Which Headphones?

Hi !

I am told that Shure E5C is a very good headphone. But I have no personal expereince.

Regards

Sanjay

Hello,

I own a Grado SR125 which cost me USD150. I did read about the discomfort factor about the Grado but took a chance all the same and it so turned out that I am very happy with the purchase. The first week was a little difficult with these but things have since settled and now I can have them on without any issue. I own an older Senn HD400, which the Grado beats hand down but it is unfair comparing these two since the price points are different with the Grado being the more expensive one. If you are based in Bangalore, PM me and you can check this.

Regards,
- Nagaraj

soulforged schrieb:

Hi Guys, I am looking for a good pair of cans. So far I liked the Grado SR60 and Senn HD555. Has anybody had any experience with one of these? The main attribute I'm going for is comfort over long listening sessions. Grado's design seems to lose out there. Thanks :prost

Either the SR60 (or the SR80) will do well without much amplification. You can look at the Alessandro MS-1 as well. The sennheiser is HD-555 is a good headphone and will also work fine without an amp.If you listen to jazz/classical, its easily the best. The grados/alessandros are more suited to rock according to popular opinion. AKGs will *definitely* need a headamp.

Personally I use an HD580 with a custom built amp. Those are amazing headphones but can't run off normal sources. They cost around 200$ and are probably the best in the range. I have an SR60 as well but personally I find it ear fatigue sets in very soon with them and even for rock which they are famed for, i can't really stand them for long. Compared to that the sennheiser is just so much more comfortable and one can easily do 6hrs+ listening sessions on it.

Currently HD-580 retails at $149 so its a very good buy but you just cant avoid an head-amp for HD-580.

If you have to go unamped, its between HD-555 and Grado.
I have the MS-1 (Alessandro) they are just sooooooo good.
They are compared to Grado SR-225 ($250). But they cost just $99. They are much more smoother than the Grado line and suit very well with Acoustic as well as Electronic music. Out of an iPod they are almost there with the best in the industry (costing multiple times its price)..though out of a head-amp there are better options at higher prices.

Well I recommend the Sennheisers for its comfortable for long listeing sessions and you dont get gritty trebles from these babes buts you need to go with excellent Headphone amp or else no matter how good is your headphones it sounds with just 30% of its capability with the direct sources you dont get good drive and current requirements as good as the amp does...

Good rule of thumb is that put ur money equally on both the sides 50% on the headphones and 50% on the amp and sit back for long time...

cheers,
Sandeep

wonder who sells headphone amps in India ? have'nt seen any around.....

manek.

yeah i dont think anybody sells good headphone amp in India.. but I think the cost itself will be high like arround 20 to 25k for a good preamp? What Manek what do u say... but i feel the impact on the sound quality will be alot
cheers,
Sandeep

If you have a lot of money, you can get the musical fidelity XCan V3 from The audio people ;). Its ridiculously priced in India at 28 odd thousand. A better option is to import it from audioadvisor for 399$+50$ fedex express shipping.

Is there any demand for highend preamps in India?

cheers,
Sandeep

reignofchaos,

I dont have a lot of money so MF XCAN is definately not on yeah its a rip off as you say. If I buy I locally then I intend to be ripped off as little as possible

manek.

the Koss KSC-75..or if u can lay ur hands on it..the KSC-35...
exceptional value for the price..
paid 12.5$ for my 75s

Just went through some reviews for the Alessandro MS-1 and they all sounded very positive. At $99 they are very viable as well.

Abhi, you are using these cans with your portable player, do you feel that I'd need a head amp with them?

reignofchaos schrieb:

Either the SR60 (or the SR80) will do well without much amplification. You can look at the Alessandro MS-1 as well. The sennheiser is HD-555 is a good headphone and will also work fine without an amp.If you listen to jazz/classical, its easily the best. The grados/alessandros are more suited to rock according to popular opinion. AKGs will *definitely* need a headamp.

What's the differences between the Sennheiser headphones? You say that HD-555 doesn't need amplification but HD-580 needs a good amp. Is this due to impedance differences or current requirements, etc?

reignofchaos schrieb:

Personally I use an HD580 with a custom built amp. Those are amazing headphones but can't run off normal sources. They cost around 200$ and are probably the best in the range. I have an SR60 as well but personally I find it ear fatigue sets in very soon with them and even for rock which they are famed for, i can't really stand them for long. Compared to that the sennheiser is just so much more comfortable and one can easily do 6hrs+ listening sessions on it.

You pain me with this statement. I bought an SR-60 a few months back. I run it straight out of a computer sound card (nForce 2). Sounds good to me. Diana Krall sounds good on it. Yes, the electric guitars of Dire Straits are accentuated. But, I like the clarity of the Grado. I compared it with a Sony studio headphones and a Koss UR40. I found the Grado to have the greatest clarity and had the capability to bring out the details in the music.

It was also fairly comfortable for an hour or so. The tonal balance is a bit off when you compare it to the Senn HD-600. But that Senn is really expensive. Yes, my nephews also said that the HD-580 is a great headphone. If it has some of the brilliance of the 600, then you must be one chilled-out soul.

I am not aware of ear fatigue. I use headphones in the night [no guarantee that my neighbours will enjoy Norah at 1am ]. I like speakers a lot more for my 5-hr morning sessions.

HD555 is 50ohm whereas HD580/600/650 are 300 ohm. Due to the high impedance one *must* use a headamp. The 600 is basically a very incremental update to the 580. The 580/600/650 have exactly the same transducer. It only has better material for the housing and metal grills instead of plastic. Infact the HD600 was sold as an HD580 Jubilee initially ;). All is relative ;). If you like the SR60 like many hundreds of others, thats good for you :). IMHO though its sounds too bright and I get fatigued very easily. I prefer the laid back presentation of the sennheiser compared to it .

reignofchaos schrieb:

If you like the SR60 like many hundreds of others, thats good for you :). IMHO though its sounds too bright and I get fatigued very easily. I prefer the laid back presentation of the sennheiser compared to it .

Thanks for the impedance explanation. I see that the HD555 is the odd-one out in the Senn stable. Unlike you, I don't have the luxury of comparing the Senn to the Grado side by side. So no real idea as to what I am missing Generally speaking, duller music (low treble levels) like Krall, etc sounds good on Grados. I wouldn't try any Hindi stuff on it.

Yup the HD5x5 series that includes 515/555/595 are all 50ohm cans. the lower end 4(485,497 etc) series are all 32ohm. Its only 580,600,650 and a few versions of the 280 pro that are high impedance ;).

Its said that the drivers in the senn 580 600 and 650 are one and the same but only the thing is the enclosure design and shape and material... which affects the sound...

one can go with the basic HD 580 coz there is not much diff between the higherend ones...

cheers,
Sandeep

soulforged schrieb:

Just went through some reviews for the Alessandro MS-1 and they all sounded very positive. At $99 they are very viable as well. Abhi, you are using these cans with your portable player, do you feel that I'd need a head amp with them?

They sound very decent right out of a portable player..but yes they can sound even better with a good headamp and source. The key here is "Source"...you dont require loads of power to drive a Grado but they just sound as good as your source and the difference is significant.

But as per reviews, though the Grado is the BEST, its causes fatigue on long hours of listening.
The Senn 280 Pro, is good esthetic-wise, good sound, and comfortable for long hours.

juggy_25 schrieb:

But as per reviews, though the Grado is the BEST, its causes fatigue on long hours of listening. The Senn 280 Pro, is good esthetic-wise, good sound, and comfortable for long hours.

Best is very subjective... depends on what you are listening to. Rock will certainly sound better on a grado but even a cheap HD580 will absolutely murder a top of the line Grado RS-1 or GS-1000 in classical.

reignofchaos schrieb:

juggy_25 schrieb: But as per reviews, though the Grado is the BEST, its causes fatigue on long hours of listening. The Senn 280 Pro, is good esthetic-wise, good sound, and comfortable for long hours. Best is very subjective... depends on what you are listening to. Rock will certainly sound better on a grado but even a cheap HD580 will absolutely murder a top of the line Grado RS-1 or GS-1000 in classical.

Possible....
But somehow I find Grado more enjoyble with larger variety of music than Senns.
Senns might be the champ of Classical and Grado might rule Rock...but if you are the one who listens to all/most varieties of music then it becomes mandatory to check out both of them to find which one suits you better.
To me till now, Grado Kicks ass...(though I agree that SR-60 and SR80 might be a bit harsh).

abhi.pani schrieb:

Possible.... But somehow I find Grado more enjoyble with larger variety of music than Senns. Senns might be the champ of Classical and Grado might rule Rock...but if you are the one who listens to all/most varieties of music then it becomes mandatory to check out both of them to find which one suits you better. To me till now, Grado Kicks ass...(though I agree that SR-60 and SR80 might be a bit harsh).

Very true what you say... but then again one tends to love what one grows up with ;). Easiest way out is to get one of all makes... headphones are cheap :D.

I use Beyerdynamic 770 PRO,they are ultimate in comfort and absolutely fabulous when fed from my Magnum Audio amp.
I'm very very happy with this can.