Recommendation for Open Type Headphones

[dnyboy 0]

Hi all,

 

Anyone can do a recommendation for open type headphone?

Something similar to ATH-ES7 but not closed type.

[nekatrall 0]

hehe

im using goldring dr 150

 

but now got poisoned by senn hd650

[dnyboy 0]

Thanks for the reply,

 

Just started the interest in headphones, quite a mind boggling affair.

 

 

[nekatrall 0]

well simply said

 

any one can recommend a number of headphones

still depends on

1.the synergy with ur rig

2.if u like the sound signature

3.most importantly budget

[Guest dragonboy]

Grado SR80? if you like the signature, any of the Grados will catch your attention.

[nekatrall 0]

personally grados lack abit of bass

[Guest dragonboy]

personally grados lack abit of bass

I didn't feel that the Grados are lack of bass. But they don't offer the type of bass that bass head wants. So I think it's more like a diff taste and opinion.

 

Closed can & open cans will give you a different presentation of bass overall.

 

 

 

[nekatrall 0]

most definitely

but grados do very well on mids and highs

[dalethorn 0]

most definitely. but grados do very well on mids and highs

 

If you take the PS-500 and reduce the small bass hump around 100 hz a little, the bass sounds very much like the Senn HD-800. I have not heard the other Grados.

[irbaboon 0]

Dalethorn, are you comparing both running from the same rig? I've only heard Grados from the Prestige line but they have a very small soundstage, and are not very revealing.

 

@OP Try the Sennheiser HD555/595/558/598. The HD555 and HD595 use the same parts, so there's no reason to get the HD595, unless you want a headphone clamp. You can look around for used pairs which can go for less than S$200, especially if they're Amazon sets. Good bass impact, warm sound, very comfortable. Doesn't need any amplification, runs fine out of an ipod. The biggest flaw with them is that they sound quite muddy if you don't turn the volume up.

Edited January 1, 2012 by irbaboon

[dalethorn 0]

Dalethorn, are you comparing both running from the same rig? I've only heard Grados from the Prestige line but they have a very small soundstage, and are not very revealing.

 

The Senn 800 and Grado PS-500 are very different, and running from the same amps the 800 is the winner in soundstage, but no hugely - the PS-500 is good for a small headphone, although it's pricey. It's the overall clarity and smoothness of the 500 that impresses after a lot of listening. I don't have the lower Grados to compare with, but I do have some other detailed and revealing headphones - the Shure 940 and Beyer DT-48A, and the PS-500 compares favorably to those, but again, I do believe it costs more to get comparable performance.

[irbaboon 0]

I wonder what more Grado can come up with, without actually coming up with new designs. Apparently the Magnums sound a lot better than the Grado drivers.. wonder how they stack up against the PS500

 

anyhow, OP, I'm not sure what the ES7 sounds like. But if it's warm and bassy, then the HD555 would be perfect. Or if you want something cheaper, maybe the HD438. It's a slightly less detailed and boomier version of the HD555.

[Stereo_Electronics 0]

Dalethorn, are you comparing both running from the same rig? I've only heard Grados from the Prestige line but they have a very small soundstage, and are not very revealing.

 

@OP Try the Sennheiser HD555/595/558/598. The HD555 and HD595 use the same parts, so there's no reason to get the HD595, unless you want a headphone clamp. You can look around for used pairs which can go for less than S$200, especially if they're Amazon sets. Good bass impact, warm sound, very comfortable. Doesn't need any amplification, runs fine out of an ipod. The biggest flaw with them is that they sound quite muddy if you don't turn the volume up.

 

I find the Grado generally more revealing than the Sennheiser (HD800 is different), compared to the Grado is find Sennheiser slightly darker sounding. Soundstage isn't Grado's strength but comparing smaller cup size (yes headphones... ) Grado's soundstage isn't that bad.

 

Aron @ Stereo

 

[Maniacal71 0]

I find the Grado generally more revealing than the Sennheiser (HD800 is different), compared to the Grado is find Sennheiser slightly darker sounding. Soundstage isn't Grado's strength but comparing smaller cup size (yes headphones... ) Grado's soundstage isn't that bad.

 

Aron @ Stereo

I'd recommend a DT48A with E version ear pads over even the Grado RS1, more detailed and no distortion. doesn't sound closed in even though its a closed can due to it's transparency. Headstage is true as in the recording, no gimmicks, just accurate.

 

[dalethorn 0]

I'd recommend a DT48A with E version ear pads over even the Grado RS1, more detailed and no distortion. doesn't sound closed in even though its a closed can due to it's transparency. Headstage is true as in the recording, no gimmicks, just accurate.

 

This makes sense, because the DT-48A has a nearly ideal signature from the mids on up - not distant like most of the better Sennheisers, not forward like the Grados, not bright like Senns or Grados, and not dark either. Just a lean, clean, perfect pitch on music. Quite a bargain for the price too.

 

I was describing to someone a little while ago, the sound of a Skullcandy headphone I heard last week. I have a jazz track with mass crescendos of horns in several places, which the DT-48A reproduces so cleanly you can practically hear the sparkles of light reflecting off of the horns. With the Skullcandy, the horns sounded like someone crashing into a bunch of garbage cans in an alley, all covered by a big heavy blanket. Hard to believe, unless you hear it yourself.