[th3hate]

Hello,
 
First off I'm no expert when it comes to headphones, but I'm especially picky about every gadget i choose to purchase. Right now  I own a set of creative ep-635 in-ear earphones which served me for a good 2 years. But truth be told I've never found them satisfying.
 
I'm on a tight budget so I've narrowed down my choices between Sennheiser HD428 and HD515 for listening on my HP Envy 14 beats edition. Well, HD515 would've been a no brainer but it's rated at 50ohms and I'm not sure if laptop's on board audio is powerful enough to make it sound good, especially that I'm not going to use an external amp or DAC.
 
I'm going to pick on of them tomorrow, i hope you guys can help me.
 
 
 

 

[Digital-Pride]

Hmm, I would learn more toward the HD428 as you'll have the added versatility of using it with portables.

 

[th3hate]

I'd like to add Steelseries siberia v2 to the options, since i do a lot of gaming and I've seen good reviews about it.

 

[th3hate]

Quote:

Hmm, I would learn more toward the HD428 as you'll have the added versatility of using it with portables.

Let's say i have no portables and I'm going to use it only with the laptop, and i don't care for the size or portability, you'd still choose HD428?
 

 

[Digital-Pride]

Well in that case the HD515 is looking like the option to go with, as I use the HD515 when gaming myself.

 

[fabio-fi]

If you're into gaming i'd go for this:
http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-515-G4ME-Audiophile-Headphones/dp/B0013KE8TA

 

[Gwarmi]

Shure 440's?
 
I know this is for gaming. I cannot speak for the HD428 but the HD515 are a pretty dodgy headphone.
 
The cups tend to scuff and the sound quality is abysmal, know some of you guys like them though.
 
I see no epiphany coming with the HD515.

 

[Digital-Pride]

Quote:

Shure 440's?
 
I know this is for gaming. I cannot speak for the HD428 but the HD515 are a pretty dodgy headphone.
 
The cups tend to scuff and the sound quality is abysmal, know some of you guys like them though.
 
I see no epiphany coming with the HD515.

True the HD515 is likely not going to set the audio world on fire with its soundquality, but for it current asking price of 50 dollars it's a pretty decent headphone.
 

 

[koolkat]

Any reason why you're only considering the 428, 515 and steelseries siberia?

 

[th3hate]

I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to reply until now. I still did not buy a headphone so I'm still looking for advice, but i want to clarify that gaming isn't a priority. I do some gaming but i watch movies and listen to music more often. 
 
Everyone seems to hate Sennheiser HD515 so I'm gonna omit them. I'll also omit Steelseries Siberia because it seems junk as well. I'll choose to settle with respected audio company rather than gaming junk.
 
@koolkat
 
Because I have a limited budget and I can't buy online so i'll have to settle with what stores around here have in stock. Not to mention the ridiculous added taxes/customs in my country so i have to pay double price for any headphone.
 
Which one of these is the best bang for the money?
 
Sennhesier HD428
Shure SE215-K
Shure SRH440-A
AKG Q460
 
And that's about it. Thanks for your patience.
 
Edit: If i went for Shure SRH440, will it sound good unamplifed on a laptop?

 

[koolkat]

No idea, but I'm bumping this back to the top. maybe someone else can help.

 

[neato]

I had the HD 428 for a while. I paid about $60 for it I think. I think it's good for the money. The weakest part of the sound was the bass. It's very tight and controlled, but there is very little quantity. Other than that, clarity is good for the price, mids are really nice, treble is rolled a bit (could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your taste), and sound stage is pretty big a closed phone at that price. Also, I never used an amp, but I will say that I had to crank the volume on my laptop just a bit more than what I would have to with my M50's for the same volume. So maybe they would benefit from an amp, but I was happy with mine unamped.