"Robert Stumpf, II" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>After years of not needing them, I now find myself in a situation where
>I have to get some good headphones so I can appreciate my classical
>recordings.

I do most of my listening on headphones, and do so by choice - they give
detail, clarity, and a sense of involvement that I don't find I get from
loudspeakers (except the Quad electrostatics that I had to sell because
they took up too much space).  For years I hoped to find closed-back
headphones that I liked but eventually gave up.  In my opinion (and
others may have a different experience, I know) you need open-back
headphones for serious listening.

The best I have are Sennheiser HD600.  Expensive (though I bought them
at a discount on the internet and have forgotten how much I paid, which
suggests it wasn't too bad) but very good.  I was disappointed by them
at first, but found that they came into their own only after many hours
of running.  This is true, I am told, of many quality headphones, which
probably makes any arrangement to try before buying a bit pointless.

I also like my Grado RS80s.  I acquired these by going to my local hi-fi
showroom about something else, noticing them on display, and mentioning
them.  "Take them home and try them for a few weeks" said the manager.
Twent= y four hours later I rang him up and bought them.  They obviously
did not need "running in".  They are not quite as good as my Sennheisers,
but they were much cheaper.  Very relaxing to listen to.  Some people
say they are not comfortable to wear, but that is not what I have found.

One way of trying phones is to buy mail-order, try them, and, if you
don't like them, sell them on the internet.  I did this while trying to
improve on my wireless phones - I had open-backed Sennheisers and made
the mistake of buying a more up-to-date model which happened to be
closed-back - big mistake.  Put them up for sale quite quickly.  Cost
me but taught me.  The man that bought them from me seemed happy with
his purchase.

Enthusiasts for headphone listening say you really need a headphone amp
as well as the phones themselves because the headphone socket on most
amps is pretty poor.  I use a headphone amp (Rega Ear, $100, and quite
good but I suspect more shillings would give more quality), because my
Quad amp does not have a phone socket.  One of these days I will buy a
good SACD player with a good headphone socket - and that is all the
equipment that I will need!

Happy hunting

George Marshall
Cheshire, UK
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