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Headphone advice, accurate Cans needed

tomelex

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For a little less than twice your budget you can get the HD-380 pro delivered. I have used HD-380 units for years for amplifier design and testing and while no headphone really will have a flat response (its about how close the transducers are to our ears and all that jazz) these ones I have found to be nicely revealing of whats going on. They are fine to wear for say half hour or so or more if you are more tolerant of headphones, as I am. But, they do clamp down a bit, as you are wanting to not hear surrounding noises. They are plastic, so movement or touching of the phones themselves or cables will be transmitted to you ears, but that's the same for most headphones, if you want a great headphone and comfortable, the HD- 650 is classic audiophile approved and nicely balanced so most anything played through them "sounds" good.
 

RayDunzl

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$80?

Grado if you don't want circumaural.
 

watchnerd

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budget $80 , pro audio or accurate 'monitoring' headphones wanted.

Any advice would be gratefully received :)

AKG K240 Studio.

Designed for monitoring. We use them in one of the studios I volunteer at. I own a pair (along with 3 other AKGs). Replaceable cable. Neutral. High sensitivity, easy to drive.

A hair under $80.

If you have twice the budget, the next major step up in the AKG Studio range is the K271, which is fully closed and has built in removal mute.

Oh, and AKG is a Harman company.
 
OP
Thomas savage

Thomas savage

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AKG K240 Studio.

Designed for monitoring. We use them in one of the studios I volunteer at. I own a pair (along with 3 other AKGs). Replaceable cable. Neutral. High sensitivity, easy to drive.

A hair under $80.

If you have twice the budget, the next major step up in the AKG Studio range is the K271, which is fully closed and has built in removal mute.

Oh, and AKG is a Harman company.
Thanks mate :)
 

Dynamix

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I'll second watchnerd's recommendation for the AKG 240's, I've had my pair for years and I've never found a reason to replace them with anything else. Great 'phones.
 

Blumlein 88

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Yeah the AKG 240's are a good choice. Or the old standby Sony MDR 7506 also $80.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000AJIF4E/ref=psdc_5524096011_t2_B00HVLUR86

Actually headphones are worse than rooms and speakers. Everyone's pinna is a bit different and interact with the headphones.

Grado's are good, but way too hot and harsh sounding to me. I owned some of them in a couple models. The AKG 240 I have used, it has a good headstage which very few headphones do for me. If anything they might be too sweet if you really are interested in monitoring. The 7506 are just a bit ruthless to me, but only a bit and that is fine for monitoring while recording or similar. I actually use some MDR 7510 I find more to my liking. About $50 over your budget.
https://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR-7510-Professional-Studio-Headphones/dp/B00EMAJ17C

But headphone fit, your ear, and how they sit on your head are so personal I find it hard to be very pedantic about what is good or better for someone else.
 

DonH56

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I like my old Sony MDR-7506 headphones. I also like Grado and the AKG's, though my old Sennheisers are still doing well when I want an open-ear model. I don't find Grado as bad as Blumlein 88 but prefer the Sony or AKG models. I find the Sony more revealing but probably just me.
 

amirm

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I too had the Sony a decade back or more. Gave it to my son and they used it so much the cord went bad. At the time, that Sony, the Sennheiser (650?), Grado and Stax were the go-to brands. Today there is such a jungle of headphones that it is bewildering.
 

oivavoi

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Any love for planar or electrostatic headphones here on the forum?

They are laughably far out of Thomas' (and my) budget, of course, but I recently had the chance to audition the Hifiman Edition X V2. I kinda thought planar headphones was a gimmick and audiophile bling. But that's the first headphones I've ever heard which I truly loved, and which I can envision listening to for hours on end. Very resolving and completely non-fatiguing.

I have no idea whether one can find cheaper used headphones using a similar design. Perhaps.
 

amirm

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Any love for planar or electrostatic headphones here on the forum?
Sure. I have no less than three Stax headphones :). It is just that at thousands of dollars, they are not in the price rage mentioned.
 

DonH56

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I liked Stax but was never able to afford them. I have contemplated trying the new Oppo 'phones but don't use them enough for the cost.

Amir, I was going to comment on the "rage" typo, then realized it wasn't a typo... :)
 

Sal1950

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Blumlein 88

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Any love for planar or electrostatic headphones here on the forum?

They are laughably far out of Thomas' (and my) budget, of course, but I recently had the chance to audition the Hifiman Edition X V2. I kinda thought planar headphones was a gimmick and audiophile bling. But that's the first headphones I've ever heard which I truly loved, and which I can envision listening to for hours on end. Very resolving and completely non-fatiguing.

I have no idea whether one can find cheaper used headphones using a similar design. Perhaps.

I have been fortunate to have three of the older versions. I owned some of the 1980's vintage Stax Lamda Pro earspeakers. I had the adapter and drove them with whatever power amp was on hand. They were nice, open, detailed and fast sounding yet I didn't consider them more revealing than my electrostatic loudspeakers. Simply didn't use them enough so sold them. Had some of the SR80 electrets from Stax. Similar sound for less money and bulk. Still power amplifier driven.

I also happened upon some of the original Koss ESP9 electrostats. Driven by an amplifier too. These had a smooth warm sound which I preferred for most music actually. Still I didn't keep them as you are stuck in your listening room connected to a power amp so why not listen to speakers.

So for real portable on the move use I settled on some Nakamichi SP7's for about a decade. Then had a fling with Grado SR60, SR80 and briefly SR225s. They seemed good yet always ended up being fatiguing to me. Too hot in the upper mids and hard sounding. Then some Beyer DT880's which I still like. Most recently some Sony 7510s.

So none of this tells you much about current planars. I think I would view them much like the old Stax. While they might not need 150 watts to drive them, they almost surely need some headphone amp that isn't exactly truly portable. So again if I have to carry around an amp it will end up used mostly at home, and I have speakers I enjoy more.
 

watchnerd

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Any love for planar or electrostatic headphones here on the forum?

They are laughably far out of Thomas' (and my) budget, of course, but I recently had the chance to audition the Hifiman Edition X V2. I kinda thought planar headphones was a gimmick and audiophile bling. But that's the first headphones I've ever heard which I truly loved, and which I can envision listening to for hours on end. Very resolving and completely non-fatiguing.

I have no idea whether one can find cheaper used headphones using a similar design. Perhaps.

I have some HiFiMan 400i planar phones:

20150902021348_26787.jpg
 

Sal1950

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budget $80 , pro audio or accurate 'monitoring' headphones wanted.

Any advice would be gratefully received :)
Now that I think about it,
$80 ??? Why the hell you all of a sudden getting so cheap?
 
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