[i2ehan]

Quick! Fellow head-fi'ers, help me bring my sister over to the dark side!

She called me just earlier today regarding a pair of Bose AE2's which she heard from a friend and now wants her own pair. She listens to mainly hard rock, so the first thing people will scream here are Grados! The search revealed pretty much Grados in every post, but she wants something portable, closed and over the ear (are Grados on-ear or completely over), and under $150. Is she better of getting the Bose AE2 since she happens to love their sound anyways or should I point her in a different direction (based on whatever recommendations are provided here)?

 

[sridhar3]

First off, I'd make sure she's willing to listen to recommendations.  I've seen quite a few posts like this, and though we can all make recommendations until we're blue in the face, in the end you can only lead the proverbial horse to water but you can't beat it to death with a shovel.  Actually you can.  Wait, what?  How does the expression go again?

 

[calipilot227]

 
The first thing that comes to mind is the ATH-M50. Closed: check. Portable: mostly check. They're on the larger side (then again, so is the Bose AE2), but they sound great even without amping. Because of the warm sound signature, she will probably like them if she likes the AE2.
 
Quote:

in the end you can only lead the proverbial horse to water but you can't beat it to death with a shovel.  Actually you can.  Wait, what?  How does the expression go again?

LOL
 

 

[i2ehan]

First off, I'd make sure she's willing to listen to recommendations.  I've seen quite a few posts like this, and though we can all make recommendations until we're blue in the face, in the end you can only lead the proverbial horse to water but you can't beat it to death with a shovel.  Actually you can.  Wait, what?  How does the expression go again?

Haha. She's open to suggestions, though it took me some convincing! Thank you for your suggestion... wait... what was your suggestion again?

 

[calipilot227]

Tell her to get some M50s from Amazon. That way, she can return them if she doesn't like them (highly unlikely though).

 

[sridhar3]

Quote:

Haha. She's open to suggestions, though it took me some convincing! Thank you for your suggestion... wait... what was your suggestion again?

How about the Sennheiser HD25-1 II? They certainly garner much respect on Head-Fi, and they look good to boot.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Just get her a pair of iGrados. Yeah, they're not closed but she won't care once she hears them.

She'll go nuts over the Grado sound with rock and notice that open headphones aren't as bad as she thinks.

Everyone comes here wanting closed headphones at first. Most eventually come around to the open side.

 

[i2ehan]

Good point my friend. Hmm... I'm now stuck between the M50 and iGrados; I'll most probably get her the M50 as I'm sure she's already agreed to them.

 

[DaBomb77766]

Depends though, will she be using them on-the-go much?  Because the biggest problem with something like Grados is that they will block no outside noise and sound like a pair of little, tinny speakers to everyone around you.  As much as she might love them, this could be a dealbreaker...bring that up with her and see if she's okay with it.  So if she's gonna use them with public transit or in public locations like, say, a library, they're definitely out.

 

[i2ehan]

She want's as closed as possible, so I guess the Grados are out of the question, huh? I've been meaning to get a listen of the M50 anyways; practically everyone else who's a head-fi'er has. Now's as good a chance as any! Thank you all! 

 

[DaBomb77766]

http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/433318/shootout-82-portable-headphones-reviewed-superlux-hd668b-prodipe-pro-800-added-05-15
 
You may also want to check out Joker's thread here, for some other alternatives.
 
Also, any particular reason why you chose to post this in the full-sized amps section?

 

[i2ehan]

Yes. A misclick.

 
Sorry mods! Just saw this myself. And of course, thank you as always DaBomb!

 

[khaos974]

Lend her your Pro 900 and the DBA-02 for a week, and the ask them back (be careful it doesn't become 'the story of how I lost $xxx")

 

[i2ehan]

What Ultrasones? What Fischer Audio?

 

[Nagasaki_Kid]

he's referring to your gear inventory in your signature.
also signature is an important part of earphone. much more so than a headphones technical abilities.
 
these are nice for rock
http://www.groupon.com/deals/maximo-philadelphia-1?utm_medium=afl&utm_campaign=552179&utm_source=rvs
 
I had a pair and loved them till someone stole mines along with my clip(never leave a bag unattended)