A majority of my music listening is to film soundtracks, orchestra, acoustics, etc. I love what I get from the KSC75’s but I’d like something more comfortable/less fragile; and better sounding. The guide shows me the SHP9500’s but not sure if that’s really the best for exactly what I’m wanting. A friend mentioned the AKG K240 studios to me aswell.
Earphones work too but only if they’re going to sound better than the KSC75’s for what I’m listening to.
Superlux HD662 Evo with the included velour pads and Solderdude’s mod. Or many would say Creative Aurvana Live, but the build quality is pretty low there as well. On the Superlux the cable is detachable and the overall build is a bit better.
1 Like
Personally I love my k240’s they sound great but you can get them cheaper than MSRP by massdrop they are called the m220. Or maybe on of the sivga’s like 004 or the 007. But I would say for under a hundred shps are still the best open back.
1 Like
I suspect for film soundtracks and orchestral music with double-bass and large symphonic drums the 9500 bass is gonna be underwhelming whereas the 662Evo will give you all the frequencies all the way.
1 Like
How does the 662 compare to the 668B’s? I know the latter is cheaper, but they’re semi-open vs closed.
if you save and bump your budget up to the $160 for the Massdrop Senn HD58x, you may find yourself pleased to a much higher level. these are open back, so sound will leak to others around you. if open back headphones are okay, you could also consider the MD HiFiMan HE-4xx. I love mine! I also just ordered the 58x last week. 
2 Likes
They’re not that closed though, it’s not a super isolating design, and with the velour pads they will isolate even less. I expect they’re about the same as the CAL, which Tyll measured to have only 1 dB more isolation than the 668B.
The production 662Evo has some felt in front of the driver, so the treble might be just right, depending also on taste, where the 668B - even fully broken in - are just too bright, they need some layers of paper towel in front of the driver to become civilized. But what I grew to really hate about the 668B type of design was that “split headband” crap at the top (I used a 669 for months at work and I could never get the top part to be comfortable).
Sonically the big difference is the gap the 662Evo has at 250 Hz between the bass and the mids, but that can be reduced by the Solderdude mod and then fixed the rest of the way with EQ. I never A/B compared them because I needed closed-backs at work, not semi-open, and I knew I wasn’t going to wear that stupid not-a-headband of the 668B for long hours anyway. He also never compared them but he says the 662Evo is a newer driver, technically superior, and having heard it perform I’m happy to take him at his word. 
1 Like
I have a pair of Sennheiser HD 579 for sale right now for under a $100 actually… I think they might be just right for your listening habits, they’re more of a critical listening pair of cans and are usually recommended for classical and jazz type genres. Just a thought.
+1 for K240
They have a very good reputation for those genres!
Especially the old “made in Austria” ones. If a good condition pair could be found!
Also the K270mkll are quite good. The closed version of the 240.
For both models even though they do not have the most “difficult to drive” specs they benefit from an amp.
I owned both but the 270 for a longer period.
The old k249s need a speaker amp to drive them they are so damn innificient but sound great