@Pharmaboy Thanks, I'll check it out. Is this:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/822184/chinese-asian-brand-info-thread-on-or-over-ear-headphones the thread you are talking about? Also, since you seem to have a good amount of experience with this type of headphone, do you have a personal recommendation for me? I've been trying to do some research but it seems like every time I find a video or a review I always get the same "BEST HEADPHONES UNDER $XX" so it's hard for a beginner like myself to weed out what actually is my best option.
You're welcome!
Well, you should read that thread. What you'll find there--not all in one post, of course, but across dozens/hundreds of posts--is experience by multiple headphone owners w/multiple inexpensive Chinese headphones. Plenty of opinions (every hears music & headphones differently), but not a whole lot of selling or manipulating going on...
I'm a frequent poster there. My first really excellent experience in this realm is the
Yenona Adapter Free DJ Headphone. It's a very comfortable, "fun" headphone, terrific pads, light, closed back design. The sound really wowed me--a lot of quality bass, maybe a bit too much (I sure didn't mind); pretty decent, if a little bit recessed midrange, above average soundstaging, and sparkly yet pleasing treble. They just sounded so good. Still have them, still like them a lot. But (like everything) they have some slight demerits: at least on my specific Yenona, the headphone weirdly got somewhat brighter, weeks after burn-in finished (I've never heard of that happening)...so I went on an earpad switch odyssey.
Yenona has been rebranded "Oneodio," and they made 3 changes: they made the earcup sliders metal, not plastic (my plastic ones are pretty sturdy, not what I would label a problem); the often too-loose 3.5mm input jack at the base of one of the earcups has supposedly been corrected/improved so a 3.5mm cable jack would hold (if true, that fixes the one real problem w/the original); but on the downside, the superlative stock pads appear to have been downsized a bit in depth & comfort.
Here's an ebay link to the exact Yenona I have...if they ship what's shown here, it's well worth having, though the price is not optimal:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yenona-Adapter-free-DJ-Headphones-for-Studio-Monitoring-and-MixingSound-Isola-/112271157784?hash=item1a23e1ea18:g:qSAAAOSw4DJYfNyz
For a little more money, another excellent "all rounder" closed back design is the
Status Audio CB-1 (retails for ~80, incl. shipping if discounted). These have been very well reviewed on Head-Fi, w/a rave review by "Z" on youtube. They are slightly warm, good coverage across the frequency range, relatively comfortable, good soundstage. I have a very big head and found they fit me, though at full extension/no room to spare (they're a little smaller in scale than the Yenona). I think very well of the CB-1, but have mine F.S. here mainly because they're so simllar to another closed back design that to me is the pick of the litter:
The Chinese closed back design, the
ISK MDH9000, has been "cloned" 5-6 times--ie, rebranded w/nothing changed except small design/color/branding elements. I've owned 3 examples of 2 rebrands, and found they all sound identical--that is to say, very good. IMO these are perfect all-rounders: they do everything well, nothing badly, and a few things superbly. The bass is truly excellent. Some on that thread think they're too bassy, but I'm not one of them. The midrange is perfect, and the soundstaging is definitely better than I expected. The treble is just right to my ears: all the details in the music but zero brightness or "edge." I can see these being used for work (studio monitoring) based on their general flatness & accuracy; but even more for music appreciation & fun; all the music I have sounds excellent on them.
My favorite rebrand is the
Marantz MPH-2 (had 2, gave 1 away, kept the other). Prices really fluctuate: I got my 1st pair for $39.99/MusiciansFriend & my 2nd pair for $54/ebay. They just sold for $39.99 again at MF, but are now up to $99 there. The price will no doubt go down again soon, there or elsewhere. Right now the best reputable/warranty-included seller price I see is $86 at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Marantz-MPH-2-Professional-Studio-Headphones/dp/B01E75MKRY
However, the virtually identical clone, the
LyxPro HAS-30, is available for less ($59) on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/LyxPro-HAS-30-Headphones-Professional-Entertainment/dp/B018Y5CVO0
I prefer the Marantz in small ways, but they sound identical (I owned both and compared them).
The cheapest clone I know of is from Stellar Labs. It looks identical in form to the others, but no one I know has actually owned one. They're $52:
http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/STELLAR-LABS-HC-5985-/35-5985
The headphone that (I think) started it all, the
ISK MDH9000, has been only intermittedly available. Just found what looks like a live link on aliexpress, priced at ~$56:
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/2016-New-Arrival-ISK-MDH9000-Professional-Hifi-Hd-Monitor-Headphone-fully-closed-type-for-Computer-Recording/816277_32621089954.html
So unless you're a treble-fan who wants only "clinical accuracy" (translation:
bright) with "tremendous rendering of details" (translation:
bright) and "highly accurate bass" (translation:
bass-shy)--my recommendation would be any of the ISK MDH900 clones.
2nd best would be Status Audio CB-1 (which I have F.S.). I also have a Takstar HD6000 closed back headphone F.S. It's somewhat different from all these headphones, though it has its pluses, too.
