Looking for a present, no prior experience Audio-Technica ATH-M50m, Grado SR80i or other?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Professorclown 

Basically I am getting my brother a pair of decent headphones for his 20th birthday. He listens to exclusively rock/punk. Max budget is 150 dollars. What it is looking like is Audio-Technica ATH-M50m, or Grado SR80i. I was wondering if there were any other suggestions. He won't be using these for mobile use, he will be mounted to his desktop. However he is there for long periods of time so comfort is a huge factor and I heard the Grados are an issue in that regards which is why I am leaning towards the ATH M50 right now.

Appreciate any help

Sincerely,

Mr Clown.

Heya,

If comfort is paramount, the Grado's are probably not a safe buy without letting him try them first. The M50, well, I would avoid that, you're over-paying for a rather average headphone there and I wouldn't get it for rock/punk anyways, or any music for that matter, but that's just my opinion.

Here's some suggestions:

Beyer DT770 PRO (any ohm version that is near your budget)

Brainwavz HM5

Ultrasone HFI 780

Ultrasone PRO 750 (if on sale or near your budget)

AudioTechnica A700X or A900X (if either are near the budget)

Shure SRH840

Sony MA900 (just a touch over budget, but would be really well worth it)

AKG K240 MKII

AKG K271 MKII

Very best,

Quote:

Originally Posted by Professorclown 

Thank you for the advice, I saw you on quite a few other posts as well, Thank you for helping so many people make better informed decisions. I looked at them all and I am going to decide between the Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO, 250 ohms

or BRAINWAVZ HM5 Studio Monitor Headphones or Shure SRH840 Professional Monitoring Earphones (Black)  so I guess the second requirement is how well the rock genre play through it followed by durability, he is a little bit of a klutz. May I ask for your expertise one more time?

Heya,

The DT770 and HM5 are tank-like builds, they are pretty durable. The HM5 and SRH840 have detachable cables so you can replace those without buying new cables. The DT770 is brighter, with a little more bass, so it is a little more exciting and to me it's the better sounding headphone for someone who wants a more musical fun experience, so if he likes his rock to have some excitement and a little more oumph to the kick drum, the DT770 would do well there. The SRH840 and HM5 are a little more neutral, less pronounced bass, less brightness/attack in the treble. But still sound great, and are good for almost everything.

Very best,

I second the recommendation of the DT770, beyer makes excellent headphones with solid build, and sonics for the price. All of DT series of headphones are extremely comfortable and light. If you get the PRO version than they can also be a decent portable headphone as well. The DT770 is rather good with rock because of its signature sound. If isolation is an issue you might want to look into the CAL! or Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro.