Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Advice needed for new pair of headphones!

T

theuserjohnny

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 7, 2012
450
7
I'm looking into getting a new pair of headphones. I'm not looking for anything expensive nor am I going to be doing anything in terms of studio work/making my own music.

My price range is hovering around the 150 dollar mark so I'm looking for a more bang of the buck type of headphones.

My headphone history is rather short. Grew up with the classic iPod headphones, switched over to the original in-ear headphones Apple had, then during high school I made the now regrettable mistake of getting Beats (hey I was young).

ATM I'm switching between the BoseQC15 (parents) and my Beats Studio.

The headphones that I've been hearing about are the SR60i, SR80i, and the ATH-M50

Currently my friend has been kind enough to let me use their ATH-M50 and holy cow! They are nice!

It's clean and crisp and neutral nothing seems to be overpowering each other. However, they sound flat and since they are "studio" headphones I would assume that this is natural and that an AMP of some sort would be required to further enhance the experience. I don't mind getting an AMP but I again am just doing this for a listening experience so ATM I am not looking toward having to get an AMP.

The QC15 outright sound horrible compared to these after using the M50 for an extended period of time. The Beats while not as muddy sounding as the QC15 is just overpowered by the bass.

I've been hearing debates that the SR60i are no different for the SR80i so I was thinking of getting a pair of them. But I'm not really informed on the difference between the "open ear" that the SRs are compared to a closed that the M50s are.
 
C

ChrisA

macrumors G5
Jan 5, 2006
12,578
1,695
Redondo Beach, California
The "closed" type headphones have a diaphragm that is mounted in a seal chamber. One side faces your ears the other the sealed chamber. It has to work to compress the air in the seal side but the chamber blocks sound in both directions. "Open headphones can can better sound for the same cost but will "leak" sound in both directions. Open headphones are not good for reacording as the monitor sound will bleed into the mic and they are not good for noisy environments. They do have the best sound at any given price point.

A good pair of open headphones are the AKG K240. These sell for about $100 and have been the standard studio headphone for decades. I'd guess that half the audio profesionals in the world have a K240 some place.

The sound of the K240 is "accurate" and flat. So theyare not popular with some (mostly younger) consummers wo are looking for a hugely exagerated bass. and accurate sound is for some one who want to hear details, like a recording engineer would.

All that said, most people should own several pair of headphones. The K240 have their place but I use in-ear monitors at the gym and a pair of close headphones to use it some one else has the TV set on.
 
Macman45

Macman45

macrumors G5
Jul 29, 2011
13,197
135
Somewhere Back In The Long Ago
You get what you pay for....I currently use a set of Senhessier 280HD pros...have had them a couple of years and they are still going strong. The problem with the cheaper stuff is that you just don't get the defenetion. The 280's are by no means the top either...you should be able to pick a pair up for well, lets see:


http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb...ds=Senheiser+280hd&rh=i:aps,k:Senheiser+280hd


That's the kind of money here in the UK. You won't regret getting even the baby ones, they won't fall apart come with a 2 Year unlimited warranty, and sound great.
 
A

ArtieFufkin10

macrumors member
Jul 10, 2012
38
0
I have the ATH-M50 headphones by audio technica and I'm a huge fan.

I use them for casual listening, concentrating at work and some mixing projects. Just a great pair for the money.
 
bwhli

bwhli

macrumors 6502a
Jan 9, 2012
557
210
Boston, MA
Where do you plan on using the headphones, and will you be bringing them outside? I have a few recommendations, but we need to know more about what you plan on using them for, and where you will be using them.
 
T

theuserjohnny

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 7, 2012
450
7
bwhli said:
Where do you plan on using the headphones, and will you be bringing them outside? I have a few recommendations, but we need to know more about what you plan on using them for, and where you will be using them.
Click to expand...

Mainly I'll be using them within the house and every now and then outside but a majority of the time I typically use my headphones for the house. If I need outside headphones for the go I guess I can just use my beats.
 
bwhli

bwhli

macrumors 6502a
Jan 9, 2012
557
210
Boston, MA
theuserjohnny said:
Mainly I'll be using them within the house and every now and then outside but a majority of the time I typically use my headphones for the house. If I need outside headphones for the go I guess I can just use my beats.
Click to expand...

Great! You should get a pair of open headphones then. They typically have a larger soundstage than closed headphones.

The Sennheiser HD558 is great, and is about $20 above your price target. If you can stretch your budget to $200 (maybe saving up another few weeks), the HD598 is even better. I have a pair of HD650s I use at home, and I've also used the 558 and 598 before. You'll eventually want to get a headphone amp. The FiiO E17 is a nice one for the price.
 
F

Freqsound

macrumors newbie
Jan 31, 2013
21
6
theuserjohnny said:
Currently my friend has been kind enough to let me use their ATH-M50 and holy cow! They are nice!

It's clean and crisp and neutral nothing seems to be overpowering each other. However, they sound flat and since they are "studio" headphones I would assume that this is natural and that an AMP of some sort would be required to further enhance the experience. I don't mind getting an AMP but I again am just doing this for a listening experience so ATM I am not looking toward having to get an AMP.
Click to expand...

Clean , crisp, and neutral is a good thing. The AT headphones are not over-hyped in any frequency range. When engineers mix final audio the overall tonal balance, dynamic range, and instrument blend is generally created to enhance the music and its style within its genre.

If you're used to earbuds (typically very little bass) or Beats phones (way over pumped low end) your basically not getting what the artist and engineer intended. That of course doesn't mean you have to like what they give you, and you can compensate with tone controls like treble, bass, or an equalizer to suit your tastes. Generally this should not be the job of the headphones, but the listening system like your tuner or software controls. Even the frequency balance itself is affected by the volume level at which you listen, so having controls is a good thing, better than having the headphones always pushing or reducing some frequency area due to their design.

I'm not familiar with the other two models you mentioned, but I have used the AT phones for several years and find them not only to be very true and accurate, but very comfortable to wear for long periods of time. They also don't fatigue my ears sonically as many less balanced phones do.

As for an amp, just to be clear that is mostly something to control volume. Tone controls or an equalizer are what give you control of the tonal balance. A good amp can give you volume without distortion, but shouldn't color the sound.

-Glenn
Http://www.freqsound.com
 
D

dvdkwms

macrumors newbie
Feb 7, 2013
1
0
As an avid headphone buyer/ user, many headphones came to mind. I am a very huge fanatic of Beats. I use the Beats Pro and Studio on a daily basis. However, I also own Bose, Sony, B&W, HK... etc. I'm just giving you some background to improve the validity of my suggestions.

The first headphones that came to mind for you, would be the Bose AE2i. It gives solid mids without over powering bass, great for every day use.

Then I saw how you were going to be using them around the house, I would have to suggest the Playstation Pulse headset. They are probably my favorite headphones I own. They're confortable, estatically pleasing, and very functional. They can be used wireless with ANY product. Bluetooh or not. Aand on top of that, they sound absolutely amazing, with built in functions for sound control and EQ controls.
 
T

theuserjohnny

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 7, 2012
450
7
ChrisA said:
The "closed" type headphones have a diaphragm that is mounted in a seal chamber. One side faces your ears the other the sealed chamber. It has to work to compress the air in the seal side but the chamber blocks sound in both directions. "Open headphones can can better sound for the same cost but will "leak" sound in both directions. Open headphones are not good for reacording as the monitor sound will bleed into the mic and they are not good for noisy environments. They do have the best sound at any given price point.

A good pair of open headphones are the AKG K240. These sell for about $100 and have been the standard studio headphone for decades. I'd guess that half the audio profesionals in the world have a K240 some place.

The sound of the K240 is "accurate" and flat. So theyare not popular with some (mostly younger) consummers wo are looking for a hugely exagerated bass. and accurate sound is for some one who want to hear details, like a recording engineer would.

All that said, most people should own several pair of headphones. The K240 have their place but I use in-ear monitors at the gym and a pair of close headphones to use it some one else has the TV set on.
Click to expand...

I've decided to go with the AKG K240. I love the M50s but they just feel uncomfortable after a while and they bother my ears from the "closed headphone" so I'm opting to go with the "semi-open" to help out with this.

ALSO! Amazon has them on sale currently for 70 bucks! So for anyone wanting to get a pair now would be the time! Also the M50s are on sale for roughly 115 dollars if anyone has been looking at those.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom