Jenny, Go here.
http://headphone.com/layout.php?topicID=2&subTopicID=14 These guys know their sound. They make dedicated amplifiers for headphones yet they offer advice on affordable headphones too. If $70 is in your budget, they like the Grado SR60. That's not a household name but Mister Grado has been making cartridges for record players for a long time. He's made a reputation for himself among audiophiles for giving a slice of hi-end quality at bargain prices. While Bose has name recognition, it's because their budget is far bigger than most companies. The sound of their products is "pushy" which may sound impressive in the store but it's a distortion of what the artist intended and is not respected among audiophiles who actually compare over a period of time. You want a headphone that has no character of its own. It should add nothing. I'd urge you to avoid anything that claims "turbo" or "mega-bass" or "super-bass", etc. You don't want those because they offer muddy bass. You want something designed for classical or jazz music. That's how manufacturers describe models that don't artificially favor one octave over the others. (By the way, every portable CD player I've ever owned with a "mega-bass" or "Train" mode give you muddy bass. What I mean is it makes Jaco sound like he's in a hockey arena, playing the same note over and over. You only hear a muffled roar and can't hear him moving around to different notes. Basses have fretboards. You should hear that! Make sense? What you'll get in return is being able to understand almost every word, especially on TRAVELOGUE. On the BLUE album, you'll clearly and unmistakably hear James Taylor's finger-picking guitar on one side and Joni stumming whole chords on a dulcimer on the other side. If you've never heard the WILD THINGS RUN FAST album on headphones or a hi-end system, you're in for a treat! You'll also hear bad edits on COURT AND SPARK. Lama
