Headphone Recs

[Sam I Am]

My Sony MDR-7506s finally gave up the ghost---their earpads are falling apart resulting in everyone in a 6 foot radius being able to hear my music loud and clear. Soon enough they'll be unusable so I'm in the market for some new headphones. I really loved these and I would definitely buy another pair, but I'm wondering if you guys would recommend something that may be better.

I loved the Sonys, they were nice and punchy and didn't mess with the overall sound of the media. I tried some pricey noise-canceling headphones but I always find they "flatten" the sound of music and everything gets lost. I prefer over-the ear sealed types, mainly for comfort, but I hear they compromise sound fidelity? I don't know.

In short, does anyone have any recommendations for some good headphones (mainly used on an iPod) or setups (like with a headphone amp) that I could use, or maybe a place to try out some brands? Thanks a ton.

[dannthr]

You can build measured sonographs at this site for most major headphone models:

http://www.headphone.com/technical/product-measurements/build-a-graph/

I have the 7506s as well, but for my next pair, I'm probably looking at getting these badboys:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/HD650/

[The Vagrance]

I loved the Sonys, they were nice and punchy and didn't mess with the overall sound of the media. I tried some pricey noise-canceling headphones but I always find they "flatten" the sound of music and everything gets lost. I prefer over-the ear sealed types, mainly for comfort, but I hear they compromise sound fidelity? I don't know.

If you're looking for good headphones for producing, the ones that "flatten" the sound are best. You want something that doesn't have an over-exaggerated or under-exaggerated frequency response, but instead as flat of a response as possible.

[Audity]

If you're looking for good headphones for producing, the ones that "flatten" the sound are best. You want something that doesn't have an over-exaggerated or under-exaggerated frequency response, but instead as flat of a response as possible.

Would you consider something like DENON AH-D2000 headphones producer headphones? They're 200 dollars (Sony MDR-7605s, my "old" headphones, are 100), and they're the worst headphones I've ever heard in my life. Edit: Maybe that's not true. They have a deeper quality to them after direct comparison. However, it still sounds a little weird/stupid/muffled. Maybe a headphone amp (a recommended accessory for these 'phones according to headphone.com) would justify the purchase.

Edit2: Alright! Apparently the headphones don't suck.

Apparently it's just that so many songs are not produced well!? But, like, every song is not produced well or something, according to these 'phones. I tried fiddling around with Winamp's EQ settings (for the first time ever [enlightening experience]) and came up with songs that sound insanely good. I didn't even know I could raise the dB level via that method---so songs like JigginJonT's 'Live from the Yggdrasil' sound way better from not being so quiet anymore (oddly, that arrangement's quality improves dramatically with the Winamp EQ preset "Ska", and of course the dB level raised differently at different intervals of the song). If this is how good it sounds without a headphone amp, then I don't know what to expect with one. Hopefully I'm not going mad here.

If you're willing to change the EQ setting for a lot of songs, then these DENON AH-D2000 headphones are great! Perhaps certain headphones, including the MDRs, actually do "unflatten" the songs to accomodate for the casual listener who doesn't like messing with EQ settings. I can't believe I'm just learning about this now! And all from inference, too.

[Sam I Am]

When I meant "flatten" the sound I didn't mean in terms of EQ, I think what I was trying to get across is that a ton of the punch is lost and there seems to be this...grey sort of sound over the audio when I use the canceling phones. I like the idea of changing the EQ's with the Denons though, maybe I'll give those a try.