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Full size headphones for isolation under $80

post #1 of 16
7/28/12 at 12:17am
Thread Starter 

Hi everyone,

After perusing through head-fi and numerous other sites, I've came up with a few choices for my FIRST closed full-sized headphone.

Firstly, I thought I could get headphones in the price range of about 80-100, Shure SRH 440 $100 in Australia, Sennheisser HD 280 $104.

Then I thought I'd go for cheaper models because I don't really have a high standard. Audiotechnica ATH T200 or Senn HD201 about $30-40 JVC HA RX 700 for $30

FInally, my mood swing to more decent choices coz I thought I'm gonna use them for a while. In the long run, a decent pair may be more cost-effective. Price has now changed to about 50-80. So options are  Creative Aurvana Live and  and Koss DJ100 for $50. Philips Citiscape $75 with its memory foam pad seems to be a great option for isolation, but the price is a bit high though. If I could get pretty good isolation with the JVC Rx700 and Koss DJ100, I would go for those.

I'm absolutely a novice and it's my first pair. I don't have any specific choice in terms of music. My priority is comfort and isolation (coz my housemates are a bit noisy). I've got an IEM Etymotics MC5 with comply foam tips but sometimes the cable rubs my ears, which is a bit uncomfortable.

Any suggestions in terms of models or opinions for a novice or websites/places in Australia to buy are much appreciated.

Thanks everyone for reading the post and offering your advice.


Edited by mafiaboylay2 - 7/28/12 at 1:26pm
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post #2 of 16
7/28/12 at 1:14am

You can check out my thread (which has gone on for far too long).

 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/617242/good-cans-80

 

To sum it up though, my decision probably comes down to Philips Citiscape Downtown vs Creative Aurvana Live! vs Sony MDR-ZX700.

 

I'm probably picking the Downtowns in the end (for most comfort/isolation).

 

But I'm a noob like you, so I have no experience with whether either is actually any good.

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post #3 of 16
7/28/12 at 1:20pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slivortal View Post

You can check out my thread (which has gone on for far too long).

 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/617242/good-cans-80

 

To sum it up though, my decision probably comes down to Philips Citiscape Downtown vs Creative Aurvana Live! vs Sony MDR-ZX700.

 

I'm probably picking the Downtowns in the end (for most comfort/isolation).

 

But I'm a noob like you, so I have no experience with whether either is actually any good.

The Philips looks really nice and it seems to provide the most isolation among the headphones I've came across. However, after I found the JVC HA RX 700 for $30 and Koss DJ100 for $50, I'm tempted to go for those instead of $75 Philips.

What do you think?

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post #4 of 16
7/28/12 at 1:29pm

For great isolation, good comfort and good build quality you may also wish to consider the Panasonic RP-HTX7.

 

It also sounds pretty good too!

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post #5 of 16
7/28/12 at 3:33pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by GREQ View Post

For great isolation, good comfort and good build quality you may also wish to consider the Panasonic RP-HTX7.

 

It also sounds pretty good too!


Great. Another option. Thanks.

 

I now lean forward the Koss DJ100. I think it's only $20 more compared to the JVC Rx700, but the reviews I read said it's great for comfort and isolation. If I get it, do you guys recommend an amp, like Fiio E6, E5...? I just actually know what an amp does yesterday. I'll be mainly using the headphones with laptop. I've got an iPad and won't leave out the possibility of using it with the iPad.


Edited by mafiaboylay2 - 7/28/12 at 3:37pm
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post #6 of 16
7/28/12 at 6:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mafiaboylay2 View Post


Great. Another option. Thanks.

I now lean forward the Koss DJ100. I think it's only $20 more compared to the JVC Rx700, but the reviews I read said it's great for comfort and isolation. If I get it, do you guys recommend an amp, like Fiio E6, E5...? I just actually know what an amp does yesterday. I'll be mainly using the headphones with laptop. I've got an iPad and won't leave out the possibility of using it with the iPad.

I know a lot of people say the DJ100s sound terrible without an amp - I know it's one of the things that took them off my list (not looking to use an amp, not to mention they can be expensive).
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post #7 of 16
7/28/12 at 9:01pm

For comfort AND isolation, 2 choices. 

 

1. Numark Red Wave. About $80 US. More bass heavy, but portable, comfortable and they isolate quite well. Not to mention, they look awesome to boot.

 

2. Monoprice 8323. About $25 US. Not AS bass heavy as the Red Waves, but they provide AMAZING clarity and details for the price. SQ, protability, great price, comfortable and incredible isolation. I found that in their stock state, their isolation is truly a marvelous thing.

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post #8 of 16
7/28/12 at 9:42pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slivortal View Post


I know a lot of people say the DJ100s sound terrible without an amp - I know it's one of the things that took them off my list (not looking to use an amp, not to mention they can be expensive).

Yeah, I'll probably spend another $25 for the Fiio E6.

Quote:
Originally Posted by biggbenn74 View Post

For comfort AND isolation, 2 choices. 

 

1. Numark Red Wave. About $80 US. More bass heavy, but portable, comfortable and they isolate quite well. Not to mention, they look awesome to boot.

 

2. Monoprice 8323. About $25 US. Not AS bass heavy as the Red Waves, but they provide AMAZING clarity and details for the price. SQ, protability, great price, comfortable and incredible isolation. I found that in their stock state, their isolation is truly a marvelous thing.

Thanks for your recommendations, biggbenn. Last time I've checked I couldn't find the Monoprice that can be shipped to Australia, but now magically it's available. However, is there comfort issue with that one? If the headphone, headband cushion and velour pads total to $50, I think I'd better go for something out of the box, let alone they're not all available after my first search.

The Numark is great. The first time I've heard of it. There're so many budget headphones out there. Will definitely research about it.


Edited by mafiaboylay2 - 7/29/12 at 5:41am
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post #9 of 16
7/29/12 at 2:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mafiaboylay2 View Post


Great. Another option. Thanks.

If you don't like the advice don't take it - being fecitious about it means you're less likely to receive help in future.

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post #10 of 16
7/29/12 at 7:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mafiaboylay2 View Post

 However, is there comfort issue with that one?

The Monoprice? If you don't pay any attention, you can wear them for hours with no comfort issues at all. I just wanted to try something new by modding mine. They are perfectly fine as is.

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post #11 of 16
8/2/12 at 10:45pm

I like the HD428s or some Denon D1001/1000 (or Creative Aurvana Live!)

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post #12 of 16
8/3/12 at 3:49am

All the above recommended cans are really good ... for the price. 

 

Superlux HD661(USD$48) with Velour pads (USD$22) 

 

:)))

 

Or 

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004MMEI8W/

 

Cheerz ! :)


Edited by valerianaoff - 8/3/12 at 3:52am
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post #13 of 16
8/3/12 at 4:41am

plus one for the dj100, doesn't need an amp so no idea why everyone keeps saying it does. Isolation, for me anyway, is very good and haven't heard anything better yet for that price range. I hope this helps you and good luck :)

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post #14 of 16
8/4/12 at 7:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by valerianaoff View Post

All the above recommended cans are really good ... for the price. 

 

Superlux HD661(USD$48) with Velour pads (USD$22) 

 

:)))

 

Or 

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004MMEI8W/

 

Cheerz ! :)

What velour pads?

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post #15 of 16
8/4/12 at 7:55pm

Having directly compared the RP-HTX7s to the TBSE1s (which are said to be identical to the DJ100s), I would recommend the former if you want a more distant, cavernous feeling, and the latter if you want a really in-your-face feeling.

 

The Koss headphones do sound a lot more crisp and clear in the vocals and the instrumentals, as opposed to the Panas which sound muddy and bloated at times. The Panas aren't exactly "fast" headphones. In terms of details though, I don't think the HTX7s would lose out to the TBSE1s at all, and at times it is hard to find the overshadowed instruments on the TBSE1s.

 

My sister also holds the opinion that neither is really "better" than one another, but are different. Specifically, she said that certain tracks (as in instruments) on the TBSE1s were much more prominent than on the HTX7s.

 

Also, for people getting into higher-end headphones, the warm signature of the HTX7s may be preferable to the more neutral one of the TBSE1s. I'm sure the OP has read about the DJ100 sounding terrible with badly mastered tracks. I have found the same with my TBSE1s. I don't have an op-amp yet, but I'm pretty close to buying one for my TBSE1s, as I don't think my Walkman or smartphone are sufficient to drive it properly. The HTX7s on the other hand seems to be fine when plugged into an iPod Nano.

 

If you want an op-amp, just search up CMoy on ebay. I'm pretty sure you could get one for around $30. Ishcabible has said that they're more powerful than the E5s and E6s, and not that expensive either.

 

Oh, and neither of these headphones have good noise isolation. They do make spoken words become unintelligible, at least from my experience, if that helps at all.


Edited by mbamg - 8/4/12 at 8:12pm
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