[nothing4me]

Hello all!
 
I've only tried closed back and want to try open pairs now. I have tried the following:
 

1. ATH-M50: Love it, bass was nice, but the clamping was overpowering and the driver kept touching my outer ear causing pain. And the bass gets fatiguing after a while (but that might be because of the clamping).
2. MDR-V6: All my music sounded boring/dead... but the vocals were AMAZING. I miss those vocals. ;(
3. FA-003: REALLY REALLY good but there is some sort of treble spike in these which annoys me very much and gets fatiguing after some time. So, I can't listen to these comfortably.

 
The part I didn't like about all three of them is that it felt sort of boxy. Like, you knew your ears were enclosed, it felt sort of warm (temperature wise), and the sound seemed like it was coming from the inside of your head (or close to it like the FA-003). I heard open-back headphones give more natural sound and aren't clamp-y, so I'd really like to try out a pair or two.
 
Can anyone give me some suggestions? Thank you.
 
Edit: Budget is under $200.

 

[obobskivich]

I wouldn't over-generalize; some open-back headphones are very clampy and unnatural sounding. An example here would be the Ultrasone HFI-2400. It isn't a "bad" headphone (I personally do not like them), but it certainly does not live up to the general "idea" of what an open headphone should be. 
 
What exactly are you looking for in terms of the sound signature though? Most of the open-back cans that I can think of are generally not very bass heavy, but have other redeeming qualities (in my opinion, to the exclusion of bass quantity concerns). 
 
Or are you just looking for examples of open-back headphones within a given budget for you to test out? (If so, what's your budget range?).
 
Take a look at the Sennheiser HD 600/650 - they lack a huge treble spike, are easy to listen to, are comfortable, are easily found to purchase (both new and used), and are generally well liked. I'm not saying they're the end of the world for headphones, but you could do much worse.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

[nothing4me]

Quote:

I wouldn't over-generalize; some open-back headphones are very clampy and unnatural sounding. An example here would be the Ultrasone HFI-2400. It isn't a "bad" headphone (I personally do not like them), but it certainly does not live up to the general "idea" of what an open headphone should be. 
 
What exactly are you looking for in terms of the sound signature though? Most of the open-back cans that I can think of are generally not very bass heavy, but have other redeeming qualities (in my opinion, to the exclusion of bass quantity concerns). 
 
Or are you just looking for examples of open-back headphones within a given budget for you to test out? (If so, what's your budget range?).
 
Take a look at the Sennheiser HD 600/650 - they lack a huge treble spike, are easy to listen to, are comfortable, are easily found to purchase (both new and used), and are generally well liked. I'm not saying they're the end of the world for headphones, but you could do much worse.

I'm looking for a relatively flat headphone under $200, so the 600/650 is out of question .

 

[CaveManta]

I would probably have to recommend the Sennheiser HD 598 for you, because it is an open headphone with a very balanced sound. They should also be able to give you some amazing vocals, because they have forward mids(Not too forward, mind you.) And it is also very comfortable, mainly because of the fact that it has slanted drivers(meaning that your ears won't be touching them.)
Some people have even said that the 598 sounds more refined than the HD 600/650. And they don't need an amp as badly.
Their price has been hopping up and down ever since they came out, but they tend to go below $200.

Be sure to check this graph, which shows price changes on Amazon.
http://camelcamelcamel.com/Sennheiser-HD-598-Headphones-Accents/product/B0042A8CW2

 

[obobskivich]

Oh well. Was a decent shot in the dark!
 
I would agree with the other poster's suggestion for an HD 598 (although I will qualify: I found the HD 595 very boring), you might also consider the Grado SR-225 (very different sound, but still very much an open headphone, and a good one at that (for the price)). The HFI-2400 might be worth considering - it has a great soundstage, is not uncomfortable (it does clamp), but do know that it has more bass than any open headphone I've ever heard (before or since - it was just too much for my tastes, otherwise I would've kept them). The Beyerdynamic DT990Pro is also around $200, but I have no idea what it sounds like. 
Quote:

I'm looking for a relatively flat headphone under $200, so the 600/650 is out of question .

 
They, unfortunately, are very likely to stay at $249 from now on - from what I understand, Sennheiser has begun enforcing its MAPs through authorized retailers. In other words, if you're waiting for their price to drop, it'll probably be like waiting for Grados to drop in price.
 
Quote:

Their price has been hopping up and down ever since they came out, but they tend to go below $200.
Be sure to check this graph, which shows price changes on Amazon.
http://camelcamelcamel.com/Sennheiser-HD-598-Headphones-Accents/product/B0042A8CW2

 

 

[CaveManta]

Quote:

They, unfortunately, are very likely to stay at $249 from now on - from what I understand, Sennheiser has begun enforcing its MAPs through authorized retailers. In other words, if you're waiting for their price to drop, it'll probably be like waiting for Grados to drop in price.

Aw, man. I hate price fixing. I never thought that Sennheiser would try to fix the price of such a mid-ranged product. What a pity.
 
I don't know about the Beyerdynamic DT-990PRO or the Ultrasone HFI-2400. Because aren't they known to have recessed mids? I have listened to them either, so go figure. Just trying to say.
Yikes, I really just don't know what to suggest. At less than $200, there just really aren't many choices.
There is the Audio Technica AD700/AD900, but they significantly lack bass.
I give up =P.

 

[obobskivich]

It appears that Sennheiser intends to do this with all of their products, which makes them a lot less attractive overall (personally I felt that $400 was already pushing it for the HD 650, but $500 is just hilarious). Don't mean to be the bearer of bad news, I just figured it was worth mentioning in the event that you end up sitting and waiting for six months and it never budges. Hopefully I heard wrong, and the prices will start to dance around in a few weeks; who knows.
 
Like I said, I don't know about the DT990 either, aside from knowing it should be very comfortable (based on the T70), and that it's open and within the budget. The HFI-2400 is a different animal altogether - I would not call the mids recessed, but I would call the bass boosted. They hit harder than my (only) closed cans (which, themselves, are not a slouch), and absolutely obliterated all of my open cans with respect to bass impact. It isn't pure mud, but it's not as tight as I'd like (it cannot stand alongside something like the SA5000). They're very fun with videogames, and sound alright with most music, they're just not to my taste (and I suspect they're probably fairly polarizing in that regard - I'm guessing there's a group of people who will hear them and absolutely love them, and others who will arrive at my conclusion; compared to the HD 600/650 which has more of a gradient of opinions). 
 
They do have a great soundstage (so maybe I'm weird and S-Logic works for me), and can pull a decent amount of detail out of a track; not quite a K701 but for their price it's absolutely fantastic (they tend to go for $199, I think list is $329 though). My biggest complaint was just the amount of bass they had, if that was toned down (probably halved, if not quartered) they would be a very good headphone (ESPECIALLY at $199). The highs and mids aren't as present as you'd get from something like the SA5000, but it's certainly not a T70 or D2000 where the vocal-range is pulled back and you get sparkle and boom (or in the case of the T70, sparkle and pain). If I wanted "flat" or "neutral" I would certainly take the HD 598 (which I haven't heard, but I have heard the 595 - they can't have screwed it up that bad, I would hope) - they won't "boom" at all, and should do a good enough job with more or less everything (my take on the 595 is that they can do anything, but can't master anything, and sound boring as a result). 
 
The SR-225 will be a completely different animal, it will have a substantially worse soundstage, likely be less comfortable, and have a bit of a treble bump. They sound very good, and are quite fun, but have "fatal flaws" like anything else at this price range is likely to have. Get the Sennheiser is the easiest advice, it's the most conservative choice. Maybe you can still find a 595 on closeout somewhere.
Quote:

Quote:
Aw, man. I hate price fixing. I never thought that Sennheiser would try to fix the price of such a mid-ranged product. What a pity.
 
I don't know about the Beyerdynamic DT-990PRO or the Ultrasone HFI-2400. Because aren't they known to have recessed mids? I have listened to them either, so go figure. Just trying to say.
Yikes, I really just don't know what to suggest. At less than $200, there just really aren't many choices.
There is the Audio Technica AD700/AD900, but they significantly lack bass.
I give up =P.