Best headphones, no amp, no budget
Mar 7, 2014 at 5:39 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 37
unheeding

unheeding

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Hey guys,
 
A friend just gave me a reality check for thinking Beats Pro headphones had great sound quality... So I looked it up and apparently it's actually considered mediocre by enthusiasts like yourselves! So I was hoping maybe some of you could recommend me a pair that's best for my personal requirements:
 
- I mostly listen to Rap / Hip-Hop (~90%) and many sub-genres of Rock (~10%)
- I will mostly use the headphones on my iPhone, and most likely will never use an amp
- Main criteria is sound quality (convince me that beats are trash!) but would also like if the design is sexy
- I don't care about the price, although a good price-quality ratio would be nice
 
I think that's it, thank you for your recommendations!!
 
Mar 7, 2014 at 5:52 PM Post #2 of 37
B&O H6 is a really nice sounding headphone IMO. Of course, a TH900 or TH600 sounds pretty good unamped too but they aren't very portable. 
 
Mar 7, 2014 at 5:54 PM Post #4 of 37
no budget? impossibru!
 
Better set a budget before people start recommending cans like the fostex th900! (~ $2000!!).
 
Are you planning to travel with them/taking them outside? In that case, you would want a closed headphone, so i'll start off by recommending the v-moda m100 for now. Those should be good enough for your needs. 
 
Mar 7, 2014 at 6:07 PM Post #6 of 37
b0000 said:
  no budget? impossibru!
 
Better set a budget before people start recommending cans like the fostex th900! (~ $2000!!).
 
Are you planning to travel with them/taking them outside? In that case, you would want a closed headphone, so i'll start off by recommending the v-moda m100 for now. Those should be good enough for your needs. 
Click to expand...

 
lol! that's why I wrote "although a good price-quality ratio would be nice"
No budget means money is not a problem, but I'm not asking to get screwed either (so only recommend something expensive if it's clearly worth it, considering my requirements.) It means I trust this community basically!
 
btw iv'e bookmarked all of your recommendations so far, so keep 'em coming and I'll try to choose later, thanks!
 
Mar 7, 2014 at 6:09 PM Post #7 of 37
unheeding said:
  Hey guys,
 
A friend just gave me a reality check for thinking Beats Pro headphones had great sound quality... So I looked it up and apparently it's actually considered mediocre by enthusiasts like yourselves! So I was hoping maybe some of you could recommend me a pair that's best for my personal requirements:
 
- I mostly listen to Rap / Hip-Hop (~90%) and many sub-genres of Rock (~10%)
- I will mostly use the headphones on my iPhone, and most likely will never use an amp
- Main criteria is sound quality (convince me that beats are trash!) but would also like if the design is sexy
- I don't care about the price, although a good price-quality ratio would be nice
 
I think that's it, thank you for your recommendations!!
Click to expand...

You could save a few dollars and just get some JVC HA-S680 folding headphones ($65), they are only sold in Japan.
But you can order them off Amazon or eBay. 
 
Mar 7, 2014 at 6:15 PM Post #9 of 37
I doubt it. The Pros are decent sounding and worth around $150-200 in SQ. The M-50s are not as good and certainly very much overhyped by some people. 
 
Mar 7, 2014 at 7:52 PM Post #10 of 37
unheeding said:
   
Are you telling me that there are $65 headphones with better sound quality than Pro Beats? LOL the overpricing is outrageous
Click to expand...

As your using them with your iPhone, I'm assuming your looking for something to use while on the move.
So smaller and folding headphones would seem to make sense.
With an iPhone you want headphone that are easy to drive, the HA-S680s are only 32-Ohm.
 
Otherwise there are the Audio Technica ATH-A900X (40-Ohm), $230.
Adding the Hifiman Velour ear pads ($16) make for a more sealed cup.
But the A900X are not really travel headphones.
 
Shure SRH840 (44-Ohm), smaller and folding, should sound nice plugged into your iPhone, $190.
But they do not have a lot of bass, at least not enough for a basshead.
 
Mar 7, 2014 at 8:48 PM Post #13 of 37
tomb said:
Best headphone + no amp = stupid goal.
Click to expand...


Overall, I agree. But it's an reasonable question for portable. (I wouldn't carry an amp either.)

M100 has the bass for those genres. Other good things about it are build, looks, and customization.
 
Mar 7, 2014 at 10:05 PM Post #14 of 37
Your other options for closed headphones include the NAD HP50 and the sennheiser momentum if you opt to go for a more balanced headphone than the bass heavy vmoda m100.
 
I tend to recommend mid-fi cans (200-400 range) because i feel like this is where the bang/buck ratio tend to be the highest. There are some exceptions of course (that i don't know of 
redface.gif
).
 
Also don't be put off by people saying no amplifier = complete stupidity. Spending more money on better headphones will yield greater sound quality improvements than splitting your budget for a headphone/amp combo. (but definitely get an amp in the future for the complete audio nirvana experience!)
 
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