[slinkp]

I'm sure people have been wondering about this for the intervening three years (—”_—”)
.... but I just remembered this thread and thought I'd post what I actually ended up doing.

Namely: first I found my old AKG K240 that I thought were long lost, and used them for a couple more ears. Tried various other headphones whenever I had a chance*.

Then a coworker let me try his Grado SR60e, and I just loved how they sounded. And they're only $80 a pair, so I bought some.

I feel like everything's there, much clearer than the AKGs, and nothing is exaggerated to the point of annoyance. Bass is emphasized, but still sounds tight, not boomy or tubby - it's enough that I can listen at low volume and still hear the low end clearly without sounding overwhelming if I turn the volume up. And crucially they fit my head pretty well.

After a couple days, I do think they're a little tiring to wear ... my ears get rather warm under the foam pads, and they do clamp a hair tighter than I'd like.

Closed cans would have been nice for isolation, but, oh well. I didn't try anything that sounded better to me.


* Re. trying out headphones: It turns out, millennial tech workers in an open-plan office are a great pool of headphone enthusiasts who will often gladly let you borrow their cans for a test run. I think the reasons are that a) big headphones are back in style and b) they perform an essential dual function - both blocking or covering all the distracting conversations around you while also visibly signaling to people "I'm concentrating, don't bother me". It used to be you would just, you know, CLOSE A DOOR, but you don't see those things around much anymore.

A couple other phones I tried and took notes on:

- Sennheiser HD-25: Borrowed for 30 min. Impressions: Very nice bass, good mids, pretty good balance, treble slightly more forward than I'd like but probably could live
with it. Listening to music on these is nice. A little on the tight side; ears
feel a bit hot and uncomfortable after that time.

- AT-M50x struck me as pretty similar to the A700. Nice bass. A bit harsh highs.

- Sennheiser HD280 Pro - Tried at a local Guitar Center where they nicely let me open a box. Too tight for my head. Maybe I just have a weird head. Seemed like they would be very uncomfortable for long periods. Sound was good, if a bit bright for my taste. Very good isolation.




On Wednesday, October 1, 2014 at 2:11:30 PM UTC-4, slinkp wrote:
Hi folks,

It seems to be hard to find headphones to actually try out, sadly, so I'm hoping to get a few more suggestions for things I can try to hunt down.

Intended usage: Mostly just listening to music at home or office.
Occasional home recording use. No critical mixing or tracking. My listening tastes are largely (old) rock and indie pop, some electronic music, some acoustic folk-ish music.

What I like: My ideal headphone would be so subjectively transparent and physically comfortable that I'd be able to forget I was wearing headphones.
Not fatiguing. It should sound smooth and not obviously hyped. If I had to trade some clarity and detail vs. smoothness, I would probably lean that direction.

Decent isolation of ambient noise would be a nice bonus but isn't critical.

Comfort for long wearing is critical, but is highly subjective and dependent on head shape etc, so obviously I'm not gonna get much help here - have to find some to put on eventually!

Price is somewhat arbitrarily capped at $200.

What I've tried:

In the past I've been pretty happy with AKG K-240 (they fit me fairly comfortably, the sound is pretty "natural" to my ears, not fatiguing)... but they could be a bit better in the detail and clarity department, and they don't isolate the room at all. I could end up buying a pair if I don't find anything I like a lot better.


I've also tried a borrowed older ATH-A700 which was really impressive - quite comfortable. Good background isolation. Really smooth clear bass and mids. Very clear sound and not harsh. My only complaint is the high treble is a bit "pingy", it's pretty subtle, but it struck me that there's a bit too much of the very highs. I could probably get used to it. These are currently my top contender, but what else is out there? Also I'm not sure what's different between the A700 I tried and the newer A700x.

I tried some Sony MDR-6... ouch! Did not fit me well at all and hurt my head, the sound was much too harsh for me as well, I wouldn't be able to wear them for five minutes without physical pain and ear fatigue.

A store around here had some Sol Tracks V8 ... never heard of them, cost about $100, comfy to wear and pleasant to listen to but rather hyped: way too much mid-bass, and I think some midrange scooped out ... it sounded nice on the few things I listened to but it's definitely not a neutral sound, not what I'm looking for.

Any other suggestions? If there was something just like the A700 but with slightly reined in high treble I'd be very into it...

Thanks,

- Paul