Hi all, been lurking on this forum for a week trying to narrow down what headphones to buy, but of course the more I read the harder it gets... and the more I realize I'm going to spend.
Here's where I am, would love to hear your opinions, particularly from people who have heard multiple headphones on this list and can compare them.
Thanks in advance!
Goals:
-Budget of $500
-Must be closed-back, so as not to disturb others in the same room (sadly this disqualifies the easy recommendation of HE-400 or HD650)
-SQ is top concern
-Don't really care about portability
-Will run these off the desktop for now, but eventually want to set them up to work with my phone, currently a Galaxy S2 which sounds AWFUL, so I realize I may have to upgrade to either a GS3 or iPhone to be able to bypass internal DAC...
The Contenders:
HP | Price | Notes |
Shure SRH940 | 239.95 | Flat response, high detail, monitor-like, comes with hard case, can I spend more of my budget to get better SQ? |
Denon AH-D600 | 499.00 | Looks awesome, but selling for MSRP now, will these drop back to $400? |
Denon AH-D2000 | 389.99 | Discontinued but still available, better to wait until D600 can be had for $400 again? |
Denon AH-D5000 | 559.99 | Also discontinued but available, are they really worth more than 2x the cost of the SRH940? |
Beyerdynamic T 70 | 495.33 | Strong contender, but are these for bass-heads? What's the deal with T70 vs T70p? I don't think I really "get" impedance |
AKG K550 | 299.00 | Another strong contender, but are they outclassed by the more expensive <500 options here? |
Ultrasone PRO 900 | 327.95 | Probably for bass-heads but very well reviewed |
Audio Technica ATH-W1000X | 527.66 | Not sure I want my one pair of do-it-all HPs to be made of wood and therefore "unique" sounding |
All opinions welcome!