[TheSlov3nc]

I've heard many negative things about SoloHD's, from sound quality to durability, so I changed my mind about buying them. Now I'm looking for new headphones. I want on the ear, lost of bass, good sound quality, stylish and such... ( like SoloHD's ). I already was looking on sites like Bose, AKG, Sennheiser, Audio-Technica... Are there any good headphones from anything from 50 to 200 € ( 65 to 260 $ ).
 
Thanks in advance, Erik

 

[192405]

You'll hear a lot of Bose bashing here. For good reason of course. And yes, there are MANY MANY other headphones that squash out even Beats Studios in that price range.
 
You want one for bass? The Sony XB series is literally a BASS MONSTER with amazing comfort and they're not that ugly to look at either, and under 100 bucks.
 
A lot of people also would reccomend the Creative Aurvana Live!, they're cheap, comfortable, VERY stylish, and have amzing sound quality, though the bass isnt the selling point on these, but if you want more bass, invest in a Fiio E6 (20 bucks anywhere literally...), and you'll get more clarity, more volume, more power, and more bass!
 
A lot of people would also reccomend the AudioTechnia ATH-M50s, these are extremely renowned headphones that have been said to be the "standard" in their price range, they're comfortable, great sound quality, good bass, good style, everything you need for less than the price of Beats.
 
Theres so many headphones that are better than Beats that offer the things you want. Could you be a little more speciifc though please to your needs? Will these be portable headphones? Studio? What music do you normally listen to? Will you be gaming with these phones? Are you willing to get equipment for these phones (amps, portable amps, LOD wires, DACs?) Are you willing to modify these headphones (pads, cuts, etc.)? Anything would be of great help, but you made a very good decision by ditching the mainstream Beats that are nothing more than a marketting technique gone haywire, and came to us at head-fi, we'll promise you that you'll leave here with more money than you would've had buying beats, and with much better sound quality. Welcome aboard.

 

[TheSlov3nc]

Thanks for a such a quick reply... Yes, portable. I will be using the headphones for music on the bus to school and occasionally gaming ( 5% of the time using them or less ). I listen to house, electronica, dubstep, drum 'n' bass and such. I don't really know anything about modifying headphones, because this will be my first "expensive" pair.
 
Thanks, Erik

 

[192405]

Ah, right, well if you're not modifying, then almost all Grado's are out of the question, because if you own a Grado, 80% of the time you'll want to mod them. xD
 
Anyway, are you willing to buy other equipment for them? (like I said, portable amps, LODs, DACs?)
 
Also, the Shure SRH750DJ is actually really bearing on your mark, they're VERY stylish, VERY good styling, they have a sound signature similar to the Beats series (besides the fact that it doesnt make mids go AWOL), a VERY nice bass, and durable to boot! Also cheaper than beats and when you throw more equipment at it, you really fall in love with it. Ask about it on the forum, I can remember the exact people who own these models, but theres two people floating around here that love these headphones and would be happy to convert you to them, they really are a good purchase.
 
There's also other Shure models, but I dont have any listening experience with any of the other ones that are longer than a few minutes. They're all quite a crapton better than Beats though, so whicher you purchase you'll be happy with.
 
I would personally advice against Sennheiser products for your case, their audio quality is exceptional, but a lot of their models arent really the epitome of "comfort, portability, and durability", which is what you would need for headphones you'll be taking everywhere like you would be doing.

 

[SanjiWatsuki]

The rest of the non-DJ Shure models are rather bass light. I wouldn't suggest them for those music choices.
I disagree that the Grados are out of the question, modding is not the only reason to get them. I will say that I don't suggest getting a Grado without having the chance to listen to one in person, though -- they're one of the most polarizing headphones.

 
Quote:

Ah, right, well if you're not modifying, then almost all Grado's are out of the question, because if you own a Grado, 80% of the time you'll want to mod them. xD
 
Anyway, are you willing to buy other equipment for them? (like I said, portable amps, LODs, DACs?)
 
Also, the Shure SRH750DJ is actually really bearing on your mark, they're VERY stylish, VERY good styling, they have a sound signature similar to the Beats series (besides the fact that it doesnt make mids go AWOL), a VERY nice bass, and durable to boot! Also cheaper than beats and when you throw more equipment at it, you really fall in love with it. Ask about it on the forum, I can remember the exact people who own these models, but theres two people floating around here that love these headphones and would be happy to convert you to them, they really are a good purchase.
 
There's also other Shure models, but I dont have any listening experience with any of the other ones that are longer than a few minutes. They're all quite a crapton better than Beats though, so whicher you purchase you'll be happy with.
 
I would personally advice against Sennheiser products for your case, their audio quality is exceptional, but a lot of their models arent really the epitome of "comfort, portability, and durability", which is what you would need for headphones you'll be taking everywhere like you would be doing.

 

 

[192405]

Well you can get Grados and not mod them. But then you're missing out on the Grado fun

 

[TheSlov3nc]

I can try modifying, but i don't really get the point of of it... what do you get the clearer sound, more bass, the looks, sound quality? What are LODs and DACs ( I can look on the forums if you don't have time explaining it to me xD ).
 
I live in Slovenia, so please don't look on amazon.com, because they don't ship to Slovenia.
 
I really like the SONY XB series, so if they are what they are promising, there's a chance they will be mine someday in the near future.
 
So no Beats right?
 
Thanks, Erik
 
 
 

 

[TheSlov3nc]

sorry for updated post
 

 

[SanjiWatsuki]

Ah, you'll probably have some issues getting Grados to begin with, then. If I recall, they only ship to U.S. locations. 

I would suggest heavily against Beats. The only Beats I've spent a significant time with was the Studios, but I found them much more comparable to a $50-70 headphone. They weren't necessarily bad, just heavily overpriced. 
Quote:

I can try modifying, but i don't really get the point of of it... what do you get the clearer sound, more bass, the looks, sound quality? What are LODs and DACs ( I can look on the forums if you don't have time explaining it to me xD ).
 
I live in Slovenia, so please don't look on amazon.com, because they don't ship to Slovenia.
 
I really like the SONY XB series, so if they are what they are promising, there's a chance they will be mine someday in the near future.
 
So no Beats right?
 
Thanks, Erik
 
 
 

 

 

[TheSlov3nc]

We are near my decision... I really like the SONY XB500's, so I'll go check them out in a store.
 
Thanks everybody that helped me make my desicion here , Erik

 

[LizardKing1]

 
Quote:

I can try modifying, but i don't really get the point of of it... what do you get the clearer sound, more bass, the looks, sound quality? What are LODs and DACs ( I can look on the forums if you don't have time explaining it to me xD ).
 
I live in Slovenia, so please don't look on amazon.com, because they don't ship to Slovenia.
 
I really like the SONY XB series, so if they are what they are promising, there's a chance they will be mine someday in the near future.
 
So no Beats right?
 
Thanks, Erik

Modding changes the sound. It usually improves on one part and loses quality on another, like increase bass extension and have a darker sound. It's very rare that a mod improves everything, although that's usually subjective, like some people might say that a certain mod improved every part of the sound by making it more neutral, and someone else might say it's worse because the sound is too analytical and not enough fun.
 
A LOD (line-out dock) is a cable that connect a portable player to an amp, by bypassing the internal amp. Ok, that sounds complicated right? So, every portable player (also known as DAP, digital audio player), like an iPod has everything inside: software to play the music, DAC and amp. But if you have a good and more powerful portable amp and want to use that, instead of having the sound go from your DAP's amp -> headphone-out -> portable amp, you can use a line-out, which is a special connection that comes from the player's DAC without passing through the amp. People do this because double-amping is not recommended, since if they have flaws, you get them double.
 
A DAC (digital-analog converter) does just that: converts digital signals into analog ones. The music is stored through bits, 1s and 0s, which is a digital kind. But headphones only use analog signals, and amps only amplify analog signals, so you need to convert that digital into analog. That's what the DAC does. There's some measure of agreement on Head-Fi that every well-built DAC should sound the same, since most of it is digital and 1s and 0s can't be good or bad. However DACs also have parts that deal with the analog signal once it's been converted from digital, and those parts can and will have flaws.
 
Oh and by the way, my suggestion for your budget and sounds preferences is the Sennheiser HD-25. It's amazing although really expensive. Grados are open, and if you wanted Beats I'm assuming you want something closed. I tried one of the XB line a long time ago and I don't remember, but yeah, bass monsters. The SRH750 which were also recommended are amazing, but they are not on-ears, they are over-ears. That and the stupid twirly cord make me never take them outside.

 

[192405]

Be careful here though, what kind of bass do you want? The Sony XB series REALLY is a MONSTER of bass. I found them to be really overpowering. What kind of bass do you want? Do you want the kind of bass that "can shake your head around like a ragdoll while listening to just an acoustic guitar" or "a nice touch of bass just to hear some raw power"? Be careful, the XB series are a powerful creature that some bassheads even have a hard time bearing in some cases. If what you want is the first kind of bass, then the XBs are your #1s, if not, please continue your search.
 
LODs and DACs? Explain them? Okay let me try.
 
I'll do LODs first, and try in the simplest terms.
 
So imagine a street, just a one-way street with one lane, no shoulders or sidewalks, and a speed limit. This is the equivalent to your 3.5mm audio jack. Now this highway is fine, it handles power sufficiently, can deliver clarity and volume, and it really is "good enough" for most cases, but once you get to a certain point, the cars might be all clogged up and accidents may happen if too much is demanded of the road. Now imagine a street with 4 or 5 lanes with sidewalks and all, no speed limit, now this street can handle LOTS more power, LOTS more clarity, and lots more EVERYTHING WITHOUT having the same stress issues as the first street. They really do help you out a lot if you want more than "good enough" and they really are quite cheap. Also, LOD stands for (Line-Out Device)
 
DAC? Okay this is going to be hard, if you dont understand the explanation then dont worry, just know that DACs help your music sound better But let me try anyway.
 
So speakers are an analog device. It relies on amounts of power varying from 0% to 100% to run and perform. What your speaker is in essence is a material diaphragm with a magnetic base infront of a magnet (cobalt or neodynium in most cases), and this magnet takes the electrical signal from your cables (whether that electrical signal is 0-100%) and magnetizes itself, pulling back the diapghram, moving air, and your brain interprets that air as frequencies, many frequencies are sounds, many sounds are songs. So anyway, analog is 0%-100%, but digital is 0% OR 100%. No in between. Your iPod or whatever is containing your music is a digital device, and it cant power your speakers without something to convert it's digital signals into analog signals for your speakers to read.
 
Now your iPod or comptuer or whatever has a DAC (which, for future reference, is Digital to Analog Converter) built in, this is usually referred to as a "sound/audio card" in computer terms. And it takes the music files from your digital computer, reads them, determines what frequencies of the song require what speaker power and output and colour, and throws it through the wires of your headphones into your speakers which end up as music. Now, the DAC your computer or iPod has is fine, theres nothing wrong with it, but lets make another comparison like I did with the LODs.
 
Imagine two artists. One is a new artist with few techniques and one paint brush and a limited palette of colours. He paints nice work, and its "good enough". Now imagine another artist. This artist is a master artist with many tools and palettes and hundreds of techniques, his art is astonishingly beautiful! Now lets say your music is an art piece (which it is! Aha how coincidental!) and your speakers are the canvas for this art piece to be painted onto. Now, the first artist can paint it all just fine, he gets the main idea in and even some details, but with only one paint brush and a limited palette, its slow and sortof a boring piece of work. The first artist is in proportion to the stock sound card of your iPod or computer or whatever. Now the second artist can make your art piece into absolutely magnificient work on the canvas! Always entertaining and beautiful! This second artist is in proportion to a purpose-built DAC. The first artist can do the job fine, and is "good enough", but the clarity and life isnt anywhere near on the level of the master artist.
 
So thats my explanation xD Hope you understood it!
 
EDIT: LIZARD YOU BEAT ME TO IT >W< !!!!

 

[TheSlov3nc]

Thanks everybody ;D

 

[autoteleology]

I wouldn't suggest getting the XB500s for gaming if you play shooters online... they have horrible positioning and everything sounds veiled under that delicious bass. I'd suggest getting a second headphone for gaming, such as the very cheap KCS75 (although I've never heard them before, they are widely regarded on this forum as bang-for-the-buck, and are highly recommended in the Mad Lust Envy gaming cans thread).

If you're not going to make a decision immediately, I listen to the same genres that you do, and I'll be getting an Audio Technica PRO700mk2 for Christmas, so I'll be able to weigh in on how those work for what you want.

 

[SkinnyPuppy]

Why not the XB700 instead of the 500?
 
Less bass, but still better quality bass.
 
Also check out:
 
Ultrasone 580
Panasonic rtf-600