So what are the latest budget headphones people are fawning over? - Page 4

 

As a happy owner of M50s, I'd like to know what sets in that price range you would recommend? I went from the JVC HARKX700s to the Grado 80i and ended up with the M50s @$100. I think they were a big step up from the Grados. I assumed I would have to spend closer to $200 to get a meaningful upgrade to the M50s.

Since I've gotten my EFi-82 MTs (with Shure pads), I haven't touched my M50s.

 

The EFi-82 MTs are $40.

 

Shure pads are $15.

 

An upgrade might not be as expensive as you think.

The Sony MDR-V55's (headphones in my avatar) are great sounding headphones for about £45 off Amazon. Ive bought better regarded brands such as "Sennheiser" and "AKG" models in the same price range that don't come close to the sound of these headphones.

 

I'm not saying they're top of the range, just excellent for the price.

 

I don't think the M50's are BAD headphones really.... I just think they are seriously overhyped and not really THAT good.... A lot of the hype comming from first time headphone owners and also people just blindly repeating what others say etc.... It all comes down to personal preferences but to my ears they have boomy / bad bass texture, Metallic / spitty / sibilant treble and quite poor soundstage as well as being very closed sounding.... They are alright and pretty well built... I But IMHO they don't really sound that great and are hugely overhyped, especially at the current price.... For the $100 you paid they are not bad but for £130 in the UK ($190) they are overpriced.... For a bit more money I would reccomend the Denon D2000 which are frankly MUCH better than the M50.... For the same price I would say the Beyer DT770 80 ohm are better than the M50 as well.

Edited by nicholars - 3/5/13 at 10:06am

grado sr60i/80i are both superior to the athm50 when it comes to clarity and mid range. The m50 has better bass and is built a lot better. The shure 440 are $79 and are superior to the m50 in everyday apart from bass. That is an upgrade to me, the m50 at the $100 mark are in the top 3 for sure though. I'm from the uk and the m50 are in the same price range as the dt770 which blows it away. The m50 are quite recessed and lack clarity and detail in comparison.
Edited by TheReem - 3/5/13 at 11:03am

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-RPHTF600S-RP-HTF600-S-Stereo-Headphones/dp/B004MMEI8W

I personally did not like the M50s... If you are on a very tight budget then get the Koss porta pros or the Koss KSC 75. If you are willing to spend a bit more try to find either the Sennheiser 558 or Grado sr80i or 225i on the head-fi headphone classifieds. None of these require an amp so you should be good.

The JVC S500 seem to have generated a lot of talk, some bad, but definately some good, i've never heard them myself, but i will if i get a chance.

Everybody should have a pair of JVC HA-S500's an excellent sounding portable unit.

Damn yet another impulse buy, but this is better than spending $100+ for sure.   We'll see how this compares to my current favorite JVC HA-S400. 

Edited by Level5 - 5/7/13 at 7:56pm