[Fush]

Hello!
I am looking for a good set of headphones for my Sony NW-HD5. My upper price limit is around $150. I will prefer closed ones, as I don't like to bother other people on the train, bus etc. with my music. Any suggestions? The Sennheiser HD 485 and 497 look very good both soundwise and designwise, but they're both open models. Which other sets would you recommend?

 

[maia]

HD25?

 

[Fush]

Quote:

Originally Posted by maia HD25?

Hmm.. the specs looks good on these ones. But I am not too excited about the design and looks of these. I like the style of HD485/497 better.

 

[maia]

I'm afraid they're pretty good and expensive too...
From Sennheiser you also have the HD 212 Pro (look similar to HD 497) and the HD 215 (look similar to HD 485)...

 

[wildsponge]

Another reccomendation for the Senn HD25-1

 

[gshan]

HD25-1 -$150-200
MDR-D66SL $100
HD280 $70-100
PX200 $40-50
HD212 (sameish style as the HD497) $30-40
HD202 (" " " " ") $20
HD201 $20

I've only heard 6/7 of these, but they are my pricerange recommendations.

 

[JB.]

If you're going to be using these on a bus or train, you're going to need good isolation.
The best sound and isolation in your price range for circumaural's are the HD280's. You should also consider canalphones, especially since the ER6i's are currently $77 at buy.com.

Again, you're main considerations seem to be:
1. portable
2. sound quality
3. isolation

the HD280's and ER6i's fit the bill, and both sound very good straight out of a portable player.

 

[Fush]

Thanks for the suggestions. Which pair has the better sound quality of the HD202, 212 and PX200? I've heard people complain about the strong bass inn the 212's. How do they compare to the 202? I do also worry a bit about the comfort level of these to HD's. Are they very tight on the ears?

 

[gshan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fush Thanks for the suggestions. Which pair has the better sound quality of the HD202, 212 and PX200? I've heard people complain about the strong bass inn the 212's. How do they compare to the 202? I do also worry a bit about the comfort level of these to HD's. Are they very tight on the ears?

The 202 and 212 are very similar (if not the same) sounding. Yes, they have an overpowering bass imo. The HDs have some clamp, and the pads will make your ears hot. The PX200 sounds the most balanced. You'd probably find the 202/212 muffled sounding compared to the PX200.

 

[Fush]

OK. I've also heard some good stuff about the Beyerdynamic DT231. Do you know anything about those, compared to the Sennheisers mentioned?

 

[saint.panda]

The Sony V6 are not bad either, also in terms of looks.

 

[Fush]

So, I have finally nailed it down to these two: The Beyerdynamic DT231 and Sennheiser HD212PRO. Now, I understand that both have some advantages and problems:

DT231
Pros: The best sound and most comfortable of the two.
Cons: Not really closed, some leakage. A tad too bright sounding.

HD212PRO:
Pros: The best isolation of the two.
Cons: Too much bass.

Do any of you have first hand experience with the problems with these two sets? How bad is the bass of the HD212? I prefer much bass over too bright sound any day, but "too much" is probably too much for me also. And how much do the DT231's really leak? How loud do you have to play for other people to hear it, in a quiet environment (say library). Also, how are the DT231's for use on a plane, train etc.?

Or is there a third option, that has the sound of the DT231 and the isolation of the HD212, for about the same prize?

 

[Filipe]

For that purpose I use a set of Beyer DT250-80ohm, and am very happy with them.
I compared them directly against the HD280 (controled audio test, same ref source etc), the DT250 sounded way way better to my ears. To be honest the HD280 sounded rather nasty to me.

Amazon are doing them for $135.69.

 

[Fush]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Filipe For that purpose I use a set of Beyer DT250-80ohm, and am very happy with them. I compared them directly against the HD280 (controled audio test, same ref source etc), the DT250 sounded way way better to my ears. To be honest the HD280 sounded rather nasty to me. Amazon are doing them for $135.69.

They look pretty good, but unfortunately they are too pricey for me here in Norway. (I know they are in the price range I mentioned, but can't find them here in Norway as cheap as Amazon.) I may consider them when it's time for an upgrade though. Now I just need a pair of decent phones for my vacation trip.

 

[Filipe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fush They look pretty good, but unfortunately they are too pricey for me here in Norway. (I know they are in the price range I mentioned, but can't find them here in Norway as cheap as Amazon.) I may consider them when it's time for an upgrade though. Now I just need a pair of decent phones for my vacation trip.

You can pick them up on ebay for arround $150, maybe less.
Or you can order them from the UK, you can pick them up from online shops for £75/$140/120€