Headphone newbie in need of some advice - please!

[BillDay66]

Hi All

I am looking to buy what I consider to be my first decent pair of headphones, budget is up to about £150.00, and they will be used predominantly indoors rather than commuting, connected to a sonos play 5 or ipad, really dont want to need a headphone amp. Files are all lossless, muscial tastes include Springsteen, Neil Young, Dylan right up to Arcade Fire, Birdy, Elbow, Gaslight Anthem,etc - no drum n bass!

I'm looking for some headphones to give a clear detailed but musical experience with a convinving sound stage, current house set up prevents me being able to do this with speakers so want to achieve as good as possible with headphones. My previous experience with cheap cans is hot ears and feeling quite claustrophobic. My son has got some beats which Im astonished by, but not in a good way!

Have tried a few in Richer Sounds - current favourites are the Grado sr80i - if only they didn't look and feel like such a low value, poorly put together item, they sound good but I need to be convinced about the rest of the package. I did have and enjoy the AKG 450s until the cable broke twice and I gave up, seems quite a common problem, not sure how they end up perennial award winners?

So the short question is are the Grados my best bet at this price for a 'hifi' experience or should I look elsewhere?

Appreciate any input you guys can give me.

Bill

 

[dalethorn]

Hi All. I am looking to buy what I consider to be my first decent pair of headphones, budget is up to about £150.00, and they will be used predominantly indoors rather than commuting, connected to a sonos play 5 or ipad, really dont want to need a headphone amp. Files are all lossless, muscial tastes include Springsteen, Neil Young, Dylan right up to Arcade Fire, Birdy, Elbow, Gaslight Anthem,etc - no drum n bass! I'm looking for some headphones to give a clear detailed but musical experience with a convinving sound stage, current house set up prevents me being able to do this with speakers so want to achieve as good as possible with headphones. My previous experience with cheap cans is hot ears and feeling quite claustrophobic. My son has got some beats which Im astonished by, but not in a good way! Have tried a few in Richer Sounds - current favourites are the Grado sr80i - if only they didn't look and feel like such a low value, poorly put together item, they sound good but I need to be convinced about the rest of the package. I did have and enjoy the AKG 450s until the cable broke twice and I gave up, seems quite a common problem, not sure how they end up perennial award winners? So the short question is are the Grados my best bet at this price for a 'hifi' experience or should I look elsewhere? Appreciate any input you guys can give me. Bill

At £150 you can get some headphones that produce a semblance of what you're looking for (Beyer COP, Sennheiser Momentum, Philips L1), but to get a better more realistic sound will cost you more. I'd highly recommend the Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro in your price range because:

The COP has no rolloff or important peaks in its sound (bass port setting 3 of 4), whereas the Momentum has an uneven treble, bright in the lower treble and rolled off in the high treble. The Philips L1 has excessive bass (upper bass not lower bass) and it muddies the midrange somewhat.

The Grado PS500 is excellent but expensive, but the SR80 etc. will be unevenly balanced. The AKG550 has quite a report at Headfonia, but the bottom line seems to be a lack of warmth and tough fit.

 

[BillDay66]

Thanks for the info, I did see the momentums (on ears) which have certainly got the build quality that I percieve to be missing in the Grados, but wasnt able to give them a listen for very long, are they real hifi or a style product would you say? I'll have to see if i can find a stockist for the Beyers

 

[Andy Clough]

I've used the Grado SR80is for a while and they're excellent. Don't be put off by their old-fashioned looks - they sound great. They do leak quite a lot of sound, but if you're mainly using them at home they shouldn't be a problem. And the build quality is fine, as long as you look after them carefully.

 

[JoelSim]

The Grados are good as is the Beyerdynamic as Dale mentioned.

Others to consider are:

AIAIAI TMA-1

Audio-Technica ATH-ES7, A500X or AD500X

Beyerdynamic DT860

Musical Fidelity MF-100 (out in a week or two, but I demoed them last Thursday and loved them).

 

[dalethorn]

Thanks for the info, I did see the momentums (on ears) which have certainly got the build quality that I percieve to be missing in the Grados, but wasnt able to give them a listen for very long, are they real hifi or a style product would you say? I'll have to see if i can find a stockist for the Beyers

The Momentum On-Ear could be considered a style product, like the Momentum original and other "Lifestyle" headphones. But here's where I break with that logic: The MOE has a serious upper treble rolloff that disqualifies it as high fidelity, out of the box. But unlike many lifestyle headphones, the simple iTunes treble boost EQ is a near perfect compensation that makes the MOE high fidelity, with a full and smooth treble. The iTunes setting is well known and can be replicated in any music player software.

The low-end Grados are great for the money with the 2 caveats mentioned: IF you take special care with them, and IF you use them in isolation with nobody else present. The one caveat for the MOE is the EQ, or you could add a second caveat which is the price (compared to the Grado).

 

[Lawrie]

I would never buy Grado phones again. Whilst they sound great and are comfy, my pair have had to be repaired 3 times at considerable cost. Also, foam ear-pads wear out. I'm buying Sennheiser HD558 next.

Lawrie

 

[BillDay66]

Thanks all, given me plenty of food for thought, I do like the 'look' of those MF100s so perhaps I'll wait until theyre available, in the meantime try to listen to some of the other recomendations.

 

[fr0g]

I was in the same boat recently and listened to a few. The Momentum on-ears I chose in the end as they definitely don't need an amp, look great and to my ears, connected to an iPhone, sounded as good as/ better than their big brothers.

They are very comfy too.

 

[caesar44]

The new On ears by MF seem interesting, but i'd wait for more user comments/reviews.

 

[JoelSim]

Thanks all, given me plenty of food for thought, I do like the 'look' of those MF100s so perhaps I'll wait until theyre available, in the meantime try to listen to some of the other recomendations.

They are excellent and I've listened to many headphones in the last few months. If you want them before Christmas then stocks are very limited. I've just ordered some and there were only 12 pairs left at source before my order.

they come with 2 sets of earpads, each with a completely different character. I preferred the Alcantra earpads as they seemed far more full, but in a very quiet environment and if you are looking for absolute detail then the leather ones may be just your thing. Whatever, they completely change the sonic signature.

Nice.

 

[BillDay66]

Story of my life this but .... Having tried both momentums over and on ear in HMV, I am now thinking of upping the budget, also am a total sucker for a ltd ed and am falling for the Bowie packaged momentums on the sennheiser site. Maybe I should just hide the plastic!!

 

[JoelSim]

AIAIAI TMA-1 Young Guru. Only 4,000 made worldwide. Over Ear. Amazingly comfortable, and beautiful beautiful sound. Not a legacy brand like Beyer or Sennheiser but these are brilliant. A brand on the rise for sure.

 

[BillDay66]

Ok guys, just a quick update. Still not pulled the rigger as I want to have a listen to the MF100s when I can find a pair.

Thanks for all the input so far, I sometimes read these forums / reviews without really understanding some of the terminology talked about properly, I suspect I'm not the only one - kind of just know what I like even if I can't use the technical terms to to tell you what that is However having listened properly to some Grado sr80is and Sennheiser MOE, I think I can say I'm beginning to get it :clap:

The Grados are currently on offer in Richer Sounds, £99.00 plus a free case, so was sorely tempted http://www.richersounds.com/product/all-headphones/grado/sr80i/grad-sr80 Ive been listening to the Manic Street Preachers last album 'Rewind The Film' a lot lately so have been using that as a reference, the first 2 tracks in particular give any gear a good all round test, deep male vocals, piercing female backing vocals, accoustic and electric guitars and a horn section kicking in on 'Show Me The Wonder'

On the Grados all was going well on the first track 'Sullen Welsh Heart' apart from the backing vocals (Lucy Rose - amazing btw) sounded a bit sharper than usual - overall the sound was detailed and not as harsh as Ive been led to believe, the soundstage was probably as good as I've heard in a headphone But then came track 2 'Show Me The Wonder' and as the horns came in on the chorus I was literally pulling the cans away from my ears, it was painful - so I guess this is the negative aspect of Grados that some comment on - kind of concluded that this is not for me! Also placed them, on normal volume on a dummy in a quiet demo room, sound leakage is distinctly wife unfriendly, I couldnt listen to music while she watched TV in the same room, which kind of defeats the object.

Tried the same tracks with a pair of Senn MOE and whilst the sound could probably be described as almost muddy in comparison to the Grados, the sweet vocals and textured sound of the horns were instantly back and I was enjoying the music again, actually had to remind myself to listen analytically instead of just singing along, so in my world I suppose that has to be a good thing. The only fly in the ointment was that the shop had a pair of full size momentums as well which I found to be a comfier fit, but the display pair were faulty and didn't work, so couldnt compare them - maybe I should just take the hint and save £90.00!

So it looks as though the Senn MOE are the ones, unless someone can convince me its worth pursuing the full size version instead or indeed to wait for the MF100s.

As an aside my previous set up before moving to the building site we now live in was all Arcam and MA which I loved, only sold it as it would have been in storage for 2-3 years while we build and I fancy an upgrade when we are ready - Arcam still top of the upgrade list, so in hindsight the Grado sound was never likely to be a winner with me was it!

Sorry if I'm rambling here and thanks again for previous and future input!

 

[Count_Raven]

Hi

I too am about to buy my first decent pair of headphones (pretty much first altogether in my case) and I can sadly only go by what I read online as I don't live near any place where I can trial some. I was planning on getting the AKG K550s but after reading this thread I got interested in the MF-100s. I did a pretty extensive search and found some reviews that you might be interested in if you haven't seen them already:

http://luxurialifestyle.com/musical-fidelity-mf-100-headphones-designed-with-passion-and-built-with-precision/

http://hifipig.com/musical-fidelity-mf-100-headphones/

I am kinda torn and I will probably wait for some more reviews.

 

[dalethorn]

Tried the same tracks with a pair of Senn MOE and whilst the sound could probably be described as almost muddy in comparison to the Grados, the sweet vocals and textured sound of the horns were instantly back and I was enjoying the music again, actually had to remind myself to listen analytically instead of just singing along, so in my world I suppose that has to be a good thing. The only fly in the ointment was that the shop had a pair of full size momentums as well which I found to be a comfier fit, but the display pair were faulty and didn't work, so couldnt compare them - maybe I should just take the hint and save £90.00!

The reason the MOE sounds "almost muddy" is because of the treble rolloff. If you use an itunes-equivalent treble boost (or the same on ipod/iphone), and compare the treble-boosted MOE to the Grado directly, you will get all of the detail of the Grado without the harshness and unevenness, and a very nice bass as well.