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Looking for good headphones!

spacemanps

spacemanps

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 14, 2008
216
0
New Jersey
last night i did some reading because i was looking for new headphones and i stumbled upon a headphone forum, and since i am a strong believer in forums for learning i thought id sign up and see what i could learn.

So im not asking for what headphones to get, so please dont think that. I have however read some of inputs from other threads and found some good ones, which i have read up on and seam good.

Let me explain what i am using my headphones for first, i am a commuter (4 hours a day! yeah yeah it sucks, but its a good job) and i listen to my ipod at all times or the radio from my HTC incredible. I have read that some headphones need an amp.. ( i dont know much about that so if someone would like to chime in a add some info about that it would be greatly appreciated, otherwise I WILL USE THE SEARCH BUTTON!! ha) I am looking for headphones that will cover my entire ear. I have the Bose QC3's and they were okay but not great. I didnt like the fact of having to charge that god damn batter and then sometimes id be stuck with dead headphones.. SOL..

Music i listen to: Hip hop (classified), Bassnecter, Franti, Pretty Lights, infected mushrooms... etc.. i listen to a LOT of different kinds of music. Not much into SUPER bass stuff but i do enjoy some amount of bass. I have tried all the Bose products and dont really like them too much, plus they are way tooo over priced...

Budget: 150-175

Needs: cover my ear, portable (i carry a backpack, so what ever ones i can throw in a backpack and go), durable, and comfortable!!!! ... cant think of anything else..

Headphones im looking at: (i am open for suggestions also)
1)Shure SRH750 DJ Headphones
2) Shure SRH 440 Professional Studio Headphones
3) Audio-Technica ATH-M50 Studio Monitor Headphones
4) Audio-Technica ATH-ES7 Portable Headphones

As a side note, i hate ear buds... they hurt my ears and for some reason i get ear infections like crazy when i use them.




SUMMARY!

Headphones over the ear
Under $150 (or around)
Very comfortable (long listening periods)
Preferably Fold able and storable in a backpack.
 
You could go for the senheiser hd 280's. They are not very bass heavy but I think they sound incredible for the ~$80 you would pay for them. They do look kind of ugly though.
 
Having used all for of those...

I'd get the Shure SRH840, which can be found for $150.

They are the most comfortable of the Shure models and for what you are doing they sound like the right choice. The Shure SRH440s are the most balanced, but the 840s are much more pleasurable to listen to. The 750DJs have a wow factor, but leak noise and aren't comfortable for long periods of time unless you are going to wear them one cup at a time. (My reviews of the other two on that site as well)

The MS50s are the most balanced of any of the options, but since you aren't mixing and wanting a tad bit better bass, I have a feeling they are going to be disappointing. The ES7s are a tad bit colored for my taste, no one of ATs best in my opinion. I'd probably still take the latter over the MS50s, but the Shures are amongst my favorite headphones and superbly comfortable.
 
I don't know about others, but I find the Beats By Dre Tour headphones to be absolutely amazing. Nice build quality, great customer care and the sound and look terrific
 
I happen to dig Audio-Technica's house sound a lot, therefore I'll recommend the ATH-M50. Most Audio-Technicas have a very sharp, fast, precise bass response, and have a somewhat colored midrange, which makes the vocals stand out a bit. The highs in most of their headphones are very good, too. The ATH-M50 is said to isolate quite well. It's isolation probably won't be what you get with active noise canceling headphones, though. Audio-Technica is a brand that has a lot of experience in building really good closed headphones, something not all brands are good at.

The SRH840 that thegoldenmackid suggested is also said to be a very good headphone. If they sound anything like the Shure SE530, they're going to be near perfect.
 
Don't bother with in-ear headphones (like the small earbuds that come with iPods). Noise cancellation and sound quality is terrible, regardless of brand.
 
I have the Bose Triport's and love them. I've also had Sennheiser HD595 and I thought the Bose were a lot better than them.
 
Bengt77 said:
The SRH840 that thegoldenmackid suggested is also said to be a very good headphone. If they sound anything like the Shure SE530, they're going to be near perfect.
Click to expand...
On an overarching note, the 840s are warmer. The SE530's bass is something that can't really be replicated in the headphone format if you get my drift.

R94N said:
Don't bother with in-ear headphones (like the small earbuds that come with iPods). Noise cancellation and sound quality is terrible, regardless of brand.
Click to expand...
I'll take IEMs any day of the week. Earbuds ≠ IEMs.
 
m50 are good, and the senn hd 25 are supposed to be great and comfortable but they are on ear not over ear.

funny people recommending bose, beats and k701 unamped. this is a very different world than head.fi!
 
from what i have experienced with bose... decent products. but way too over prices... and from what i have read about the dre beats.... quality is OKAY and price is way toooo over what they are worth...


so my debate today will be between the M50 (amped) or the hd25 (unamped)

m50 + amp = HD25....
 
my m50 sounds great amped, but is also great right out of my iphone - don't worry about that - get 'em from brianf on ebay for less than $100.

they are a bit bulky though - and a full sized closed can gets hot in warmer temperatures.
 
mugtastic said:
my m50 sounds great amped, but is also great right out of my iphone - don't worry about that - get 'em from brianf on ebay for less than $100.

they are a bit bulky though - and a full sized closed can gets hot in warmer temperatures.
Click to expand...

Brainf doesnt have any currently for sale on their ebay store..

As for the temp issue, i was debating this, and maybe the hd25s would be a good bet.. and eventually get an amp down the road... which amp do you have? FiiO E5 Headphone Amplifier?


andygabriel said:
Beats by Dre Solo HD are awesome headphones. Sounds and looks great!
Click to expand...
Like i said before, maybe people in the audio industry say they are way over priced and not that great..
 
i have two full sized hp amps at home - i gave up on portable amps a long time ago - an easily drivable hp sounds great, and there are plenty to chose from.

right now i'm using an ultrasone dj1 from my iphone, but i'm a big proponent of koss porta-pros for cheap comfortable phones for portable use.

i've never heard the hd-25, but i hear it's great. i've always had a comfort problem with bigger on-ear types.

i've also read that the shure closed hps are great. and the beyer too - even the 600ohm version is supposed to be good unamped - but i can't say from personal experience.
 
Despite what one poster said, IEM's are actually much better than headphones. Better noise reduction, better almost everything. Get the JH13's :p

Joking aside, I would really recommend Sure IEM's, or JH if you really have the cash. In fact just IEM's in general;
Sennheiser CX300 – $50-80
Klipsch S4i – $80+ (My sister loves them)
Shure SE210 – $150
Shure E3 – $215
Klipsch X5 – $250
Grado GR8 -- $300
Shure E4 – $300
Westone 3s – $350
Klipsch X10 – $350
UE 10’s – $400
Sennheiser IE8 – $450
Shure SE530 – $500
JH13 Pro (I think they have the 16's out now) – $1000

Once again, I would really recommend IEMs over headphones. With that said, I'm not an audiophile and I'm definitely not a headphone expert. I actually happened to get a free Bose QC15 (a gift :p), and while it wouldn't be my first purchase choice had it been my money, I have to say I'm quite surprised by them. Bose typically has a rather poor reputation with the audiophile crowd, citing the price versus quality (it really is overpriced), with them creating the slogan no highs no lows must be a Bose.

However, despite my previous misgivings about Bose and influences from audiophiles on the Internet, I actually have to say I really do like the QC15s. Going into it I was really expecting mediocre sound, and was actually pleasantly surprised; I find them to sound rather nice. The actual headphones themselves are incredibly comfortable (you barely feel them on your head), the build quality is solid (mine hasn't broken yet either, its been 8 months), and the sound quality is nice. Highs are decent, bass is pretty nice, but not huge and boomy. The white noise cancellation works rather well, for not being an IEM this is the best you're going to get (IEMs have better noise cancellation/reduction). It should be noted however that there are a few drawbacks; 1) Bose has their own preamp in the phones, 2) you need a live battery always, since it always passes through the preamp therefore no battery = much lower volume, 3) noise cancellation is always on, 4) noise cancellation leaves a weird white noise hum when music isn't playing (despite what people claim, no, you cannot hear that while music is playing), and 5) since the phone have their own preamp, you may want to adjust your input into the phones to get the desired sound YOU want, not what Bose wants.

Drawbacks aside, the present levels in the preamp are actually pretty nice, and the headphones really do sound and function nicely.

That's just my two cents though.

EDIT: Oops!! It looks like I missed your requirements OP! Just some food for thought then :)
 
some like the shure SRH840 - but nowhere near the acclaim the m50 gets - they're supposed to be a little laid back. that tends to make me turn volume up looking for some excitement.

btw - i use the m50 for studio monitoring and have argued its flatness for that use against people who feel it's too bassy and "fun"

i certainly wouldn't say it's too neutral for casual listening.

it's comfortable, rugged, cheap (comparatively), good for colder weather and the sound blocking is good but not overly isolating like iems or even the senn 280pro (which i also have).
 
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