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Clear headphones with good bass response for under $100?

post #1 of 26
1/27/10 at 6:45pm
Thread Starter 
Hey everyone, first post here. I should have looked around and found you guys earlier! Anyways, here is my question...

I currently own 2 pairs of Sennheisers... the HD280's and the EH150's. I mainly listen to bass-heavy music (electro, house, etc...) and I really like the EH150's because the mid/highs sound good, and if I use an equalizer (using Winamp, since most of the music I listen to is on a PC), the bass response is pretty good as well. The HD280s probably have more accurate mids/highs, but they don't have as good of a low end.

A few days ago, the right ear of my EH150's went out, so I went to the store to find a new set of headphones. I settled on the Sony MDR-XB500's since they are supposed to have a great low end. When I tried them, the low end is good, but "boomy" in my opinion, and the mids/highs sound muffled kind of. Not the clarity that I am used to from the Sennheisers. They also "leak" a lot of sound, since I discovered that they are not truly closed. I will be listening to them in the office too, so I am going to return them, and I need another suggestion for headphones under the ~$100 mark that are good for my genre of music.

How are the following Sennheisers: HD415, HD212, HD428?

Any help is appreciated, thanks!
Shawn
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post #2 of 26
1/28/10 at 11:40am
Koss Porta Pro or Sennheiser PX 100's.....Both great cans in terms of price/performance and very durable and portable
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post #3 of 26
1/28/10 at 12:31pm
K81, V6, SRH440, D1001, M50...

Welcome to head-fi. Sorry about your wallet.
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post #4 of 26
1/28/10 at 12:43pm
Gonna throw the ES7 into the mix. I've always been impressed on how well it can deliver the bass yet still remain quite clear throughout rest of the spectrum.
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post #5 of 26
1/28/10 at 1:19pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the responses! I am looking for full size, closed headphones, so the Porta Pro and PX100's don't really work for me... most of the rest of them are within my price range though.

Wow, decisions, decisions. Will all of the headphones mentioned here (K81, V6, SRH440, M50, ES7) be better than the Sennheisers I mentioned (HD415, HD212, HD428, HD438)?
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post #6 of 26
1/28/10 at 1:38pm
ES7...or HD 448 with amp.
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post #7 of 26
1/28/10 at 2:23pm
The Sennheiser HD438's would also be a good choice, though they are a bit power hungry. They're very clear and detailed with good bass
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post #8 of 26
1/28/10 at 2:42pm
I would highly recommend the ES7. They're very punchy and by far are my favorite portables I've heard under $100. They can also be found for ~$60 refurbed.
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post #9 of 26
1/28/10 at 2:47pm
yea i also say the es7. i havent tried many under 100$ but i love the sound of the es7.
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post #10 of 26
1/28/10 at 2:54pm
Thread Starter 
What about if I wanted to do some occasional mixing on them (Ableton, Mixmeister, etc...), would the ES7's be OK at being monitors?

Meaning, are they accurate enough? My HD280s are supposed to be "monitors" but they don't have enough of a low end.
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post #11 of 26
1/28/10 at 3:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by shawnee4885 View Post
What about if I wanted to do some occasional mixing on them (Ableton, Mixmeister, etc...), would the ES7's be OK at being monitors?

Meaning, are they accurate enough? My HD280s are supposed to be "monitors" but they don't have enough of a low end.

The 280's are fairly flat, and are a pretty good indicator of what the mix should actually sound like. I wouldn't go looking for some bass monsters for mixing, they will color the sound too much. I would instead get used to the 280's without any EQ's.

Edit:

I have a pair of EH150's as well, I wouldn't call that decent low end. They pretty much stop producing bass at 60hz (and it's already weak by then). They also are very dark and congested sounding headphones.
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post #12 of 26
1/28/10 at 3:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by shawnee4885 View Post
What about if I wanted to do some occasional mixing on them (Ableton, Mixmeister, etc...), would the ES7's be OK at being monitors?

Meaning, are they accurate enough? My HD280s are supposed to be "monitors" but they don't have enough of a low end.
It really depends on the type of mixing that you do. If you're going for a studio sound, the best <$100 monitosr I've heard would be either the AKG K240 or the Fostex T50RP. However, if you're looking for live mixing (DJing), a dedicated DJ can (my favorite being the HD215) is much more applicable. However, the 240 and the T50 aren't that great for on the go and the HD215 is out of production. The ES7 will give you a moderately colored sound, but unless you're a pro at mixing, it won't really matter.
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post #13 of 26
1/28/10 at 4:49pm
Thread Starter 
So it sounds like I should go with the ES7's. Are these no longer being made though? A lot of places online say they are out of stock or discontinued. Is there a newer version?
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post #14 of 26
1/28/10 at 5:05pm
They're still in production as far as I know. Beach Camera seems to have them in stock: Audio-Technica ATH-ES7 Portable Stainless Steel Headphones (Black) |BeachCamera.com
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post #15 of 26
1/28/10 at 5:10pm
edit... wrong post, sorry.
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