[ScubaSteve99]

Hello All!
 
I've been reading and researching Headfi for a little over a month in hopes of finding a decent up grade to a pair of Sony headphones that I've had for about 6+ years. This is my first time in "good" quality headphones. A little about myself:
 
These headphones will be used through a laptop or iPod only. I have not ruled out the possibility of purchasing an amp to help power the headphones. I've looked at Fiio and ibasso, but am open to any suggestions.
 
I have narrowed down some decent choices, at least in my mind, that get the best reviews:
 
Audio Technica ATH-M50   Ultrasone HFI 580   Sennheiser HD439
 
I listen to a lot of rock, from classic to metal and everything in between. I do listen to a little dubstep and hiphop as well. I won't lie I am looking for a headphone that has a good amount of bass, but I also would like decent mid's and treble to accentuate guitars, cymbals, and vocals. I'm also open to any other headphones you believe might fit the bill better. The above listed were just the three I think work the best for my needs. Also, I'd like to stay under $150 as I'm in school and don't have too much money to throw around right now. Thanks in advance!

 

[MarcoGV]

Quote:

Here are a few I'm looking at, need help deciding.
Mostly just for at-home listening purposes though ideally portable enough. I listen mainly to rock, alternative, indie, some folky stuff, with occasional electronica, so I guess I'm looking for rock/indie-leaning all-around headphones. 
 
ATH-M50
Cons: headband/generally on the bulky side aesthetically
 
ATH-W55
Cons: Not sure about the sound quality relative to the higher-marked on this list 
 
Sennheiser HD25-1 II
Cons: High on my price range
 
Sennheiser 598s, 558
Cons: Iffy on the color of the sennheiser 598 
 
 
V-Moda Crossfades M-100
Cons: Possibly not enough accuracy that's sacrificed for bass
 
 
Any other suggestions are also welcome. 

You may consider the Sennheiser HD-518, which has the same drivers as the 558 and 598 and is quite a bit cheaper.  See http://www.head-fi.org/t/609634/hd-518-teardown-with-a-shocking-twist for a comparison. It seems that the 518 has a slightly bassier tilt. I own the 518 but have never heard the 558 and the 598, Note that the HD5x8 are open headphones, unlike the other ones on your list.

 

[vegitto4]

Good morning to everyone,

I'd like to buy a headphone for movies (I usually watch blu-ray and/or mkv with Powerdvd or MPC-HC).

Budget is not a problem, but I'd like to buy a very high quality headphone. I read many reviews and I think that HE-400 could be a great choice for this, and I'd like to have some opinions. I watch everything by PC so I will buy a Soundblaster Zxr when it arrives and I think it's good for the HE-400, right?

Is it a good choice for me?

Thank you very much

Francesco

 

[JohnnnW]

So I accidently made a thread before I saw this, but I need something will decent bass performance for listening to house/dubstep style but can also decently handle female vocals and hip hop/rap style music. 
 
Budget is 150-200 or so, any recommendations? 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Good morning to everyone,
I'd like to buy a headphone for movies (I usually watch blu-ray and/or mkv with Powerdvd or MPC-HC).
Budget is not a problem, but I'd like to buy a very high quality headphone. I read many reviews and I think that HE-400 could be a great choice for this, and I'd like to have some opinions. I watch everything by PC so I will buy a Soundblaster Zxr when it arrives and I think it's good for the HE-400, right?
Is it a good choice for me?

Have you looked in the Asus Xonar Essence STX sound card?

 

[vegitto4]

Yes, for the audio card ok, I was asking about headphone

 

[Sanotter]

Hey guys, looking for headphones that are:
 
- around preferable around 100£ but can go up to 150£.
 
- very comfortable
 
- great for electronic music of all kinds (burial, enei, smooth, netsky, just everything)
 
- are very durable - my last headphones (Q40's) broke after 4 months )
 
- Not too fatiguing. I don't need insane head shaking bass, but good extension is a must. Sub bass is very important to me.
 
- Open or closed, I don't mind, what ever is better!
 
- I have a fiio e10 for amping and dac.
 
Thanks guys!

 

[rmt5]

Hi! I'm here to solicit recommendations for a new pair of headphones. Any suggestions would be warmly appreciated!
 
Music Genres: Perhaps 60% hip-hop, 40% unaccompanied choral music (pre-bach polyphony)
Amped/Unamped: Almost exclusively, I'd be listening to it straight out of the headphone jack on my macbook air or iPhone. I know, I know. I have a nuforce uDAC, but only break it out occasionally. I'd like a pair of headphones that can sound beautiful without it, but if they can be enhanced by the uDAC all the better. 
File encoding: MP3s, mostly encoded between 256kps vbr and at 320kps. There's little chance I'll ever move to flac or any lossless format, so if that's the bottleneck for me, I don't want cans that require higher quality files. 
Price Range: Up to $200, but preferably under $150.
Closed/Open: I have a preference for a closed design, but it's not a strong one.
Past headphones: I had a pair of Grado i80s which I enjoyed. But I don't have enough experience to know whether there might be a better sound signature for the type of music I enjoy. Looking for a discernible, universally agreed upon step-up in quality from these. I think I'm looking for something "fun" as opposed to "analytic," if that's a dichotomy that makes sense. 
 
Thanks in advance!

 

[ajoyce]

Hello everyone - long time lurker here!
 
I've just finished modifying my pair of MDR-V6s to include a 3.5mm jack socket so I can use a slightly more practical cable when out and about - big thanks to wrathzombie for his helpful tutorial here!
 
Here's the finished article:
 
 

 
I didn't think it was too bad for a first attempt!
 
Anyway - I need some recommendations for a cable to use with it. I've got some spare 3.5mm leads knocking about but as they're cheap I doubt they are of particularly high quality, and of course, they're really really stiff. Can anyone recommend either:
 
 - a good quality cable (maybe 1-1.5m long, straight) which has plenty of flexibility like a normal headphone cable (preferably black, I don't mind braided but think unbraided would look better
 
 - OR would people recommend I make my own cable?
 
Thanks everyone - looking forward to getting involved with this great community.
 
Ali (sorry for posting this in an original thread)

 

[FlobHobNob]

Hey, I'm just wondering how much I'm going to have to pay to hear a significantly better sound than my dt770's?

 

[Doc-holliday]

Hi! I'm here to solicit recommendations for a new pair of headphones. Any suggestions would be warmly appreciated!

Music Genres: Perhaps 60% hip-hop, 40% unaccompanied choral music (pre-bach polyphony)
Amped/Unamped: Almost exclusively, I'd be listening to it straight out of the headphone jack on my macbook air or iPhone. I know, I know. I have a nuforce uDAC, but only break it out occasionally. I'd like a pair of headphones that can sound beautiful without it, but if they can be enhanced by the uDAC all the better. 
File encoding: MP3s, mostly encoded between 256kps vbr and at 320kps. There's little chance I'll ever move to flac or any lossless format, so if that's the bottleneck for me, I don't want cans that require higher quality files. 
Price Range: Up to $200, but preferably under $150.
Closed/Open: I have a preference for a closed design, but it's not a strong one.
Past headphones: I had a pair of Grado i80s which I enjoyed. But I don't have enough experience to know whether there might be a better sound signature for the type of music I enjoy. Looking for a discernible, universally agreed upon step-up in quality from these. I think I'm looking for something "fun" as opposed to "analytic," if that's a dichotomy that makes sense. 

Thanks in advance!

Check out the AKG 167. I have just spent the last two hours listening to them and they would be one of the few phones I would say you would get the most out of two diverse genres that you like. They are also very efficient and I used a desk amp and a sansa clip+ and there was very little difference. The clip was able to make them perform. Very light and comfy. I have no other alternate recommendation for you because they seem perfect for you.

 

[eucariote]

Quote:

Hey all, this was my post from a few pages back:
----
 
 
I'm a singer, and will be recording stuff here soon, and I'd like to know what's considered a decent pair for recording? The only full-sized headphones I ever owned were the old Bose Tri-Ports, which I think are rebranded as the AE2's now. All I heard about was how overrated Bose was, and now it seems the Beats brand has overtaken them as most overpriced/overrated headphones.
 
I was pretty close to snatching up a pair of Beats Studio (just because I tried them in best buy and liked them, but I'm sure there's other brands out there that cost less with better quality).
 
I've heard about Sennheiser, Shure, etc. being decent brands to start off with.
 
But I'm not an audiophile (although I have tons of FLAC music files and converted them to 320 mp3s for my mp3 player), so I have no idea where to even begin!
 
 
If possible, I'd like it if the pair I bought was also good for listening to music as well not just recording it. I listen to all sorts of music, rap/hip hop, r&b, pop, rock, 80's, 70's, 60's, 50's, rat pack, classical, etc. If I have to buy one pair just for listening on the side and one pair for recording, I'd consider it, but I'd hope there was a really good all-around headphone pair already out there for both.
 
-----
 
So far, Roller suggested I look into Shure SRH840 and Ultrasone Pro 550, because I'm looking for full-sized around the ear (circumaural?).
 
I'd like to get a few more suggestions if possible. I'm trying to buy a set in the next week and a half, already ordered my microphone set.
 
As I said before, if I have to get two different headphones (one pair just for listening, and another just for my recording sessions) I would do that. I'd love to get one that had the best mix for both uses, but if there are two that standout and are each individually priced at a decent cost, I don't mind getting them separate.
 
Thanks

 
Do headphones used for recording need to be closed?  The best I've heard for vocals under $500 are Sennheiser HD600 (and you can probably find them used for half that price).  They are very smooth and neutral, so would be fairly true to the original recorded sound.  Very enjoyable for music too.  They do improve with amplification, but don't go overboard- a cheap amp/dac unit or most any stereo amp or mixing board with headphone jack would do nicely.
 
Edit: oh yes and the very best headphone for vocals imo is the HE500 (I like them even more than my LCD-2 for vocals).  They are an amazing bargain for the sound quality.  You don't even need a massive amp to run them nicely.  And if you need closed heaphones, SRH840 are very nice and SRH940 have slightly better treble extension.  No closed headphone comes close for neutral & high quality sound imo except maybe ultrasone edition 8 but those are ridiculously expensive.

 

[eucariote]

Quote:

Hey, I'm just wondering how much I'm going to have to pay to hear a significantly better sound than my dt770's?

 
Depends on which model DT770 you have (80/250/600 ohm).  I owned the 80 ohm DT770 and every other > $100 headphone I've owned sounded better.  With open headphones, 100$ grados SR60/80 sound better to my ears and $250 Senn HD600 are *worlds* better.  For closed, ~$150 Shure SRH840 sounded much better, and if you want strong bass, ~$400 Denon D5000 are great too (tho slightly lacking in mids).

 

[DanteJF]

Can you please suggest a good pair of headphones that fullfil my needs? 

I am looking for some headphones obviously) and need help finding my ideal ones (obviously). I am planning to spen no more than $350. I listen to alternative, rock, classical and rap music from a sony walkman and my computer. I currently don`t have an amp, but I'm really interested on Schiit's modi/magnicombo or maybe a FiiO E11, but I don't think I'll be able to buy them any tme soon. I am interested on a pair with really good isolation, nice bass and preferibly leather/pleather earpads. I plan to listen to music for long periods of time, so I'dd like them confortable. 

I've seen some headphones that really tempt me: AKG K550, Ultrasone HFI780, Sony MDR-1R, B&W P5, AIAIAI TMA-1 Studio, Sony MDR-X10. 

One more thing: I usually hear my music at home. 

 

[liogarus]

Hey people.
 
I posted a few pages back and didn't got a reply  

.
 
After researching a bit more I decided that I must choice between the ATH-M50 and the Grado SR-80i.
I mostly listen to Rock, Folk/Acoustic, Metal and Jazz; but sometimes I change things a bit and listen to Electronic, R&B and Hip Hop.
 
I want a pair of cans that sound great with the genres I listed first, and are decent with the latter.
I know that the Grados are great for my favorite music, but I like fact that the ATH-M50 are closed and they seem to be widely recommended for beginners.
 
Any help will be appreciated