Grado RS-2 Reference Series

Pros: Immaculate and forceful mids with deep and powerful, yet tight and punchy bass, and sweet, clear, sublime highs.

Cons: It costs money. A lot of money.

Summary: These are incredible headphones, to say the least. I'm not going to go into great detail about how great the sound is, since I already highlighted the excellent sound qualities that these headphones have to offer. They are not fatiguing in the least to listen to for long periods, but at first the pads may hurt your ears, if they stick out a lot. However, washing the pads with detergent will make them much softer. They take a while to dry, though.

These headphones are expensive, yes, but if you care enough about audio quality to even be reading a review of these headphones, then the cost is a small price to pay for what you get.

These headphones cater the best to Rock music, and are absolutely incredible with metal. They are not best suited for symphonic classical music since they have such a narrow soundstage and cannot separate the many instruments in that kind of music, but for any type of simpler music, even solo piano recordings, these are fabulous.

Be sure, though, that you have some decent amplification, because even though these headphones are easy to drive, you will get a much more refined sound with a good amp, preferably a tube amp.

If you can afford them and you care about how your music sounds, get these headphones. You won't be disappointed.