Need help for a christmas present for my dad...

[Gyro]

Alrighty, I'm looking for a set of cans for my dad. I'd prefer for them to be studio-style because he will be enjoying his music mostly at home. However, he might use them when he travels to listen to CDs (and maybe an iPod), so if they were compact, all the better. My price range is around 100-150 dollars US and he mostly listens to classic rock (Led, Floyd, Dead, etc). Do you guys have any suggestions? Thanks for your help!

[mercury_in_flames]

for your budget alot of people would reccomend grado's. anyone care to comment?

[A440]

I love my Grado SR125 (within your budget), especially for rock: they sound both analytical and alive. But I would not call them portable, and they do leak a lot of sound. If Dad wears glasses, they also press on the arms of the glasses after a while, which gets uncomfortable.

At the other extreme of size are Shure E3 (gray) or E3c (white for Ipod), deep in-ear phones, which you can find new on Ebay for around $130-135. If your father travels a lot, they are ideal for shutting out the sound of airplane engines. Or family squabbles. The much-touted Etymotics don't have enough serious bass for rock.

Don't get those Bose TriPort headphones that Apple tries to pair with the iPod. They are the dullest-sounding overpriced headphones I've ever heard: muffled on top, weak on the bottom. Bose noise-canceling headphones (like other electronic noise-canceling phones) don't cancel as much noise as the simple physical earplugs of the Shure.

Here's a comparison list from www.headphone.com, though they seriously underrate the Grado SR125. They like Sennheiser and Beyerdynamic in your price range.

http://www.headphone.com/products/headphones/all-headphones/

What's your father using now?

[streaml1ne]

How about the eggos. They fold up nicely and sound good. Minidisco carries the D66 for $99.

[Gyro]

How about the eggos. They fold up nicely and sound good. Minidisco carries the D66 for $99.

He actually used my eggos...he liked the sound but couldn't get used to the over the ear feeling- he's enjoyed my MDR-V500s, but I want to get something nicer for him. I was actually looking at the Tri-Ports but now I don't think I will...thanks for your help so far!

[MusicBringer]

Alrighty, I'm looking for a set of cans for my dad. I'd prefer for them to be studio-style because he will be enjoying his music mostly at home. However, he might use them when he travels to listen to CDs (and maybe an iPod), so if they were compact, all the better. My price range is around 100-150 dollars US and he mostly listens to classic rock (Led, Floyd, Dead, etc). Do you guys have any suggestions? Thanks for your help!

Being a Dad who "enjoys his music mostly at home."..."uses them when he travels"..."listens to classic rock (Led, Floyd, Dead, etc)" I'll tell you of two that I like a lot:

Grado SR225

Senn PXC 250

I esp recommend the PXC250 - they are noise reduction and fold away. He'll love 'em.

Edited November 29, 2005 by MusicBringer

[atrain]

http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=PXC250...e=unknown&sl=on

as you are in the US gyro try looking at froogle, above.