[bangraman]

After a somewhat "AARGH~phew" moment recently when a couple of friends came to game on my LAN, I'm not letting them use my 'good' phones anymore. I'm also not very fond of shifting my headphone set-up around when I want to sit at the other table, so am on the lookout for one or two additional general purpose headphones that I can use while on the other PC's.


I realise this probably means re-visiting one or more phones I've bought, but this is no big deal. I will probably get two different phones.


Prerequisites:
1. Durable. Something that can be whipped off the head and banged straight on a table and otherwise treated in a fairly unrespectful manner without fear of structural damage. i.e. rules out anything from Audio-Technica.
2. Non-dedicated amping. Should be usable straight from the socket of an X-Fi Elite Pro, or any soundcard in general. i.e. rules out 'borderline' low-impedance but very inefficient loads like the K271S, or genuinely hard-to-drive loads like the DT880.
3. Circumaural with decent cavity for the ears to sit fully inside the cups. i.e. rules out K271S for example.
4. Closed or semi-open, ideally in combination with point 3 with a regular pair of ears making no contact with the inside of the earcups.
5. Non-fatiguing sound. i.e. rules out 'old' DT770 (don't know about the 'new')


OK... let the flood of recommendations commence

 

[AlienPyro]

HD280
DT 250-80

er.. that's the best I can do for now

non-fatiguing, durable, closed circumaurals... I wish.

 

[milkpowder]

oh this is soo easy...HD555/595. Light, comfortable, easy to drive, good-sounding, cheap, durable, open, etc...

HOWEVER, I do not condone the rough treatment of headphones. I don't expect the HD555 or any other headphone to last harsh treatment like you described for more than a few months. They don't leak too much either.

 

[coolshot]

hd-201s? maybe if you got smaller ears. Mine will touch on one side based on how i wear them. I dont like having my earlobes touch the pad so i shift it up and works well. It barely touches the top of my ears.

 

[padi89]

How about the new goldring dr150

 

[Cjattwood]

The HD201's seem to fit your criteria, and best of all are cheap as hell so you can chuck them about without fear of breaking them.

 

[Alu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlienPyro HD280 DT 250-80 er.. that's the best I can do for now non-fatiguing, durable, closed circumaurals... I wish.

I thought the HD280 to be incredible uncomfortable after some time of wearing them. I used them as PC cans, meaning for my (already sold) game system as well. And I guess you should consider them being comfy for heavy usage.

 

[Kameleon]

DT770-80. They were always fine straight out of my Prodigy 7.1LT, and my non-audiophile mates absolutely love their sound signature. Comfy as hell too. At £80 from Digital Village, I wouldn't be surprised if quite a few people were swayed enough to buy themselves a pair. Perfect for gaming and the 80 ohm version is anything but fatiguing.

 

[luckybaer]

DT 770 is fatiguing? I have the 80 ohm versions, and I use them for hours on end gaming.

 

[darkninja67]

It sounds like you are describing the DT770-80s. Durable, fairly easy to drive at 80 Ohms, semi open (IIRC), nice bass, circumaural all fit the bill.

 

[Headphony]

Though you ruled out Audio-Technica, I would still suggest ATH-M30's. They seem just as tossable/durable as HD555's, AKG K81DJ's, etc. and only cost about 50 bucks. They meet the other listed criteria also.

 

[bangraman]

Thanks for the comments so far.


DT250: They're comfy for sure, but I've always had a deep ambivalence towards the rather indeterminate sonic character of this phone.
HD280: Under consideration... but ideally even for occasional use I think I'm looking for something with better SQ.
DT770-80: I've only had the 250 ohm version which by all accounts is not that different. It was definitely a very uncouth headphone. Suitable for gaming and 'rough' music, but that's about it for me.
HD201: I wasn't really on the 'these are great!' bandwagon about this. They sound their price... like a cheap mini system. I was MOST impressed by the engineering that went into this product though.
HD555/595: A pair I've NOT owned!

I'm ideally NOT looking for fully open phones. How non-isolating are these, if you have closed phones to compare?
DR150: Intriguing, never heard of them before, but I am presuming by their price that I would probably want something a tad above in terms of performance... unless these turn out to be some sort of giant killer.


Apart from that the only Ultrasone I've experience of is the HFI-650 and that is under consideration. In terms of sonics, the level of the Ultrasones (and above if poss.) would be more of what I'm looking for.

 

[incognitoedleon]

The HD595 doesn't isolate much at all. The DR150's are said to have a similar sound signature as the Koss KSC's, but they're open cans.

 

[ilovesocks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder oh this is soo easy...HD555/595. Light, comfortable, easy to drive, good-sounding, cheap, durable, open, etc... HOWEVER, I do not condone the rough treatment of headphones. I don't expect the HD555 or any other headphone to last harsh treatment like you described for more than a few months. They don't leak too much either.

Yeah, the 555/595 are open. They'd be perfect for his bangraman's purposes if they were closed, though.

 

[gshan]

AKG K240S (semi-open)

edit: I've never tried the K271, but perhaps K240 doesn't have a large enough cavity either.