[Oga]

I am looking for a set of good quality closed headphones to use at work. I need to block external sound out and also not disturb other folks.

Willing to spend up to $250 probably not more than that. But if the best value is below $100, I dont really have to spend it all.

For context, my listening taste varies a lot. I listen equal amounts of R&B, house, hip-hop and jazz. Also lesser amounts of pop and classic, world music etc. So it is a broad range of material but I would like a headphone equally capable of providing solid tight quality bass, as well as high end detail.

So far I have heard the Sony MDR-V6 ($75) is decent, but can be a tad harsh. I had listened to the Sennheiser HD 595 and 600 in store and I liked those a lot, but from what I understand they are open phones and will not provide isolation. I also listened to the Sennheiser 280 Pro ($85) for a brief minute. Seems okay, but I dont know how it compares to others in this price category.

Thanks.

 

[nickchen]

The best (payable) closed fon I ever crossed was the highly musical AKG K271. It needs to be amped though, but a simple Ebay Cmoy for 30ish should work fine IMO. Looking at its isolation abilities, it will be my next purchase as well, dead sure.

 

[azncookiecutter]

At $250? Beyerdynamic DT770s at $150 from eBay, a good portable amp at $100.

 

[nickchen]

Hardstuff. The Boombeyer is only to be recommended for hardcore bassheads. IMO, everything except Trance & Ambient sounds absurd with the DT770.

 

[azncookiecutter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickchen /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hardstuff. The Boombeyer is only to be recommended for hardcore bassheads. IMO, everything except Trance & Ambient sounds absurd with the DT770.

I wouldn't say everything sounds absurd with it. R&B and hip-hop especially sound good with it, at least to my point of view.

 

[nickchen]

Never listened to Hiphop, but you are propably right.

But I hope we can agree at least at the point that there are products with greater musical bandwidth available than exactly the DT770.

 

[Oga]

I do listen to R&B and Hip-hop, but within that I still like my base tight rather than boomy.

Also what about the Sennheiser HD-600? Are the completely open or do they isolate at all?

I am more concerned with blocking external sound from coming in than I am with me bothering people. It is unlikely that I will play anything loud. But I work in an environment with a lot of people busting around and I need to block that noise out so I can focus on my work.

 

[raelamb]

Audio Technica ATH-M50's hands down!

 

[Pangaea]

RP21, no amp, 100 bucks. I also have the K271 and Darth'd DT770 and I still reach for the RP21. It has a very unique sound that I love. I even sold a pair to try something else and ended up buying another pair less than a month later.

 

[willharris10]

I'm in the market for the same thing.

Tried the Sennheiser HD280pro at the weekend, and wasn't that impressed. HD600 and 650 were much much better but open so no good. If you do go with open then the 595 is probably the best one for a portable device without an amp as it has a fairly low impedence (easy to drive).

The one I have on order, arriving tomorrow is the Ultrasone HFI780. Take a look as they're closed and get good write-ups on here. Inside your budget, just too.

 

[ericj]

DT770 bass is neither boomy nor overpowering. maybe nickchen's former 250-ohm version is bassier than the 80-ohm version.

I think some people just don't like bass. There's a small but vocal contingent of head-fi that reacts to the DT770 by howling about how huge and overdone the bass is, but most people find it to be pretty reasonable.

 

[sohels]

I really like the Denon AH-D1000. You can have it for <$100 and won't need an amp either.

 

[DJGeorgeT]

Sennheiser HD25-1

Highest isolation from a closed can that is not an IEM

Excellent sound quality. One of the top sounding from the Sennheiser lineup. Tons of headroom. Very balanced sound although somewhat analytical. Does not require an amp. It is highly portable.

Built like a tank.

$179.99 shipped

 

[Oga]

Thanks very much to everyone for your input. After some further research on these recommendations, I went with the ATH-M50. It is ordered and on its way!!

Main reason was isolation and what was reported on its performance. In an ideal world I would probably have liked to go and get an Senn 595 but really cannot use and open headphone right now.

Will report back on performance of the ATH-M50 later on....thanks again!

 

[Philco]

The V6 is horrible. The Senn HD280 is a much better choice, then you have the Beyer DT250 and the Beyer DT150 and then the DT770. The M50 are OK at best, but I wouldn't trust them for my studio at all.