Headphones - Cheaper Solution to Hi-Fi ????

an interesting point because my girlfriend who knows zilch about audio was telling me the other day that she prefers to listen to music on her discman and with headphones cos 'the instruments are so separate compared to normal speakers (minicompo) i have at home'. the only thing is the safety of your ears factor. cant do it for extended periods..

hi guys,
Just carried forward my most recent posting from a different thread....

Recently I got a Alessandro MS-1 (basically a Grado with a more balanced sound). Man it has made travel head-fi heaven. I was initially looking for a budget headphone under 2.5k (maybe a philips, Sony kind of) but as I went into the research and joined headfi.com I was caught by the headfi bug and ended up spending almost double and got these Alessandros.

I wanted a ipod friendly headphone and not the ones which demand a dedicated headphone amp (which most audiophile headphones do) but I am stunned that these headphones are just too comfortable with any portable player. I normally use it on my PC which has got a Creative Live 24bit sound card.....oooohhh...I just cant get it off once I am on the roll. It just gives you that extra bit of ashtonishment as you browse through your favourite collection of tracks. Those extra instruments being pronounced so easily and moreover the TEXTURE of the sound is just too close to the instrument itself. Man its AWESOME...

BTW few days back square_wave also had the chance to listen to it and he jotted down his experience in a thread (then I was just on my research to headfi) but some of the guys compared the Alessandros with the Philips HP800....Man there is absolutely no comparision. I did hear both of them and they are miles apart to be even compared. But yes, the philips is a good entry level VFM product but thats the end. Nothing else can be said to bring in any comparision between the two.

The sad part is that Grado/Alessandro is hardly available in India (atleast I could'nt locate a dealer in 3 months).

Sound of Music - Mr. Hamid - + 91 98100 50300
Grado in India.
Just call & check.

Faisal does Grado, I think !
No Alessandro though;

Regards,

BHAGWAN69

Thanks bhagwan...
I wish I had this info before...but anyway I got my headphone at the US street price $99 so I am happy as I have seen that Sennheiser found in India is sold at almost double the US prices so would be Grado I suppose. But yes, its a treat to listen to these Audiophile headphones just cant compare it to other entry level stuffs.

As far as headphone Vs Speakers are concerned.....none can replace each other but yes, till the time you have a good hifi setup one can definitely LIVE with a good headphone.

But investing 20k on a dedicated headphone setup seems insane unless he is a die-hard headfi....

AudioTechnica is another option to consider - prices are good in India - same as US Retail !!!! Well at least in Bombay - Lamingtin Road - Narain Electronics.

http://www.audio-tec...phones/headphones.pl

http://www.audio-tec...8146c212e/index.html
[This is a good head phone to consider]

http://www.audiomidi...rt-Series-P7307.aspx

I do not know the prices of the Grado - I am not a headphone lover, but they would not be @ more than 15 % to 20 % above US Retail Price.

"But investing 20k on a dedicated headphone setup seems insane unless he is a die-hard headfi...."

Sir a dedicated Head-Fi person would invest 5 K to 7 K US $'s. STAX or the kind.

Hence, Rs. 20/- K is a really very cheap option. HeadPhone + CD Player [without head phone pre amp]

Regards,

BHAGWAN69

P.S. Just for you to see :-

http://www.stax.co.jp/

http://www.stax.co.jp/ENG/SR007-E.html

If you can get used to stuff clamped over ones ears, the headphones should provide the most accurate presentation of the source..since it is unaffected by by room interference and usually has a simple chain.

Only problem for me has been 1. it sounds wierd to have music inside ones head and 2. Miss the tactile effect of sound (The thump) that a driver moving serious air can give you..

But i do know folks who use a headphone with a Sub to get that effect !

Arj schrieb:

But i do know folks who use a headphone with a Sub to get that effect !

Now thats interesting....but still I am worried if there are some serious harm caused to the ears on extended listening...if yes then what should be the limitations to be followed for safe headfi ??

yes hearing loss is a problem and it is serious

Apprently Earpphones are the worst followed by headphones. problem is that one tends to have it loud without realising if it is of a low distortion type..

if you use them make sure they are used at low volumes..and not blasting away!

Ouch ! My ears ache
I used headphones over the weekend (Sony on-ear type) and now I have dreadful earache and even pain in my head when eating. Please don't consider earphones or headphones as a substitute for speakers.

However good they may sound, they are both dangerous (SPL and distortion) and painful. My brother has a Koss UR-40 which is comfortable. But most headphones are just painful.

Bhagwan, where exactly is Narain Electronics. I will look up the Grados if I have forgotten the pain, that is. Sennheiser is plain fabulous but then at $450 not for the casual listener and a headphone amp is certainly necessary.

Neutral schrieb:

Ouch ! Bhagwan, where exactly is Narain Electronics. I will look up the Grados if I have forgotten the pain, that is. Sennheiser is plain fabulous but then at $450 not for the casual listener and a headphone amp is certainly necessary.

Get to Lamington Road, on the side of the Police Station walk towards Opera House, it is 6 or 7 buildings away, on the 1st floor. He sells Audio Technica [This is the Head Phone that I use]. I had the 590 from Sennheiser but these are definately much better.
Narain also sells other studio gear, mics + mixer + studio monitors etc.

Regards,

BHAGWAN69

P.S. The Headpone Amplifier is not necessary, only if you want to do some 'serious' listening on Head Phones will it be of any use !!!

bhagwan69 schrieb:

Neutral schrieb: Ouch ! Bhagwan, where exactly is Narain Electronics. I will look up the Grados if I have forgotten the pain, that is. Sennheiser is plain fabulous but then at $450 not for the casual listener and a headphone amp is certainly necessary. Get to Lamington Road, on the side of the Police Station walk towards Opera House, it is 6 or 7 buildings away, on the 1st floor. He sells Audio Technica [This is the Head Phone that I use]. I had the 590 from Sennheiser but these are definately much better. Narain also sells other studio gear, mics + mixer + studio monitors etc. Regards, BHAGWAN69 P.S. The Headpone Amplifier is not necessary, only if you want to do some 'serious' listening on Head Phones will it be of any use !!!

Thanks Bhagwan, I will visit Narain Electronics when I next visit Lamington road.

Just got a Grado SR125 for my I-Pod, well its much much better than the stock crap I got with my I-pod but then thats no benchmark.

The Sound its a Grado extreamly sweet sounding the top end is very listenable and satisfying, the midrange is where the magic lies. Its absolutely smooth and easy on my ears though I have one grouch with it is makes my ears feel fairly hot after a while I dont know maybe its just that I'm not used to headphones and will get used to the feeling down the line.

The phones have tons of detail but its a funny feeling for me as all is too close in my head though very clean sounding.

Nevertheless a good pair of phones I'll be putting it in my HT proc (Anthem AVM20) to see if it can sound better and also if one can go through a movie with it.


Regards,

Satyam.

Hi All,

sbfx schrieb:

The Sound its a Grado extreamly sweet sounding the top end is very listenable and satisfying, the midrange is where the magic lies.

I second the above and although I primarily use mine with the PC (ordinary sound card) it still is very very satisfying.

sbfx schrieb:

Its absolutely smooth and easy on my ears though I have one grouch with it is makes my ears feel fairly hot after a while I dont know maybe its just that I'm not used to headphones and will get used to the feeling down the line.

I had read about this and experienced this first hand for the first two weeks I had the headphones on. After about half an hour things would start to get a little painful. I am happy to say now that after that the pads have settled nicely and I can easily have them on for an hour or so. My listening normally gets interrupted by then, but the experience is painless.

sbfx schrieb:

The phones have tons of detail but its a funny feeling for me as all is too close in my head though very clean sounding.

Bang on as far as the details are concerned. You hear lots of things (for example, the singer quickly taking in a breath in the middle of the song) effortlessly and with great clarity with these headphones.

Regards,
- Nagaraj

Please tell me the cost if you got these in India. BTW the Ipod earphones are pretty good. Compared to the Rs 50 stuff they give us in office. Grado are regarded as the best budget headphones but since they rest on your ears, comfort is an issue. Personally I prefer the ones that surround the ear.

Hi Neutral,

Neutral schrieb:

Please tell me the cost if you got these in India. BTW the Ipod earphones are pretty good. Compared to the Rs 50 stuff they give us in office. Grado are regarded as the best budget headphones but since they rest on your ears, comfort is an issue. Personally I prefer the ones that surround the ear.

I got these from the US - a friend ordered them for me and brought it when he came here. I was apprehensive about the comfort issue too, all the more since this was a "blind" buy but things have worked out well and am satisfied.

Regards,
- Nagaraj

Neutral schrieb:

Please tell me the cost if you got these in India. BTW the Ipod earphones are pretty good. Compared to the Rs 50 stuff they give us in office. Grado are regarded as the best budget headphones but since they rest on your ears, comfort is an issue. Personally I prefer the ones that surround the ear.

I got it from Sound Of Music in delhi I paid the US$ retail for it here in India which I think is a fair deal.


Satyam.

sbfx schrieb:

I got it from Sound Of Music in delhi I paid the US$ retail for it here in India which I think is a fair deal. Satyam.

That's a great deal. Who knows I may take a headphone amp and good headphones in future.

Neutral schrieb:

sbfx schrieb: I got it from Sound Of Music in delhi I paid the US$ retail for it here in India which I think is a fair deal. Satyam. That's a great deal. Who knows I may take a headphone amp and good headphones in future.

There is a very very good [price to performance] headphone amplifier that is available in Indias through Sound Smith - Mr. Viru. That model is :-

http://www.operaudio.com/products/cyber20.htm

CYBER-20 Headphone Amplifier with Separated Power Supply

This will go very very well with the Grado Head Phones.

Do Consider !

BOB



CONTROL FUNCTIONS: Volume, Gain (low/high) Switch, Power On/Off
OUTPUT IMPEDANCE: (low) 10-200 ohms , (high) 200-600 ohms
OUTPUT POWER at 1 kHz: 1W x2 RMS
BANDWIDTH at -3dB: 20Hz - 40kHz (1W)
SIGNAL/NOISE: 90dB
INPUT INTERFACES: 1 group (RCA)
INPUT IMPEDANCE: 50k
INPUT SENSITIVITY for RATED OUTPUT: 900mV
OUTPUT INTERFACES: 2 groups (6.5mm Mic Jack)
CONSUMPTION: 26W
VACUUM TUBE: EL84x2, ECC82x1
DIMENSION: 190 (L) x 145 (W) x 112(H) mm
WEIGHT: 9kg (packed)

whats the pricing on the headphone amp bob ?

Manek schrieb:

whats the pricing on the headphone amp bob ?

List is US $'s 600/-

You could call Viru @ Sound Smith on 9323111890 & find out.

BOB

it wont be anything less than 30k here....

Wouldn't a good headphone amp from Grado Labs or Headphone.com be a better choice? Solid state amplification is generally more reliable. Should cost only around $200 for a basic portable headphone amp.

Headphone Amp: RA1 [Grado Labs]

http://www.gradolabs.com/frameset_main.htm

This is a good option.

Sound of Music sells it;

I do not know the price.

However, it is a good option to consider.

BOB

I am using Shure E3C inear phones for my ipod. I feel this gives me Audio Nirvana as well blocking most of the outside noise and it doesn have any active noise cancellation. costed me USD 200/-

Shure is coming up with E500 that is a good option for people with lot of money

I personally think that the ipod headphones (the default ones) are pretty good. Try ripping at 320 kbps and i found the sound pretty good .I could listen to hall reverberations very clearly in some recordings...