What standard Stereo Headphones do you use and recommend?

[esimms86]

Hifiman HE1000 V2. Previously owned Stax SR009, Stax SR007(both listened to through a original Blue Hawaii amp made in Iceland), Sennheiser HD600 and Sennheiser HD800. I enjoyed all of the above listed sets of cans when I owned them and have no regrets.

 

[MikeMonaco]

ATH-M30 for me, but don't use them too often. Got 'em on sale for $40 on Amazon years ago, they've held up pretty good. I always wanted a set of Oppo's but waited too long.

 

[markshan]

I love everything about Grado, from how amazingly articulate they are to their steampunk appearance to their unheard of amazing customer service to the fact that they are still made in Brooklyn. Just get the pair that fits your budget, they are all bargains.

 

[markshan]

Seriously, I have to tell you about how great their customer service is. I had my SR-60s for probably 20 years and one day I was working in ProTools and my special needs son walked by and hit the +40db switch on the microphone pre that was in use at that moment. He blew out one of the drivers (luckily I wasn't wearing them at that moment or I would have likely been shopping for an audiologist). They were very old, but I loved them and I was sad. So I found the number for Grado and gave them a call.

The first surprise was when John Grado picked up the phone (quite a thrill for a fanboy such as myself). The second surprise was when he told me to ship them in with a check for $25 that would cover whatever work was necessary. The third surprise was when I got them back with a note that said they replaced BOTH drivers so that the pair would still be impedance and voice matched. Try getting that with a made in China product. That was ten years ago, so now I have about 30 years of use on them. They are literally the only piece of electronics I have owned for that long. It was still the best $80 I've ever spent.

 

[humprof]

I don't really have a dog in this...erm, discussion: I own an ancient pair of AKG K135/S's that I use about twice a year. I loved them when I bought them ages ago, in a different life, though now they're not quite bright enough for my middle-aged ears.

A couple of years back, before I discovered I could just replace the pads, I started thinking about a whole new set of cans, and I began a "research" file about best-reviewed 'phones, which I've continued to update for no good reason. The AKG K240 Mk II is probably the closest modern equivalent to my old ones, and they're well regarded. But the other (mostly budget) makes and models that keep popping up in this thread are also among the standouts in my file. Last December, an audio engineer at NPR listed his favorite headphones, starting with the Koss Porta-Pro for $50 and the Grado SR60e for $80--although he allowed as how everyone at NPR uses the Sony MDR-7506 (a/k/a MDR-V6, $100). But the budget Sennheisers and ATs seem like good buys, too.

I love Mark's story about his Grados: after I graduated from AT, Grados were the only turntable cartridges I would ever buy, and I always wanted to try their headphones. But I remember lusting after the Stax electrostatics back in the day, too...

 

[antoine555]

I've got a pair of good old Sennheiser HD595 for home (bought 15 years ago I think), and a pair of Audio Technica ATH-MSR7 for outside listening.

I'm enjoying both

 

[markshan]

I love Mark's story about his Grados: after I graduated from AT, Grados were the only turntable cartridges I would ever buy, and I always wanted to try their headphones. But I remember lusting after the Stax electrostatics back in the day, too...

Oddly I have never owned a Grado cart. I need to correct that.

 

[LuvMyQuad]

Seriously, I have to tell you about how great their customer service is. I had my SR-60s for probably 20 years and one day I was working in ProTools and my special needs son walked by and hit the +40db switch on the microphone pre that was in use at that moment. He blew out one of the drivers (luckily I wasn't wearing them at that moment or I would have likely been shopping for an audiologist). They were very old, but I loved them and I was sad. So I found the number for Grado and gave them a call.

The first surprise was when John Grado picked up the phone (quite a thrill for a fanboy such as myself). The second surprise was when he told me to ship them in with a check for $25 that would cover whatever work was necessary. The third surprise was when I got them back with a note that said they replaced BOTH drivers so that the pair would still be impedance and voice matched. Try getting that with a made in China product. That was ten years ago, so now I have about 30 years of use on them. They are literally the only piece of electronics I have owned for that long. It was still the best $80 I've ever spent.

I have a similar story regarding the fantastic customer service from Grado Labs. On a pair of SR-60s. Twice actually. Once for new ear pads, which I think I paid $6 for, and again for a failed driver connection. It was a $25 flat fee as well. They basically refurbished the old pair. But I didn't get to speak to John Grado. If I had, I would have expressed to him my deep respect for his father as well. Grado Labs is one of the last true American HiFi companies remaining these days.

 

[holland123]

Good thread, if you go over to over to the headfi forum you can get some great reviews on every set of can ever made. I am a certified in headphone junky. Owned or still own too many to mention. For portable lower priced sets Love the grado sr60 also, and the bowers wilkins 7. Both very different, the bowers are more private. For home listening i love my hifiman he400s open backs. you can't beat the open sound afforded by open back cans, the sennheiser hd 600 is very similar however i prefer the hifimans by a slight margin. In the end headphones are very subjective, what sounds good to one my not sound as good to another. I am one of those who has a problem with iem's (in ear monitors). They tend to bother me, however for on an airplane or bus i use modded sennheiser mx 500. Earbuds that just sit in your ear but not inside. I am also not a fan of any noise cancelling cans.

 

[esimms86]

Seriously, I have to tell you about how great their customer service is. I had my SR-60s for probably 20 years and one day I was working in ProTools and my special needs son walked by and hit the +40db switch on the microphone pre that was in use at that moment. He blew out one of the drivers (luckily I wasn't wearing them at that moment or I would have likely been shopping for an audiologist). They were very old, but I loved them and I was sad. So I found the number for Grado and gave them a call.

The first surprise was when John Grado picked up the phone (quite a thrill for a fanboy such as myself). The second surprise was when he told me to ship them in with a check for $25 that would cover whatever work was necessary. The third surprise was when I got them back with a note that said they replaced BOTH drivers so that the pair would still be impedance and voice matched. Try getting that with a made in China product. That was ten years ago, so now I have about 30 years of use on them. They are literally the only piece of electronics I have owned for that long. It was still the best $80 I've ever spent.

My wife's first cousins are first cousins to the Grados on the other side of the family. My wife played with John's sister Barbara when they were kids. When my wife's uncle died, John Grado was there at the funeral. My wife knew that John had inherited his uncle Joe's electronics business but she had no idea as to what products they made nor did she have any notion of their standing in the audio world. When we years later visited her cousins in California they played for us a very rare copy of a self-produced CD on which Joe Grado(an amateur in the very best sense of the word) sang opera. We have a copy of prints of Angelo Grado's artwork hanging in our living room. The late Angie Grado, an accomplished painter, was John's Dad.

 

[markshan]

When we years later visited her cousins in California they played for us a very rare copy of a self-produced CD on which Joe Grado(an amateur in the very best sense of the word) sang opera.

I had no idea. I was an opera major in college.

 

[LuvMyQuad]

My wife's first cousins are first cousins to the Grados on the other side of the family. My wife with played John's sister Barbara when they were kids. When my wife's uncle died, John Grado was there at the funeral. My wife knew that John had inherited his uncle Joe's electronics business but she had no idea as to what products they made nor did she have any notion of their standing in the audio world. When we years later visited her cousins in California they played for us a very rare copy of a self-produced CD on which Joe Grado(an amateur in the very best sense of the word) sang opera. We have a copy of prints of Angelo Grado's artwork hanging in our living room. The late Angie Grado, an accomplished painter, was John's Dad.

So Joe Grado is John Grado's uncle eh? I just assumed they were father & son. Thanks for the story.

 

[Bob Romano]

I have several pairs.
Bowers & Wilkins P3 $150
Beats MIXR
AKG K270
Sony MDR-V700

But my favorites are the Sony MDR 7506 which were $100 and give a nice full sound with really nice bass.

 

[J. PUPSTER]

I have several pairs.
Bowers & Wilkins P3 $150
Beats MIXR
AKG K270
Sony MDR-V700

But my favorites are the Sony MDR 7506 which were $100 and give a nice full sound with really nice bass.

Always wanted to try a Sony, but which model

 

[Bob Romano]

You really can’t go wrong with the Sony MDR 7506’s. Really great

 

[esimms86]

Yeah, the Sony MDR 7506 is a great pair of headphones. I listened to them once through a Woo Audio tube amp at CanJam NYC. A sublime experience.

There also isn’t a bad pair of headphones in the Bowers & Wilkins line.

 

[sperezmore]

Got these two,

- Sony MDR7506 Professional Over-ear Stereo Headphones (AWESOME)
- AtomicX S204 Bluetooth with Mic, APT-X Wireless Over-ear Stereo Headphones

They work great for me

Regards,

 

[DoctorO]

Good thread, if you go over to over to the headfi forum you can get some great reviews on every set of can ever made. I am a certified in headphone junky. Owned or still own too many to mention. For portable lower priced sets Love the grado sr60 also, and the bowers wilkins 7. Both very different, the bowers are more private. For home listening i love my hifiman he400s open backs. you can't beat the open sound afforded by open back cans, the sennheiser hd 600 is very similar however i prefer the hifimans by a slight margin. In the end headphones are very subjective, what sounds good to one my not sound as good to another. I am one of those who has a problem with iem's (in ear monitors). They tend to bother me, however for on an airplane or bus i use modded sennheiser mx 500. Earbuds that just sit in your ear but not inside. I am also not a fan of any noise cancelling cans.

I think especially when you get into discussing things like soundstage and sense of space, those are emergent properties involving the cans, the amp, headshape and ear canal shape of the listener, source material, and all those intangibles that weave together. Getting into that ephemeral domain, I get the best space and clarity with Audeze LCD-3 (magnaplanar open back) pair with Woo Fireflies (tube amp and power supply). I get the least space with an old set of Grado RS 1 and the Grado block-of-wood headphone amp. Everything else is somewhere in between.

The Smyth Realiser produces astonishing space with non-surround material. With surround material, it still sometimes startles me to turn it off and the space disappears! However, I have never had the level of success described by some users and reviewers, with a discrete surround sound placement rivaling (or even indistinguishable from) speakers. It doesn't quite match the home surround speaker setup that it was set to emulate. It dould get back to the measurements in my ear canals which happen to be different shapes! Looking forward to the next iteration of the Realiser...

 

[Bonzodog]

Sennheiser HD414 open air and Fostex T-series planar magnetic headphones are my favorites.

I find the HD414 the best for binaural listening, otherwise the Fostex.

 

[Tornado Red]

Posted a couple of months ago that I picked up the Senn HD-1, though well built I found them heavy (in comparison) and that they would leave a huge 6 hour long welt on my folically challenged head. Though I had them over 3 months, the local dealer here took them back on trade, where I paid the difference and picked up the Sony 1000xm3. Great piece of gear, love the comfort, weight, sound and the available app.