Headphone advice needed.

[Bonky]

I have a speaker-biased system at present, but our son has returned and occupies the bedroom above our living-room - where the speakers are situated.

I have several headphones at the low-end; probably the most musical are the Sennhieser hd 497 which I drive via a Gatorised Caiman. I don' t want the bother of a separate headphone amp.

I wish to consider a new pair of cans purchased where the benefit v.cost is still plotted as a straight line graph - but towards the top curve.

I enjoy classical and pop/folk music.


I would welcome a short list.

Thanks in anticipation,

Rich


Richard

[southall-1998]

I own the old Grado SR80 (Nor the new i version) headphones, and like them very much.

They don't need plenty of power to get the best out of them.

So, maybe try Grados.

Good luck.

[Pete The Cat]

My headphone journey began with HD410s when they were staples in local radio. As a sweeping generalisation the market sub £200 seems to be dominated by Sennheiser and Grado. Again generalising, each has a "house sound" - Sennheiser tend to be laid back in character, Grado tend to be up front.

Headphones like loudspeakers are very much a matter of personal taste. From experience I can highly recommend HD595s (about £125) although the Grado SR80s that Shane suggests are very engaging from what I remember and have been universally well reviewed in all their guises over time at around the £100 mark. Your preference will be down to which of the two characters you prefer. If you don't want to spend much more then I'd say that these two are essential to audition.

Beyond them I'd also recommend HD600s (about £225) which I currently use. They are detailed and neutral albeit a bit too polite on hard rock, but your musical taste would probably play to their strengths. They're also supremely comfortable, which is an important factor if you like long sessions. I use a headphone amp with them but from what I read of the Caiman - not direct personal experience, mind - you'd probably be fine without. I've recently auditioned Grado 325s (about £275) which I would probably have bought for a change in character and for rock, but by chance also auditioned Denon 2000s (about £225) which felt like a good compromise between the Sennheiser and Grado sounds, having the top and mid of Sennheiser and the bottom of the Grado, and might buy a pair of those instead. Knock £75 off these prices if you're prepared to consider second hand and you'll get another level of performance.

Further up-range manufacturers like AKG and Beyer really compete, I'll let others comment since I haven't travelled that far yet although you would probably be needing a dedicated headphone amp (Graham Slee level) to make the most of them.

Without wanting to sound like uncle, as someone who has damaged his ears I'm now evangelical about adding a note of caution against over-use :(

Finally and with respect to AoS, www.head-fi.org is a shrine to cans and well worth checking out :youtheman:

Pete

[Yoga]

If you can afford it, the Audeze LCD-2 are *incredible*.

If not, the HD650 are very musical. Very good cans in their own right. I found the HD600's overly bright/analytical for my tastes.

You can order both on Amazon, try them for a couple of weeks, and return them (which I what I did). They even refund the delivery cost :¬)

It's worth noting that both the HD600 and HD650s benefit from a good headphone amp. The Matrix M-Stage is an excellent choice indeed (tested that myself).

GreatGig uses a Caiman, M-Stage and 650s, for what it's worth :¬)

[Werner Berghofer]

Ross,


If you can afford it, the Audeze LCD-2 are *incredible*.

I’m pretty sure they are incredible, but don’t forget what Richard originally said:


I don’t want the bother of a separate headphone amp.

For more details see Head-Fi.org’s thread Amp recommendations for Audeze LCD-2 (http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/495631/amp-recommendations-for-audeze-lcd-2).

Werner.

[Bonky]

Thanks everyone; useful.

Will the HD650s be OK with the Caiman?

Thanks again,

Richard

[Tim]

Thanks everyone; useful.
Will the HD650s be OK with the Caiman?
Hi Richard, in answer to the above, well that entirely depends on what your expectations are? I know that's not the best answer, but it's an honest one.

I have the 650's and like them a lot. I listen to a lot of differing styles of music and some are OK with the Caiman, but classical definitely isn't. I used to have an X-Can headamp, but sold this when I got the Caiman. Initially I was very pleased with it's performance driving headphones and it does do a good job for casual listening, but if you listen to headphones a lot, it very soon runs out of steam. It just doesn't have the depth of sound that a good headamp provides. However, if you have never had a headphone amplifier before, it could be adequate for you.

Try it and see, but if your main listening is via headphones then you will soon need to think about a dedicated headphone amplifier IMO. For what it's worth the 650's pair exceptionally well with the Matrix M-Stage, which to all intents and purposes is a cloned Lehmann Audio Black Cube Linear, for a third of the price :)

[Werner Berghofer]

Will the HD650s be OK with the Caiman?

I wholeheartedly agree with the answer Tim aka “GreatGig” just posted.

Music’s skeleton easily can be perceived by plugging any headphone into any matching socket, but only a powerful, dedicated headphone amplifier lets you recognize strings, muscles and hair :-)

Werner.