Best Headphones under $100?

Grados are rock-emphasis headphones. HD280's are closed and not as good. In general, you'll get the best sound for the price from full-sized, open headphones. It's much more difficult to make a closed headphone sound natural. The Alessandro MS1's are based off Grados, but tuned to be more general purpose. But for what you want, the SR80i's should be great starter headphones. I don't listen to mine as much now as I've moved on to others, but I still think they're pretty impressive for the price.

For rock....yeah, grab some  Grado SR60's for $79....brand new....or get the SR80's for $99

The Grado's are always a top choice...

for more bass, but still quality sound, I like the Creative Aurvana Live (aka "CAL").

I also recommend the (classic) Sony MDR V6.

Have you thought of whether you want closed or open headphones?

The Grado SR-60s are a great choice and recommended by many when similar threads like these come up. If you prefer a closed then go with those, check out VMODA Crossfade and the Sony MDR v55 or v6.

Found this article which has a side by side comparison between these brands:

http://deviceraters.com/top-3-headphones-under-100/

Grado SR60, Sony MDR-V6 are awesome. If you can go a little over, you can get Audio Technica M50's for $130-140. They are closed back and everyone loves them. This might help you: http://classicalmusicheadphones.com/5-best-headphones-under-100/

The grado's seem to be the default choice for quality at this price point. 

If I were to use them at low volume, will they still be fatiguing? Treble sensitive listener here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by quako 

I am also looking to get the grados. Love the sound I heard, but I'm wondering how forgiving they are in terms of low quality mp3s?

Not much. (in case of the SR80's)

Quote:

Originally Posted by newphones 

The grado's seem to be the default choice for quality at this price point. 

 

If I were to use them at low volume, will they still be fatiguing? Treble sensitive listener here.

I would not recommend Grado's (at least the Prestige Series) to anyone who's "treble sensitive".

Especially the 325is.

Low volumes or otherwise.

Thanks. I appreciate your reply.
 

edit: the igrado's are part of the prestige series, yet I have read multiple reviews which claim that treble response is rolled off on these 'phones.

Ath-WS55

HA-S500

Mdr-v55

Monoprice 108323

Just ti name a few 

Good luck!!

Thanks,

Quote:

Originally Posted by quako 

Yeah, I've been curious about the igrados, but it seems like not many head-fiers picked one up.

I got my pair. This is a very preliminary overview:

1. build quality, from a strictly visual/esthetic perspective, looks to be absolutely rock bottom at first. The plastic moulds look low grade even by dollar tree standards.

2. fit is...well, interesting. If you don't position the pads correctly, you're in for a lot of discomfort. Once you do position the pads correctly, you realize that they place a lot of pressure on the ears. I believe I have grown accustomed to the fit very quickly, but initially, it's not easy to be positively impressed.

3. sound quality: out of the box, the sound signature seems to be almost exactly what I wanted: a happy compromise between the dark, bassy portapros, and the light airy koss ksc75's. It's been a long time since I've listened to ksc75's, but those seemed to have slightly steelier, more fatiguing highs.

The boost or coloration of igrado's is clearly higher than the upper mids, but it's not enough of a treble boost to make the phones sound shrill. There's definitely room there for more 'air' and sparkle. But again, the tradeoff being that such a sound signature is far more likely to be fatiguing.

I only listened to a handful of songs at low volume, just to be on the cautious side.

I'll let you know how these burn in after 24-50 hours.