[jasonrk]

Hey guys, I'm new to this site and am pretty much a noob when it comes to Headphones. I'm looking to get my moneys worth so I'd be grateful for any advice from a few people who have actually tried various headphones and know what's best.

My budget is around £150 ($250). It will mainly be used to listen to Hip Hop & Rap on my iPhone. I like booming base but its important to me that I can clearly hear the lyricism of a song as well. I basically want the best balance I can get in my budget. Everyone I know pretty much owns a pair of Beats. I've read how it's pretty much more of a overpriced fashion accessory, so I'd like to get advice from some 'audiophiles' on what headphones would be ideal for me. I have seen many people recommending the Audio-Technica ATH M50s and swearing that they are the best for my price range but I have also seen some people saying they are over-rated. So I'm pretty confused on what to get. Oh, and I'd like them to be REASONABLY fashionable because they are for outside use. 
 
Thanks. 

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[Nixon]

I was about to suggest the ATH M50's

Either them or the V-Moda M80's

 

[KamijoIsMyHero]

I don't think a lot of audiophiles are hip-hop fans but from a hip-hop head to another I would recommend custom one pros, this is only considering based on what you want(portability, style and balanced mids and bass)

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

Hey guys, I'm new to this site and am pretty much a noob when it comes to Headphones. I'm looking to get my moneys worth so I'd be grateful for any advice from a few people who have actually tried various headphones and know what's best.

My budget is around £150 ($250). It will mainly be used to listen to Hip Hop & Rap on my iPhone. I like booming base but its important to me that I can clearly hear the lyricism of a song as well. I basically want the best balance I can get in my budget. Everyone I know pretty much owns a pair of Beats. I've read how it's pretty much more of a overpriced fashion accessory, so I'd like to get advice from some 'audiophiles' on what headphones would be ideal for me. I have seen many people recommending the Audio-Technica ATH M50s and swearing that they are the best for my price range but I have also seen some people saying they are over-rated. So I'm pretty confused on what to get. Oh, and I'd like them to be REASONABLY fashionable because they are for outside use. 
 
Thanks. 

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Heya,

#1: Good headphones are not going to have massive loads of bass, it ruins the mids. The PRO900 is a shining example of how a great headphone can go oh-so-wrong. So instead of looking for one with massive bass at stock, consider that you can take any good warm neutral capable headphone and equalize it for maximum bass so that it's done well, and get the level of bass that you want for your ears. You do this with an equalizer and you can supplement with an amplifier that both increases volume and adds it's own bass enhancement (like the Fiio line or a Digizoid ZO for example). When equalizing, you don't raise bass, you simply lower everything except bass frequencies down a bit, like -10db for a start, or more, depending on just how powerful and volumous you want your bass to be. The amplifier will help you get volume back up after bringing your line out level down with that equalizer. So practice with this method and you'll have bass on virtually any headphone that is fantastic. Just get a great base model headphone. Not just a stock "bassy" headphone.
 
Some suggestions to get you started:
 
Ultrasone HFI 580
Ultrasone PRO 750
Vmoda M100
AKG K167
AudioTechnica PRO700MKII
Shure SRH750 DJ
M-Audio Q40
 
Take one of those that you like the overall look of since style matters to you here, look up reviews and features. Then take the concept of equalization like I described above, and you'll have wonderful mids for listening to clever lyrics, while still being able to have earthquake level bass. And to really take it up a notch, use a small amplifier. A simple Fiio E6 can be a start. But if you can budget it, a Fiio E11 would be a better thing to go with, or if you can find a used Digizoid ZO (any version) that would be excellent too.
 
Very best,