There is a rather long headphones thread around here somewhere. I know because I participated in it...

But here's my $.03.... About 18 months ago I decided that I needed a good music setup for work. I also decided that I wanted headphones, simply so that I could actually enjoy the music a bit rather than blowing out the entire office with a set of Axiom's. Our offices have very little sound insulation, so I didn't want to disturb others.

First, I'd highly recommend Head-Fi.org for all of your research needs. There are many levels of headphone madness, and you can explore them all over there.

Secondly, for your purchasing needs, I would highly recommend HeadRoom.com. They have good stuff at excellent prices with (perhaps most importantly) a no-questions-asked 30-day return policy. Very helpful to be able to try out the headphones. Just like speakers, they all sound different. They are a really great company, very much like Axiom in how they handle their customer service.

I did a lot of research and basically decided that I wanted either the AKG 701's or the Sennheiser HD-650's. Both 'flagship' cans and neither cheap, but I know how my upgradeitis is and that's what I wanted to do. I ordered both pairs, a pair of Grado SR-60's, and a Total Bithead from HeadRoom. I also ordered a PA2V2 amp from the guy that makes them on eBay. That was a fun weekend. The intention was to try the expensive ones and compare to the 'cheap' Grado's, then to keep the best pair and return the rest. 100+ hours of 'burn-in' to make sure everythign was fair (much more debatable with headphones than speakers - see HeadFi for numerous threads on the topic) I ended up keeping both the SR-60's and the HD-650's. I kept the SR-60's because they were 'cheap', but sounded really great. You know that already. It was a really hard decision between the AKG's and the Senn's, but I liked the rich, warm, and 'buttery' sound that came from them over the somewhat harsh and 'clinical' sound of the AKG's. I listen to a lot of classical & jazz music, and the HD's just seemed to compliment that kind of music better.

Neither amp that I bought produced enough grunt for the 650's (or, arguable, the AKG's), so within a couple of months I bought one a Little Dot MK II based on praise and discussion over on HeadFi. I absolutely love it. One of the most enjoyable $200 I've ever spent on audio equipment. I know that some people hate the sound of tubes, but in the context of my headphone enjoyment, I adore them based solely on my experience with this amp.

My work setup now consists of a my iPod, connected via DLO "Bling Bling" dock, to my Little Dot MK II, powering my HD-650's. I simply *adore* the setup. The smoothness of the HD's combined with the 'warmth' of the tube amp completely smooths out any harsh digital coldness, and results in very cozy, rich, deep, and downright sensual sound. On many occasions I've found myself lost in the music rather than doing my job. ;\) While not being able to produce the sonic wave of power that my home system can, the 'dimensionality' and soundstage are pretty amazing for headphones. I know, these are extremely difficult things to quantify.

The SR-60's are (IMHO) very good headphones. And not even 'for the money'. They're good cans, period. For the money, they're a steal. I can only imagine what the higher-grade Grados are like, including those Alesandro's. They are supposedly amazing too, for not a whole lot more money.

So anyway, good luck with your quest!


M80v2 | VP150v2 | QS8v2
SVS Pci+ 20-39
Emotiva UMC-1 & LPA-1
M22ti + T-Amp, in the Office