[SirG]

Quote:

 
K550. They go for $300 but can be found these days for under $250.
 
Originally Posted by roguegeek
 
I promise I'm not trying to be a broken record here, but the MDR-1R for that slightly warm, fairly balanced goodness and efficiency for portability. In full disclosure, I consider myself a treble and detail whore, but I'm still a very large fanboy of the 1R. InnerFidelity pushed their review out for them today and it made the Wall of Fame as well as being called "the best all around portable, around the ear headset."
 
I would recommend the SRH840 as well if you're wanting a somewhat warm, but fairly accurate and comfortable sound.

 
Reading the reviews of the K550, it sounds like exactly what I was looking for, fairly balanced slightly warm. But then it says this on the wall of fame:
 
"This headphone was retired due to the introduction of the UE6000, which I feel is a significantly more balanced sounding headphone. The slightly artificial sounding treble in the K550 became quite obvious in comparison."
 
Ok, so I look at the UE600 and it says:
 
"This headphone was retired from the Wall of Fame due to the Sennheiser Momentum coming out with a better sounding sealed headphone (the 6000 is a bit lacking in mid-to-upper treble), and the Sony MDR-1R arriving with roughly comparable sound quality, but better looks and ergonomics at the same price. Original copy follows."
 
Well then I looked at the MDR-1R:
 
"While a little over emphatic in the upper-bass and upper-mids, I find at low to normal listening levels these cans sound much better than one would expect from the measurements."
 
Ok that doesn't sound too bad... but now how do I choose. It seems like all 3 phones here would probably satisfy me, but I don't really want to buy something when somebody calls the treble quite obviously artificial sounding. The momentum doesn't seem comparable to me because it's almost double the price of the 3 here. I guess it comes down to the UE6000 vs. MDR-1R. Thanks again.

 

[cucera]

As much as I respect Tyll, listen to them yourself. I would prefer The AKG 551 and Sennheier Momentum to the Sony MDR 1R and UE6000

 

[zael99]

I am looking to get a closed pair of headphones in the $300 range. I'm used to looking at bass heavy headphones and have mostly ignored the bass lighter headphones until I picked up a pair of HD558s out of curiosity of the open sound stage I kept hearing about. I really liked their sound but I don't really have much of a use for another pair of "at home only" headphones at the moment. I'm hoping there is a closed headphone out there with similar sound signature, comfy and decently open sound stage.
 
These will be amped directly off of my Galaxy S3 but I find my DT770 250Ohms loud enough at half volume already. I listen to Electronic, rock and metal but I have been trying to get into classical and jazz recently as well.
 
I have been looking at the AKG K550s but I would like to hear everyone's input. If any recommendations can be compared to the HD558s that would really help me put things into perspective.
 
EDIT: I feel that I should also mention that what I enjoyed in the HD558s was the laid back, almost relaxing sound to them. They really relaxed me as opposed to the aggression of my DT770s and ATHM50s.

 

[musiclife]

Quote:

As much as I respect Tyll, listen to them yourself. I would prefer The AKG 551 and Sennheier Momentum to the Sony MDR 1R and UE6000

Ditto for the momentum. Also check out the Q701 from AKG.

 

[EndersShadow]

Quote:

Hello all.  I am posting here so as to not start yet another thread for headphone suggestions.  I have been looking for a decent set of sealed cans for a year or so research wise.  I have finally gotten to where I am ready to make a purchase however I am a bit undecided about what headphones I should buy and was hoping you might have some advice for me.
 
Before I tell you what I am looking for in the headphones I feel I should give you an idea of what they will be connected to most of the time.

My source is a self built mini-itx computer running Windows 7 with XBMC as my player.  I re-ripped all my existing CD's as FLAC but also have a mix of MP3's of varying bitrates from back when the number of songs you could put on a MP3 player was king.  I am sending the audio out over USB using the WASAPI driver to a Audio GD NFB-5 headphone DAC/Amp which is what I will connect these headphones too.
 
I also should probably give you an idea of the type of music I listen to as well.  I listen to a bunch of different types of music, however most are more bass heavy such as techno, dubstep, rap, rock, metal.  On occasion I listen to pop and acoustic music and/or county.  I rarely listen to jazz or classical.
 
I will be using these headphones primarily at work where I work in a cubicle and don't want to disturb others nearby.  As a result I am looking exclusively at sealed headphones. 

I am a pretty big audiophile and sound quality is important to me, however my budget is limited enough that I realize I cannot attain the "highest" quality of sound, and since I will be doing mostly background listening with these I am ok with that. 

I am looking mostly for a decently accurate headphone with good bass and that's not super harsh, and comfortable to listen to for extended periods of time without too much sweaty ear syndrome.  I do wear glasses so clamping force is an issue as well.
 
I am NOT looking for noise cancelling headphones as the noise cancelling feature on most headphones I have used leaves me feeling weird after (I had a set of Polk UltraFocus 8000's and liked the sound, but the noise cancelling was too much for me).
 
I dont anticipate listening to these headphones often from my iPhone, but may on occasion so the ability to be able to do so would be nice, but is not a requirement.
 
My budget is around 200 - 250 max.  I dont mind buying new or refurbished models, however I want to purchase from a store (online or otherwise) with a decent return policy so if I dont like the sound I have options.
 
Like many here there are not any stores nearby I am aware of that have these models to demo so I have to rely strictly on opinions until I make a purchase.
 
Some headphones I have looked at and had suggested to me are below:
 
Beyerdynamic DT-770's (all different ohm models)
AKG K550
Sony MDR-1R
Audio Technica ATH-50m
 
I am curious as to what folks think of these models compared to each other and if there are others I should be looking at (in that price range only)

 
Quote:

 
Audio Technica ESW9 seem to fit your criteria. They are on ear though. Some people have a fit about that.

 
Quote:

They were on my list, but I dont know if I want on ear as they tend to not really provide tons of isolation  which is important both for me and those around me.
 
How do you feel they compare to the others on my list?
 
Beyerdynamic DT-770's (all different ohm models)
AKG K550
Sony MDR-1R
Audio Technica ATH-50m

Any additional comments on these headphones?  Am hoping to make a purchase of one of them Friday.
 
I am leaning toward the AKG K550's, but am worried about being able to get them to seal right given my glasses, then the Beyers (not sure if the 80 ohm or 32 ohm models), then the Sony's. I plan to purchase from Amazon so if they dont sound right to me after a couple days (burning them in overnight each night) I can return them for one of the other models.
 
Any additional advice here greatly appreciated.

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

Ok, so i have narrowed it down to those two:
 
1. M-Audio Q40 (closed back)
 
2. Sony MDR MA900 (Open Back)
 
Which is better in terms of clarity and detail? I know that the MA900's have a very good bass and smooth mids with enormous soundstage, while the Q40's have good detail, but how do they compare in terms of detail and clarity?

The open Sony--easily.

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

Hi guys I recently am suffering a case of recurring upgraditis and feel like going to the next level. Currently I am using my AD900 paired with a DAC/Amp in the Ordnance .25 (clear sounding). I think I'm pretty set on getting the iFi iDAC and iUSB as my DAC/Amp combo and I was wondering which headphones should I pair with it. I do love my AD900 sound and enjoy the Audio Technica sound so something similar would be nice. From my experience the AD1000 and AD2000 was more refined but I actually prefered my AD900 (in my set up of course). I have no experience with the new AD series with the additional X though. I listen to most genre's (rock,pop,jazz,classical,electronic,acoustic) probably with metal as my only exception. I also use a Fostex HP-P1 which I currently use with my HD25 as my portable rig so if it pairs well with the Fostex that'll be a plus as well. But it'll mainly be part of my desktop rig with the iDAC. Thanks guys.

What's your budget?
 
What will your rig drive?  The HD 600 and 650 (300 Ohms and 97 dB sensitivity)?

 

[topperdoggle]

Would appreciate a recommendation for some headphones / IEMs / earbuds for my girlfriend to wear whilst she's studying in the library.  Some salient points:

1. She likes rockier music
2. In the library, isolation is important
3. She's not very good at looking after her stuff, so nothing too expensive (or even mid-priced )
4. Portability is a concern.  She rides a scooter to university, and everything is in her backpack, so on-ear headphones are an option as long as they are light (folding is a bonus).  But of course IEMs / earbuds are preferable from the size point of view.
5. Comfortable for long periods

 
Recommend away, look forward to seeing what suggestions come up.

 

[Fidex47]

Hi all, I write because I'm looking for some new headphones to use on my PC. (I do not need to be portable) and I need some help.
 
First I would like to cover its entire ear, not just a part, because they are full of whole ear seem much more comfortable to use a long time.
 
I will be using to listen to electronic music (hardcore / hardstyle / minimal / house) and also some hip-hop.
 
I have a budget of around € 150-200, I hope you can help me, the truth is that I would really appreciate it.
 
Thanks and regards

 

[ejong7]

My rig could probably drive the HD600 and the HD650 but not to I would say satisfying level. I'm looking at the W1000X (probably stay within the Audio Technica family, although its closed) so my price range i would say is round the $600s. That does not include the money I'm gonna shelve out for the amp which I'm pretty sure I'm gonna get because the jack in my current amp is having problems (fixed it a few times, still will have the same problem after that).

 

[roguegeek]

Quote:

My rig could probably drive the HD600 and the HD650 but not to I would say satisfying level. I'm looking at the W1000X (probably stay within the Audio Technica family, although its closed) so my price range i would say is round the $600s. That does not include the money I'm gonna shelve out for the amp which I'm pretty sure I'm gonna get because the jack in my current amp is having problems (fixed it a few times, still will have the same problem after that).

 
Why not look at AT's equivalent of the HD600/650, the AD1000X and AD2000X? They are pretty damn efficient as well. 

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

Would appreciate a recommendation for some headphones / IEMs / earbuds for my girlfriend to wear whilst she's studying in the library.  Some salient points:

1. She likes rockier music
2. In the library, isolation is important
3. She's not very good at looking after her stuff, so nothing too expensive (or even mid-priced )
4. Portability is a concern.  She rides a scooter to university, and everything is in her backpack, so on-ear headphones are an option as long as they are light (folding is a bonus).  But of course IEMs / earbuds are preferable from the size point of view.
5. Comfortable for long periods

 
Recommend away, look forward to seeing what suggestions come up.

The portable headphones/IEM recommendation thread can be found here:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/632255/portable-iem-recommendations-thread-i-e-dont-start-a-new-thread-ask-for-advice-here-please-read-op
 
That's where you should post this question.

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

My rig could probably drive the HD600 and the HD650 but not to I would say satisfying level. I'm looking at the W1000X (probably stay within the Audio Technica family, although its closed) so my price range i would say is round the $600s. That does not include the money I'm gonna shelve out for the amp which I'm pretty sure I'm gonna get because the jack in my current amp is having problems (fixed it a few times, still will have the same problem after that).

 
The 1000X is not a real upgrade from what you have.  It's just another flavor of ice cream at the same level.
 
On the other hand the HD 600 or 650 would be a full step up.

 

[ejong7]

I haven't listen to the revised AD series with the X but I have prior experience with the AD1000 and AD2000 which I actually prefer the sound of the AD900 which to me compared to the big brothers just lack the refinements. I'll try to find them to audition it before I make my final decision (of course) but from what I have read the W1000X sound is pretty close. I've heard them but that was a long time ago so I don't really recall it. Hopefully the improvement on the new AD series is as what they say it is.

 

[Mathematics]

Thanks for the response, I was looking into those earlier but reviews said that they're on the analytical side which isn't really what I'm looking for
Anybody have any views on the sound of the Philips Uptowns? They look well built and are on sale for like 40% on amazon.com