A little advice needed.. Portable headphones for music/iPod
Mar 31, 2015 at 4:13 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 7

sbf187

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I recently purchased the Sennheiser G4ME ONE for my XBOX ONE and I love everything about it for gaming! No complaints. I also use my Xbox to listen to music, watch movies, and mess around on Youtube. With that said, I have had such an amazing listening experience in all of those categories, thanks to my awesome headset, that my "awesome" in ear headphones suck now. Thanks to Sennheiser my ears are spoiled, and everything that used to sound good to me doesn't sound good anymore. I'm not mad about it, but now I'm in the market for headphones again, and I don't know where to start.
 
I listen to a lot of music with my iPod and I travel a lot. I love my gaming headset and would love to have something similar in sound, but my headset is open back in design and I need something closed for travel, so I know I won't get what I want in that department. =(
 
I would prefer something over the ear, closed, and well balanced. I don't care if it's fashion forward or not, but I don't want something embarrassing either. Comfort is also a top priority, but I think that goes without saying.. I will not be using an amp either. $300 or less is possible, but $250 or less is better, and $200 or less is ideal.
 
The only knock with the headset I am using is that sometimes (in rare circumstances) I want the bass to resonate a little more in the low end while listening to music, so that might be something to consider, but it's not a huge issue. I love the bass that my headset provides. It's damn near perfect for me. There are just times, rare times, when I want to hear the low end of the bass brought forward a bit. Not exaggerated, but more present. I hope that makes sense... I do not want to sacrifice quality of sound. I hate Beats. They are crappy and the bass overpowers everything else. That is definitely not what I want, so please don't recommend that brand. (Thanks)
 
So, with all of that said, where should I start looking?
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Mar 31, 2015 at 7:23 PM Post #5 of 7
Well...I usually default to IEMs on the go and have a tough time lugging along headphones in general -- especially if I'm on the go with a phone instead of at a desk with my laptop.

That said, I love my Vmoda M80's. But, since you want over-the-ears, maybe the M100s?

Other options, Senn Momentums, NAD HP50's, Sony MDR-1R, Beyer Custom One Pros (bass is adjustable)...all are are typically $200 or less except the HP50s which stay at $250

Possibly the best value right now in this class of headphone might be the AKG-K553 on Massdrop for $139...2 days left on the drop!
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/akg-k553-pro-studio-headphone
 
Apr 1, 2015 at 1:11 PM Post #6 of 7
Wow, thanks! You all have given me options that hadn't appeared in my generic google searches, and based on reviews I would say that the headphones you recommended all sound like exactly what I am looking for. 
 
The three that really stand out are the Soundmagic HP150, AKG K545, and V-moda M100. (One for each of my price points, ha!)
 
A channel on youtube provided a link to that massdrop website for a chance to win the AKG K553s. Maybe I'll get two headphones out of this in the end! That's a really cool idea for a site by the way. Thank you for sending me there. (youtuber: Paul's Hardware)
 
I have to say, I was a bit biased towards the M100 due to all of its really unique extras and features. For roughly $300.00 you sure do get a really cool package of sound quality, durability, style, portability, and listening options. Are the M100s really that great or are the HP150 or AKG K545 going to blow them out of the water in terms of sound quality? All the reviews are really positive for each headphone, so it's a bit tough to distinguish which one is actually the best in terms of audio quality without hearing them for myself. Like I said, they all are reviewed as having the sound I am looking for, but each is still different enough that I'm slightly unconvinced as to which one I want to go with. Sound quality will win the battle in the end for me.. Any added knowledge on each of these would be a plus!
 
I have an iPod touch (3rd gen), iPhone 5s, iPad (the first model that offered Siri), and an HTC One M7, so I suppose a headphone with the ability to adapt to a number of devices and brands is preferable. I will be in the market for a new music player soon, and my cell contract is about up, so my devices will be changing shortly. I have noticed that my Sennheiser G4ME ONE does not cooperate well with my HTC One, however every Apple device, plus my hp laptop, work perfectly.
 
Apr 1, 2015 at 1:21 PM Post #7 of 7
The M100s have a lot of bass emphasis. The HP150s are much closer to a more neutral class of headphone with a bit of bass and treble emphasis. Not having heard the K545 (I have the K550), I would suspect that they would be much more like the HP150s than the M100s, but I could be wrong.

The best bet is to narrow it down to a couple of headphones and order both from places with good RMA policies. The $10 to $12 to return the one you like least is a reasonable demo fee to find something you like.
 

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