Need Great Pair of Headphones

Ah. I hate you Head-Fi for emptying my wallet! I have decided to go for full-size headphones instead of IEM's.

I need a pair of headphones that provides amazing sound quality (considerably better than the Koss KSC-75's at least).The headphones should preferably be under $100. Any size headphones would work, but the smaller the better.

I listen to mostly Alternative Rock and stuff like that but occasionally some jazz at 192 kbps to 320 kbps.

I have more choices now.

Grado SR-60 ~$69
Denon AH-D1000 or AH-D1001 ~$80
Alessandro MS-1 $99

Again, I listen to mostly Alternative Rock music but some Jazz.

Any opinions?

Thanks,
Leon

 

Head-fi prefers supra-aural designs. They think that the ear cups don't allow the music to sound as good as it could. Go for the Grados if you aren't worried about hearing things around you.

 

I remember when I was at that stage.. lol. Well, now I have headphones that I spent around $200 on. If you can, then I'd save up a bit more and get something better, cause the $100 range is the range where you get something and usually end up wanting something better.

 

I agree... go for the Grado's

 

grados. see if you can find some SR80's for around that price. they are slightly better, and only about $20 more new. they can be picked up second hand though.

 

Razer Barracuda HP-1, got them for 90$ shipped.
Man, i mean WOW.

 

I'm no expert, but what about the Sennheiser HD555s? They're going for $98.99 at NewEgg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826106392&Tpk=hd555

 

I have the HD555 and I dont think they are good for rock. Too laid back.

 

Yeah, and you need to burn in the HD555 for 100 hours for it to be actually decent. Also, they're going for $65 at Amazon and Newegg.com after rebate.

Also, I'm gonna put the Alessandro's back up there.

 

SR80s or MS-1s, that is what Head-fi recommends.

 

Probably go with the MS-1's.

 

Looks like Alessandro MS-1 vs. Grado SR-60 all over again!

I heard that the SR-60 is funner, while the MS-1 has more detail and bass.

I should really shoot myself. The Denon's are also back in the running.

Running (NOT in order of preference):

Alessandro MS-1
+ Lots of detail
+ Easy to power
+ Quite a bit of bass
+ Balanced
- No isolation
- Very retro-styled
- Somewhat uncomfortable
- Expensive

Grado SR-60
+ Cheap
+ Bright Sound for Rock
+ Easy to power
- No isolation
- Very retro-styled
- Somewhat uncomfortable
- Little bass
- Not as good for jazz and blues

Denon D1001
+ Balanced Sound
+ Huge sound stage
+ Recabling opens these up
+ Isolation and quite portable
+ Stylish
+ Lots of bass
+ Very comfortable
- Not the most detailed or the best sound

 

Looks like it's the Alessandro's vs. the Denon's.

 

They need lot of burn-in after that they are totally different...
although many say HD555 work good without amp..but with amp their true potential comes out.

I have burned them around 30 hours and already i noticed a change..

these headphones sound different after good burn-in... i heard at 50 hr a big change occurs.

 

Yeah, burn with some pink noise, and it gets better.

 

Hmmm.. I hang out on the Headfi site forums a lot. I have used all of the headphones you have mentioned. I say go with the MS-1' s. You will really like them if Rock is your thing. This is also my favorite genre. The Senn HD555's are nice but not my pick for rock music. I usually use the HD555 when watching movies. Good luck!

 

U havent given them enough Burn-in and proper Amp.

they have a great midrange for rock

 

Check out the huge headphone thread here: 2+2 headphone thread

Also check out www.head-fi.org for great forums and reviews. Feedback from experts and just mass numbers of users alike. I really like that site.

By the way I love IEM's (in-ear monitors), and think good ones are way more comfortable than wearing the cans, but to each their own.

 

I wouldn't use pink noise if I was you, just use music. Enjoy them changing, and if your impatient then use your music to burn them in.

 

I am currently using the Denon's and they are awesome! I love the sound and they are extremely comfortable.

 

You should also consider some Audio Technica's; some of them are pretty good; although I'm a pure canalphone/IEM guy so I don't really know which ones are high-end or not.