[wielkihuj]

Hi Everyone,
 
This is my first post, but I have been poring over this site for months. My budget was limited this year so I was able to get the Beats by Dre. Solo HD for $80 and I also got a pair of Beats Tour IEMs for $50.
 
The only reason I made these purchases was because of my budget - Ideally I would have bought a pair of Turbine Pros and a pair of AH-D5000s.
 
My question is this - is there anything better that I can get close to this range? I mean the bass is good but it feels like the sound stage is so tiny. I also feel like the phones are being "pushed" and the sound just isnt as detailed in the mid section as I would like. This is even after eq'ing the crap out of them.
 
My source is Soundblaster Audigy Ex Platinum.
 
Is there a small (cheap) amp I can get that would help?
 
Thanks!

 

[soul05]

nothing will help....anything will be better.  beats are terrible, no mids at all, only bass. if you wanted mids, you should have bought something else.

 

[Ouspensky]

just sell them and get some Koss or Sony´s, they will be much better. Your beats are fashionable, but they will NEVER get respect on Head Fi.

 

[BlackbeardBen]

Wait, I don't quite get how you could have been poring over this site for months and end up with two pairs of Beats...
 
You're not going to be able to fix the lack of detail or the soundstage - honestly, you really ought to get something else if you want to improve those.
 
These are probably the most commonly recommended headphones in your price range:

Audio Technica ATH-M50
Shure SHR 440 & 840
Sennheiser HD 555 & 595
Grado SR-60i & SR-80i
Alessandro MS1i
 
I can't say much about IEMs, other than that my Shure E2cs are pretty good (but definitely don't have the soundstage of good open circumaural headphones).
 
I also can't comment on any of those headphones I've listed except the Alessandros - which are absolutely incredible for the price, by the way.  The others get stellar reviews as well.
 
I would, however, recommend putting all your eggs in one basket and only buy one pair of headphones for now - when you get more money, then supplement them with IEMs (or vice-versa).

 

[LizardKing1]

Actually, for 80$ that wasn't such a bad deal. They are bad headphones and most of all overpriced, but 80$ seems like a fair price for a bass-thumping machine.
However if you're interested in upgrading (good idea), the above options are good.
Also, people always tend to just say "go for the ATH-M50!!" like they're the best option. Well, thye probably are, but I've seen a lot of people (including myself) accusing the SRH750 of being slightly better for the same price. It's a small difference, but I'm just making a note of how I consider the SRH750 to be a good match for the M50s at the same price.

 

[afinch1992]

i say sell them for a profit and get a pair of sony xb500. then just save up more and get the pairs that you really want 

 

[wielkihuj]

Thanks for the suggestion, I thought for $80 that it was the best I could do for the price. I really need something that is closed, unlike the Sennheiser HD555 & 595 so that they don't leak as much.
 
Is there something comparable to the Denon AH-D2000 for the $100 price range that is closed?
 
Also, what about a cheap amp?
 
Thanks!

 

[ArmAndHammer]

That is exactly my first thought...how can anyone spend more than a day here and still end up with a pair of Beats...much less two pairs. I'll agree with selling them for a profit (or break even...just get rid of them)...buy something better. If you really spent a month here pouring over the various threads...you should have about half a dozen suitable headphones that are going to be better for the same money or very close to it.
 
So sell the Beats...both pairs, figure out what your new budget is and figure out what you need in a headphone. Perhaps by that time you will have access to the FS sections where you can get a lot more headphone for the money.
 
Quote:

Wait, I don't quite get how you could have been poring over this site for months and end up with two pairs of Beats...
 
 

 

[wielkihuj]

OK, for $130 please recommend a better IEM and headphone.

 

[rroseperry]

Sony's XB500 are on sale at Amazon for 49 bucks. I compared these and the Solos during the holidays and the Sonys are much better phones. Good bass, some detail, where the Solos have mushy bass and zero detail..
 
This way you'll have some $$ left over for decent iems (Check out |joker|'s massive iem thread.

 

[BlackbeardBen]

 
Quote:

Thanks for the suggestion, I thought for $80 that it was the best I could do for the price. I really need something that is closed, unlike the Sennheiser HD555 & 595 so that they don't leak as much.
 
Is there something comparable to the Denon AH-D2000 for the $100 price range that is closed?
 
Also, what about a cheap amp?
 
Thanks!

These, which I already mentioned:

Audio Technica ATH-M50
Shure SHR 440 & 840

 

[wielkihuj]

Thanks for the help guys.
 
Would the mdr-xb700's be better if I just sprang for the extra cash or would it be better at that point to spend $120 on the AH-D1000's?
 
Thanks again.

 

[xtasi]

Depends on your musical tastes.  List them?

 

[wielkihuj]

This is what I listen to:
 
House / Hip Hop: 50%
Rock:15%
Chillout: 25%
Jazz: 5%
Ambient: 5%
 
I just called Monster and got an RMA # - THEY ARE GOING BACK FROM WHENCE THEY CAME!
 
I have it narrowed down to Sony mdr-xb700 / Denon AH-D1100 / Audio Technica ATH-M50 / Shure SRH-840
 
I am going insane - please for the love of god someone pick one for me!

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

I'd say go for Sony XB500 (just cuz XB700 is expensier doesn't mean it has to be better) and install kX Audio drivers for your audigy card and let me send my XB500 config I've tweaked for a half year for the best results. I just received my backup Audigy 2 ZS card today, I won't change soundcard for the next 4 years or so at least or as long as Windows 7 is a viable OS choice due to the results I'm getting with kX Audio drivers. If you aren't satisfied I'll send you a pair of D1100 for free.