottom line is I'd try them all if I could, its a blast.....if your ever looking for inexpensive-like $10ish- IEM's that always sound good...I'd vote for the MEElectronics stuff (sp)......I have had 3 really inexpensive ones and they all sound good....not exquisite but good.

[neobop]

I'm still researching this and I've reached the conclusion that Midfi is right. You get what you pay for, sometimes. I've narrowed the search based mostly on test reports. I've got a good idea of my Sony specs and frequency response. I think I know what I'm looking for. One of the contenders is the KRK 8400.
http://www.headphone.com/headphones/krk-systems-kns-8400.php

The Byer DT 990 Pro looks good.
 http://www.headphoneinfo.com/content/Beyerdynamic-DT-990-PRO-Headphones-Review-715/Performance.htm

The V-moda LP2 also looks good. I linked to that before.

I'm intrigued with the Fostex and the mods etc. I'm still looking into that. They're out of stock. Apparently with some plasticine and cotton and a set of Shure 840 pads you've got a contender?

My one attempt to get a listen was a disaster. I stopped at Best Buy cause I was doing an errand close by. None of the displays were working. At least I didn't make a special trip.

[neobop]

After sorting out a ton of reviews and specs, much of it irrelevant, I reached some conclusions. In the under $200 group of closed phones (circumaural), the KRK8400, AT M50, Shure 840 and V-moda LP2 all seem the most highly respected. The frequency response is similar on all of these except the V-moda doesn't have a peak near 10K. It also seems like the Byer 990 pro is an outstanding choice for an open phone in the same $ range. YMMV depending on what your looking for in terms of sound, and how they fit etc.

The Superlux 668b, same driver, cup as Samson 850,  are standouts in the semi-open $50 range. But I just ordered a pr of these:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/281431-REG/Fostex_T50_RP_T50RP_Studio_Headphones.html

For $74 I might just like them stock. The mods are already laid out and look pretty easy, not hard, fun actually. I'll let you know.

[saisunil]

Look forward to your impressions after the mod ... these do like some juice - so don't under power them ...