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Best Headphones for $50-$60

stoid

stoid

macrumors 601
Original poster
Feb 17, 2002
4,312
29
So long, and thanks for all the fish!
I'm looking for a nice pair of headphones for listening to music. I don't need active noise cancelling functions, but I think I want cans as they provide the best passive noise reduction. I've used a Sony pair awhile back that produced Hi-Fi sound, and were truly amazing! I'm looking for the best pair of headphones that I can get for $50 or $60.
 
Check out the Sennheiser PX-100. You should be able to get them for abour $40+, shipped. A GREAT pair of headphones, period, and certainly unbeatable at its price point.
 
grado sr60. just a tiny bit over your budget but for $70, you won't find a better pair, if you can "get over" (if necessary) the retro look.
 
I use a full-size set of Koss headphones I got from Radioshack for $30. I'm not audiophile, but they sound damn good to me.

koss_161ur_17415.jpg
 
stoid said:
I'm looking for a nice pair of headphones for listening to music. I don't need active noise cancelling functions, but I think I want cans as they provide the best passive noise reduction. I've used a Sony pair awhile back that produced Hi-Fi sound, and were truly amazing! I'm looking for the best pair of headphones that I can get for $50 or $60.
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I really like the Sennheisers I picked up on Amazon (full-size) for about $25 (HD-250s I think).
 
Sennheiser HD 280 Pro's. If you look around you can probably find these for around that price range(maybe a little more). These are great headphones. If not these, find some Sennheisers like many others here have suggested.
 
My vote is for the Grado SR-60's too. They're quite comfortable and sound great, especially for the price. The styling is kind of strange (retro), but you can get over it easily if it's a problem.
 
Audition before you buy. Low end grados have no bass, no sound stage, harsh, and very uncomfortable (the driver is practically touching your ears) But then again, preferences may vary, so go audition it 1st. BTW, grados are opend cans, so you won't get any isolation. The Senns HD280 are closed and may fit your needs better.
 
I'm in small college town US, so there isn't much around here 'cept maybe a small RadioShack that I might be able to try before I buy. Maybe I can convince a friend to take a small trip down to Kansas City sometime. What stores would probably have the best selection and most knowledgeable staff, especially because I want to get the right thing the first time since returning them would be a real bitch.
 
scott182 said:
My vote is for the Grado SR-60's too. They're quite comfortable and sound great, especially for the price. The styling is kind of strange (retro), but you can get over it easily if it's a problem.
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I agree with this. However, the only problem is they aren't available in stores like Radio Shack, Best Buy, etc. You'll probably have to go through their website to order them, located at: http://www.gradolabs.com/
 
FuzzyBallz said:
Low end grados have no bass...
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sorry but bass level has nothing to do with sound quality. you listen (no pun intended) to the marketing garbage, you may think that having increased bass = better sound, but this simply isn't true. more bass will make the music "louder" but it will basically overwhelm other sound.

i feel that a well made headphone should replicate the music - and bass should be at the level intended by the original music. simply having more bass doesn't make the replication better. if you like having more bass, there's always an option to boost bass on the player, like an iPod.

in this regard, for the money, i'm yet to find a headphone that's better at replicating the original recording than the sr60. the music is so much "clearer" because it lets you listen to the music, not just bass. using anything else, the bass is usually so over-pronounced that i feel i can't hear clearly, as if there's cotton balls stuffed in my ears.
 
FYI, I wasn't talking about "logitech type" boomy bass, but refering to real well defined bass heard from Senns HD6xx and other "high end" heaphones.

If you don't mind me asking, what's your audio setup for home and portable?
 
anyone have any experience with the now-discontinued grado sr40's? i've been thinking of tracking down a pair, as i've always been impressed with grado, and the 40s are closed, unlike the 60s.
 
FuzzyBallz said:
FYI, I wasn't talking about "logitech type" boomy bass, but refering to real well defined bass heard from Senns HD6xx and other "high end" heaphones.
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senns HD-6XX headphones are a bit more than ~$60. so let's compare to something in the similar price range.

does HD280 have the "real" well-defined bass? then i see your point.
 
applemacdude said:
Any good in ear headphones?
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Yes.
I can vouch for Shure e2c's.

Absolutely phenomenal, ONCE you get used to sticking them in your ear canals.

Its taken me just over two weeks regular use to finally get the hang of it, but boy its worth it. Its completely transformed my experience with my iPod 4g.

Vanilla
 
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