Shootout: 114 Portable Headphones Reviewed (Xiaomi Mi Headphones added 04/21/2015)
Aug 8, 2013 at 11:54 AM Post #4,096 of 4,593
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guys im having a hard time choosing between dt1350, hd25, mdr1r and es700. i listen to everything but mostly prog rock (pinkfloyd,opeth,dreamtheater etc) pls help :frowning2:

 
Not familiar with the 1R or the ES700, personally.
 
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Hey joker, I'm planning on buying the RPHTF600, but with shipping to Israel it would cost about 66 dollars. Do you think it's worth it at that price?

 
I think so, yes. 
 
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No review of the JVC HAS400 and HAS500? These are now some of the most popular budget headphones on head-fi. I love my HAS400.


Too busy with IEMs and the half-dozen unedited reviews I still have to post in this thread
redface.gif
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Aug 8, 2013 at 1:10 PM Post #4,097 of 4,593
guys im having a hard time choosing between dt1350, hd25, mdr1r and es700. i listen to everything but mostly prog rock (pinkfloyd,opeth,dreamtheater etc) pls help :frowning2:

 
1R and ES700 are much more mid-centric, while DT1350 and HD25 are more traditional sounding (somewhat v-shaped). For rock you may want to go with a more traditional sound (although you have a lot of other choices there, e.g. Momentum). Mid-centric headphones are better for jazz and slower genres.
 
Aug 11, 2013 at 12:28 PM Post #4,098 of 4,593
Hey Joker, I was hoping for your help once again :)
Well, I'm looking for over ears. It dosen't have to be very portable as it's mainly for house use and maybe a little outside use, I want it to be comfortable (1-2 hours of comfortable with like 5-15 minutes of break is fine), fairly easy to drive (International Galaxy S3 or 2nd Gen iPod Touch, also my PC which has a Realtek sound card) and obviously sound good. I am looking for a fairly detailed sound, but I obviously want to enjoy listening to it. I don't need too much bass, a balanced or even slightly emphasised would be great. I like forward mids, and I don't want the highs to be too harsh. The budget is about 60$ with international shipping, probarly from eBay.
So I've been reading reviews for the past few days, and these are my current options -
Panasonic RP HTF600 (65$) - I've read those are very fun sounding but some claim these to be undetailed and not the greatest value as there are better headphones for the money.
Incipio Forte 38 (58$) - I've read those are rebranded Fischer FA-004 which you reviewed. These look nice and appear to be the most portable of the bunch, however I don't know about how comfortable they'll be for me and I didn't quite get a grasp of the sound signature. I'd love if you could compare these to the HTF600.
Superlux HD681 (35$) - Cheapest of the bunch I've found with shipping. I read these are quite comfortable and offer great detail and sound stage, with harsh highs. Some say it can be EQ'd down and then it's a little better but I don't know.. I don't really like harsh highs. Did you get a chance to listen to these?
 
Thanks alot for your help! :)
Edit: Oh, music genres :) Mainly rock and metal (anything from Deep Purple to Amon Amarth), some blues and jazz, and some electronical music :)
 
Aug 11, 2013 at 4:58 PM Post #4,099 of 4,593
Quote:
Hey Joker, I was hoping for your help once again :)
Well, I'm looking for over ears. It dosen't have to be very portable as it's mainly for house use and maybe a little outside use, I want it to be comfortable (1-2 hours of comfortable with like 5-15 minutes of break is fine), fairly easy to drive (International Galaxy S3 or 2nd Gen iPod Touch, also my PC which has a Realtek sound card) and obviously sound good. I am looking for a fairly detailed sound, but I obviously want to enjoy listening to it. I don't need too much bass, a balanced or even slightly emphasised would be great. I like forward mids, and I don't want the highs to be too harsh. The budget is about 60$ with international shipping, probarly from eBay.
So I've been reading reviews for the past few days, and these are my current options -
Panasonic RP HTF600 (65$) - I've read those are very fun sounding but some claim these to be undetailed and not the greatest value as there are better headphones for the money.
Incipio Forte 38 (58$) - I've read those are rebranded Fischer FA-004 which you reviewed. These look nice and appear to be the most portable of the bunch, however I don't know about how comfortable they'll be for me and I didn't quite get a grasp of the sound signature. I'd love if you could compare these to the HTF600.
Superlux HD681 (35$) - Cheapest of the bunch I've found with shipping. I read these are quite comfortable and offer great detail and sound stage, with harsh highs. Some say it can be EQ'd down and then it's a little better but I don't know.. I don't really like harsh highs. Did you get a chance to listen to these?
 
Thanks alot for your help! :)
Edit: Oh, music genres :) Mainly rock and metal (anything from Deep Purple to Amon Amarth), some blues and jazz, and some electronical music :)


I don't think the HTF600 will work all that well for you. The Forte 38, if it's indeed the same as the FA-004, would be a better match for what you're after in terms of mids and treble (mids not recessed, treble not harsh). I have not heard the HD681.
 
Aug 11, 2013 at 10:52 PM Post #4,100 of 4,593
Quote:
 
Superlux HD681 (35$) - Cheapest of the bunch I've found with shipping. I read these are quite comfortable and offer great detail and sound stage, with harsh highs. Some say it can be EQ'd down and then it's a little better but I don't know.. I don't really like harsh highs. Did you get a chance to listen to these?
 
 

I own these and really like them.  What you describe above sounds about right. Although the treble doesn't bother me like it does some.  What I really enjoy on them is the bass.   I get more texture and sub-bass impact from them than any of the other phones I own which includes the CAL! and PortaPro.  This could be a negative for you if you want less emphasized bass.  The main thing I don't like about them is the stock pads.  They get hot and sweaty after about 20 minutes.  I intend on replacing them with some velours in the future.  There are threads out there with pad recommendations.  Other than that, they are very comfortable.  Overall, I think they are wonderful for a sub-$35 phone for home use.
 
Aug 12, 2013 at 4:16 AM Post #4,101 of 4,593
Thanks a lot to you both. I think I won't risk it with the treble of the HD681 and end up buying the Forte 38 :)
 
Aug 12, 2013 at 4:26 PM Post #4,102 of 4,593
Hey Joker, thanx for the priceless megapost shootout! I was hoping for your help in choosing the right budget circum aural headphone...
 
They are intended for every day use, nothing sophisticated really. Oriented for movies and music (OST's, indie, classical, instrumental, hard-rock) with non advanced installation; mp3 player, TV, PC+laptop with an onboard MSI sound card, all with no amplifier)
 
Which is more adequate for my reqs?
 
I was leaning towards the HD668's due to the raving reviews (good soundstage, detailed, natural, warm sound. Or they may sound lifeless and boring?) all over the site as well as the net but I'm having some doubts regarding some aspects.
         
I've read that
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Those with high impedance are not good for listening to most portable cd/mp3 players, computer audio or most any application where it is required to use the 1/8" phono plug as opposed to the 1/4". The reason for this is that they have a higher impedance than most headphones (such as sony mdr-v6) used for those applications that don't put out much power. Resulting in low volume and harsh sound when eq is applied. But, they were designed for studio reference not for general purpose.

Firstly, the combination of 56 Ohms impedance και 98db sensitivity concerns me regarding the low volume or low efficiency.
For example, they will they sound much lower at the same volume compared to a headphone of 32 Ohms και 112dB?
In general, it takes a lot of volume/power to bring headphones with low sensitivity and high impedance, to satisfactory or normal loudness levels? Since there's no amplifier, with the limited mediums that I have, will I be dissapointed in this area?
However, the koss porta pro with 60 ohms impedance and 101 dB are considered to be highly portable and perfect for such devices..Right?
 
Secondly, another thing that concerns me is how comfortable they are for 2-3 hours straight with those weird head clamps, compared to the other with a headband (Panasonic RP-HTF600) or self-adjusting elastic headband (JVC HARX700, Samson SR850) that look more comfortable to the head. Any feedback regarding this aspect from owners of HD668's?
 
Finally, if the sound qualities that better fit to my reqs are those of HD668's, should I go for their "identical" brother, Samson SR850 in terms of sound (same driver) but with lower Impedance of 32 Ohms, 98dB sensitivity and maybe more confortable self-adjusting elastic headband (some say that it's tight..)? Or it doesn't worth it for 13$?

I have a 50$ budget and i can find the following for these prices (including shipping) cause lately very few products are shipped to Greece
mad.gif
, when they do it's about 20$ and some models are so xpensive to my local stores.
Superlux HD 668B      39$
Sennheiser HD 202 II  39$
Samson SR850          52$
JVC HARX700            60$
Panasonic HTF600     66$
 
 
Any help please? Recommendations and thoughts from everyone are very welcome!
Thanx in advance!
 
Aug 13, 2013 at 2:02 AM Post #4,103 of 4,593
Quote:
Hey Joker, thanx for the priceless megapost shootout! I was hoping for your help in choosing the right budget circum aural headphone...
 
They are intended for every day use, nothing sophisticated really. Oriented for movies and music (OST's, indie, classical, instrumental, hard-rock) with non advanced installation; mp3 player, TV, PC+laptop with an onboard MSI sound card, all with no amplifier)
 
Which is more adequate for my reqs?
 
I was leaning towards the HD668's due to the raving reviews (good soundstage, detailed, natural, warm sound. Or they may sound lifeless and boring?) all over the site as well as the net but I'm having some doubts regarding some aspects.
         
I've read that
Firstly, the combination of 56 Ohms impedance και 98db sensitivity concerns me regarding the low volume or low efficiency.


I wouldn't worry about efficiency - the HD668 worked fine with my portable players. You may not be able to get it up to ear-splitting volumes but it'll be fine. Even if you assume that your portable player only produces about 0.5 V rms you will still be able to get around 5mW of power out of it with a 56-ohm headphone, which will get your peak volumes over 100dB (assuming 98db/mW sensitivity). Chances are your TV/PC sound card produce more than 0.5 V so you would have nothing to worry about with the HD668 at reasonable listening volumes. 
 
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For example, they will they sound much lower at the same volume compared to a headphone of 32 Ohms και 112dB?

 
 
Lower, yes, but realistically it won't be anywhere near the maximum volume your player/sound card can produce so it doesn't matter.
 
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Secondly, another thing that concerns me is how comfortable they are for 2-3 hours straight with those weird head clamps, compared to the other with a headband (Panasonic RP-HTF600) or self-adjusting elastic headband (JVC HARX700, Samson SR850) that look more comfortable to the head. Any feedback regarding this aspect from owners of HD668's?
 
Finally, if the sound qualities that better fit to my reqs are those of HD668's, should I go for their "identical" brother, Samson SR850 in terms of sound (same driver) but with lower Impedance of 32 Ohms, 98dB sensitivity and maybe more confortable self-adjusting elastic headband (some say that it's tight..)? Or it doesn't worth it for 13$?

I have a 50$ budget and i can find the following for these prices (including shipping) cause lately very few products are shipped to Greece
mad.gif
, when they do it's about 20$ and some models are so xpensive to my local stores.
Superlux HD 668B      39$
Sennheiser HD 202 II  39$
Samson SR850          52$
JVC HARX700            60$
Panasonic HTF600     66$
 

 
I did find the HTF600 more comfortable in long-term listening (minus the fact that it gets sweaty) but the HD668B wasn't bad at all. I haven't tried the SR850 and the HA-RX700 had the same issue as the HTF600 (tendency to get sweaty) plus it weighed more on the head. I am not a fan of the way the HD202-II sounds. 
 
The sound of the HD668 tends to be more on the neutral side so if you want a warmer, bassier sound I would invest in the Panasonics. Otherwise just go for the HD668 and enjoy!
 
Aug 28, 2013 at 12:01 AM Post #4,106 of 4,593
Aug 28, 2013 at 10:10 PM Post #4,108 of 4,593
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First post here, thank you for your very comprehensive comparison. It really help me with choosing my first real headphone.

 
Glad it was useful 
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Sep 1, 2013 at 3:52 AM Post #4,109 of 4,593
Have you guys used the Headrush headphones? I currently own these, they sound fairly good to me but I'm not an very informed on audio so I wont comment on that but they are pretty comfortable and cheap, I wear them for hours every day. 
 
www.thesource.ca/estore/product.aspx?language=en-CA&catalog=Online&category=Full+Size+Headphones&product=8003762
 
Sep 4, 2013 at 11:05 AM Post #4,110 of 4,593
hey joker , i need some help , can you help me chose between srh440 , skullcandy aviator and ath-pro500 mk2 , all i need is the best sq between these 3 .
 

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