Yet another headphones recommendation thread

[daver160]

For the less than $100-200 range, you could also look into the AKG 240's. Look them up on Head-Fi and Headroom.

Summary: They're fantastic, and extremely comfortable. But they need to be driven by a decent amp (which you already have). In case you are worried about sound leakage, I find that they are literally "people around you can hear you as much as you can hear them".

I'm far from a bass-head, but I think the 240 mk2's have great bass on their own.

[Wildride]

Astro Gaming A40
A40 Headsets - Headsets

[Thatoe]

So I will be heading over to B&H and J&R to test everything that are recommended so far.
These are what I'm interested after reading around a bit.
Listed by price (low to high)

- JVC HA-RX700
- Audio Technica ATH-AD700 (why is it purple!)
- Grado SR225
- Sennheiser HD600
- Sennheiser HD650 (how much better are they than the HD600. I'll save the $100 if I can)

[Vogelbung]

The Grados have excellent first-impression appeal, because they put the drivers so close to the ear and as a result they 'attack' better. Shame about the actual quality of the drivers though, but a lot of people clearly can't tell the difference which explains their popularity (allied to the unique old-school looks, which isn't so much designed as a result of Grado's previously limited manufacturing capabilities). You can probably tell I'm not a fan. I've had practically every Grado until a couple of years ago though, right up to the PS-1 and the GS1000. The SR60 is the only Grado I can even think about recommending as drivers don't really get commensurately better as you move up.

The Audio-Technicas ain't bad. Outstanding wear comfort is their primary advantage, soundwise - well, not bad. The lilac (it's not even really purple)... yeah.

I have always kept a pair of HD650's around though regardless of what else I have. Not an 'exciting' sound, not a particularly sharp sound at first listen, but very accurate nevertheless allied to a more pleasing (to me) tone than the HD600.

Beyer DT880 Pro's might be worth a try. Sound rather "boring" (to me), but top resolving capability for the money. If for some reason I couldn't have the HD650 as my second-string phones, these are probably what I'd get.

Depends ultimately on what sort of signature you're looking for.

[Thatoe]

The Grados have excellent first-impression appeal, because they put the drivers so close to the ear and as a result they 'attack' better. Shame about the actual quality of the drivers though, but a lot of people clearly can't tell the difference which explains their popularity (allied to the unique old-school looks, which isn't so much designed as a result of Grado's previously limited manufacturing capabilities). You can probably tell I'm not a fan. I've had practically every Grado until a couple of years ago though, right up to the PS-1 and the GS1000. The SR60 is the only Grado I can even think about recommending as drivers don't really get commensurately better as you move up.

The Audio-Technicas ain't bad. Outstanding wear comfort is their primary advantage, soundwise - well, not bad. The lilac (it's not even really purple)... yeah.

I have always kept a pair of HD650's around though regardless of what else I have. Not an 'exciting' sound, not a particularly sharp sound at first listen, but very accurate nevertheless allied to a more pleasing (to me) tone than the HD600.

Beyer DT880 Pro's might be worth a try. Sound rather "boring" (to me), but top resolving capability for the money. If for some reason I couldn't have the HD650 as my second-string phones, these are probably what I'd get.

Depends ultimately on what sort of signature you're looking for.

Is the Fiio E17 enough to drive the HD650?
How is the bass on them?

[Vogelbung]

Is the Fiio E17 enough to drive the HD650?
How is the bass on them?

Not particularly prominent in a consumer sense, but definitely there and not 'flat'. No problems with the E17.

[houstoned]

does a DAC really make that big of a difference when listening through your laptop/desktop? i've actually never tried one of those with any of my headphones.

[lazard]

does a DAC really make that big of a difference when listening through your laptop/desktop? i've actually never tried one of those with any of my headphones.

depends on your ears and what headphones you are using. For me personally, it's like night and day.

[houstoned]

right now, my main headphones are Audio-Technica M50's. i would like to believe i have at least a decent ear when it comes to audio. been around alot of audio, mostly home audio and big speakers. i've never really dove into the "high-end" headphone market before because i don't really use them very often. i actually prefer IEM's.

i might be purchasing some better computer speakers and supposedly they can benefit from the DAC as well.

@Vogel: the last couple of days, i tried giving the Beats another try. they just don't do it for me. they've actually made me dislike them a bit more after the last few days. coming back to the M50's, the difference between audio quality was pretty evident. the M50's are just so much clearer throughout the whole range. highs and mids are much more clear and present. the bass is so much tighter and not low or muddy at all. i remember u and another member telling me that the M50's had "bad" bass. compared to the Beats, the Beats had weak highs and mids and the bass was actually very annoying to me. it was very low and just didn't have much definition or tightness to it. also, i don't know if they did this on purpose or not, but the bass kept making the headphones kind of vibrate/rattle and it annoyed the heck out of me.

[thinkpad_rocks]

For the less than $100-200 range, you could also look into the AKG 240's. Look them up on Head-Fi and Headroom.

Summary: They're fantastic, and extremely comfortable. But they need to be driven by a decent amp (which you already have). In case you are worried about sound leakage, I find that they are literally "people around you can hear you as much as you can hear them".

I'm far from a bass-head, but I think the 240 mk2's have great bass on their own.

I can second this, my AKGs are awesome