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Looking for a pair of comfortable headphones with quality sound for <$200

post #1 of 8
9/12/12 at 5:24pm
Thread Starter 

As the title says, I'm looking for a pair of comfortable headphones for those long study sessions. I might also use them for listening to music on the way to class, but I have a pair of in ear (Shure SE215) that I usually use for that. I don't want to buy any old pair of headphones, and since I don't know much about them I thought I would ask you guys what you think. I listen to a wide variety of music and I don't want to spend more than $200. If they're portable, thats a plus. Thanks for your help! 


Edited by jlund19 - 9/12/12 at 5:41pm
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post #2 of 8
9/12/12 at 5:28pm

I just had the same issue. Look at my thread: http://www.head-fi.org/t/626723/best-headphones-under-200ish

Hope it helps! If you have any questions, just ask!

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post #3 of 8
9/12/12 at 9:18pm

You want comfortable? I would not use them as portables, but the ATH-A900X (see this review thread) sounds very good. Has some extra bass emphasis in its frequency response (which I like), and is extremely comfortable. 


Edited by cel4145 - 9/12/12 at 9:19pm
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post #4 of 8
9/12/12 at 9:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jlund19 View Post

As the title says, I'm looking for a pair of comfortable headphones for those long study sessions. I might also use them for listening to music on the way to class, but I have a pair of in ear (Shure SE215) that I usually use for that. I don't want to buy any old pair of headphones, and since I don't know much about them I thought I would ask you guys what you think. I listen to a wide variety of music and I don't want to spend more than $200. If they're portable, thats a plus. Thanks for your help! 

 

Heya,

 

Ultrasone HFI 580

Shure SRH 840

Brainwavz HM5

Beyer DT770

Vmoda LP2

 

Very best,

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post #5 of 8
9/13/12 at 7:53pm
Thread Starter 

I'm looking at the Ultrasone HIFI 580, Shure SRH 840, and the Vmoda LP2. Will I need an amp for any of these?

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post #6 of 8
9/13/12 at 8:00pm

While the 580 sounds good with mp3 players and phones without one, know that the bass response will get better with some amplification. This is not because the 580s are difficult to drive in comparison to other phones with strong bass emphasis; rather low frequency bass is more difficult for any amplifier to produce than the mids and highs. Since phone and mp3 player amplifiers are not terribly powerful, a headphone amplifier does help to improve that deep bass response in headphones like the 580 (for instance, I would guess that the LP2s could benefit as well). 

 

That being said, the 580s would still have more bass output without amplification than the SRH840, which simply doesn't have that kind of bass output ability. 

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post #7 of 8
9/13/12 at 8:21pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks for your help guys! Now that I've narrowed it down to those three (Ultrasone 580, Shure SRH 840 and Vmoda LP2), I'm stuck a little bit. I've tried to do some extra research on them, but I don't know enough about the headphone world so most of the info goes straight over my head. I'm just wondering out of these 3 models, what one would suit my needs the best? I listen to a wide variety of music ranging from classical to dubstep to rock and everything in between. I'll be listening to my music trough my laptop, tablet, or ipod/phone. Also should I spend the extra money off the bat and get an amp? If so what is an affordable one that would be pretty decent. Sorry for all the questions, but like I said before, I do not know anything about this kind of stuff. Thanks for your help! 

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post #8 of 8
9/13/12 at 8:42pm

Can you order from Amazon? If you get headphones that are from Amazon itself or fulfilled by Amazon (not from a marketplace vendor), you can return them if you don't mess them up (perfect condition) and keep all the packaging. The shipping to return them is under $10. Go with your best bet, and if you don't like them, you can send them back. 

 

As for the amp, wait. The headphones should sound good without one. Then you can have the enjoyment down the road of an upgrade for better audio quality. If you want to look now, see this post for reviews and ratings of sub $100 headphone amps (ranking is at the end). 

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