Headphone upgrade options needed

[admin_exported]

After a long wait and with the help of a good special offer and some very generous 30th birthday presents last year I have a new system, the components are as follows all from Cyrus😛re VS pre-amp, CD 8x CD player running from a PSX-R power supply, two Smart Power Plus power amps running in bi-amp mode.The speaker are monitor audio GS10 on their bespoke stands.All in all I'm very please with the sound of the system but the other night it was getting a bit late so I dug out the headphones an old pair of Sennheiser HD455, to say I was disappointed would be an understatement.Clearly the HD455 are well behind the rest of the system now so the question is does anyone have any suggestions about what to go for. It would be nice to say that money is no object but really the maximum I want to spend is £150.Thanks for any helpDave

 

[Anonymous]

have to agree with all fr0g has said - but i would say that the Grado SR325i would be your best bet in that price range - saw them recently for £175 NEW!

 

[Anonymous]

I would be tempted to raise your maximum spend a little, and get a pair of Sennheiser HD 650 headphones. They are available for £180 new from a couple of eBay sellers.

I'm not sure how good the headphone out is from the Cyrus amplifier, but the Sennheiser 'phones will sound better with a dedicated headphone amplifier. To start off with, I'd suggest a Project Headbox II for around £75...the best would be a Graham Slee Solo, with PSU 1 - but that retails for £475.

If £150 is your absolute limit...the Sennheiser HD 595s would be a good choice - they too will sound best with a headphone amplifier, but are easier to drive than the HD 650s, so will be happier being driven by the Cyrus amplifier headphone out.