[EhteeUser]

Hello.
 
     I have read recently that IEMs can alter your ear canal in a way that you can lose how well you hear in one ear (or both). So, I think I'm switching to full-size headphones for my Samsung P3 (mp3 player), but unlike IEMs, I know little to nothing about what good cans there are out on the market.
     My budget is UP TO $200, and obviously I want the best I can get within that price range. Does anyone know of any good cans out there? Sonys? Monsters? Denons?
 
Thanks for any help.
 
 
 
 
P.S:
 
I'm not a huge fan of bass...gives me headaches if there's enough :[
I love a good soundstage
I love details, details, details and whatnot
"Portable" would be nice, but it's not at all required
I do NOT want to have to buy an amp
 
 
And if it helps, 95% of my library is FLAC and 320+ kbps songs. The P3 is known for having great sound quality...so overall, the quality of my music is high.

 

[DevanF]

Hey I'm selling these basically new AKG K172 HD's.
 
They have a lot of qualities you described.
 
"I'm not a huge fan of bass...gives me headaches if there's enough :[
I love a good soundstage
"Portable" would be nice, but it's not at all required
I do NOT want to have to buy an amp"
 
 
All of it is right on the bass is under your control for the most part and your sources equalizer. But because the bass is more subdue the soundstage is awesome. If you have a lot of variable bit rate music or torrent downloads the headphones reveal the bad quality, but well produced 256KB and higher sound just flawless. The velvet ear pads are comfy if your have a moderate sized head, if your head is huge, you might have issues.
 
The biggest problem is it not being too mobile, because they don't sit greatly around your neck, and the cord is long, but if you bought a little bag for your can's which i recommend for what ever you buy for a longer life that you'll do fine.
 
Of course do your research. But if your interested let me know!

 

[albertnam]

I'm fairly certain that any reshaping of the ear canal is negligible, and that the benefits are plenty enough to outweigh any potential risks. You're playing at a lower volume because of the sealed environment, after all. Where did you read this, and why did it convince you that IEMs are detrimental to your health?

 

[EhteeUser]

Quote:

I'm fairly certain that any reshaping of the ear canal is negligible, and that the benefits are plenty enough to outweigh any potential risks. You're playing at a lower volume because of the sealed environment, after all. Where did you read this, and why did it convince you that IEMs are detrimental to your health?

http://www.anythingbutipod.com/forum/showthread.php?t=59699
Sounded pretty convincing...and my hearing is very important to me...I have awful eyesight, so I want to make up for it.
 
By the way, I've also heard that cans sound better overall than IEMs (in the same price range), so that's another reason why I might switch to full headphones...and there's also the fact that for me at least, it's hard to get a godo seal with my Etymotic ER-6is due to my already asymmetrical ear canals

 

[tdockweiler]

I've been through about several dozen headphones by now and my favorite for portable use unamped now is the KRK KNS-8400.
Comfort for me with them is a 9/10. They're about $150 and quite small. They have very good mids, but the bass is kind of light (not like say the AD700). It's OK for me.
They have a ton of detail, but nothing excessive. I've now compared them to my SRH-840 and I now prefer the KNS-8400.
SRH-840 is kind of laid back though in comparison. The 8400 is kind of bright and that may fatigue some ears.
They do need a LOT of burn-in. They are excessively bright out of the box. Like icicles stabbing me in the ears. Trust me, it gets much better!
 
BTW you can probably demo the KNS-8400 at Guitar Center. That's where I bought mine.

 

[EhteeUser]

Quote:

I've been through about several dozen headphones by now and my favorite for portable use unamped now is the KRK KNS-8400.
Comfort for me with them is a 9/10. They're about $150 and quite small. They have very good mids, but the bass is kind of light (not like say the AD700). It's OK for me.
They have a ton of detail, but nothing excessive. I've now compared them to my SRH-840 and I now prefer the KNS-8400.
SRH-840 is kind of laid back though in comparison. The 8400 is kind of bright and that may fatigue some ears.
They do need a LOT of burn-in. They are excessively bright out of the box. Like icicles stabbing me in the ears. Trust me, it gets much better!
 
BTW you can probably demo the KNS-8400 at Guitar Center. That's where I bought mine.

Very interesting, as I heard KRK is a brand that is pretty darn good, but not well known by common folk. Word on any Sennheisers, Denons, Sonys, etc?

 

[TheBananaMan]

Shure SRH840, Audio-technica ATH-M50. Those two are considered one of the best in their price range, under $200 and under $150 respectively so you might wanna check them out.

 

[kkweon]

sounds like SRH840 is what you are looking for, but it's not really portable. So, it can't really replace IEMs. 

 

[TheBananaMan]

oh yes I forgot, regarding your requirements, srh840 has amazing detail (take my word for it, i own them) but some say it has a narrow soundstage. I cant tell about this, since it works for me when i play on the ps3 when you need to hear the enemy's footsteps, and when listening to FLAC it seems amazing. But lots of people say the soundstage is narrow so i dont know if it's just me.

 

[EhteeUser]

Gosh, I'm leaning towards the KRK 8400s at this point, considering they supposedly have good detail and soundstage (I love to feel as if I'm "in" the music). Any...other options? Opinions?

 

[EhteeUser]

Oh, I just looked up those Shure 840s, and they apparently got good reviews (as expected). They're down to $150.00 on Amazon.com, though. Is the $150 worth it for them, or should I go with the $150 for the KRK 8400s?

 

[EhteeUser]

Oh, and then there're the Grados SR80i headphones...too many choices, though I've read that the Grados have superb soundstage. 

 

[Eric_C]

Quote:

Oh, and then there're the Grados SR80i headphones...too many choices, though I've read that the Grados have superb soundstage. 

Where did you read that? Common consensus has been that Grados have very little soundstage, i.e.: all instruments are presented very 'upfront', as if they were close the the ear and equally so.
 
Mind that SRH840 are known to be heavy.
 
KRK has a decent rep--but as a maker of active studio monitors. 
 
Anyway, since you seem to want a gaming headphone with soundstaging, not too much bass, no need for an amp, <$200 and need not go outdoors, I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the Audio Technica AD700. Look it up on the forums (just mind that it can be a bit large, depending on the size of your head).

 

[ljokerl]

 
Quote:

Oh, and then there're the Grados SR80i headphones...too many choices, though I've read that the Grados have superb soundstage. 

Heh. Only if about 2 inches in either direction is 'superb'...
 

 

[musiclicn]

Your mp3 is not powerful enough to drive most big cans like Sennheiser HD650, AKG K701. If u prepare to upgrade your music source into DAC or CDP, u should choose AKG K701. It is a little higher than $200.