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Hi Guys
I'm looking to buy my first pair of 'real' headphones. I would prefer an over ear closed back design as I often listen with sometimes large amounts of background noise. I listen to a wide variety of music, from heavy rock (AC/DC, Led Zepplin, Deep Purple etc), Pop (B52s) to female vocals (Norah Jones etc) and a little classical (I really want a life like sound from the 1812 overture!). Right now I'd probably be listening to FLAC files I have ripped onto my computer but I wish to upgrade to a Rega P7 and valve amp. I may possibly need more than one pair of 'phones! Budget could be anything up to say $1200. Thoughts and opinions would be very much appreciated!
Cheers,
Chris
Getting that authentic 1812 sound (especially the cannons) is very difficult with speakers, nevermind headphones. In my experience, orthos do the best job of recreating that visceral feeling (probably good electrostatics as well, but I haven't heard any high end ones). Around your price range, you're playing with the big boys like the LCD-2 or HE series.
Here's the HE-6 and EF5 combo for $1300: http://www.head-direct.com/product_detail.php?p=93
Before dropping that kind of money though, do a LOT of reading and try to attend a meet. Unless $1.3k is chump change to you, in which case spend away!
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Hey everyone. I'm a bit confused as what to spend my money on but I'll follow the template mentioned earlier in this thread:
Music genres: Electronica and dance. Anything else with a clear, beautiful or heavy sound, including some classic and Kpop.
Portable: A bit of a non-question. If I can carry it with me I regard it as fully portable.
Price range: $100-$200.
Amped: I'd prefer not to stumble into the amplifier swamp.
Closed/Open: Doesn't really matter I guess, but I'll say closed.
Headphone preference: I'm a budding producer so I want to be able to use them in the 'studio'. I don't know too much about headphone colouring. I can imagine an analytical headphone will sound immersive with immersive music. I like my bass, though.
I've been looking into the ATH-M50s and they seem like a bit of a no-brainer. They look nice, can be had for the right price and will sound tremendous. What I'm most concerned about is if they are by any means 'professional' monitoring headphones. Given their low price point and (in Sweden) low availability, one can't help but wonder ...
So what do you say? The M50s or something completely else?
I personally prefer the sound of the M-Audio Q40 over the M50 for electronica (and most genres honestly), and they cost about the same. The M50 have more of a "DJ" response curve, while the Q40s are more neutral yet have better deep extension in the low end.
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MS1i or ATH M50
I listen to modern rock, rock 'n roll, metal, and some pop.
It's a plus if they offer a better movie-watching experience.
I would personally choose the MS1, but for movie consideration the M50 will probably be better for you (more comfortable, better deep end, but less sound stage)
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Hello,
Here's yet another headphone noob
I'm looking for a new pair of headphones to use with my laptop. I listen to a lot of rock/metal and sometimes to jazz/classical/ambient music. I will also use them for gaming, so they need to have some kind of positional audio.
Can you please recommend a good headphone model for these uses, and also a USB soundcard to go with them? I'm interested in the Creative X-Fi Go since it is portable and fits right into the USB port.
I heard that the Audio Technica ATH-AD700 were very good for gaming, but that they weren't so good for music. I was also thinking of upgrading to Sennheiser HD555's, since I currently use HD448's and Sennheiser are the only quality brand I've owned.
The Grado's seem to be good for rock, but they're overpriced here in europe.
Thanks in advance
The Senn 555 is a fine headphone and easily modded into the 595 (it's really just a piece of foam/tape). Do note however that the 555 is an open can, whereas the 448 is closed.
I've read reviews of the X-Fi go being a bit of a resource hog, which is bad for gaming (depends on what kind of games you play I suppose). I've had good experience with the Turtle Beach Audio Advantage Micro (or Amigo if you need a mic input) and it's crazy cheap for only $30. The Micro also has optical out if you ever want to use an optical dac in the future. The merits of this are fuzzy and debatable, but the option is there.
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I am looking for a really high-quality full-size headphone for traveling, that is not an IEM, and budget is up to about $350. My three main contenders are:
Senheiser PXC 450
Audio Technica ATH-M50
Phiaton MS 400
I would welcome any thoughts or suggestions on these picks or any other you may have. Thanks!!
These are all quite different...
PXC450: really big, active noise canceling (the other two are passive)
M50: folds smaller (but still kinda big), recessed mids, heavy bass, worst isolation of the three, long cord, most durable
MS400: folds compactly into shell, supraaural (the other two are circumaural), good isolation, heavy bass
I personally like the sound of the MS400, but you should choose depending on your traveling criteria.
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just a quick question, I've got sony mdr-v6. What would be a great update from those?
Portable: well i use the mdr-v6 portable so you cant really get worse than that right?
Closed: Wouldn't mind abit of leaking
Budget: nothin more than £150?
i just use these for general listening to anythin and got the FiiO E7 for christmas
Thanks
Someone will inevitable say M50, but for a more similar sound I say the M-Audio Q40. Or How about the Senn HD25-1-ii? (I haven't recommended those in a while). I also really like the Phiaton MS400, but I'm just fan of their sound and they don't get enough representation on these forums.