[incognitoedleon]

Hey folks, I'm looking for a sub $100 dollar closed headphone for ampless situations. I really would prefer to spend no more than $70 - 80. What I want is something that gives decent mids and isolation. The closed cans I have are the HD201, which I find cold and boring, and the HD25SP and K26P, which I don't find comfortable for extended periods. The closed headphones I usually use are a pair of Philips HP250's which don't leak much, but barely gives any isolation.

I've settled upon the Eggos and the A500. After a lot of digging, the Eggos seem to be about the closed cans in that price range with decent mids without sounding muddy. The highs, lows, and soundstage of the A500 intrigues me, but the recessed mids people talk about spook me away a bit. Just how bad is the midrange? Do the Eggos do a significantly better job at vocals than the A500?

Also, does anybody know how the A500 compares to the XD400? I had them briefly and I somewhat know them. I've read they have a similar sound signature.

Of course, I'm open to other suggestions. That budget is a hard line, I just need them to sound decent. Remember, I want closed cans. I already have too many open air ones

.

Edit: I forgot to mention, they will not be used outide. So bulkiness is not a factor.

 

[manchau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by incognitoedleon The highs, lows, and soundstage of the A500 intrigues me, but the recessed mids people talk about spook me away a bit. Just how bad is the midrange? Do the Eggos do a significantly better job at vocals than the A500? Also, does anybody know how the A500 compares to the XD400? I had them briefly and I somewhat know them. I've read they have a similar sound signature. Edit: I forgot to mention, they will not be used outide. So bulkiness is not a factor.

I have experience with A500 and XD400..... A500 is far better and rich sounding then XD400.... Atlease for me. And Eggos are unheard for me yet.

Regarding recessed mids.
coming from these XD***'s, mids were not noticable for me at all. May be overall rich sound covered all of it's weakness. IMO you'll not notice it untill you hear any high end phone with forward mids. I cought it's dull presentation in mids after hearing A900LTD only. And not by my previous XD and Philips cans. It's nothing to worry that you are going to miss anything with it.

BTW. If AT increase it's mid then I think it'll be a best buy of this decade atleast if not centuary.

 

[EscaBoi]

heard the eggo's and i didn't like them much, i like the AT sound overall. A500 would definately be better IMO

 

[incognitoedleon]

.. that doesn't really help me much. Why do you like the A500 more than the Eggos? I'm leaning towards the Eggos since it has what I'm looking for - a decent midrage. I guess my hesitancy is due to the general apathy towards them here.

 

[thislittlepiggy]

i have an a900 and a d66sl, and the difference between them is night and day. the a900 has crazy bass that really deep and slams pretty hard, while the d66sl is super bright and has only a tiny smidgen of bass compared to the a900.

my complaint with d66sl is that it is too bright and has too little bass, but people say that the bass is sufficient. everything else about is it excellent. female vocals shine particularly well with these 'phones (a tad better than my a900s!). they do sound kinda "tinier" than my a900s (i don't know how to describe it). also, they can be a little fatiguing to listen to for long periods of time. i did the bass mod by poking a hole in the bubble underneath the silver cap, which helped the bass a lot. now, it sounds much more "balanced", i must say... do a search for this mod on the forums if you get the d66sl.

i don't know if the a900 is close to an a500, but i'll just give you my experience with the a900 for what it's worth. the a900 has a "massive" sound that mimics a spacious auditorium pretty well. the bass is powerful too, but sometimes i think it gets a little sloppy at times. however, it's a good all-around headphone for movies, games, and music.

so, if you can put up with brightness and voiding your warranty=> d66sl

if you're going to use them on your computer to play games, watch movies, and listen to music=>a900 (a500 in your case, but, again, i'm not sure how similar they are.)

 

[manchau]

Quote:

Originally Posted by incognitoedleon .. that doesn't really help me much. Why do you like the A500 more than the Eggos?

I dont like XD***'s because I heard them. EscaBoi don't like eggo's because he heard them. I like A500 because am hearing them. BTW why you don't like A500 ???? I respect your personal preference and think that you dont like it's sound at all.

I have an idea for you that they are only recommended for home use and almost everyone's having equalizers.... if you want forward midrange then equalize A500 and they will NOT say you NO' dont increase the mids. coz i am on limit. while Eggos will say you this when you tell them "SHAKE.........MY........HEAD".

Quote:

I'm leaning towards the Eggos since it has what I'm looking for - a decent midrage. I guess my hesitancy is due to the general apathy towards them here.

Then you must buy Eggos. Everyone's having different sense and ears.

 

[incognitoedleon]

Thanks for your impressions thislittlepiggy. I'm going to go ahead with some Eggos. I love mu SR325i's, which a lot of people find fatiguing, so the highs shouldn't be too much of problem.

 

[thislittlepiggy]

hehe, np! hope you like 'em, but watch out for the auto-strangle when you try to hang them around your neck. it's dangerous i tell ya (just playin').