[hamset]

I'm wondering if headphones that cost around $1000 are really that much better than say... $200 to $300 headphones?

 

[CharlesC]

It depends on how much money you have.

 

[zimsa]

I suppose the answer is the it depends on other factors. For example expensive equipment could be very revealing and actual reduce the enjoyment of material which has not been recorded well and or suffered from lots of compression. This is also true if your equipment down the chain isn't up to much.

 

[eugenius]

No. The HD600 level is enough for 95% of the people. You know, the average ones.

 

[whirlwind]

I went from a HD650 to a HD800...the difference if huge.....i sold the HD650 after a couple of weeks, because I was just not using them .
 
The HD650 was a wonderful headphone, just not as good as the HD800.
 
I guess basically, just get what your budget will allow as it may or may not be worth it to you.

 

[barid]

Yes and no. There are some very nice models above 1k. But also like a previous commenter said, there are many nice models for $300 (hd600).

I think its worth the money, but i never recommend higher priced models to people who havent demo'd or gotten their feet wet first.

 

[derbigpr]

If you have the proper gear (which will usually cost you at least as much as the headphones themselves due to the way hi-fi market works) then you might say the difference between let's say Beyerdynamic T1's and DT880's is big enough to justify the price gap. I have both of these (plus all other "usual suspects" in the mid-end like the HD650, DT990, K701, etc.)  so I can speak from personal experience.
 
In other words, if you have a high end headamp and a high end source like a really good DAC or CD player, and you're listening to material that is complex enough, and at the same time well recorded and mastered enough, then going from DT880's to T1's will be a noticeable jump, not a huge difference, it's not going to revolutionize the way you listen to music and suddenly make everything sound magically good, but it will be enough of a difference to easily notice which headphone is clearly the superior one.
 
You will notice the bass is just that bit more extended, just that bit more tight, the punch of the bass is somehow more separated from the rest of the sound, the mids have that small bit more fullness and texture, a bit more realism and naturalness, highs are a bit more sparkly and fast sounding like they have a higher resolution, and details pop out at you more clearly, overall sounds seems a bit smoother and effortless, the soundstage feels a bit bigger and everything sounds closer to being at the spot where the music was recorded.  In other words, a lot of small improvements all across the board, really tiny improvements sometimes, but when you put them all together, it makes listening to the music feel more natural and realistic, and therefore more pleasant. So yea, if you have the gear, then it's worth it. 
 
However, if you have inferior gear that can't cope with the quality levels of the high end headphones, you might end up with an opposite effect, and actually get a worse sound experience out of expensive headphones than you would out of cheaper ones.
 
The most important benefit of T1's over DT880's (or high end over mid end headphones in general in my experience) is the smoothness and the effortless feel. It's something I really can't describe in words and has to be heard in order to get it, but music seems to flow out the T1's more effortlessly, which really makes them feel overall a bit clearer and at the same time more easy to listen to, it almost totally eliminates listening fatigue.  This is a huge over-exaggeration, but it's like slowly pouring sand out of a bottle compared to pouring water out of a bottle. You can pour them both out at the same rate, really slowly, but the water will flow out more nicely and smoothly.
 
The thing that's most disappointing when going from mid end to high end headphones is the actual sound stage, imagining and that projection of sound that would make you feel like you're listening to high end speakers or a live performance in front of you. This is something that no headphone does very well in my experience. Even the HD800 which is known for sound stage and imaging doesn't compare to a decent pair of bookshelf speakers (considerably cheaper than the headphones) in a half decently acoustically treated room. Not even with amps like the SPL Phonitor which have really advanced crossfeed circuits that should simulate that.
 
 
My problem, and I'm sure a lot of other people with high end setups feel the same, is that once you reach a certain level of quality as far as the equipment goes, it starts to get really hard to find music material that justifies using that setup over a much cheaper one, because it just wont sound "better enough". You begin to realize that 70% of music on  the market is really badly recorded and mastered, especially the new stuff, and it's simply not worth "wasting" your expensive headphone on it. So it gets difficult to find material that you like both for it's musical quality and recording quality.

 

[Velomane]

  You will notice the bass is just that bit more extended, just that bit more tight, the punch of the bass is somehow more separated from the rest of the sound, the mids have that small bit more fullness and texture, a bit more realism and naturalness, highs are a bit more sparkly and fast sounding like they have a higher resolution, and details pop out at you more clearly, overall sounds seems a bit smoother and effortless, the soundstage feels a bit bigger and everything sounds closer to being at the spot where the music was recorded.  In other words, a lot of small improvements all across the board, really tiny improvements sometimes, but when you put them all together, it makes listening to the music feel more natural and realistic, and therefore more pleasant. So yea, if you have the gear, then it's worth it. 

 
Thank you for articulating what I feel when I'm listening to my headphones, and my foot starts to tap, I start to smile, my head is bobbing to the beat and I drift away into some altered state of consciousness as the music carries me away.

 

[Head Injury]

My thoughts:
 
~80% of the perceived improvements are just bias from the price tag and have no correlation to real improvements. ~10% is from a preferred frequency response, and can be duplicated with enough time and effort in a free digital equalizer. ~10% is in other miscellaneous changes like resonance, distortion, positioning of the driver, etc. Exact percentages depend on the headphone.
 
Keep in mind I'm not saying these are all positive changes. Just changes. There's no rule in capitalism that says the more you pay the more you get, though audiophiles tend to want to think they're not getting ripped off.
 
Is it worth it? No, not even accounting for "diminishing returns". But I'd rather listen to my LCD-2 than anything else, and I'd probably buy them again. At least until I find something I like as much for less. How's that for a non-answer?

 

[torta]

I'm wondering if headphones that cost around $1000 are really that much better than say... $200 to $300 headphones?

Maybe, but you can reach same level of enjoyment with 200$ headphone.

 

[cdma2k]

For $1000 headphones, you will need $2000+ on the DAC and Amp to explore its full potential.
With $2000+ on the DAC and Amp to drive AKG K612, I do not miss $1000 headphones at all.

 

[neilsberman]

Yes, if you care about depth of sound and detail

 

[derbigpr]

  For $1000 headphones, you will need $2000+ on the DAC and Amp to explore its full potential.
With $2000+ on the DAC and Amp to drive AKG K612, I do not miss $1000 headphones at all.

Funny you mentioned the K612 now, because I just got them today, and I can see why nobody would need anything better.

 

[soundeffect]

I have no doubt that my hd800 are an improvement on sound quality over my other 200-300 dollars headphone. I'm not sure if it's worth it or not. Right now I'm more annoyed with finding proper recorded material that match my taste. Going above $1000 is all about finding and owning the best out there. You can go with something In the 600-700 and get a good taste what's up above like the he560/500 or probable the alpha dogs can give you an idea. Now that I tried the hd800, I can truly say I can settle for the dt880, but without trying the hd800 I would always wonder and be curious. I have no regret buying the hd800. The reason why you hear people say it hard to describe is because it's not something you can replicate with a mid tier headphone, but it's not a world apart either, but good enough to call it a next level up. Of course this is, IMO.

 

[cdma2k]

 

  For $1000 headphones, you will need $2000+ on the DAC and Amp to explore its full potential.
With $2000+ on the DAC and Amp to drive AKG K612, I do not miss $1000 headphones at all.

Funny you mentioned the K612 now, because I just got them today, and I can see why nobody would need anything better.

I saw your story on another thread, hope you will enjoy it after exchanging.
K612 is a decent headphone for music, deserves decent front-ends to fully explore its potential.