The All Purpose Advice Thread

Aurvana Live is my top pick for that price. They work great at home and on-the-go too. Bright-ish but smooth highs with nice reach to sub regions. A V-shaped curve done right.

I had the version 2 also, but didn't like them as much. They are way more bassy and soft sounding.

 

That's not a comparison between 2.1 and 2.2, it's 2.1 vs Fazor.

2.2 might have the better angled cable connections. I'm not sure about the pads, but I got the new (LCD-3/Fazor) pads on my 2.1's and they are much more comfy than the originals. They bring out the bass more too.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. People seem to like the Aurvanas most places I looked. I'll check them out. Surprised no one here likes the Grados. They're pretty popular on reddit and head-fi.

 

I've had the Grado SR80. They are ok, if you like their forward mids and treble. Grado has their signature sound - I guess it's more of an acquired taste. For fans of punchy bass they're not. They also aren't very comfortable and they are completely open. So not very good for portable use, imo. Kind of a dated design in my opinion. Grado needs to get with the times

 

I didn't know that. Thanks for the info.

 

Kinda wanna sell my 846 for something but what? I tried the Jupiter and didn't really love it. Are there other IEMs I should be looking at?

 

Like many people, I have a problem with the long term comfort of Grados. And the cup assemblies spin around which tends to kink the cables. The ATs are really durable. I have 2 kids that own M50s and those things take a beating. The M40 is said to be a little less bass bloated than the M50.

 

hd 598

 

I love the hd598. In fact sometimes I listen to it over my HD650 because it is really non-fatiguing,

It's an open headphone with great tonality. But it doesn't do so well off of a smartphone or tablet because it has an impedance swing in the bass, up to around 150 ohms I think. If you don't plug into an amp with at least a little juice, the bass will be light.

 

About a year ago I wanted a pair of Sennheisers to give me a little variety. I went back and forth between the HD-600 and 650 but couldnt decide. So I sprang for a pair of HD-598s instead because they were cheap and had similar characteristics to the 600 series. I like them a lot and would recommend them as a great all purpose phone if you don't need something closed. Sometimes you can even find them Around $100 in black which is even better.

 

A little bit too laid back though the treble is slightly better than the 846 but it doesn't exactly beat the 846 when it comes to bass so I'm not 100% happy about that.

 

9500 without doubt

 

Fostex TH-7BB? They're not so good with portable sources as they are with 'stay at home' stuff, but she must be at home if you're considering Grados.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Fostex-Professional-Studio-Headphones-Semi-Open/dp/B0167XM092
You get 50$ back. So that should be in your price range.

 

Ooh I'll check that out, I do have an extra pair of black filters.

 

Your list includes one open over-ear headphone (SHP9500), one open on-ear (Grado SR80e), and two closed over-ear headphones (NVX XPT100, ATH M40x). What source will your sister use? What kind of music does she listens to? Will she use the headphones while traveling? Can she tolerate on-ear headphones? Answers to questions like these will help you narrow your options.