So I just got this rad amp and I'm thinking about grabbing a new pair of headphones.

Any of you guys have any experience with the following "cans"?
Denon AH-D5000
Grado RS1i
Sennheiser HD650

which would you suggest? Got any other ones that I'm missing? I have Sennheiser HD 595s right now and I'm looking for something a little more on the high end without getting too ridiculous.

What are the bulbs for?

tubes brah

I know a bulb when I see one.

I'm actually a bit surprised you're an "audio phile" dietcoke. Worrying about decibels and compression when all the time white parasites first world capitalist petit bourgeoisie metabolic rift chomsky.

get a Grado because I've heard ridiculous stories about its sound quality and the way the guy makes them is completely unconventional like he makes the drivers out of CARDBOARD maybe and he supposedly doesn't use spectrum analyzers/technical shit he is just italian dude with super-hearing I dunno I don't get it and basically you buy it so I don't have to/give your tesitmony so I can decide if it's worth it when I'm rich bastard

but they're also monitoring headphones aren't they? Those aren't really meant for 'enjoying' music as much as others

but I'm wondering if Grado is serious business and not just like Bose for another tier of audiophile people

maybe Head-Fi.org is a reliable site for advice?

Edit: The earpieces are mahogany I wasn't entirely exaggerating

Also how does that amp sound?  I was thinking of getting one for the purposes of hooking up for my speakers and what not (would also have for my iPod too), but was curious what you think about it.  Also, that price is a bit steep from the link that you posted, I'm guessing that you didn't actually buy it from that site?

That's actually an insanely good price for a tube headphone amp that also powers speakers. It's at that price point where diminishing returns starts, it's not too strange for A/V nerds to spend a thousand and up on components like these so 350 for a chinese made stereo tube amp is a damn good deal considering it'll do the job better than something you can get at best buy for 2-3 times the price.


Grado is a pretty interesting company, but I think you might be exaggerating about them Ragnar. Obviously they have some sort of device to measure the frequency response of the drivers because all the specs are listed on the site. There's definitely a "Grado Sound" associated with the headphones though, the mids and highs are very punchy and sharp while the bass is a little shallow(yet accurate) compared to most headphones in their class. I used to have a pair of SR80i that were awesome and my buddy has SR325i's hooked up to a shitty amp and they're some of the best headphones I've listened to.... BUT I also like to listen to a lot of rap/electronic/dance music that can really lay the bass on thick and the 325i's don't handle that so well so I was wondering if the RS1i's might.

Speaking of Bose, I've got a pair of their on-ear foldable headphones from a vending machine in an airport 'cuz I forgot my headphones and I gotta say if they were a hundred bucks cheaper I'd recommend them to everyone as a go-to pair of headphones for unamplified portable player because, aside from being a little too bass-y, they're not too bad!

Ahh yes Grado. I have listened to the SR80 and own the Sennheiser HD-595 and consider myself a bit of an audiophile... however these cans sound basically identical. The Grados are much cheaper, but also feel cheaper. They also don't feel as comfortable.

I've heard very great things about the HD-600 from Sennheiser. I don't think you can go wrong with those.

Well after doing more research I decided on skipping all the ones I listed and opted for the Hifiman HE-5

600 USD and it according to a lot of reviews it's on par with a lot of the flagship products from Grado and Sennheiser(headphones that cost 1200+)

I did get to listen to a pair of Denon D5000s and there was something about them that I really liked, they were comfy as hell, closed, and had some really deep bass. Putting them on was like being sealed up in a sound chamber and there's a lot of times when I like that kind of isolation so maybe in a few months I might get those too.