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Looking for over-ear headphones. Any advice?

post #1 of 11
9/26/12 at 10:50pm
Thread Starter 

New here!

 

 

I want some over-ear headphones for everyday listening. I listen to pretty much every genre of music, but mainly hip hop, rap, and all kinds of electronic music, so I would like some with a good balance, but nice bass.

I used to have Beats Pro, but I sold those and later got some Bose AE2i headphones, but lost those on a plane. I loved the Bose tons more than the Beats, but I heard other brands like Sennheiser and Audio Technica were better than Bose.

I had my eyes on the Sennheiser HD 598 headphones, but I didn't know what open-air meant, so I am now fancying the Sennheiser HD 380 Pros, and I was wondering if those would be good, or if you could recommend anything better. I really don't want to spend over $300. I would like comfortable headphones for long use. Sound quality should be even and balanced with little sound leakage.

Thanks all.


Edited by Swaggursaurus - 9/26/12 at 10:52pm
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post #2 of 11
9/26/12 at 11:02pm

welcome!

 

open ( air ) headphones basically means that they are... open! they leak noise and they isolate really bad. they have better soundstage in return though due to its "open" design. hd598 is a good headphone though that sounds good even if plugged directly to an ipod unamped.

 

as for your recommendation request, maybe tell us what genres do you usually listen to?

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post #3 of 11
9/26/12 at 11:03pm

For comfort, I recommend the Beyerdynamic DT990 premium (32 or 250 ohm unless you have a $600+ amp laying around).

 

I would literally sleep with them on if I wasn't afraid I might roll over and compress one of the velour earpads overnight.

 

They are not the pinnacle of "balanced", but detailed enough to be compared to the sennheiser HD650 any day of the week.

 

 

 

If you demand balanced sound, the Sennheiser HD 600 is pretty good at that (from what I've heard), and the Shure SRH940 is often described as a slightly less-good Sennheiser HD800 in terms of detail and balance (build quality on the srh940 is questionable though)

 

Open air means bigtime sound leakage, if you plan on using your headphones in noisy areas and are sure about taking "even and balanced" over "engaging" (which is fine, especially if doing analytical stuff), then I would recommend shure SRH 840 or SRH 940. I own a pair of SRH440s and take them in my backpack with me to college every day. The 440 and 840 are built like tanks. The 940 is tank-looking, but the plastic used in the headband is HOLLOW and VERY THIN, because they decided to make the earcup cables completely internal for some reason without reinforcing it with metal.

 

Edit - Make sure you've got at least 320kbps on all your favorite music or else most mid-fi circumaurals will complain (hi-fi demands lossless!)


Edited by MaximumSandvich - 9/26/12 at 11:10pm
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post #4 of 11
9/26/12 at 11:07pm
The new sennhiser momentum looks nice and is about 300 dollars. No addition amp is needed and from the review it seems like it is a little emphasis on the bass so it should sound good with hip hop and rap.
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post #5 of 11
9/26/12 at 11:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chawanwit View Post

The new sennhiser momentum looks nice and is about 300 dollars. No addition amp is needed and from the review it seems like it is a little emphasis on the bass so it should sound good with hip hop and rap.

Although if you want a more audiophile friendly signature something with more refine mids and highs the other headphones other are recommending like the Breyer are pretty nice.
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post #6 of 11
9/26/12 at 11:11pm

Heya,

 

You're wanting bass, so the HD598 is not the headphone for you.

 

Consider:

 

Ultrasone PRO 750

Ultrasone HFI 580 & 780

Denon D2000 (used)

Beyer DT770 (PRO & Premium)

Beyer DT990 (PRO & Premium)

Brainwavz HM5

Shure SRH840 & 750DJ

AudioTechnica A900X

Philips Uptowns

Sennheiser Momentum

Modded T50RP's (Mad Dogs)

 

Very best,

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post #7 of 11
9/26/12 at 11:13pm
Btw many have complaint about the lack of bass on the hd598 because it is an open phone with good sound staging and these type of headphone sometimes tend to lack bass.
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post #8 of 11
9/26/12 at 11:25pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by MalVeauX View Post

Heya,

 

You're wanting bass, so the HD598 is not the headphone for you.

 

Consider:

 

Ultrasone PRO 750

Ultrasone HFI 580 & 780

Denon D2000 (used)

Beyer DT770 (PRO & Premium)

Beyer DT990 (PRO & Premium)

Brainwavz HM5

Shure SRH840 & 750DJ

AudioTechnica A900X

Philips Uptowns

Sennheiser Momentum

Modded T50RP's (Mad Dogs)

 

Very best,

Are there any of those you prefer over the others?

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post #9 of 11
9/26/12 at 11:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Swaggursaurus View Post

Are there any of those you prefer over the others?

 

Heya,

 

Yeap,

 

The Mad Dog T50RP

Denon D2000

Beyer DT770

AT A900X

 

Bassy, but with great mids & treble, without being overly bright. Great with vocals, while still being able to be exciting and bassy.

 

Very best,

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post #10 of 11
9/26/12 at 11:49pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by MalVeauX View Post

 

Heya,

 

Yeap,

 

The Mad Dog T50RP

Denon D2000

Beyer DT770

AT A900X

 

Bassy, but with great mids & treble, without being overly bright. Great with vocals, while still being able to be exciting and bassy.

 

Very best,

Another question, do the Beyer DT's ear cups fit the ears well? I hate it when my ear is squished or if it sits on the ear. I don't have large ears, but I am a guy, so that may or may not be a problem if it is small.

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post #11 of 11
9/27/12 at 12:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Swaggursaurus View Post

Another question, do the Beyer DT's ear cups fit the ears well? I hate it when my ear is squished or if it sits on the ear. I don't have large ears, but I am a guy, so that may or may not be a problem if it is small.

 

Heya,

 

Beyer cups are big, fit almost anyone, and are deep and comfortable with velour pads. Beyer comfort is legendary.

 

Very best,

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