[slinkp]

Yet another update.
After a few days, the Grado SR60e was hurting my head too much, and the amount of background sound in my main environment (open office workspace) was driving me nuts.

I ended up buying ATH-M50x after all. To my taste they aren't quite as nice as the Grados, and they cost twice as much; but they are a lot more comfy to wear and filter out a lot more background noise.

They are definitely hyped in the lows and more aggressive than I'd like up top, but after living with them for a couple weeks I still find them quite listenable without EQ. Really nice sense of space. I kept hoping I'd find something I'd like even better, but there was nothing else I tried that came close without going a LOT more expensive.

Also: Plug for Audio46 in Manhattan. A headphones-only shop that has a pretty wide range of things stocked, will let you try on pretty much anything with your own player.
I went a couple times and tried a lot of things (I did not keep a list) before making my final decision. They seemed happy to either offer advice or leave me alone (I'm more a "leave me alone" customer). Prices were on par with what I've seen online.

Incidentally, I do remember trying the ATH M40x that some here mentioned. I didn't take notes but a direct comparison of 50 vs 40 was pretty dramatic .... I judged the 50 well worth the extra cost. Don't know which one measures more flat but I do remember that on all the different source tracks I tried, I vastly preferred the 50.

- Paul

On Wednesdapay, 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