[dannydamsky]

What do you guys think is best? I'm new to the audiophile world, been saving up some money on buying headphones. I am in a debate about these 4 choices. I want the sound to be as flat, accurate and detailed as possible. I have an ASUS Xonar DGX sound card which has a pretty decent amp so I can drive them all so that's not a problem. Other suggestions are welcome as well, here are some of the things I want in headphones. A removable cable, as accurate and detailed sound as possible, 150-200 dollar price range, <80 ohms. I will be generally listening to Metal music on them, although I like other genres as well.

 

[KG Jag]

The SRH 940 is by for the best for quality, accurate sound.  However, it suffers from build quality problems.

 

[dannydamsky]

Could you maybe go a bit in detail towards the build quality problems? I know that they are made out of not the most expensive materials, but people have been saying that the Shures are durable, so I am wondering about that. Also could you explain how exactly they compare to the other models in terms of sound?

 

[H20Fidelity]

The problem with SRH940 is the headband tends to crack due to opening the headphones over your ears overtime. It's more of a problem the longer you have the cups adjusted from the headband because it causes larger amount of leverage.

In saying that my pair have been ok, I never stretch them too far apart when putting them on.

Out of the headphones you've mentioned 840,940, 271 are the better choices, I'd forget about the 750DJ.

The 271 are quite nice, natural, but 940 is quite the expert at revealing big detail. I'd take the 940 personally.

You should be right, just be careful with them and buy with warranty.

 

[dannydamsky]

Well these are gonna be my first high-quality headphones, the ones I have at the moment are the Sony MDR-ZX110 (which cost around 15 bucks), so I want them to last me a couple of good years, which is why build quality really matters for me. So my better choices are K271 and 940, can you tell me why you like the 940s better in terms of sound? Just wanted to say thanks for the reply, I really appreciate it since I couldn't find any answers in other forums no matter where I looked.

 

[KG Jag]

  Well these are gonna be my first high-quality headphones, the ones I have at the moment are the Sony MDR-ZX110 (which cost around 15 bucks), so I want them to last me a couple of good years, which is why build quality really matters for me. So my better choices are K271 and 940, can you tell me why you like the 940s better in terms of sound? Just wanted to say thanks for the reply, I really appreciate it since I couldn't find any answers in other forums no matter where I looked.

 
Have not heard the K 271.  The SRH 940 has one of the highest quality sound I have heard from a closed can in its street price range.  It is very close to neutral, accurate, with excellent imaging, transparency and large sound stage (for a closed can).  It is not for those who like boosted bass.

 

[Me x3]

Can't go wrong with SHR-940, it's a very neutral and detailed headphone.
 
You should also read about the Beyerdynamic DT-660 Premium
http://www.head-fi.org/t/634201/battle-of-the-flagships-58-headphones-compared#user_DT660
 
Best Luck!

 

[dannydamsky]

The DT600 don't have a removable cable, which is a must for me, call me paranoid but I don't want to buy new headphones because of a cable problem, as unlikely as it sounds that it will break, still I prefer to be sure. Has anyone heard how the K271 MKII sound like in comparison to the SRH940s? I've heard good things about the K271 MKII but people have always been complaining about them being bass-light. I want to know how the mids/highs are compared to the SRH940s and how bad is the bass? Because I don't mind them being bass light as long as it doesn't take away from the music, should be fine either way for Metal songs, but I do listen to stuff like Michael Jackson and Red Hot Chili Peppers and I would like the bass to be present in songs like Billie Jean and Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie. Could use some advice on that.

 

[Me x3]

  The DT600 don't have a removable cable, which is a must for me, call me paranoid but I don't want to buy new headphones because of a cable problem, as unlikely as it sounds that it will break, still I prefer to be sure. Has anyone heard how the K271 MKII sound like in comparison to the SRH940s? I've heard good things about the K271 MKII but people have always been complaining about them being bass-light. I want to know how the mids/highs are compared to the SRH940s and how bad is the bass? Because I don't mind them being bass light as long as it doesn't take away from the music, should be fine either way for Metal songs, but I do listen to stuff like Michael Jackson and Red Hot Chili Peppers and I would like the bass to be present in songs like Billie Jean and Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie. Could use some advice on that.

 
Picking SHR-940 you'll have to take some care with the headband.
Picking DT-660 you'll have to take some care with the cable.
There's always a trade off.
 
SHR-940 comes with a case, extra earpads, and 2 cables as far as I know.
 
Here you can compare SRH-940 and K271 MKII. Look how SRH-940's bass is much more extended, while K271's bass is pretty shy below 80 Hz.
Midrange and treble responses are similar, although the SRH-940 has more extended treble.

That said, SRH-940 are not warm sounding headphones and can be just a tad unforgiving and even cold with modern compressed recordings.
I don't think SRH-940 is a great pick for metal. Although it's a very nice headphone for classical and acoustic music.
 
The SoundMagic HP-150 is still a pretty balanced headphone and probaby a better match for your preferred genres.

 

[dannydamsky]

I'll have a look at SoundMagic. What confuses me about Beyerdynamic is, well you recommended the 660s, what about the 770s, 880s, 990s? They all cost roughly the same. And why do they have models with different output impedance? Also forgot to mention, I don't care if they're open or closed headphones, I will be using them only at my PC

 

[Me x3]

  I'll have a look at SoundMagic. What confuses me about Beyerdynamic is, well you recommended the 660s, what about the 770s, 880s, 990s? They all cost roughly the same. And why do they have models with different output impedance? Also forgot to mention, I don't care if they're open or closed headphones, I will be using them only at my PC

 
Then go open (smoother frequency response, bigger soundstage, often more comfortable)
 
Easy to drive :
 
-Sennheiser HD598: Neutralish, slightly warm and very smooth sounding headphone with big soundstage.
-Audio Technica AD900X: Neutralish, brighter than HD598 and very nice for female vocals.
-Philips Fidelio X1: Darkish, big mid-bass and soft treble, still a balanced headphone. Built with very nice materials, although not replaceable ear-pads.
-Philips Fidelio X2: Newer version, often over 200 dollars. Similar to X1 but more neutral. Still big bass, but more lively treble.
-SoundMagic HP-200: Sort of slightly v-shaped frequency response, with boosted mid-bass and raised treble, but still natural sounding and smooth.
 
Quite hard too drive :
(ie, DGX will drive them but an external amplifier would be a nice addition)
 
-Beyerdynamic DT880 250 Ohm : Very neutral headphone, slightly bright (coldish for some).
This is a very nice reference headphone. It's good with some metal but can be quite unforgiving with some modern recordings, sure it will make some of your recordings sound flawed (over bright, bass-light, even clipped). It's a revealing headphone so there's a trade off...
 
-Beyerdynamic DT990 250 Ohm : Sort of DT880 with boosted mid-bass and raised treble (yes, even brighter than DT880). Also bigger soundstage. It's a very nice headphone. Not great for bright recordings.
 
-AKG K612 Pro : A slightly warm headphone, but still very neutral. It's more forward in the upper midrange than the others. Some find them more energetic and lively, others find them more shouty and prefer a more relaxed presentation. Overall a very well rounded headphone.
 
Sennheiser HD600/650 are probably just a tad over your budget.
 
Hope this helps!

 

[dannydamsky]

Judging by what you've said what fits my needs the most are the BeyerDynamic DT880s, coming second are the Sennheisers 598 and Audio Technica AD900X. First of all, I would like to know if the 600/650s are worth their price, and also if the Xonar DGX can actually drive them, because it says that it's optimised for up to 150 ohm headphones, which is why I'm wondering the same about the beyerdynamic. I might upgrade to a xonar STX in the future, but not anytime soon, and I want to be satisfied with the sound that I'll be getting. So, how big is the difference between the Senn 598/600/650s and how do they compare to the DT880s?

 

[dannydamsky]

Actually I've looked into all those models, I've decided I'm going to go with the Sennheiser HD598s, as they are praised for sounding really nice and balanced, easy to drive, have great sound stage, and most importantly, are really cheap in my country. Thanks for the advice everybody

 

[edulov]

Actually I have AKG MK271 MK2, Shure 440 and Shure 750DJ. If you will ask me about sound preferences, I like all of them, but if you want them for regular use, and any kind of music 271 are really shy.
I am not a basshead, but if track has it and it goes quite low (music style does not matter) 271 won't give extension and body. No punch except upper bass, but again virtually no body. What you get is very good detail, resolution and open involving sound for mids and trebble. In terms of comfort they are lite, not much of a clamping force, but sufficient to keep them in place. While aging, could become squeaky.
Shure's are quite heavy. Clamping force is higher for 440 and may be too high for 750DJ. For me the most comfortable position and ear pads has 271, 440 just slightly behind. 750DJ are the most uncomfortable of three, but nothing to worry about. Aging makes them very noisy, but applying a drop of 3-in-1 household oil in moving places solves an issue. Soundwise they are more natural if you know what ELC is, but upper mids and low trebble is slightly more forward in 440's. Bass is more prominent, but just enough. 750DJ's have more bass but nothing to worry if you just want some. Shure's have body and punch. 750DJ offer more lows than 440's. It could be strange, but 750DJ also offer smoother FRC above 10kHz.
All this and a bunch of smaller detais gives me a joy to listen all three.
BTW, Shure's have less "airy" sound, they are more balanced and neutral. In many tracks it means that AKG's offer lively sound.
Other benefit for AKG's is a wider soundstage, and what is more important - they offer a bit of stage depth. No depth in 750DJ's and just a hint in 440's. Carefully speaking 271 soundstage is virtually the same, but adding depth allows to separate locations of singers/instruments in well mastered tracks.
The last, but not the least. All three headphones benefit from good amplifier, highly recommend to get a good one at once. Also they are fine units and hearing MP3's below 192VBR will kill all the joy.