[Skrying]

Hello good headphone people's. Its been awhile since I last posted, I hope you all have missed me an extreme much and the fact that I post another thread warms the hearts of all.

Anyway,

Looking for suggestions. I need a full sized, closed headphone that is under $100. These are for home use only, will come straight out of a Creative X-Fi.

Favorite headphones in the past in order of my favorite to least favorite:

Sennheiser HD-580
Beyerdynamic DT-250/80
Beyerdynamic DT-831
Ultrasone HFi-550

All of those are a bit out of my budget for a new pair. Which is what I'm looking for this time around. I typically like a slightly warmer sound, but I enjoy highs also. Good bass but not a ton of it is also nice. So far I've been thinking of the Sennnheiser HD-280, but I havent done a ton of looking.

Also, should be good all around. I generally listen to death metal and progressive metal, but can even enjoy some rap and off beat pop (think Mike Patton's Peeping Tom project). So need to be at least decent with all musical types.

Thanks for the help!

 

[facelvega]

Koss A130 direct from the Koss ebay outlet for $25 plus shipping. Right in the running with all the stuff you've had before, for a ridiculously low price. Be warned, though, you'll need to take them apart to do a necessary rattle repair on the drivers-- though that should take about five minutes. Do a search for the Koss A250 thread, they're mentioned often in the later pages, and I believe now there's a separate thread explaining the driver housing mod with pics. But don't hesitate for long, as there are only two left. I'm pretty sure almost all the other 100 pairs went to rabid head-fi members. (I have one, and have recommended them on to two friends)

ps, to more specifically answer the question of how they sound: they're not warm, I'm afraid, but analytical. They do have excellent highs and mids. Their bass extension is deep but not emphasized. I think they'll crush a pair of HD280 for your needs, unless isolation is a major concern, as they have relatively little for a closed can. And they should be driveable straight out of your laptop, but hey, why not grab a little portable amp with the money you save?

 

[Woosh]

K81DJ, you wont be disappointed, your head and ears might ache after awhile, but the bliss of great SQ mixed with the joyous sound of your wallet singing will soon override those harsh pains

 

[facelvega]

I just rechecked this thread because I wanted to put in a warning against the K81dj, and lo and behold, it's already been recommended. First of all, if by full-size you mean circumaural, then that rules out the K81dj right there. More dangerously, they have bass bloat that I think would be a serious problem for the kind of music you mention: think of your old ultrasones. Even if you don't mind the supraaural fit, be sure you can handle the bass if you want to consider the AKG's.

 

[norseman8485]

Bass bloat? What bass bloat? Just take out those damn foams! Ain't got no bass boat on mine! But yeah, it sucks that they're not circumaural.

 

[3lusiv3]

AT A500, if you don't mind them being BIG:

http://www.audiocubes.com/category/H...eadphones.html