[devhen]

Quote:

Hi gents
 
 
So up until now I've been using earbuds (yeah I know), but I just can't do it anymore.  It's time to upgrade to some decent headphones.
 
Now, first up I'll be using a Samsung Galaxy S3 as my main music player, so whatever I get will need to be ok with that.    From all reports, the S3 has a pretty decent DAC (Wolfson Micro WM1811 - http://www.head-fi.org/t/608535/wolfson-dac-confirmed-for-galaxy-s3), and when Supercurio releases Voodoo Sound it should get a fair bit better.
 
As for the music I listen to, it's mostly Alternative guitary stuff (Weezer, NOFX,  Elbow, Yeah Yeah Yeahs,  etc etc).   Nothing terrible nuanced, but I still want to get the most out of it as I've recently upgraded all my music to FLAC.   
 
Budget is under $200 (I'm in Australia but happy to order overseas for the most part.  Amazon etc).  
 
So after bumming around this forum for the past couple of days I've been looking at the Audio Technica M50 and also the Sennheiser HD558.    Now this is by no means a final list as this whole process is terribly hard.   Everyone has different opinions, and as soon as you start to settle on something, someone comes along with "well yeah that's a good set of cans, but these are better....".  Rinse and repeat    The M50 are obviously fairly popular on here, being #3 on the list and all, and from what I can tell most people like the HD558's generally as well.   
 
 
Just hoping someone can offer some feedback on those suggestions for me (considering my musical tastes and music player), and maybe offer an alternative or two (without bombarding me with a million new options that'll just make this harder)
 
If you need any more info, just let me know.
 
Thanks!!
 
 

 
Seems like some Grados would probably work pretty well for that kind of music and they're pretty easy to drive. AFAIK the Alessandro Grados have free shipping worldwide through their main website
 
http://www.alessandro-products.com/main.php?p=headphones

 

[simonk83]

Quote:

 
Seems like some Grados would probably work pretty well for that kind of music and they're pretty easy to drive. AFAIK the Alessandro Grados have free shipping worldwide through their main website
 
http://www.alessandro-products.com/main.php?p=headphones

Hi,
 
Thanks for that  I actually ended up ordering some Shure SRH840's after reading around heaps last night.  

 

[Spaz115]

I'm looking for a set of headphones in the 100-120USD range. I've looked at the AT AD700's and Grado SR60/80. However I am not sure which one is right for me.. I listen to all types of music, and I'm looking for something extremely comfortable. I don't want to have the earpads heat up quickly and also I don't want a strong clamping force on my head. I will like a nice soundstage but its not a must. Will be used for music and gaming at home. I tried the SR80's @ my friends at the were quite comfortable for me, but they don't seem to have a nice soundstage...is that correct? Also on Inner-Fidelity's website they talk about the Sennheiser HD239...do they compete? 
 
Thanks  

 

[linuxid10t]

Quote:

I'm looking for a set of headphones in the 100-120USD range. I've looked at the AT AD700's and Grado SR60/80. However I am not sure which one is right for me.. I listen to all types of music, and I'm looking for something extremely comfortable. I don't want to have the earpads heat up quickly and also I don't want a strong clamping force on my head. I will like a nice soundstage but its not a must. Will be used for music and gaming at home. I tried the SR80's @ my friends at the were quite comfortable for me, but they don't seem to have a nice soundstage...is that correct? Also on Inner-Fidelity's website they talk about the Sennheiser HD239...do they compete? 
 
Thanks  

The Grado's aren't very good for gaming.  They have a very small soundstage.  Also, I wouldn't bother with the HD239s.  At that price range, I would suggest the Sennheiser HD518.  They sound good with music and work well for gaming.

 

[dorino]

The 518 works well within the budget. If you're really looking for a gaming/all purpose headphone, I'd save a little more and spring for the 558. It's pretty damn good for gaming - I use my HD598 for all of my gaming.

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

hahaha sorry, I tried to be punny.. I meant "Bang For The Buck", both are considerably affordable, so which one has the better value? price vs. performance wise...
cause I'm a bit curious about these affordable headphones and I would like to try one myself, so I want to know your opinion on which one should I get...
 
and one with a good soundstage would be awesome...
 
JVC HA-RX900 vs. Superlux HD668B

 Haven't heard the JVC, but can tell you that the Superlux is incredible can for $50 +/-.  It has a very impressive sound stage for a sub $100 or even $150 can.  It has excellent sound, although the upper mids/lower highs are over emphasized. You may want or need an amp with it, as it is a "cusper" when played from low power devices.  The build quality is just OK, but this is not a surprise at its price point.

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

Hi gents
 
 
So up until now I've been using earbuds (yeah I know), but I just can't do it anymore.  It's time to upgrade to some decent headphones.
 
Now, first up I'll be using a Samsung Galaxy S3 as my main music player, so whatever I get will need to be ok with that.    From all reports, the S3 has a pretty decent DAC (Wolfson Micro WM1811 - http://www.head-fi.org/t/608535/wolfson-dac-confirmed-for-galaxy-s3), and when Supercurio releases Voodoo Sound it should get a fair bit better.
 
As for the music I listen to, it's mostly Alternative guitary stuff (Weezer, NOFX,  Elbow, Yeah Yeah Yeahs,  etc etc).   Nothing terrible nuanced, but I still want to get the most out of it as I've recently upgraded all my music to FLAC.   
 
Budget is under $200 (I'm in Australia but happy to order overseas for the most part.  Amazon etc).  
 
So after bumming around this forum for the past couple of days I've been looking at the Audio Technica M50 and also the Sennheiser HD558.    Now this is by no means a final list as this whole process is terribly hard.   Everyone has different opinions, and as soon as you start to settle on something, someone comes along with "well yeah that's a good set of cans, but these are better....".  Rinse and repeat    The M50 are obviously fairly popular on here, being #3 on the list and all, and from what I can tell most people like the HD558's generally as well.   
 
 
Just hoping someone can offer some feedback on those suggestions for me (considering my musical tastes and music player), and maybe offer an alternative or two (without bombarding me with a million new options that'll just make this harder)
 
If you need any more info, just let me know.
 
Thanks!!
 
 

 
Assuming that power-wise your phone is similar to an iPhone 4, you need something easy to drive unless buy and use an amp.  Further assuming that you will use your phone unamped palying MP3 quality audio and that open is OK with you since you referenced the open HD 558, you should check the buying guides linked in the opening post of this thread.  Look for cans rated "1" to be assured they will play from a phone.
 
Consider the Alessandro MS1, Ultrasone HiFi 780, Shure SRH 840 (this one many not play loud but should play loud enough), KRK KNS-6400, Sony MDR-7510, Grado SR225i--all of which I pick for sound quality and characteristics over the M50.  The HD 598 is a very good can and is over your budget based on US prices.  Beyond that it may or may not play with suffient volume out of your phone.

 

[Commix]

Hey guys, just wondering if anyone could throw me a few suggestions to help me sift through choices. So I'm currently away from my home setup of the headroom desktop amp/dac and Audio Technica w5000 for a long time, and I'm trying to find a somewhat more portable setup to use for the next year or so. The current plan is to spend about $500 on a portable dac+amp+headroom combo. 
 
For an amplifier, I built a cmoy amp from jds labs earlier this year as a little project, so using that would be ideal but not a requirement.
 
For a dac... I really have no clue where to even start looking at portable dacs.
 
As for headphones, I've tended to really like audiotechnica headphones in the past, but I am by no means attached the the brand. I tried a pair of Beyerdynamic dt770 pro's, but everything besides the bass just seemed so dull. I definitely prefer closed headphones so that my co-workers and fellow commuters don't have to listen to my music.
 
My favorite types of music are generally ambient/IDM, Classical, Various Japanese artists, and pretty varied electronic stuff.
 
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

I'm looking for a set of headphones in the 100-120USD range. I've looked at the AT AD700's and Grado SR60/80. However I am not sure which one is right for me.. I listen to all types of music, and I'm looking for something extremely comfortable. I don't want to have the earpads heat up quickly and also I don't want a strong clamping force on my head. I will like a nice soundstage but its not a must. Will be used for music and gaming at home. I tried the SR80's @ my friends at the were quite comfortable for me, but they don't seem to have a nice soundstage...is that correct? Also on Inner-Fidelity's website they talk about the Sennheiser HD239...do they compete? 
 
Thanks  

 
When it comes to headphone comfort, only you can tell for sure--and only if you try the cans and test them for the same period of time as your listening sessions will be.  Case in point--many would be surprised if not shocked that you found the Grados "quite comfortable".
 
Within your budget in the U.S. market I can't think of many with nice sound stage.  There's the Superlux HD668B, Audio Technica ATH-AD700--both open/semi-open, and the KRK KNS-6400 and Sony MDR-7510--good for closed cans.

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

The 518 works well within the budget. If you're really looking for a gaming/all purpose headphone, I'd save a little more and spring for the 558. It's pretty damn good for gaming - I use my HD598 for all of my gaming.

 In the U.S. none of the three falls within his budget.  The 518 is $9 more than his $120 max.  Hopefully where he is the Senn prices are lower.

 

[Spaz115]

I think that I'm more looking for something supra-aural- I find full size around the ear headphones rather uncomfortable. I wear glasses and whenever I wear those 'phones it feels really heavy on my head and my ears do feel quite cramped.. I tried a Audio Technica full size headphone @ a store and they were quite uncomfortable (I don't remember the model, but they do look like M50's). Are the 518's similar in terms of comfort or are they rather different? 
 
Thanks
 
EDIT: I live in Hong Kong so I have fantastic shops to go find IEMs/Headphones ^.^ The guys at the store do recommend 'phones to me but I wanted a second opinion from headfi before making my decision.

 

[DGriff0400]

whats the difference between audio technica ath m50s and the white ath m50wh and can it be driven well by a cowon player? 

 

[bigheadhifi]

Quote:

whats the difference between audio technica ath m50s and the white ath m50wh and can it be driven well by a cowon player? 

 
m50 - coiled cable
m50s- straight cable
m50LE- Limited edition (silver)
m50wh - white
 
soundwise, I dont think there will be much difference between all of them, if there is a difference.. and it is an easy headphone to drive, an amp could improve the sound a little bit but it wont take it to another level.. cheers

 

[DGriff0400]

thanks man think ill pick up the white for the looks and coiled cable

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

I think that I'm more looking for something supra-aural- I find full size around the ear headphones rather uncomfortable. I wear glasses and whenever I wear those 'phones it feels really heavy on my head and my ears do feel quite cramped.. I tried a Audio Technica full size headphone @ a store and they were quite uncomfortable (I don't remember the model, but they do look like M50's). Are the 518's similar in terms of comfort or are they rather different? 
 
Thanks
 
EDIT: I live in Hong Kong so I have fantastic shops to go find IEMs/Headphones ^.^ The guys at the store do recommend 'phones to me but I wanted a second opinion from headfi before making my decision.

 
I find the 518 to be comfortable (it's big bro the 556 & 598 are more comfortable.  However, I also find the that the M50 is comfortable.  On these issues only you, wearing these cans for the duration of your listening sessions will be able to tell if they are comfortable for your head and sensitivities.