Great headphones for pure listening enjoyment?

J

jeffree

New member
I haven't seen this exact question posed during the last couple of years, so let me give it a shot. I'm using Senn 280s in my home studio, but I'd like to buy another set of cans for late-night listening/relaxing. Forget tracking and isolation, forget editing and rough mixing... instead, just consider pure listening enjoyment in mostly the jazz-fusion and rock realms. Deep bass, smooth mids, clear highs, maybe even a touch of the dreaded smiley curve. Which open or semi-open cans ($100-$300) would be on your short list? Grado, Senn, Beyer, AKG, something else?

I'll probably order 2-3 models and choose my favorite, but can you help me shorten the shipment list? I have little experience with such phones.

Thanks for any suggestions,

J.
 
I'm enjoying myself reading the some threads here and listening to "Yes" thru a broken in pair of SENN HD600's (plugged into a DAC-1). Everything sounds full range and all the elements of the music are working together and the mixes sound very cohesive. There's lots of detail in these things but I don't find myself thinking "ouch that 4KHz sure is sticking out", things are smooth and natural sounding (for phones, hehe). The bass isn't as low as what I can "sense" in my newer Beyer DT880's but those things aren't broken in yet and only have about 20-30 hours on them. I use the DT880 (open) and DT770 (closed) for details in mixes and restoration work I do at home. I don't listen to music in those cans to relax since I hear every mistake in mixes and balance pretty easily. Maybe the DT880's will self-balance a little better after a while - they're pretty hairy in the hi-mids right now, the DT770s seem bumped up in the lo-mids and they're broken in - the folks at some of the headphones forums say about 100 hours or so to break in...

Long story short - HD600 to relax with folk/rock/blues pop type music. :)
 
Yo Kylen cousin of "Joral.":}

Make sure you check out the Beyer 770's [comfortable on the head] which are closed cans.

The Beyer 250s are also very good. Quality cans.

Jeffrey: Don't you know if you wear "broken" cans you can break an ear? :D

Green Hornet ;) :D
 
If there are any left, Grado made a limited edition run of 450 HF-1 headphones last month. They were made specially for the forum members at www.head-fi.org, hence the HF-1. Join the forum and get a pair if you can; production originally was slated for 300, due to excess demand an additional 150 were made and went on sale this past Monday. As of Wednesday, I believe about 50 were left.

These headphones, which are priced at $200, are based off the $195 Grado SR225s, which are generally considered the best bang for the buck of the entire Grado line. Compared to the SR225s, the HF-1s are fuller sounding, rounder, a bit more detailed, and generally better at resolving music. I hate to use this as a comparison, but the HF-1s have more of a "tube" sound whereas the SR225s are more of a "solid-state" sound.

Of course if you buy them and don't like them, I guarantee you would be able to sell them back on the forum for AT LEAST the price you paid (possibly even more- they are very into their headphones).

Personally, Grados are my favorite, but you should also keep Audio Technica's in mind (check the "Woody" line - W1000, W2002, etc). From what I've heard from Sennheiser, I haven't been a big fan of- a bit too analytical and polite for my tastes.

Or better yet, search head-fi and you'll find more information than you'll ever need to answer your question.
 
Grado sr325i is perhaps the most enjoyable headphone i've tried,
including high-end phones like Sennheiser He60, Stax, Grado Rs1 etc.
A bit on the bright side, but you could get flat pads for a bit darker character.
The presentation of singer-songwriters is nothing short of magic. Feels like having the singer in your room, 1,5 m in front of you. Very detailed phone, and isn't too picky about amp. Big soundstage, open-sounding. Quite comfortable compared to the lower-end Grados. Pops up on ebay for $235 from time to time. A bargain. Otherwise, list is $295. Give it a try.
 
etymotics er-4 are the best ive ever used. they go inside the ear..but the musicality and detail is amazing. I own a pair of 600.00 sennheisers and they never get used because I enjoy these so much, whether it is for gig use or at home, these make any music SING.
 
of the headphones i own (none street for more than 100$)
i like the akg 240the best for just listening.
easy on the ears.
 
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Alessandro Ms-1

they sound really good but they´re uncomfortable and the caps aren´t black now ( after 2 years using them i have to buy new caps ).
 
The Ultrasone are very unique in that they do not directly inject audio into your ear canal...but rather the offset drivers allow an open sound that arrives to the ear in a more natural manner.

I personally like the 700 series ones.

War
 
someone told me last year that the hfi 650 would be HARSH and uncomfortable. He recommended me AKG K 271.

Would you say that that the 700´s are better than those ???
 
fernandoesmaron said:
someone told me last year that the hfi 650 would be HARSH and uncomfortable. He recommended me AKG K 271.
Click to expand...
Absolute bullshit. Whoever 'someone' is he/she must be getting a piece of AKG's action. I have owned a pair of HFI-650's for almost two years and when they break I'm going to buy another pair. They're the least harsh and most comfortable headphones I've ever had the pleasure of having astride my skull.
 
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