[XxDobermanxX]

The Sennheiser Hd 449 is the better choice its more balanced and natural . HD 449 is very tight and controlled with natural bass and they will reproduce the original recording faithfully, with a balanced and  clean sound . 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg2QKYiyLC8 

 

[DVDRey]

 
Quote:

DVDRey, what can you tell me about the srh750dj? It looks very nice, but it still is considerably more expensive than the srh440.

 
Considerably more expensive than SRH440? You can find them nowadays for less 100$ and the SRH440 between 70 and 90 $.
 
The SRH750DJ is a relatively balanced headphone with clear and goods mids, good bass without to be too excessive and good treble, never harsh. Huge soudstage for a closed headphone and comfortable for hours. Its a relatively efficient headphone, but don't try with a smartphone. With a simple onboard  PC audio soundcard or a small amp, it ll be much better.

 

[Digital-Pride]

Quote:

The Sennheiser Hd 449 is the better choice its more balanced and natural . HD 449 is very tight and controlled with natural bass and they will reproduce the original recording faithfully, with a balanced and  clean sound . 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg2QKYiyLC8 

Interesting.  I wonder how much better the bass response is in the HD449.  I had no complaints with HD448 sonically other than I found it lacking in bass a bit.

 

[eriktheg]

Quote:

Interesting.  I wonder how much better the bass response is in the HD449.  I had no complaints with HD448 sonically other than I found it lacking in bass a bit.

Really? I never heared the HD448, but it seems that it is listed on the basshead's buyers guide thread. Are you sure they lack anything in bass, cuz I doubt they would put it on that thread if it did?
*edit  My bad, I can see that many people think they lack in bass. They really need to remove it from the basshead thread.

 

[jojonakanono]

IMO, the HD448 and HD449 are very sleek looking. Very likable for the common consumer, but I feel like it lacks a lot of the features my other options have (detachable cable, rotating cups).
As I said before, sound quality is the most important thing, and aesthetics and outer features are of secondary priority, but at the same price range, and with similar sound quality, I'm not too sure about these Sennheisers.
That said, I do hear alot of good things about the HD448s (headphone.com called them the best headphones under $100). And the HD449s could only mean better.
Does anyone have anything else to add about these Sennheisers that could potentially make me understand why these would be a better choice than the Shure SRH440s (which are around the same price as the HD448) or the Audio-Technica ATH-m50s (comparable price to HD449)?
 
Alot of you seemed to recommend the Shure SRH440s.
-caveat there is that the stock ear pads are very shallow. Buying the 880 pads to upgrade in the future can apparently drastically improve the comfort, and perhaps even enhance the bass clarity and power. That could be a cool investment in the future but that also means an extra 20 bucks. ouch. Still, the final cost would be around $100.
 
The Audio-Technica ATH-m50 seem to also be very popular (headphone.com included them in their "Top 10 Headphones"). Their rotating ear cups do appeal to me (only slightly). But they are a bit more expensive than what i want to pay (around $130).
 
Some stated that the Shure SRH840 is a costly but necessary upgrade from the 440s. Like I stated in my first post, my budget is tight, and the less I spend, means the longer I can eat. It just seems to me that the general consensus is that at the same price point the ATH-m50 is a better buy. Is it safe to make this conclusion about these cans, or did I just spark a never ending opinion war?
 
DVDRey was the only one who recommended to me the Shure SRH750DJ. Although these were not originally in my scope of "potentials" I read a few reviews on them. Of course, reading any enthusiastic review about a set of cans means biased opinions, but one thing that I did  gather that seemed unanimously true was that their ear cups (being the circle that they are) are extremely uncomfortable.  However, one review said that they sound better than the ATH-m50s!! ... very interesting... If what DVDRey said is true, that I can find these for less than $100, these might interest me alot. Does anyone else have anything else to add about these cool looking cans?
 
DVDRey, where can I find these SRH750DJs for less than $100? Everywhere I look seems to demand at least $130.
Same problem with the SRH440s. Maybe I am not looking in the right place. Where would be the cheapest places to buy headphones?
 
Sorry guys for making you read all of this (if you even bothered). I just hate regretting buying something costly. I just would love to get the biggest bang for my dismal buck.

 

[jojonakanono]

And just to be clear, I am not a bass head.
When I listen to some dubstep and hip hop, I do love the strong bass, but I just need an all around good pair of headphones for all genres of music.

 

[eriktheg]

Actually, the M50 got its hype because it was considered by many to be the best set of cans under the $130 mark. about a year or two back, they went as low as $90 brand new. Since the price went up to an average of $150 in the US, other cans jumped in and quickly started competing with the M50's making it a head to head battle (price/performance ratio).
 
Keep in mind, comfort is very important and you don't want to get a set of cans that you have to take off in the middle of a movie because your ears hurt, so be cautious about what you buy. 440's need the 840 pad upgrade, and as for the the SRH750DJ's I never personally used them but as you stated, a fair amount of people have comfort issues especially if they wear glasses.

 

[jojonakanono]

update: I was able to find the 750dj on futureshop.ca for $99. but that is only for a limited time
I was also able to find the 440 for $75 on amazon and the m50 for $120 elsewhere.
 
But is it really possible to find them any cheaper? I feel kind of cheated that the m50 were sold at around $90 before.

 

[eriktheg]

Well, that was 2 years ago, and that was the older version ATH-M50 that came in blue box, not white box, things change. where did you find a price for the M50's like that? Link me to the source before you buy.

 

[XxDobermanxX]

If you watched the video in the link i gave you would see that the person who review it said the bass was better on this one . i guess sennheiser listen to us about the bass response on the 448 and   
made the hd 449 better. it also was inportant to make the bass better since the headphone was made for all round genre listening 

 

[DVDRey]

 
Quote:

update: I was able to find the 750dj on futureshop.ca for $99. but that is only for a limited time
I was also able to find the 440 for $75 on amazon and the m50 for $120 elsewhere.

 
Its usually the best price. Look sometimes at Amazon for the srh750 or the srh440.

 

[Sniperbombers]

I currently actually own a pair of SRH440's with 840 pads 
based on my experience with the original padding included with the SRH440's is that they start to become very uncomfortable and the padding starts to harden causing cracks.

Once i switched to 840 pads on SRH440's it was definitely a more enjoyable experience for my ears / overall improvement on sound. 
If you're wanting a cheap pair w/ a good bang for its bucks the SRH440's w/ 840 padding would be best.

a neutral/balanced sound with tons of clarity. And this is without any Dac/Amp, however, the quality of the song also plays a role of course.

The cable is coiled and the entire headphone+cable does add some heft. If you plan on taking these everywhere with you, its manageable but just make sure your cable doesn't bend around too much since its pretty long as a length.

As for portability, the case included with headphones big enough for the cable and headphones.
A plus also is that they fold up really nicely.

 

 

[jojonakanono]

Quote:

Well, that was 2 years ago, and that was the older version ATH-M50 that came in blue box, not white box, things change. where did you find a price for the M50's like that? Link me to the source before you buy.

 
Soundprofessionals.com
they have this deal where the price for the ATH-m50 is $159.00 for straight or coiled cable, but they give you a coupon code to make it cheaper. The coiled cable gets $40 off. The straight cable gets $30 off.
They also have options of Pre-burned in items where they put 50 hours of pink noise through new headphones. The Audio-technica warranty is void, but it comes with a "soundprofessionals.com 2 year warranty," which they claim is basically the same thing. These are also cheaper (139.00).
They have one last option, which is the Refurbished item. These are 129.00.
One thing to remember is that the coupon code can only be used on the new items (which sucks, cause if not, i could have gotten a refurbished model for $90!!)
 

 

[jojonakanono]

No matter. It seems like with the huge variety of genres that I will be listening to, my best bet is the SRH440 with a 840 pad upgrade along the road (total being about $90).
 
My reasoning (I write this because I want to make sure I'm on the right track):
-Alot of the listening that I do is going to be acoustical/instrumental. From research/forums, that apparently means, I want something with a flat frequency response. Apparently, the SRH440 is amazing with the neutral sound.
-The SRH440 is said to be a great "jack of all trades" (my music folder has a lot of trades)
-The ATH-m50 and the SRH750DJ are comparable to each other and are apparently a step higher than the SRH440 due to price range and sound. Alot of people (at least from what I've read) recommend the 750DJ (despite the unpopular ear pad comfort). Not only are they slightly cheaper ($100 vs. $120), but they sound very clear as opposed to the ATH-m50 which give a dullness in sound. Both are apparently super strong in the bass, but I've read that the SRH440 are a lot more true to the original sound.
-I am only a moderate fan of bass. I do a fair share of dubstep and rap listening, and the boom booms and pows are fun to feel, but I feel like a pair of headphones that unnaturally amplify bass can only make other genres sound weird.
-I am more interested in the clarity in bass rather than the power of it. And what I hear about the SRH440 is that they have a good sized bass response, but only enough to help fill the sound stage, not take it over.
 
That being all said, please, feel free to tell me that I'm on crack.
 
Lastly, the srh440(with 840pads) will cost me about $90. Is the $10 more for the 750dj or the $30 extra for the ATH-m50 really worth it for my purposes? Or maybe the Sennheiser HD448 for about the same price range (perhaps cheaper now), or the HD449 for $30 more. Or maybe even the SRH840 for like$50 more...
 
Thanks guys for everything so far. I'm only getting into this audio craze... Hopefully, my paranoia will end soon.
Until then, I am all ears! 

 

[Omark12]

I think you need to take a look at Ultrasone HFI-780