[PatrickAupperle]

I am looking to buy new headphones. The maximum budget I can supply for this is ~$100. I realize that is not very much compared to what you all like to pay, but it still seems like a lot to me. I care about nothing but sound quality on these headphones. Open/closed does not matter to me unless it effects sound quality or sound quality per dollar. The music I listen to includes (roughly from most listened to least, but it changes pretty quickly):
Sonata Arctica
Disturbed
The Offspring
Flogging Molly
Rancid
Rocket City Riot
Green Day
Nightwish
Anti-Flag
Sever lesser important punk/rock/metal type artists.
Some small amount of classical music
 
So far, I have been searching the forums to a great extent and have come down to Grado SR80i and Creative Aurvana Live! I am more than open to other suggestions. I hear the Grados  are good for rock, but rock is such a wide category that I wonder how what I listen to falls in with typical rock. The creatives seem nearly uniformly praised and seem to share a driver with some well respected Denons. Some of the Sennheisers look pretty good as well. 
 
Edit: These headphones will mostly be used unamped with my Alienware m17x. It has Klipsch audio, but that may only be the speakers. It does have separate headphone and lineout ports. I may also use them with my phone.

 

[PatrickAupperle]

After a little more research, I stumbled upon really favorable reviews of the Audio Technica ATH-AD700. At $110, I would consider them just barely in my about $100 budget. What do you all think? AD700, SR80i, Creative Aurvana Live!, or something else entirely? All else equal, I would like to save the money and get the CALs, but sound quality is the most important thing. 

 

[mingamo]

I bought cals...they will be in my possesion soon and ill let you know. Grados might be good for you if you like rock, but anything else and they might be kind of bright. Ad700's dont have much bass if you want that. 
 
m50's are awesome but i didnt have the money!

 

[PatrickAupperle]

Quote:

I bought cals...they will be in my possesion soon and ill let you know. Grados might be good for you if you like rock, but anything else and they might be kind of bright. Ad700's dont have much bass if you want that. 
 
m50's are awesome but i didnt have the money!

 
Thank you for the response. Those m50s do seem awesome, but I don't want to spend that kind of money either. I will appreciate the input you will be able to provide about the cals. Do you happen to own any Grados to compare them too? I do like rock (as I stated in the original post), so I am leaning towards the Grados. How bad would they be for other genres? Please do get back to me about those cals after you get hold of them.

 

[mingamo]

Well I gave the Sr80's and Sr60s a listen in world wide stereo. Rocky ears they sounded pretty good. You might want more bass even for rock, they don't seem very deep. I listened to klipsch image ones and those were eh b and overly bassy. Hmm, wait for some more input on grasps's but that was my impression. I also listened to denon d2000 or d1100's and thought they were great! If it was the 1100 than I'm in for a treat because the CAL/D1001 ARE THOUGHT OF AS caps lol superior to the 1100.

 

[mingamo]

PHONE CORRECTIONS CAPS GARY SPEEDY.

 

[pyrokid]

KNS 8400 is a good, closed, all-rounder with especially good mids for a closed phone in its price range that should be good if you like rock. I have a pair of these, and a pair of Ultrasone DJ1s for sale. But I don't think the DJ1s would be very good for you unless you're looking for a really bassy can. 
 
If you don't care about isolation though, the Grados would be a much better bet for the genres you listed. 

 

[PatrickAupperle]

Quote:

KNS 8400 is a good, closed, all-rounder with especially good mids for a closed phone in its price range that should be good if you like rock. I have a pair of these, and a pair of Ultrasone DJ1s for sale. But I don't think the DJ1s would be very good for you unless you're looking for a really bassy can. 
 
If you don't care about isolation though, the Grados would be a much better bet for the genres you listed. 

 
Well, I can't say I care about the isolation and I'd love to save the $30, so I guess I will probably get the Grados over the KNS 8400s. Thank you for the suggestion and the endorsement of the Grados. You would suggest the KNS 8400s over the CALs, though? I am certainly going to further consider them, even though I am still favoring the Grados.

 

[ZoNtO]

Buy the nicest pair of Grado 'phones you can afford. Same genres here, and I love mine!

 

[PatrickAupperle]

Quote:

Well I gave the Sr80's and Sr60s a listen in world wide stereo. Rocky ears they sounded pretty good. You might want more bass even for rock, they don't seem very deep. I listened to klipsch image ones and those were eh b and overly bassy. Hmm, wait for some more input on grasps's but that was my impression. I also listened to denon d2000 or d1100's and thought they were great! If it was the 1100 than I'm in for a treat because the CAL/D1001 ARE THOUGHT OF AS caps lol superior to the 1100.

It sounds like you like the Grados, but they are lacking bass. Sounds like the Klipschs weren't all that great. When you say grasp's, I am unsure as to what you are talking about. Do you mean Grados? Sounds like you really liked those Denons. So, I guess you are suggesting I buy CALs, right? I really appreciate the input on all of the headphones. 

 

[PatrickAupperle]

Quote:

Buy the nicest pair of Grado 'phones you can afford. Same genres here, and I love mine!

So far, this seems to be what I hear more than anything. I may just have to jump on the Grados. You don't find them to be lacking in bass?

 

[liamstrain]

Grado's don't lack bass at all. What they lack is bass that is artificially boosted. They are great for rock and punk.  
 
Whichever Grados you get, order the L-cush ear pads ($20). They improve the sound significantly over the S-cush pads that come on the SR60 and 80 models. 
 
Another good option for you would be the AKG K240 (not the Mk II). They have a very solid sound signature that also plays nicely with the music you listed. They are also much more comfortable than the Grados for longer listening sessions (especially if you wear glasses, like I do). 

 

[PatrickAupperle]

Quote:

Grado's don't lack bass at all. What they lack is bass that is artificially boosted. They are great for rock and punk.  
 
Whichever Grados you get, order the L-cush ear pads ($20). They improve the sound significantly over the S-cush pads that come on the SR60 and 80 models. 
 
Another good option for you would be the AKG K240 (not the Mk II). They have a very solid sound signature that also plays nicely with the music you listed. They are also much more comfortable than the Grados for longer listening sessions (especially if you wear glasses, like I do). 

 
Good to know the Grados don't lack bass. 
 
I can't say I could throw another $20 at these headphones right now, but (based on your post and several posts I was reading in another thread) if I buy the Grados, I will certainly strongly consider buying them at some point in the future. 
 
The AKG K240s sound fairly nice, but I can't really say I have heard too much about them. Maybe the name just doesn't ever stand out to me, so I never remember it. Would you say they sound better than the Grados without the L-cush pads? What about the Grados with L-cush pads?
 
 

 

[PatrickAupperle]

I was reading on a different thread ( http://www.head-fi.org/t/529879/whoever-adviced-me-that-grado-sr80is-do-not-need-to-be-amped-is-a-liar ) that the Grado sr80is sound better with an amp. I have to say that I have no money left in the budget for an amp after purchasing these headphones. Although I will probably eventually put the money down for an amp (as well as some L-cush pads, if I buy the Grados), I certainly won't have one right away. Should this influence my decision? Amazon seems to suggest that the K240s sound great from any output without an amp.

 

[liamstrain]

The Grados are perfectly fine without an amp. I wouldn't let that influence your decision. 
 
I do think the pads are a worthwhile upgrade. But, in the meantime you can "quarter mod" the existing ones (removing a quarter sized piece of foam from the center of the pad). 
 
I don't know that I would say the K240 are any better or worse than the Grados (regardless of pad). They are different sounding. I like them both, even for the same genre of music.