[macrocheesium]

^ Sounds like the Sony XB700 to me. Very lively sounding, they don't leak much, and sound great w/o an amp. They do look a tad bit ridiculous, but SOO comfortable! And right at your budget, too.

 

[miceblue]

Quote:

Hey guys.
I've been browsing tons of recommendation threads, but I still have zero true headphone experience myself. So, can several knowledgeable people recommend me a set of headphones?

High Priority:
I listen almost exclusively to kpop, R&B, hip hop, and some classical. I LOVE vocals.
My maximum budget is ~$80, and I need circumaural headphones that don't require amping (even though I listen to my iPod at the smallest volume possible).
They probably won't be used for more than 2 hours at a time, but I'd still like for them to be very comfortable for a medium sized head.
Most of my music is in a 128 kpbs MP3 format, so headphones that wouldn't punish me for a bad source are required.

Lesser Priority:
It's rather vain, but if those headphones looked nice, then I'd just love them even more.
A lively, "fun"-sounding pair of headphones would be quite nice too. I like to get into my music; a pair with "boring" sound would just take away from my listening experience.
I don't want too much sound leakage.

I don't mind if they're closed or open.
Thanks a lot

I like vocals too and I've been recommended the Koss Pro DJ100's for vocals, though I think they sound the best with an amp...
 

 

[Dobrescu George]

 for you, TheAesirsFinest, 
 
there exist no such thing as a headphone that will imbude the sounding of mp3 128.... you must get yourself some, you know, flacs.... no, really, at first, my brother and my girlfriend sayed that mp3's at 128 192 and 320 are good enought.....
i looked into their music, got flacs for the music they were listening.... you know what?.... nowdays neither or them listen anymore to anything else but flacs.....
 
and for the other thing, you should look into prices yourself, to see what you can fiind for the money...even if you are noob into this, try to tell us, at least if you want open or closed headphones.... (open leak sound, let the sound in, in general IMX they have weak bass, but for vocals are pretty good) (closed have bass, have most of the things that you may want, vocals are some times recesed in some of them,).....
 
i would recomend : sennheiser hd380 pro, Grado sr60/80, ath m50, and sony xb series.... sony mdr xb 700.....
 
but if you will get flac music, with new headphones, this will be a sweet welcome to a new experience.... 
 
and i almost forgot, welcome to head fi and sorry for your wallet....

 

[keanex]

Quote:

Hey guys.
I've been browsing tons of recommendation threads, but I still have zero true headphone experience myself. So, can several knowledgeable people recommend me a set of headphones?

High Priority:
I listen almost exclusively to kpop, R&B, hip hop, and some classical. I LOVE vocals.
My maximum budget is ~$80, and I need circumaural headphones that don't require amping (even though I listen to my iPod at the smallest volume possible).
They probably won't be used for more than 2 hours at a time, but I'd still like for them to be very comfortable for a medium sized head.
Most of my music is in a 128 kpbs MP3 format, so headphones that wouldn't punish me for a bad source are required.

Lesser Priority:
It's rather vain, but if those headphones looked nice, then I'd just love them even more.
A lively, "fun"-sounding pair of headphones would be quite nice too. I like to get into my music; a pair with "boring" sound would just take away from my listening experience.
I don't want too much sound leakage.

I don't mind if they're closed or open.
Thanks a lot

Audio Technica Ad700 are probably the best for that price range and pure vocals, though the bass is kind of lacking and they will leak sound.

 

[macrocheesium]

 
Quote:

I like vocals too and I've been recommended the Koss Pro DJ100's for vocals, though I think they sound the best with an amp...
 

Definitely not these without an amp, or a powerful home source.
 
One that I forgot to mention: the AKG k240S. It was my first good headphone, it has a very exciting sound, and I can wear mine for practically forever. It's not exactly a detail monster, so those 128kbs files won't sound too bad... Although it would be a good idea to start listening to a CD player; believe me the quality over 128kbps will be amazing with any good headphone. At $100 it's a little over your budget, but you could save up a little more or get one used.

 

[homecore]

Hi there, audio-lovers!

 I just recently took the dive into the world of audio and I bought myself a STEINBERG CI2 recording solution. I use it mainly for recording some voice and guitar tracks, for now on a basic level. I try to cover some songs, mostly rock music oriented (Muse, RHCP, kings of leon, wolfmother,...)

My problem: I only have some cheap-ass computer speakers and a 10€ headphone, so nothing decent to do some monitoring or listening with.

My budget: would be €125-€175

My knowledge: the guy in the store told me to go for natural sounding stuff like AKG, and to avoid headphones with hi-fi filters and adjustments, since I need to hear the "true sound"

My gear: only a guitar and the CI2 module, but nothing else

My question: What would you guys recommend!?

Thanks in advance!

 

[carnifeckz]

hello guys!
 
so, i need some advice on what sort of headphones to purchase. the most i would be willing to pay is around $130.
 
i want headphones that provide extremely high sound quality. i'm going to use these in my room, hooked up to either my iphone or laptop, for listening to my music collection. i don't plan on using these on-the-go, so noise-cancellation is not important to me.
 
i listen to metal primarily, which is heavy and fast. i also listen to rock and some electronic (dubstep). (i'm not sure if that would influence my choice.)
 
basically, what are the best headphones for delivering extremely high sound quality in a quiet setting like my room? thanks!

 

[macrocheesium]

 
Quote:

Hi there, audio-lovers!

 I just recently took the dive into the world of audio and I bought myself a STEINBERG CI2 recording solution. I use it mainly for recording some voice and guitar tracks, for now on a basic level. I try to cover some songs, mostly rock music oriented (Muse, RHCP, kings of leon, wolfmother,...)

My problem: I only have some cheap-ass computer speakers and a 10€ headphone, so nothing decent to do some monitoring or listening with.

My budget: would be €125-€175

My knowledge: the guy in the store told me to go for natural sounding stuff like AKG, and to avoid headphones with hi-fi filters and adjustments, since I need to hear the "true sound"

My gear: only a guitar and the CI2 module, but nothing else

My question: What would you guys recommend!?

Thanks in advance!

He's right, you definitely want something with a neutral sound, so you can hear it exactly as it was recorded. Not all AKG's sound natural, however. I would try to get a Fischer Audio FA-003. They can be hard to find, but if you put a wanted thread in the sales forum, one should come along soon enough. Another one is the Koss Pro DJ100, combined with a good amp like the Mini^3. Either of these would cost you about €145 or less.

 

[TheAesirsFinest]

 for you, TheAesirsFinest, 
 
there exist no such thing as a headphone that will imbude the sounding of mp3 128.... you must get yourself some, you know, flacs.... no, really, at first, my brother and my girlfriend sayed that mp3's at 128 192 and 320 are good enought.....
i looked into their music, got flacs for the music they were listening.... you know what?.... nowdays neither or them listen anymore to anything else but flacs.....
 
and for the other thing, you should look into prices yourself, to see what you can fiind for the money...even if you are noob into this, try to tell us, at least if you want open or closed headphones.... (open leak sound, let the sound in, in general IMX they have weak bass, but for vocals are pretty good) (closed have bass, have most of the things that you may want, vocals are some times recesed in some of them,).....
 
i would recomend : sennheiser hd380 pro, Grado sr60/80, ath m50, and sony xb series.... sony mdr xb 700.....
 
but if you will get flac music, with new headphones, this will be a sweet welcome to a new experience.... 
 
and i almost forgot, welcome to head fi and sorry for your wallet....

The problem is that I have some songs that are impossible to find in a lossless format. Do you think it'd be worth it to find FLAC versions of the more popular songs and use the headphones I choose to listen to a playlist with only FLAC songs?

Thanks for the replies, macrocheesium, keanex, miceblue, and skerry2006aj!

 

[Takahashi]

Hey guys.
I've been browsing tons of recommendation threads, but I still have zero true headphone experience myself. So, can several knowledgeable people recommend me a set of headphones?

High Priority:
I listen almost exclusively to kpop, R&B, hip hop, and some classical. I LOVE vocals.
My maximum budget is ~$80, and I need circumaural headphones that don't require amping (even though I listen to my iPod at the smallest volume possible).
They probably won't be used for more than 2 hours at a time, but I'd still like for them to be very comfortable for a medium sized head.
Most of my music is in a 128 kpbs MP3 format, so headphones that wouldn't punish me for a bad source are required.

Lesser Priority:
It's rather vain, but if those headphones looked nice, then I'd just love them even more.
A lively, "fun"-sounding pair of headphones would be quite nice too. I like to get into my music; a pair with "boring" sound would just take away from my listening experience.
I don't want too much sound leakage.

I don't mind if they're closed or open.
Thanks a lot

I'm just going to steal this quote but give you my thought for both of your inquiries.

My go to headphone of choice for the price range would be either a new SR-60i Grado can or a used SR-80i (depends on what you're comfortable with). They have that fun sound your looking for, and they bring the vocals to life like no other headphone in that range. For your source, they are also quite forgiving headphones as well. However, some find them a tad light on the bass; I do not believe they are. More so, they look quite fantastic in my opinion, and are quite easy to modify. Something else to consider would be buying used gear to save some cash and get an inexpensive (or build) an headphone amp.

Now, as for your question about FLAC. I'd say go for it if you're interested in taking the time, money and the disk space to accommodate it. It's well worth the investment, but I'd say look for 256kbs+ mp3 formated songs or Apple Lossless if you're looking to save space and have something that sounds much better then a 128kbs recording (don't forget that some music can be played very well with a low bitrate file where as others are just terrible). Another step down the road, like the amp, would be investing in a DAC. A lot of computers have static and white noise due to the low quality stock audio-out they have. Getting a nice DAC really cleans up the sound as well.

Whatever the case, many of the recommendations you're going to get here you cannot go wrong with. One thing to note is that open/semi-open headphones in this price range will sound worlds clearer then closed. Just remember isolation issues that come as a result and think about where you're going to be using them.

Finally: Welcome to Head-Fi. Happy listening

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

The problem is that I have some songs that are impossible to find in a lossless format. Do you think it'd be worth it to find FLAC versions of the more popular songs and use the headphones I choose to listen to a playlist with only FLAC songs?

Thanks for the replies, macrocheesium, keanex, miceblue, and skerry2006aj!

The recording and mastering of a track makes a much, much larger difference than any modern encoder at any reasonable bitrate.  It is no longer the days of napster and you can no longer guess the exact bitrate 9/10 over cheap headphones.  There's not much need to worry about it these days.  Just go with the highest quality you can find and then don't worry about it.
 
I'd bet that 99% of people who are complaining about this are either still remembering and/or using decade old encoders or are victims of placebo.

 

[macrocheesium]

Quote:

The problem is that I have some songs that are impossible to find in a lossless format. Do you think it'd be worth it to find FLAC versions of the more popular songs and use the headphones I choose to listen to a playlist with only FLAC songs?

Thanks for the replies, macrocheesium, keanex, miceblue, and skerry2006aj!

I think hunting down the FLAC's would be a very worthwhile side project. I had to do it when I started using good headphones, and I'm so glad I did. Just make sure you have good virus protection, Google something like "ARTIST ALBUM FLAC", and usually if there are any torrents out there of the album, they'll show up on the front page. If there aren't any, there is almost always a 320kbps MP3 of it, which can sound just as good as lossless sometimes.

 

[Hickeydog]

Okay.  I'm having a problem picking out a pair of headphones.  I currently have a set of Bose that I bought 3 years ago, and I fear they're on their last leg.  I've had to repair the frame 3 times, and now the padding around the ears is starting to come undone.  The drivers are still fine, it's just everything else is coming undone.  I mainly listen to movie scores / orchestra / classical music, but with some electronic/techno, house, and heavy metal thrown into the mix.  I'm looking to spend $60-$100.  They will be used with the original Motorola Droid, but perhaps a new, dedicated player in the future.  I would like to keep the sound insulation of the Bose, and perhaps make it more pronounce.  I listen to music pretty much everywhere, but I don't mind lugging around a big set of cans.  I don't know what model number the Bose are.  They were bought in June of 2008, and they are the over-the-ear type.  Also, a set that are VERY sturdy is a must.  Any suggestions?  

 

[decyph3r]

hello guys!
 
so, i need some advice on what sort of headphones to purchase. the most i would be willing to pay is around $130.
 
i want headphones that provide extremely high sound quality. i'm going to use these in my room, hooked up to either my iphone or laptop, for listening to my music collection. i don't plan on using these on-the-go, so noise-cancellation is not important to me.
 
i listen to metal primarily, which is heavy and fast. i also listen to rock and some electronic (dubstep). (i'm not sure if that would influence my choice.)
 
basically, what are the best headphones for delivering extremely high sound quality in a quiet setting like my room? thanks!

Based on your type of music, you won't go wrong with Grados.

 

[Dobrescu George]

ok, TheAesirsFinest 
 
This thing may sound strange, but there are flac files for every song in the world....why?... audiophiles.... now, to fiind it, is harder than anything else, when get started, and easy after you get used..... just open google main page and write something like "ARTIST" "song name/ album/ word 'discography'/ just do not write anything but artist until now" "the world FLAC" and the most important word "torrent".... now you must have utorrent installed....
 
some examples :
linkin park in the end flac torrent
linkin park hybryd theory flac torrent
linkin park flac torrent
linkin park discography flac torrent
muse flac torrent
muse time is running out flac torrent
silverstein flac torrent
silverstein discovering the waterfront flac torrent
silverstein true romance flac torrent
 
or if you listen to rap/hiphop/ let say eminem, to clear a little
 
eminem flac torrent
eminem relapse flac torrent
eminem stan flac torrent....
 
searches will always fiind you a torrent with the album not only one song, no matter if you have written name of the song, or, sometimes the search will fiind the discography, even following only one song.... 
 
now, i hope you know how to use utorrent, if you not, just type utorrent on google, eneter on their site, and there will exist explanations...
 
or you can buy CD with music, and rip them with flac encoder, foobar... and if you want the best of the best experiences, search for .h264 live performances of your favourite bands.....
 
flac files make mp3 look like they are coming out of an trash can,.... never loose hope, flac files exists to almost every song...