[joe4324]

I've been reading these forums for a few hours now. (using the search feature alot) I would like some opinoins. With-in the next month or so me and my band are going start working on a demo for our band. The music will be primarily metal but with alot of classical guitar and some clean sung vocals.

We are on a tight budget (spent all the money on mic's and effects pedals ha!) so price is VERY important here and if at all possible I would like to find some nice cans under the $100 range. (prefereably lower then that because I will need more then one pair) But I understand good headphones cost money so I'm not looking to cheap out too much.

One of the most important things here, Possibly more important then the actual sound quality will be how much outside noise they can filter out. We will be doing alot of jaming during the recording and we NEED isolation. (any tips on how your bands do this are greatly appreciated!)

I have a friend who has some Senn HD280s and they are nice phones. the isolation isnt as good as I'd like, but they are some of the better cans I've heard. They are a strong canadite for me at this point.

So there you go, Personal recomendations for:

Sub $100
Great Isolation (really important!)
Good for metal and abusive music (think Doom Metal)

I'm also open to buying one nicer pair of phones and maybe 2-3 cheap ones, that are good enough to get the job done, I know I'm NOT going to be getting much for such a low price. But I at least want cans worthy of using!

Thanks in advance for any responses!

 

[D-EJ915]

My a500's really kick out the bass, and my eggos have better isolation, but completely lack bass at high volumes

I got both for 89 dollars at audiocubes (A500's were on sale)

Eggos (D66)

A500's

the a500's are great for stuff like Living Sacrifice, Pillar, Embodyment...etc., Indie, Thrash Metal...Hardcore...all of the above

(they're my favourite bands, and all christian too!)

5/5

's agree

 

[joe4324]

Ok thanks for the input! I'm compiling a list of phones as we speak. I hear the HD280s are rated at 32DB of isolation. that number seems quite high. I mean they were decent when I listen to them. but 32db is alot. maybe they were that good....

 

[SptsNaz]

Can these cans possibly compete with various grado's? They look extremely good and comfort is written all over them and they are quite cheap.

 

[Xplo]

Going by price and isolation, the 280 would probably be your best bet. Another option might be the Sony V6 (not the V600! I get tired of seeing this disclaimer, but I see the need for it). It's priced similarly to the 280, provides decent isolation (though probably not as much), and is generally considered a good studio headphone because of its low bass and detailed highs.

A third and completely different option is to use any ol' closed headphones, turn them up REALLY LOUD, and wear earplugs under them. But I hate to think that would do to your perception of the sound...

 

[MERTON]

THE GUYS at dj times really liked the hd 280 pro.

 

[joe4324]

I really appreciate the input here folks, but does "anyone" have any recomendations for a CHEAP pair of phones? I'm pretty sure I'm going to get at least 1 pair of HD280 (or equal too) for mastering. But were going to need at least another pair of "useable" phones. But spending another $100 probably wont be an option as soon as I'd like.

 

[joe4324]

How do the Sennheiser HD202s sound? I know there cheap. but they "look" like they at least have SOME isolation. for only $20.

 

[joe4324]

anybody? I also hear that grado has some cheaper cans that sound decent too.

 

[MERTON]

well if you want good sound but you don't need isolation the grado sr 60 is for you.. but you may want to go to etymotics web site and have a look around.. they may have something less than 100 and they all have decent isolation and sound from what i've read.

 

[Mythar]

I bought some HD212Pros from Amazon for $40. and am really happy with them, though I'm going to be upgrading to some more expensive cans in a few weeks...but for the lower end, headroom thought they were great, and their isolation works well for me.

 

[Chinchy]

I have a set of Audio Technica headphones that are labeled "Studiophones". The ATH-M40fs that I got off zzounds.com for about $69. They have decent isolation that cuts out noise, but you may still hear stuff. It has pretty good frequency range (5 Hz - 28 KHz). I use these for my electronic drumset so that I can only hear the actual drum sounds and the music mix. Works well for me. You can find more information at:
http://www.audiotechnica.com/guide/o.../ATHM40fs.html

Other things that I've seen, that may help you out: "Extreme Isolation" headphones. I've never actually listened to these, but if you're looking for isolation, I doubt you can do much worse. Originally developed for people like sound engineers who need the isolation from the main speakers. Apparently it has 29db of isolation. Not sure how it stacks up to the Senn 280's.. It costs around the same, at $99, but it's a buttload bigger, as if they stuck some drivers inside those ear muffs for use at the gun range. No idea how they sound though, but it's definitely something you can look into.

I've seen these at various music stores and online at www.drumbalaya.com. Actual purchasing link would be:
http://shopping.netledger.com/app/si...it.A/id.566/.f

 

[joe4324]

whats the difference between these Senn 500's and the HD280's? the prices are about the same, they look similar, but I dont understand were the difference comes from. Senn seems to have alot of products priced very close to each other.

I'm considering 1 pair of HD280 pros, and one pair of 212pros. Or 3 paris of 212Pros.

 

[KJ869]

i would suggest i pair of 280

 

[Mythar]

the 280s are obviously better...but if you're on a fixed budget and need a certain number of cans...212s sound good too at a much lower price. Read the review at Headroom...they loved em.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...&s=electronics

at $40 vs the $75 for the 280s, it's a good choice on a budget. (that's why I bought them)