Best headphones for hip hop/rap for 300$

Quote:

Originally Posted by Killashell421 

I'm new to head fi and I'm wondering if you guys can help me find mi next headphone.
My current headphone is the Sony xb500 and mi budget is 300$ but I can manage to put it up to 350 if necessary. I listen to alot of hip hop/rap music( mostly old scool ) from my itouch 4 so I need good bass. I researched alot of headphones and I'm stuck between getting these
Ultrasone pro 900 (349$)
Akg k550 (299$)
Denon d2000 (299$)
Sennheiser hd600 (290$) used
and Grado sr325is (299$).
I know some of these need a good amp to be used so if any of you have any suggestions about that to it would be really helpfull.

Heya,

I would put you on the M-Audio Q40 with a Fiio E11 (bass EQ set to 2) for your needs. Does what the PRO900 does, but for less cost. Way under budget too. The PRO900 is great, comfortable, and very stylish, but I found it's treble to be very fatiguing which gets tiresome when you're pumping up volume to hear some boom. The Q40 doesn't have bright treble at all. So you can crank it up until you go deaf.

Very best,

You could search for velour pads compatible with the m audio q40.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/606043/m-audio-q40-best-replacement-earpads-beyerdynamic-dt770-990-velour-or-gel-pads

lol my friend...finally you've come to the right place

i also have the xb500's and also listen to more old school rap than anything else, (mostly golden era, but some early 80's and a lot of mid to late 90's to) and while i love the sony's the bass is more suited for todays hip hop where bass is infinitely more prominent, especially in south rap

if you're looking to enjoy that east coast boom bap, west coast g funk or smooth jazz rap (think guru's jazzmatazz, tribe, and mc solaar from france) i would recommend either the ath pro700mk2's or the monoprice 8323's with a dac and an amp

the ath one's are the closest thing you can find to the xb500's in terms of bass but being more refined all around and responds even better to eq'ing than the sony's, the quantity doesnt quite slam as hard as the xb500's but you get better texturing and overall better quality, with eq'ing you can pretty much input as much or as little mids and lows as you want, it can take it

the monoprice 8323's might potentially be a better choice if you actually listen to lyrics because this thing has some of the best mids out there and brings a good amount of bass as well, i use these mostly for r&b and new jack swing, dancehall and stuff like that as well and best part is these are only around 28 dollars new and shipped, leaving you a good amount of money to spend on a dac or amp, is this going to be for at home or for portable use so i can give you some more recommendations as far as dacs and amps

edit: also wanted to add that some people put velour padding on the both the headphones i suggested but you would probably sacrifice some bass for comfort thru bass bleed

since comfort is a big deal i would avoid the ath pro700's and look into getting the monoprices with some beyerdynamic dt250 velour pads or what i use the ath m50 pads for 20 dollars more, altogether you'd be into it for just 50 dollars leaving you alot of room to play with amps and dacs, since you mentioned pete rock & cl smooth (mecca and the soul brother is a classic!) check for nujabes, the music he makes is very reminiscent of that pete rock sound with horns and stuff, he even did a song with cl smooth

this sounds crazy out of the monoprice 8323's (which i forgot to mention is the same exact headphone as the kickher hp541's but rebranded and much much cheaper) i do eq a good amount of bass into it, mostly with bass boosting dsp's in foobar but not to the xb levels where it drowns out the vocals and background strings, lol i use xb's for wacka flocka and gucci mane where i care more about the energy than i do the actual lyrics, right now im using the monoprices to listen to joell ortiz and souls of mischief and it sounds incredible, so my final recommendation is the monoprices and then get either a fiio e6 or digizoid zo2 portable amp to add a little blackness to the background and boost the bass, they're both good at bass boosting but the zo2 really really excels at that ( i prefer hardware eq'ing than software 9 times out of 10, its more likely to distort in my opinion when you're playing with software eq's)

if you're going to be doing more at home listening i would get one of these fiio dac/amp combo's, either the e7/e9 combo, e17/e9 or e9/e10 combo, ive never used any fiio dacs so i cant give you my impression on those but those have quite the following here on headfi as well as other forums and are really good entry points that all fit into your budget with headphones, earpad replacement and dac plus amp

lol you dont need to unscrew or screw on anything, they come right off and on with minimal force, there's like a little lip where the earpad leather wraps around, lol trust me when u see it you'll get it, oh and i just remembered another one that i personally havent heard but have seen associated with what you're looking for, the creative aurvana, tyll also did a write up on these as well (they're rebranded denon d1001's) but im still sticking with my original assertion that you'll probably most like the monoprice ones

edit: when you go check them out tommorow or whenever, they probably wont have the monoprice 8323's under that name but theres a good chance they'll have the kicker hp541's which like i said before are the same exact headphones under the kicker brand, so good luck! let me know on what u decide

I'm with MalVeauX. The Q40 sound amazing with hip hop especially plugged into an amp. And it pairs well with almost any amp I've thrown at it. Fiiio. Nuforce. Burson. Even a Graham Slee. Its sound signature is perfect for hip hop. Big low-end bass, nicely prominent mids (amazingly not recessed!) and the smoothest treble I've heard on a headphone. On the negative, they're not very pretty or the most comfortable or look very durable. I wouldn't take these headphones outside.

Best hip hop headphone to take outside or just plain period? The on-ear V-Moda M80 or V80. The bass is big, punchy, and deep. Mids are forward and smooth. Treble is present but not piercing. These cans make those bad recordings prevalent in most 90s hip hop sound great. Pair it with a Fiio or Zo and you're set.

And I wouldn't touch Ultrasones for listening to hip hop, especially old school. Too much bite.

As for best $300 hip hop headphone? Probably the Pioneer HDJ-2000. But the thing is the M80 and Q40 sound better for hip hop at a cheaper price! lol The ATH-ES10 is also a very expensive hip hop headphone. You might be lucky and find a used one for 300.

Quote:

Originally Posted by drheadphone 

I'm with MalVeauX. The Q40 sound amazing with hip hop especially plugged into an amp. And it pairs well with almost any amp I've thrown at it. Fiiio. Nuforce. Burson. Even a Graham Slee. Its sound signature is perfect for hip hop. Big low-end bass, nicely prominent mids (amazingly not recessed!) and the smoothest treble I've heard on a headphone. On the negative, they're not very pretty or the most comfortable or look very durable. I wouldn't take these headphones outside.

 

Best hip hop headphone to take outside or just plain period? The on-ear V-Moda M80 or V80. The bass is big, punchy, and deep. Mids are forward and smooth. Treble is present but not piercing. These cans make those bad recordings prevalent in most 90s hip hop sound great. Pair it with a Fiio or Zo and you're set.

 

And I wouldn't touch Ultrasones for listening to hip hop, especially old school. Too much bite.

 

As for best $300 hip hop headphone? Probably the Pioneer HDJ-2000. But the thing is the M80 and Q40 sound better for hip hop at a cheaper price! lol

yeah you really dont want something thats going to be to revealing with alot of early to mid 90's hip hop albums, the mastering on 36 chambers and mobb deeps hell on earth were pretty #$%ing far from michael jacksons thriller lol

also just remembered another one you can throw into the pot, the panasonic htf600

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dutchi MerenGue 

 

yeah you really dont want something thats going to be to revealing with alot of early to mid 90's hip hop albums, the mastering on 36 chambers and mobb deeps hell on earth were pretty #$%ing far from michael jacksons thriller lol

 

 

also just remembered another one you can throw into the pot, the panasonic htf600

Agreed, especially if the source is an ipod and probably mp3 format. I like smooth treble for hip hop, too.

Wouldn't touch the HTF600, especially if the OP's budget is much bigger than that. Better headphones can had, namely the Aurvana Lives or the ATH-WS55, for a little more.
 

Edit: Whoops! Misread that quote!

Yeah, the HDJ-2000 sound nice. Connect it to an amp and they'll sound nicer. Plus, they look and feel amazing. (I have an eye on the all-black version myself.) The pads are leather, so you'll sweat. They sell velour ones.

But if you're coming from the XB500, the HDJ-2000 might sound bass-light. Definitely needs a bass boosting amp.