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Need Top Sound Quality Around-the-Ear Headphones ~$300

post #1 of 21
11/25/12 at 9:36am
Thread Starter 
Hi. This is my first post on this forum and I was wondering for some help.
I have recently been very intrigued by music and was hoping for some of the best sounding around the ear headphones around the $300 range or less. I am going so far as to only buy CDs for now on instead of iTunes music because the CD's FLAC versions are much superior to the 256kpbs that iTunes offers. I am hoping to listen to music through my iPhone 4S.

I like listening to 60s, 70s, 80s, and a bit of 90s and todays music. These artists/bands include:

The Beatles, Electric Light Orchestra, Chicago, Led Zeppelin, Bon Jovi, and others I can't seem to remember. I would also appreciate if orchestra music sounded superb. And I'm hoping that sound leakage is at a minimum.

I am new to 'superb sound quality' and hope these headphones will last a while. (Not flimsy). I have about 3 weeks to make my final decision. To me, this upcoming Christmas will be the Year of the Audiophile biggrin.gif
Edited by carma143 - 11/25/12 at 12:44pm
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post #2 of 21
11/25/12 at 12:49pm
Thread Starter 
For anyone who saw this thread in the past ~2 hours, I by mistakenly wrote that I wanted over-the-ear headphones. I really want some around-the-ear headphones (for general example, the Bose QC15 as an example for the around-the-ear headphone).
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post #3 of 21
11/25/12 at 2:34pm

Possibly the oft-recommended Audio Technica ATH M50?  I've used these for years at work and it does not bother my cube mate even when in rock-out mode.  They are not perfect, of course, but I listen to all types of music and never fail to enjoy.  So, very versatile and enjoyable.

 

I have not heard them, but based on what you say, perhaps also consider the AKG K-550.

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post #4 of 21
11/25/12 at 3:59pm

The ATH M50's sit on the ears.

 

A few suggestions for around the ear headphones in the OP's price range-

 

Beyerdynamic DT880

AKG K702

AKG K550

 

There are, of course, other choices as well.

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post #5 of 21
11/25/12 at 5:02pm

Mad Dogs by Mr.Speakers. Then when you get money get a amp.

EDIT: Or the Sennheiser Momentums as they won't need an amp but will sound great. Whereas the Mad Dogs need an amp to sound there best but without an amp they just sound fine.


Edited by wolfetan44 - 11/25/12 at 5:04pm
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post #6 of 21
11/25/12 at 5:26pm
Sennheiser HD 600. Great for what you listen to.
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post #7 of 21
11/25/12 at 5:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by zazex View Post

The ATH M50's sit on the ears.

 

A few suggestions for around the ear headphones in the OP's price range-

 

Beyerdynamic DT880

AKG K702

AKG K550

 

There are, of course, other choices as well.

No, M50's are around the ears.

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post #8 of 21
11/25/12 at 5:43pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you to everyone for your replies. After I started this thread, I found, what Wolfetan44 said, the Sennheiser Momentum. They look really nice, have great quality materials, and comes with a 2 year warranty. I've looked up reviews on multiple websites. All of them seem to be positive. The only issue with them is that the ear cups are supposedly small, but my ears should still fit into them. The cups seem to be the same size as my PX21 (gaming) and those fit fine.

Are there any other suggestions/reasons why I should not buy this/reasons why I should buy another headphone?
Again thank you for all your replies:)
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post #9 of 21
11/25/12 at 5:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Xaborus View Post

No, M50's are around the ears.


Well, the two ATH M50's I owned and sold about a year apart

rested on my ears.  And I have normal sized ears. ;-)

 

They are not earpad headphones like Grado's,

but the ears do not fit completely inside the ear cushions

as they do on the AKG 702's for one example.

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post #10 of 21
11/25/12 at 8:38pm
Thread Starter 
For this forum, I think that each profile should have a summary under each of their posts containing their typical music genres and ear size. smily_headphones1.gif. It would help in decisions concerning ear-cup sizes, et cetera. But now my post is going off topic
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post #11 of 21
11/26/12 at 12:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by zazex View Post


Well, the two ATH M50's I owned and sold about a year apart

rested on my ears.  And I have normal sized ears. ;-)

 

 

The ATH M50's easily fit circumaurally for me, so apparently this is an issue of individual fit.

Or...  I've heard that there are different versions of the M50 so maybe 

that's the case here.  

 

No question that the AKG are even roomier, of course.  One of the challenges of buying headphones

is that no two heads are alike.   :-)

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post #12 of 21
11/26/12 at 6:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by carma143 

Hi. This is my first post on this forum and I was wondering for some help.
I have recently been very intrigued by music and was hoping for some of the best sounding around the ear headphones around the $300 range or less. I am going so far as to only buy CDs for now on instead of iTunes music because the CD's FLAC versions are much superior to the 256kpbs that iTunes offers. I am hoping to listen to music through my iPhone 4S.
I like listening to 60s, 70s, 80s, and a bit of 90s and todays music. These artists/bands include:
The Beatles, Electric Light Orchestra, Chicago, Led Zeppelin, Bon Jovi, and others I can't seem to remember. I would also appreciate if orchestra music sounded superb. And I'm hoping that sound leakage is at a minimum.
I am new to 'superb sound quality' and hope these headphones will last a while. (Not flimsy). I have about 3 weeks to make my final decision. To me, this upcoming Christmas will be the Year of the Audiophile biggrin.gif


Are you planning to use an amp? Your audio source is a smartphone so the output will not be able to drive certain headphones...


Edited by musiclife - 1/14/13 at 9:26am
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post #13 of 21
11/26/12 at 7:46pm
Thread Starter 
If the amp is not staggering large and if the headphone/amp combo is around the $300 I might accept it. What do you have in mind?cool.gif
Edited by carma143 - 11/26/12 at 9:06pm
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post #14 of 21
11/26/12 at 10:16pm

What about the Audio Technica ATH-AD700? They are 32ohms so will drive better on your smartphone than something 64ohms (more resistant). Plus they are currently 99$ on amazon instead of 249$...

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post #15 of 21
11/27/12 at 8:47am

That's a spanking good deal for the ATH AD700 and these are very nice headphones.  

However, OP is hoping that "sound leakage is at a minimum".  

 

So I'm not sure this open design is the right choice... at least on that score.

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