Headphones

..this would come under the "For what it's worth" catagory.. I had worked in the audio industry(?) at one time, and had several Stax of note.. I then had a pair of Audio Technica electret condenser headphones...and have never liked any better. Sold them long ago, and had tried the top end wood body Grado...but nothing got me into the music like those old Audio Technica's.... A friend had said that Stax had the same model, and that Stax may have made them for Audio Technica.
This may be of little use, but does anyone else have any experience with the AT or Stax Electret Condenser models?

I own Seinheiser 580 and have listened to the 600 (which are much better than the 580). I do not have any experience with the Grado. As to a headphone amp, either headroom amps or melos tube. I really like tubes with headphones. However, I would recommend something a little different. Stax headphones, preferably with the tube option. On the used market you can find them near what you would spend on the 600s and a good amp. I recently bought a pair of Lambdas with the solid state amp for $450. If you plan to do a lot of listening with headphones, the Stax are really the most enjoyable over a long period of time. Great clarity and detail and not so "headphone" sounding. One thing to keep in mind they are "free air" headphones--so others in your vacinity will hear some music from them.

Sorry to stay off the subject, but Whatjd, I still have the AT electret headphones. I have not used them in years, but once upon a time I was very very smitten. Very engaging headphone. The problem at the moment is that they almost require that you have a balance control, since the manual tells you that one channel will likely be louder than the other, and mine do this to a certain degree. Bought them around 1980, but never a problem. Just thought you might be interested.

I have the 580s which I use with my portable audio with the entry level headroom amp. Definitely better than the 500 I used previously. I tried the 600s in the recent NY show with several amplifiers and despite the reviews I was not sufficiently impressed to buy them. In my bedrroom I use the Beyerdynamic 931 which are excellent and so far not reviewed in USA. Amp is Wheatfield HA2 but the much cheaper Antique sounded good also. I find that the 931s reproduce very well the extremes of the audio spectrum while having an accurate midrange.

I have and really enjoy the HD-600's. Excellent for Jazz and Classical as well as accoustical music. Very comfortable. If you like aggressive sounding (forward placement) sound (especially rock) and can stand the way the Grado fits on your head (I find it very uncomfortable), that may be a better fit for you.

The typical comparison between the two is generally as follows:

Listening to the Senns is like listening in the 10th row center of an auditorium. Listening to Grado's is like being on stage with the band/orchestra. Grado's are very dynamic but I find them a bit fatiquing and a bit colored. Others find them exciting and the Senns too layed back.

As for electronics, I greatly prefer tube Amps with my headphones. The MG-Head by Antique Sound Labs is a very good buy at about $275.

Good luck.