New cans or refurbished cans

[Mike Sweeney]

I need to get some suggestions. Vintage amps ( Marantz, Pioneer ) with albums and streaming. Classic rock, alternative rock, classical at times, jazz at times. Pretty much all over the map. I don't like muddy sound, I like my acoustics to be crisp with depth. Not a fan of big thumping bass just to have bass. I wear glasses which adds to the fun if they clamp too much on my ears. I do prefer over the ear, not on the ear. If I need to think about a couple of dedicated cans ( use A for rock, use B for jazz) thats fine. I'm interested in opinions. I'd like to introduce my girls to the joys of headphones like I did with Jim Ladd and his "Headsets" show from years ago.

 

[cratz2]

What sort of price range are you considering and will you be listening on the go or mostly in a room?

 

[Mike Sweeney]

What sort of price range are you considering and will you be listening on the go or mostly in a room?

Room. I have Bluetooth options for on the run. This is in my home office. 0-200 ish. I could go a bit higher if solid case can be made as to why.

 

[onepixel]

I like the open back designs and specifically the Grados. The design gives the music a natural sense of air. The closed back ones for me, feel to enclosed.

I find the Grado RS-2i extremely true to the music. But I built a dedicated system around them. They will reveal any short comings with your system. The headphone sections on many vintage gear won't cut it.

Good luck.

 

[monsterzero]

AKG K240 sextetts

I have a review of them I recently did on YouTube.Ive owned over 35 pairs of headphones and theyre in my top 3 for guitar oriented music.

The best Ive heard them sound is from my Sansui 881 and my Akai AA-1150.

 

[cratz2]

Based on what I have and what I've heard, if the budget allowed for at least a modest headphone amp such as the Schiit Magni 3, I'd personally use the Sennheiser HD600s or AKG Q702s for classical and jazz and the Vmoda M100 for rock type stuff. The HD600s are a bit pricey for what you get but Massdrop has the 58X Jubilee for $150 and they should be a bit easier to drive than the 600s or 702s. I would not get the Massdrop K7xx.

For a single headphone choice, I think the AKG 553 would probably be my top choice at the moment for classical, jazz and rock. I'm still in the honeymoon phase with a set of Massdrop/Fostex TX0s (which are similar to the Fostex T50RPs) but right now, they would be in the conversation.

The 553s are easy to drive. The Fostex set definitely benefit from an amp.

 

[olderroust]

+1 on a dedicated headphone amp. The odds on the headphone stage in vintage amp being low impedance enough for most headphones to sound good are low.

As far as the glasses go: I have Senn 598s and I'm getting used to them, but sometimes they sit on the bows of my glasses and dig the ends into my head behind my ears. I made a fix for the times when that's happening, and I'm going to be using them for a few hours. I have a few feet of clear plastic tubing about three times the diameter of my eyeglass bows. I cut two 1 inch lengths of it, slip one over each bow, and let the pads rest on those. The glasses stay on fairly well and the tubing is rigid enough to keep the pads from putting pressure on the bows.

 

[Mike Sweeney]

AKG K240 sextetts
The best Ive heard them sound is from my Sansui 881 and my Akai AA-1150.

I went digging around and decided to spend a small bit and picked up a decent pair of the K240 Sextetts and give them a try. What pushed me that way was the 600 ohm impedance which is a better match to the vintage gear I will be using vs the new normal of 8-40 ohms. And that I'm genuinely curious how a "vintage" pair will sound vs the new kids on the block I've spent more on less so I'm putting this into the "this will be fun" bucket for now I'll have them in a few days and report back what I think of my adventure

 

[monsterzero]

I went digging around and decided to spend a small bit and picked up a decent pair of the K240 Sextetts and give them a try.

Do you know which version of Sextetts you got?

And that I'm genuinely curious how a "vintage" pair will sound vs the new kids on the block I've spent more on less so I'm putting this into the "this will be fun" bucket for now I'll have them in a few days and report back what I think of my adventure

Vintage headphones typically do not stack up well vs. many modern offerings.Sextetts are an exception,assuming the forward presentation appeals to you.

Another excellent vintage headphone is the Sennheiser HD250...and while there are both 300 and 600 ohm versions and both will work from our vintage receivers,the HD250 sounds its best from an OTL amp.

 

[Mike Sweeney]

Here is what I have coming.

 

[monsterzero]

The original box too,well done.
Hopefully you got lucky and picked up the EP or MP version.Unfortunately theres no way to tell which version you got from this photo.

Let us know how they turn out.

 

[Mike Sweeney]

They should be here in a few days

 

[Mike Sweeney]

Unfortunately theres no way to tell which version you got from this photo

So what are the tell-tales between the two versions?

 

[monsterzero]

So what are the tell-tales between the two versions?

There are three versions.I discuss all three versions (I own all three) in my review video I linked earlier in this thread(scroll up)

Essentially its the color of the passive radiators that dictate the era in which they were made and each have different bass response.

I created a sextett buying guide over on the popular headphone forum....prolly not cool to link it here,so check my YouTube review and in the comment section I placed a link to the buying guide.

 

[Stefus_Prime]

I really enjoyed my Grade SR80's when I had them. They are relatively inexpensive and produce a warm sound that I found to go really well with classic rock. Tons of modding options too!

 

[elcoholic]

If you want to try some ortho’s
http://audiokarma.org/forums/index....nstant-energy-orthodynamic-headphones.804548/

 

[Mike Sweeney]

There are three versions.I discuss all three versions (I own all three) in my review video I linked earlier in this thread(scroll up)

Essentially its the color of the passive radiators that dictate the era in which they were made and each have different bass resp

I had no idea there was so much "lore" around the Sextetts.. now I'm even more anxious for them to arrive

 

[Mike Sweeney]

My sextetts showed up today. They are the MPs with the cream color resonators and orange edges. They sound really good on my Marantz 1030 amp. The seller didn't tell all the faults :/ The right side plastic guide is broken and the left side is missing half. So I need start sourcing parts for a restoration But both sides work well so I call it a win so far.

 

[monsterzero]

Sorry you got a crappy broken pair,but on the bright side you got my favorite version of Sextetts...The LPs are too bass light and the EPs bass can get in the way for faster genres,but the MP is perfect.

 

[elcoholic]

Since they still make K240's and there are parts available you should be able to find what you need fairly easily. Maybe you can get a pair of K240's cheaply and transplant the Sextet drivers and resonators.