I bought the AKG K701's!

[p(sy)ayam]

i've been thinking of buying Grado SR225 for a long time

 

but i read it's not very comfortable. i'm a big fan of sennheisers, have been satisfied with phones i got but i need an upgrade soon not that i can afford it right now, but sometime

[Isao]

I've been reading head-fi for weeks when i was looking for a good electronica headphone, the most mentioned cans were (depending on your budget):

 

- A900 (Audio Technica), around 150 bucks and sound good unamped. While i'm not wearing them at all anymore, i can say they're very good for the price and also very comfy.

- DT880 (Beyerdynamic), known to have good details and speed. Would need a proper amp/source to get the best from them though.

- SA5000 (Sony). Famous for their amazing speed and details, competing with electrostatic's systems. They're also very analetycal and neutral sounding. They do need a good headamp though, way more expensive than the phones themselves.

- AD2000 (Audio Technica). Often said to be very fast, detailed, airy, with a very textured and impactful bass (not "boomy"). Those are the ones i wear all the time and i'm very happy with them. They don't need any amplification to sound good, though they naturally do get better with one. I've paired them with a Keces 152 and i'm amazed at what i'm hearing for just about 800€.

- Ultrasone Pro 750. I got the Proline version of them (slightly worse), and i honestly don't like them when i compare them to the A900 or AD2000. They're said to be good for electronica, but i can't stand their signature.

 

As for Grados and Sein headphones, they don't seem to be very recommended for goa/psy. I don't know too much about Grados, but Sein's are quite slow, warm, and thus not as much detailed. Though if you have an important budget, a balanced pair of 650 driven by a balanced amp is said to be pretty amazing.

But if you can afford that, i guess you might as well go for an uber electrostatic setup (Stax Omega 2)..

 

That's pretty much what i gathered from hours of reading, but try browsing head-fi with key terms and you'll get plenty of useful threads.

[p(sy)ayam]

I've been reading head-fi for weeks when i was looking for a good electronica headphone, the most mentioned cans were (depending on your budget):

 

- A900 (Audio Technica), around 150 bucks and sound good unamped. While i'm not wearing them at all anymore, i can say they're very good for the price and also very comfy.

- DT880 (Beyerdynamic), known to have good details and speed. Would need a proper amp/source to get the best from them though.

- SA5000 (Sony). Famous for their amazing speed and details, competing with electrostatic's systems. They're also very analetycal and neutral sounding. They do need a good headamp though, way more expensive than the phones themselves.

- AD2000 (Audio Technica). Often said to be very fast, detailed, airy, with a very textured and impactful bass (not "boomy"). Those are the ones i wear all the time and i'm very happy with them. They don't need any amplification to sound good, though they naturally do get better with one. I've paired them with a Keces 152 and i'm amazed at what i'm hearing for just about 800€.

- Ultrasone Pro 750. I got the Proline version of them (slightly worse), and i honestly don't like them when i compare them to the A900 or AD2000. They're said to be good for electronica, but i can't stand their signature.

 

As for Grados and Sein headphones, they don't seem to be very recommended for goa/psy. I don't know too much about Grados, but Sein's are quite slow, warm, and thus not as much detailed. Though if you have an important budget, a balanced pair of 650 driven by a balanced amp is said to be pretty amazing.

But if you can afford that, i guess you might as well go for an uber electrostatic setup (Stax Omega 2)..

 

That's pretty much what i gathered from hours of reading, but try browsing head-fi with key terms and you'll get plenty of useful threads.

very cool thX

[RAH]

Tell me your budget and I'll try to make an advice (I've been reading different reviews and other info on phones for the last year or so). Also check head-fi.org for, well, everything you need, actually

 

HD25 are great for djing or using as portables if you travel or move a lot - built like tank, I'd definitely get them If I was playing more. Technics :wank: at this area Though the price bites compared to them. They sound tight and focused so it's a great tool to turn knobs and press buttons with a smart facial expression but I never enjoyed this kind of phones for home listening, never worked longer than 30-60min. So I think you should try circumaural headphones with fat pads

 

Some decent reviews and info here also: http://www.headphonereviews.org/ , but don't take their top10 seriously, it doesn't represent anything, just an average score from user-comments - some have 1 good/bad comment and some have balanced mark with 15 comments, it's a bit out of date too.

 

Head-Fi's slogan is "Welcome to Head-Fi... and sorry about your wallet!" Have fun.

Cheer's, i've snuck my neck in those places before. I actually thought a lot before picking up my in-ear phones and i went back and forth between something big of the same price range. I called my dad up that point, we love to talk about those topics, and he would not stop raving about his Westone UM1. So he kind of slanted my thinking in that direction. I still think in ear headphones are equally good or better depending on what you choose, but i can definitely appreciate the appeal of ear-hugging fluff heaven.

[Otto Matta]

Those dark blue ones are sweeeeeet, Mal. The detachable cable is a great addition. So do you get that rippled alien head I was talking about? I eventually fixed mine with some velvet and string. I'm really impressed with how durable they are. I've overloaded them so many times now (*BLRRBT!*) and they still sound perfect.

[Malevol3nt]

Those dark blue ones are sweeeeeet, Mal. The detachable cable is a great addition. So do you get that rippled alien head I was talking about? I eventually fixed mine with some velvet and string. I'm really impressed with how durable they are. I've overloaded them so many times now (*BLRRBT!*) and they still sound perfect.

Haha rippled head!

 

Well actually, yeah, it kind of gets annoying wearing them all the time. The ears are never annoyed, but the head.. I don't like that design really. I mean sure that's only after a LONG time wearing them (I put these under stress almost 24/7 lol, my head would hurt on any headphones i guess)

 

Oh and I'm thinking about selling these to my sis' and getting the dark blue ones just for me only. (cos she LOVES them. I told her she was gonna get hooked the minute she listened to them ).

One other thing, that one bit of that transparent plastic that acts like a handle, that looks like rails broke one one side. It's no biggy, it doesn't change the balance or the sound of course. It's just annoying that a headphone with such precision get's such design flaws. I mean cmon, cheap plastic used for the handle that is used constantly to adapt the phones.. that's a no-no. Other then that, absolute brilliance coming out of them after 1 year of use.

 

I eventually fixed mine with some velvet and string.

Now how does that work?

[Otto Matta]

Now how does that work?

I had some scrap velvet fabric lying around from a painting I did some years ago and thought my head would appreciate its texture. I cut out a piece approximately the width of the headband (a little longer because of the curve), and long enough so I could fold it several times to get it nice and padded. I folded it to the approximate shape of the headband, then held it in place while I wrapped sewing string around both the headband and fabric enough times (a lot!) that I knew the velvet wouldn't slip, then tied it off with a good knot. It's been VERY nice compared to those hard ribs diggin' in me cranium.

[Malevol3nt]

I had some scrap velvet fabric lying around from a painting I did some years ago and thought my head would appreciate its texture. I cut out a piece approximately the width of the headband (a little longer because of the curve), and long enough so I could fold it several times to get it nice and padded. I folded it to the approximate shape of the headband, then held it in place while I wrapped sewing string around both the headband and fabric enough times (a lot!) that I knew the velvet wouldn't slip, then tied it off with a good knot. It's been VERY nice compared to those hard ribs diggin' in me cranium.

U got a screenshot of that?

 

I think I'll give it a try, before I turn into a tri-headed alien.

 

Edit: Lol, I said screenshot. I meant a picture of the headphones.

[Brandon]

Ugh! I just read the review of these on amazon. I am JEALOUS! I want a pair of these.

[XpandoZ]

Very cool Malevolent

 

Was thinking about purchasing these but I think I'm convinced now I have yet to find any negative reviews on this headset and they just look awsum.

[draeke]

top killer headphones (or cans as they call them in the US).

i think the original color looks fantastic even if everyone seems to prefer blue ones.

 

i can tell i have had Sennheiser, first a pair of hd455 and then hd280 silver (and still using these) but these last ones managed to kill my left ear... after DJing the Sylvester night of 2003 from 23:00 to 8:00 am in a small club (YES i did that) at some points i was having just one ear covered (the left one) and i got it overtired with high volume.. at the end of night it was kind of "ringing" inside and from that day on, with certain high frequency sounds at very high volumes i feel some sort of crick crack in my ear, just that one so i understand where this permanent damage came from.. so: PLEASE, be cautious about the volume of your headphones.. i learned it on my own...

 

now back to topic:

i've read that the only headphones able to surpass the akg701/702 are the grados gs1000 but they cost 1000 dollars.. and frankly, they look terrible + probably not the best for the psy music .

 

So overall, i think you have the best headphones out there!

 

i am tempted to someday consider upgrading to this brand, but i want isolated headphones, not some that people can listen from the outside, in this my Sennheiser are excellent and if i understood well the ones you have sound also outside. maybe another model of that brand will do for me

[Malevol3nt]

These are the headphones that are gonna make you go: "Oh my God, I can't believe I thought there was no difference between mp3's and wav's".

 

But just remember that they need to be burned-in. And by that I don't mean to put them in a microwave, I mean you need to put random music on and let them play by themselves on a fairly loud volume for about ~300 hours. After around 300 hours of playback they should be ok. I didn't like them at first either, sounded raw and soulless. But after 300 hours they should be good enough to give your ears an orgasm.

 

Also, be careful with them. The cable that comes with them is pretty fat, and can easily get in your way. So make sure they're on the stand or somewhere safe. I droped them by accident a couple of times (and for that I should get a prison sentence! ), so a peace of plastic of the rails broke. They're still allright, nothings changed really. A bit of a stupid design to use plastic on the part that moves the most, but just as stupid of me to be careless when handling them.

 

They're too powerfull for an iPod and your standard regular soundcard output jack (that green jack on the back side of the PC). So get a headphone amp if you're gonna use these.

 

I'm definately gonna buy the blue ones when I get the chance. The color + the detachable cable is a great addition, and this time I would be more careful with them hehe.