[blackhand]

headphones for <$75 preferred over ear, closed, and noticeable bass. Does not need to be closed but the bass and over ear are a must as thats what i hated about the grados as they had neither. i will be using them for gaming (mainly gw2, LoL, etc.) so no real sound whoring going on but some isolation would be nice as well as listening to techno, house, dubstep, as well as 80's rock.  $75 is my absolute max budget. please help as i really want to buy them tomorrow.

 

[hc351]

Hello Head-fi! I've been reading the forum but this is my first time posting.
I'm not very experienced in Hi-fi headphones, but I've tried Philips Uptowns for couple weeks and I can refer to them a little. I may even purchase them, but I wanted to know if there were better models in my budget.
 
So I'm looking for closed headphones.
My budget is $150 USD, but I can stretch a little.
 
So things that are important to me are
1. comfort: it MUST be comfortable. I wear glasses and Uptowns were quite comfortable because its cups were so plush.
2. sound: I listen to a bit of everything, including hip hop, pop, acoustic, and some rock and alternatives.
 
I liked that Uptowns didn't have muddy, bloated bass like the Beats, but it went deep and impactful while staying clear.
Clarity of Uptowns really stood out to me. I'm not sure if this is common in other headphones to me, but coming from a cheap $20 pair, I noticed a major improvement in clarity and separation of different instruments.
 
3. isolation: it shouldn't leak much sound, and offer decent passive noise reduction. I may use them for subway, but if it's not isolating enough, I might just buy an iem. But I still want my headphones to isolate decently for indoors (library, dorm).
 
4.portability: They should be driven by ipod. They should also be quite durable.
 
 
Some models I were looking at were
V-moda M80, Shure srh440 and srh840, ATH-m50, and of course Philips Uptowns.
How do these compare and do you have other suggestions in my price range?

 

[hipster2010]

Quote:

headphones for <$75 preferred over ear, closed, and noticeable bass. Does not need to be closed but the bass and over ear are a must as thats what i hated about the grados as they had neither. i will be using them for gaming (mainly gw2, LoL, etc.) so no real sound whoring going on but some isolation would be nice as well as listening to techno, house, dubstep, as well as 80's rock.  $75 is my absolute max budget. please help as i really want to buy them tomorrow.

Pannasonic HTF600 w/ DT250 velour pads ~$50
 
or
 
Samson SR850 / Superlux 668b ~$50
 
HTF600 has massive bass. Both are semi-open, and over ear.

 

[hipster2010]

Quote:

Hello Head-fi! I've been reading the forum but this is my first time posting.
I'm not very experienced in Hi-fi headphones, but I've tried Philips Uptowns for couple weeks and I can refer to them a little. I may even purchase them, but I wanted to know if there were better models in my budget.
 
So I'm looking for closed headphones.
My budget is $150 USD, but I can stretch a little.
 
So things that are important to me are
1. comfort: it MUST be comfortable. I wear glasses and Uptowns were quite comfortable because its cups were so plush.
2. sound: I listen to a bit of everything, including hip hop, pop, acoustic, and some rock and alternatives.
 
I liked that Uptowns didn't have muddy, bloated bass like the Beats, but it went deep and impactful while staying clear.
Clarity of Uptowns really stood out to me. I'm not sure if this is common in other headphones to me, but coming from a cheap $20 pair, I noticed a major improvement in clarity and separation of different instruments.
 
3. isolation: it shouldn't leak much sound, and offer decent passive noise reduction. I may use them for subway, but if it's not isolating enough, I might just buy an iem. But I still want my headphones to isolate decently for indoors (library, dorm).
 
4.portability: They should be driven by ipod. They should also be quite durable.
 
 
Some models I were looking at were
V-moda M80, Shure srh440 and srh840, ATH-m50, and of course Philips Uptowns.
How do these compare and do you have other suggestions in my price range?

Too bad you missed the deal on teh Uptowns today for $40 through J&R. The M80/V80 are my vote. Nice versatile sound with a controlled but strong bass. On-ear, but quite comfortable, and the headband can be bent to shape them better to your head. They are also quite portable and come with a nicelittle case w/ 2 detachable cables. Isolation is also quite good. Can be easily driven by your iPod. Definitely the best sounding phone of the ones you are looking at (and for portables in their price range).

 

[KingofWisdom]

Budget: Around $200. I'll go a little over, but I'm not ready to buy a real expensive pair of phones just yet. I've only had one pair of headphones so far, not counting cheap-y earbuds.
 
Preference: I mainly want a pair which is good for movies/DVDs or Blu-Rays in general/watching TV. The most important aspect of that is dialogue clarity. I would also like to use it for music, of which I mostly listen to hard rock and heavy metal.
 
Design: Closed. Don't want to disturb the people around me.
 
Amped: I have a Fiio E6.
 
Doesn't matter how portable the headset is. I've been thinking of getting the Ultrasone HFI-780, but I can't tell if it'd suit my needs. Any help is appreciated.

 

[hipster2010]

Quote:

Budget: Around $200. I'll go a little over, but I'm not ready to buy a real expensive pair of phones just yet. I've only had one pair of headphones so far, not counting cheap-y earbuds.
 
Preference: I mainly want a pair which is good for movies/DVDs or Blu-Rays in general/watching TV. The most important aspect of that is dialogue clarity. I would also like to use it for music, of which I mostly listen to hard rock and heavy metal.
 
Design: Closed. Don't want to disturb the people around me.
 
Amped: I have a Fiio E6.
 
Doesn't matter how portable the headset is. I've been thinking of getting the Ultrasone HFI-780, but I can't tell if it'd suit my needs. Any help is appreciated.

I think a pair of Beyerdynamic DT770 80ohm could be a good fit. They do have some recession in the mids, but I don't think that you will experience loss in dialogue clarity. They also have great bass which should make watching movies better in the action scenes. Most importantly, they have a great soundstage for a closed headphone, so the music will feel like it is around you more rather than inside your head.

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

Budget: Around $200. I'll go a little over, but I'm not ready to buy a real expensive pair of phones just yet. I've only had one pair of headphones so far, not counting cheap-y earbuds.
 
Preference: I mainly want a pair which is good for movies/DVDs or Blu-Rays in general/watching TV. The most important aspect of that is dialogue clarity. I would also like to use it for music, of which I mostly listen to hard rock and heavy metal.
 
Design: Closed. Don't want to disturb the people around me.
 
Amped: I have a Fiio E6.
 
Doesn't matter how portable the headset is. I've been thinking of getting the Ultrasone HFI-780, but I can't tell if it'd suit my needs. Any help is appreciated.

Not a bad choice if you can't fit the Pro 750 into your budget (and assuming your portable amp will push it adequately to bring out its bass). 
 
The Shure SRH 840 will provide better dialogue clarity but less bass and slam.

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

I think a pair of Beyerdynamic DT770 80ohm could be a good fit. They do have some recession in the mids, but I don't think that you will experience loss in dialogue clarity. They also have great bass which should make watching movies better in the action scenes. Most importantly, they have a great soundstage for a closed headphone, so the music will feel like it is around you more rather than inside your head.

Recessed mids and dialogue clarity don't play well together.

 

[MarsNielson]

I have a (very) old pair of Denon AH-D750 that has been with me for years and years. And I love 'em... really love 'em
 
I've gotten so used to the sound of them that they have become my reference point that all other headphones must measure up against.
But alas, nothing last forever and over the last couple of years they have slowly starting to fall apart, which when I write this literally brings tears to my eyes.
 
So, I’m in the market for a new set of cans. If I were to win the lottery I would buy the new high-end Denons (the AH-D600 or the AH-D7100), but they are a bit out of my price range.
 
So what should I get? They need to be closed as I use them at work (and I have respect my colleagues’ need for silence 

 ) and they have to have a similar sound signature as my current Denons.

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

I have a (very) old pair of Denon AH-D750 that has been with me for years and years. And I love 'em... really love 'em
 
I've gotten so used to the sound of them that they have become my reference point that all other headphones must measure up against.
But alas, nothing last forever and over the last couple of years they have slowly starting to fall apart, which when I write this literally brings tears to my eyes.
 
So, I’m in the market for a new set of cans. If I were to win the lottery I would buy the new high-end Denons (the AH-D600 or the AH-D7100), but they are a bit out of my price range.
 
So what should I get? They need to be closed as I use them at work (and I have respect my colleagues’ need for silence 

 ) and they have to have a similar sound signature as my current Denons.

Unfortunately, I (and probably more than a few others) have not heard your current cans.  So I'll need you to answer:
 
What is your budget?
 
What equipment will be powering these cans?  Will you be using an amp?
 
What is the format of your music and other sounds you will putting into these cans?
 
Describe the sound signature that you are seeking?
 
What music genres do you plan run through these cans?
 
Do you plan to use them outside your home/office?  If so, in what way & with what equipment?

 

[hipster2010]

Quote:

Recessed mids and dialogue clarity don't play well together.

I didn't have problems with my DT770s. The mids dip down a bit after the 1K hz range which should only only affect some of the dialogue

 

[MarsNielson]

Quote:

Unfortunately, I (and probably more than a few others) have not heard your current cans.  So I'll need you to answer:
 
What is your budget?
 
What equipment will be powering these cans?  Will you be using an amp?
 
What is the format of your music and other sounds you will putting into these cans?
 
Describe the sound signature that you are seeking?
 
What music genres do you plan run through these cans?
 
Do you plan to use them outside your home/office?  If so, in what way & with what equipment?

 
Let me quickly answer you questions

1. My budget is around $250 for the cans (prefer lower than that) 
2. I don't currently have an amp, but is considering getting a FiiO e10
3. I will use them for listening to music from primaryly Spotify - set to the highest setting (http://www.spotify.com/dk/blog/archives/2009/06/25/bumping-up-the-bitrate/)
4. The sound signature is always hard to describe - but the bass is very good and the sound landscape is very broad.
5. I listen to almost all kinds of music, but mostly jazz, classic (soundtracks) and a little of rock and electronic here and there.
6. These new cans will be used only at the office.

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

 
Let me quickly answer you questions

1. My budget is around $250 for the cans (prefer lower than that) 
2. I don't currently have an amp, but is considering getting a FiiO e10
3. I will use them for listening to music from primaryly Spotify - set to the highest setting (http://www.spotify.com/dk/blog/archives/2009/06/25/bumping-up-the-bitrate/)
4. The sound signature is always hard to describe - but the bass is very good and the sound landscape is very broad.
5. I listen to almost all kinds of music, but mostly jazz, classic (soundtracks) and a little of rock and electronic here and there.
6. These new cans will be used only at the office.

Since you have to get a closed can, I think that the Shure SRH 940 is the best match within your budget, although it might be a bit bass light for what you described.  It needs an amp.  However, I don't own any portable amps and can't help with that issue.
 
An option with more bass is the Ultrasone Pro 750.  It too needs an amp.

 

[HolyHell]

Hey all,
 
 I'm sick of my crappy headset and I'm looking to get into some serious quality. I'm looking for something mid range that's great for music which primarily will be listened on the PC. I was looking at the AD900's and HD598's or the D2000s, but the more I read about them the more I realise that I know jack squat about headphones and I was wondering if theres anything else out there I should be considering. I guess I'm looking for a good mid range entry level set of cans that'll keep me happy for a while, which I can upgrade from in the future.
 
 The next question obviously is, what amp will I need if any? I was thinking the Xonar Essence ST or STX (not sure which is better, I think the ST?) 
 
 Any help would be appreciated!

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

Hey all,
 
 I'm sick of my crappy headset and I'm looking to get into some serious quality. I'm looking for something mid range that's great for music which primarily will be listened on the PC. I was looking at the AD900's and HD598's or the D2000s, but the more I read about them the more I realise that I know jack squat about headphones and I was wondering if theres anything else out there I should be considering. I guess I'm looking for a good mid range entry level set of cans that'll keep me happy for a while, which I can upgrade from in the future.
 
 The next question obviously is, what amp will I need if any? I was thinking the Xonar Essence ST or STX (not sure which is better, I think the ST?) 
 
 Any help would be appreciated!

The HD 598 is an excellent all around can for music (except the bass heavy types), movies and gaming.  The D2000 is a great headphone for what it does, but is less versatile than the 598.  I have not heard the AD900, but find the closed A900 to be soulless.
 
Can't help you with your sound card, as my serious music listening is by way of CD's and vinyl.