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Closed allrounder Headphones (<$200) without need for Amp (iPhone Music & PC Gaming)

post #1 of 3
11/11/11 at 10:46pm
Thread Starter 

Hi there,

 

I am about to purchase my first "better" headphones. After heavy(!!) research (wow, what a great site this is, btw.) I am hoping to get a few words of advice from the Pros before I make a final decision :)

 

Let's get to it. Here's what I want from my headphones:

 

First of all, I need closed headphones that leak as little sound as possible. I am ready to spend up to 200$.

 

I am listening to pretty much everything from a bit of classic, mainstream pop to hard rock or rap. I guess I need an "allrounder". Next to soundquality (obviously) I really enjoy listening to music rather loud. I guess if I had to choose between best quality and volume I would rather like them to be louder than perfect sounding...yeah I know, not an audiophile yet, I guess ;)

 

Next to music, one big thing for me is gaming: I like to play shooters as well as MMO's on a casual basis. Definitely fun is more important than absolut accuracy here. I just want to be really immersed and want the games to sound great. I guess what I need is a good "soundstage" for gaming, right? For the occasional (very) long gaming session I want them to be really comfortable, as well. 

 

I will power the headphones with the standard onboard soundcard of my Asus P5-Qe motherboard for gaming but I also will use them a lot with my Laptop (2011 Macbook Air) and my iPhone 4. I really need the headphones to handle those devices without having to sacrifice too much soundquality or volume. Also, I really don't want to have to use a headphone amp to get a lot of "value" out of the headphones. I am willing to accept that without an amp they will not sound their ultimate best but I still really want them to sound impressive (at least) without the amp. 

 

So far I have identified the following headphones as potentially fitting to my needs:

 

- ATH-A900 

Seem to be pretty good for me - I don't love the size and looks but that's ok. Any good alternatives?

 

- DT770 Pro 80

Are those going to impress me without the amp? Even with "just" the iPhone 4? I hear very different opinions on that. If it wasn't for that "Ohm"-Issue, I would have bought them already

 

Thank you very much in advance for any opinion or help :)

 

DD

 

 

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post #2 of 3
11/12/11 at 11:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by DannyDonatello View Post
Hi there,

I am about to purchase my first "better" headphones. After heavy(!!) research (wow, what a great site this is, btw.) I am hoping to get a few words of advice from the Pros before I make a final decision :)

Let's get to it. Here's what I want from my headphones:

First of all, I need closed headphones that leak as little sound as possible. I am ready to spend up to 200$.

I am listening to pretty much everything from a bit of classic, mainstream pop to hard rock or rap. I guess I need an "allrounder". Next to soundquality (obviously) I really enjoy listening to music rather loud. I guess if I had to choose between best quality and volume I would rather like them to be louder than perfect sounding...yeah I know, not an audiophile yet, I guess ;)

Next to music, one big thing for me is gaming: I like to play shooters as well as MMO's on a casual basis. Definitely fun is more important than absolut accuracy here. I just want to be really immersed and want the games to sound great. I guess what I need is a good "soundstage" for gaming, right? For the occasional (very) long gaming session I want them to be really comfortable, as well. 

I will power the headphones with the standard onboard soundcard of my Asus P5-Qe motherboard for gaming but I also will use them a lot with my Laptop (2011 Macbook Air) and my iPhone 4. I really need the headphones to handle those devices without having to sacrifice too much soundquality or volume. Also, I really don't want to have to use a headphone amp to get a lot of "value" out of the headphones. I am willing to accept that without an amp they will not sound their ultimate best but I still really want them to sound impressive (at least) without the amp. 

So far I have identified the following headphones as potentially fitting to my needs:

- ATH-A900 

Seem to be pretty good for me - I don't love the size and looks but that's ok. Any good alternatives?

- DT770 Pro 80

Are those going to impress me without the amp? Even with "just" the iPhone 4? I hear very different opinions on that. If it wasn't for that "Ohm"-Issue, I would have bought them already

Thank you very much in advance for any opinion or help :)


All DT-770s work best when amped.

ATH-A900 should work nice with out a headphone amplifier, but not considered bassy headphones, but should give a decent bass

Audio Technica just launched new closed headphones, the A500X, A700X and A900X

Denon AH-D2000 should work great for your needs, but they are over your budget..

 

 

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post #3 of 3
11/12/11 at 1:21pm

Heya,

 

The DT770 PRO would do great for you. Good sound stage, isolate very well, very comfortable for long sessions. Excellent with dolby headphone.

Shure SRH840 is another good one. They're not as comfortable to wear, but have an excellent neutral sound signature, decent sound stage, and good isolation.

Ultrasone HFI 580 is another option, decently comfortable, good sound stage and good isolation.

AudioTechnica A900 could be an option for you too. Big drivers, comfortable, easy to wear long hours, good sound stage.

A used Denon D2000 would also be excellent for you (usually $200~250 used) if you could swing one. Excellent sound stage, comfortable for long sessions, but they are not very isolating.

 

Very best,

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