Advise: Warm Sounding Headphones/Ear Plugs

[belgarion 0]

Hi guys,

 

Do you all have any recommendation for a budget headphone/ear plugs ? My budget is around 200, i dont mind second hand.

 

I use it primarily for my computer and night listening. As i currently own a pair of grado sr-80, but find it too bright for my liking. Hence now i need to scout for a new pair , and it mus output warm and enjoyable sound !

 

Thanks

[Tenson 0]

I wouldn't think any Grado 'phone would normaly be bright.

 

What soundcard are you useing it with? In my experiance, soundcards tend to have a spitty bright treble. If you used it with a warm, smooth amp it may be better than looking for a warmer 'phone.

 

What do you other guys think?

[evil-zen 0]

I have a pair of sony cd1700 still for sale after several failed attempts to sell it. This pair has a very nice warm midrange like the sony e888 earbuds. In the very first SG Headfi meet, Rameish also commented that it is a warm pair of cans. They are very easy to drive as well with no need for amps. According to some people in headfi, they are the third sony headphones after R10, CD3k. And they too commented that they sound more like r10s than the CD3k did. Some things i noticed with both cd3k and cd1700 is that they both have a very good soundstage in terms of depth and width.

 

PM me if you are interested.

Edited November 27, 2003 by evil-zen

[Rameish 0]

The Senn PX-100 is warm sounding and well within your budget. Grados can get bright even with amplification - a used Creek OBH-11 or II-SE will tame your grados. They are good cans and money would be better spent on an amp. Another alternative is a used Airhead or total airhead (they do a decent job with grados).

[belgarion 0]

In fact i own a diy cmoy. I used to own the obh-11, in my personal opinion, the cmoy outputs a richer sound compared to the obh-11. Dynamics and vocals sounds slightly better too.

 

I paired them both up with the marantz cd63se. The sound is not what i like, its slightly on the bright side, hence i plan to change the headphones.

 

 

[Rameish 0]

Well maybe a RX-200 then its warmer still and costs about S$85. Other than that the Beyer DT-250 is quite dark sounding as well. So is the Beyer DT-990. Both nice cans. Why don't you pm mackie as he has a full range of Beyer cans - you may have to up your budget a bit.

 

As for the Sony CD-1700 whey don't you give them a try? I honestly can remember if they were warm sounding or not as most sonys are bright but I did like them. I just can't remember as it was in January when I heard them.

 

 

[Mackie 0]

S$200 budget.........hmm...........last pair of DT931 available at that but some finds it bright sounding in certain setup. YMMV. However, I do know the lower models like DT331/531 sound laidback and smooth but less refined than DT990 as suggested by Rameish. The latter will cost U more of course. Looks like U have to make a trip to my place and decide for yourself.

[N@Z 0]

Perfect timing...: http://www.sgheadphones.com/index.php?showtopic=1543

 

The Total Airhead will tame the Grado SR80's bright character without sacrificing sound quality too much. Make sure it comes with the mini to mini cable. I had the same combo last year (newer 3xAAA powered version) for my portable system. Try it & see whether you like it, I'm sure av98m wouldn't mind if you ask for an audition. I believe he uses it with a pair of Grados as well.

[av98m 0]

Perfect timing...: http://www.sgheadphones.com/index.php?showtopic=1543

 

I'm sure av98m wouldn't mind if you ask for an audition. I believe he uses it with a pair of Grados as well.

I use it with a pair of SR80s. Sounds best to me with the crossfeed turned on.

 

Belgarion, I assume you're a David Eddings fan?

Edited November 29, 2003 by av98m

[Mackie 0]

Does it drive high impedance (250ohms) cans well, Naz?

[N@Z 0]

It can, I tried it with my HD600 but sound wise it does the job, nothing special. Maybe it might work better with brighter sounding high impedance Beyer cans, as at the time I didn't have any Beyers in the 'stable' yet I used it mainly with the Ety er-4s & Grado SR80. The former sounded not too shabby & musically listenable but once you've heard it with a META amp the TAH was overshadowed & it's forgiving nature suited the Grados more.

[Rameish 0]

Nooooo! The airhead cannot drive high impedence cans - it's not a TA N@Z. For Grados and other lowish impedence cans its quite okay esp if it's sensitivity in high as well.

[belgarion 0]

hmm, how much is the Airhead and the Total Airhead respectively when brand new ? Are they availiable in singapore ?

[jealousy never dies 0]

Are they availiable in singapore ?

Not that I know of it, unless it's 2nd hand. You can check them out here.

[Rameish 0]

No they are not avail in singapore. Headroom is having a sale now Price of the Airhead is approx US$99 plus US$38 shipping (they only ship fedex sorry). So that's abt S$240 after credit card exchange rate takes place. Don't sue me if it's higher.