[alexstl]

Hi everyone,

Susannnah and I have a new baby boy, Jonathan, born on Sunday August 20.  We are home from the hospital and both are doing well.  With his birth I am listening to headphones more.  I currently listen to Grado 60’s, Etymonic 4s and Sennheiser 555s, preferring the Senn.  I listen to the headphones directly from the headphone jack on my Ah! Njoe Tjoeb CD player or from a vintage Kenwood KT8007 tuner.   I use the etymonics with an ipod. 

I would like to upgrade and am asking for advice.  I am consider the Sennheiser 650s, the AKG 701s or the Beyerdynamic  880.  Does anyone have a pair of one of these I could listen to or would like to sell?  I am also interested in a higher quality cable if possible.  Thanks for your help.  Alex

[woodsyi]

I don't know Alex.  You may have to give up the cans for a little while until your baby can walk and talk.  Between the baby monitor and the baby, you have to keep your ears peeled for anything.  You will be surprised how you well you will become attuned to the sounds of your baby to the point of hearing things before anybody eles in the room.  Not a sermon, just a thought.

[elcaptain88]

I've listened to the HD650 & the new 880's (but not the AKG's) - the current Beyer 880's are my current favorites by a wide margin. The 880's combine the comfort of the 650's with a more immediate sound, almost like combining the best features of the 650's and my old Grado 225's. They are absolutely super. The 650's themselves are a darker phone with a more distant soundstage and somewhat bloated bass IMO (even with a good amp).

I would not use the phone out on the tjoeb though. My old Njoe tjoeb had audible noise out of its phone jack & sounded rough on most headphones. Forget upgraded cords too - not worth the money spent. I would at a minimum get a modest headphone amp (& the 880's) - and then enjoy the music.

[Bemopti123]

You will be able to listen to your headphones maybe until about the boy becomes 5 months old or late at night, when everyone is asleep.  I do not foresee you being able to listen to headphones, perhaps to save your speakers and other items, without serious repercussions.  I would go with an affordable pair...until how someone else had recommended here, your son can walk safely.  I cannot imagine being in the right state of mind, having my son either crawling or playing somewhere when i am stuck with headphones.  Someone might complain, if you have headphones on. 

BTW, congrats on the birth of your son. 

[drummerwill]

  Alex
   Congrads to Ya'll !

  Willie

[DeadFish]

Yes, by all means, congratulations Alex!!

 

Best wishes to all!

Bill

[nathanm]

The 650's themselves are a darker phone with a more distant soundstage and somewhat bloated bass IMO (even with a good amp).

Wow, really?  Different bass response than the 600s?  The 600s are pretty lean IMO.

[Scott F.]

I agree, the 650's do have a slightly bloated bass. I tried them on the Maxed Out Headroom and the Bithead and found the same thing. Nice for rock but Alex, knowing your tastes in music and sound, you may not care for them.

Not quite sure what to recommend for you. You may want to walk up the Grado ladder a bit. The 60's are a great can for the price but they are a little brite. The 80's aren't too bad and they are still less than $100. They are much more relaxed than the 60's. The 125's I personally didn't care much for but you may like them. Not sure if Tim is carrying any out at the Sound Room but Best Sound still has quite a few models on the floor. I'd check with Tim first though. He may be able to get some samples in for you.

Personally I'm using the 80's with Graham Slee's Solo headphone amp. The combo is extremely good. Oh, I own the 60's too.

Tell you what, if you want to come by and compare the 60's to the 80's on a decent headphone amp, buzz on by. Besides, I've got those big Teresonic Ingenium's finally dialed in. You've never heard Lowthers do bass until you've heard these (-3db at 30Hz, darned flat). You'll love these things. They are drop dead sexy.

Oh and BTW, CONGRAT'S on your new baby boy!

[Jon L]

Hi everyone,

Susannnah and I have a new baby boy, Jonathan, born on Sunday August 20.  We are home from the hospital and both are doing well.  With his birth I am listening to headphones more.  I currently listen to Grado 60’s, Etymonic 4s and Sennheiser 555s, preferring the Senn.  I listen to the headphones directly from the headphone jack on my Ah! Njoe Tjoeb CD player or from a vintage Kenwood KT8007 tuner.   I use the etymonics with an ipod. 

I would like to upgrade and am asking for advice.  I am consider the Sennheiser 650s, the AKG 701s or the Beyerdynamic  880.  Does anyone have a pair of one of these I could listen to or would like to sell?  I am also interested in a higher quality cable if possible.  Thanks for your help.  Alex

Unless you really want to go deep into the headphone world, meaning expensive headphone amps, I would recommend Senn 595, which is probably the best easy-to-drive Senn that will be a good upgrade yet retain that Senn sound you seem to prefer.

HD650 and AKG K701 are not worth paying extra for unless you are prepared to get some heavy-duty amp for them.  The only times I've liked HD650 were when they were driven by balanced amps in $1500-3000 range   Even K701 gets better, though not as much as HD650, driven balanced..

HD650

[MerRev]

congrats on your new baby boy Alex!

So, you managed to sneak over to Scott's one final time to hear the Teresonics.
Good for you- he has so many great toys over there which makes it hard to leave.

Soundstage on PBS has play re-airing the Chris Isaac and Raul Malo program- i thought you may be interested.

http://www.shoppbs.org/sm-pbs-soundstage-soundstage-presents-chris-isaac-and-raul-malo-dvd--pi-2094942.html

                                                              Chris