G'day all... <$80 AUD headphone recommendations?

[Lotness]

Heyas Head-fians!
Nice to meet you all! Thanks for any help you can give me on my journey.

I am in need of some headphones to use on my pc preferably under $80 Australian. Sites I've been looking at so far are Australian Amazon (amazon.com.au) and PCcasegear (pccasegear.com.au) - but i'm open to others.

I have had the koss ksc75's before (loved them) but I am looking for headphones that are closed-back / semi-open and over-ear.

I use a rhode nt1-a for recording and the koss ksc75's have way too much bleed obviously.

I use the headphones primarily for streaming music performance (ie.. singing live to my own homemade tracks) as well as pc gaming and music creation.

The soundstage I'm after would most likely be a fairly neutral sound, maybe with slightly pronounced bass.. ever so slightly. I like to run my headphones at full blast when I'm performing (so I feel like I'm on stage lol ) so preferably headphones that can be driven loud by pc (I use a soundblaster x-fi titanium soundcard - sometimes onboard audio ALC 1220 chipset) but don't have the 'damn this hurts my ears ' high end distortion going on.

I'm happy to consider non-branded (aka.. chinese branded) headphones.

What I've looked at so far:

• Koss KSC75's.. love 'em and they'll be what I get if there's no over-ear headphones that will suit the purpose.
• I'd get the ISK MDH9000's but at $99 I can't quite stretch my budget

Hopefully I've been helpful in setting the scene! Thankyou!

 

[PaganDL]

Hi Lotness,

Have you considered IEMs, otherwise the only thing I can recommend within your budget is Koss Porta Pros, available either at Carlton Audio Visual or Jaben.

Hope you have a great day !

 

[Lotness]

Hi Lotness,

Have you considered IEMs, otherwise the only thing I can recommend within your budget is Koss Porta Pros, available either at Carlton Audio Visual or Jaben.

Hope you have a great day !

I've thought about it... but I've only ever used el-cheapie iems with the exception of the apple iphone headphones (which I dunno if they're cheap or not lol) and always found them sort of uncomfortable. I'd be happy to consider them as an option and take a brave step into a new world if I can be sure they'd stay in my ear lol

 

[PaganDL]

Hi Lotness,

IEMs can be tricky to fit initially if you have little prior good experience, (anything generally apple doesn't count).

The most important thing to remember with IEM, is always the fit & comfort, as if it isn't comfortable in the first place, no matter how good the sound then there's no point.
In terms of personal preference, this means deciding whether silicone or foam is more suitable for your fit & comfort in your ears.
Keep in mind, I am only talking about fit & comfort at this stage, as others will say either silicone or foam with change sound which both do to a certain degree but whether it's really enough for you to personally notice is a different matter.
Two main good in ear tips brands I suggest looking into are Spinfits or Comply, they are easily available & come in different sizes.
Good advice I can give is try not to initially jam the tipm be it in silicone or foam right into your ear, let it sit comfortably first &/or gently prod it till it does before even playing any music or sound from your source.
As a final point on tip selection or tip rolling as its called on Headfi is sometimes, especially with silicone, a smaller or larger size tip may be needed for a good fit.

Now being in Aus, makes it tricky to get decent to good IEMs within your budget you can actually demo to see whether you like soundwise in the first place.
Unless you don't mind getting something 'blind' or without demo, so to speak, from reptuable dealers or direct from overseas, then sadly a sale or good discount is the only option.

Let me know if you need any further help with IEMs but as stated already, try the Koss Porta Pros as those are the most easily available for your budget.

 

[Lotness]

Thankyou for the advice.. it's much appreciated. I've been learning a lot and I didn't even know the term 'soundstage' til a few days ago. lol

 

[PaganDL]

Hi Lotness,

No problem, happy to help, feel free to ask more questions if & when you need.

Personally, soundstage is an overated term/word to describe sound but that's just me.

Have a great day!

 

[Lotness]

Hi Lotness,

No problem, happy to help, feel free to ask more questions if & when you need.

Personally, soundstage is an overated term/word to describe sound but that's just me.

Have a great day!

yeah.. so I figured. But still, in this particule spot of the web it's the correct term to use. So when in Rome

As a live performer for many years (guitarist/singer in bands) to me sound was just sound. You get on a mixing desk.. listen from out front of house until things sound about right for the gig and off you go. I never got down into the technical side of it. I was never 'sound engineer' material. It's probably good for me to be learning about it now more.. ultimately it can only help me with music production ongoing.

 

[onevstheworld]

Where is Oz are you? Most capital cities will have a store you can demo a good variety of gear. If you're here is Sydney, go check out Minidisc in Chatswood or Addicted to Audio in Newtown. They tend to concentrate on higher end stuff but they do have cheaper gear too.

 

[Lotness]

Where is Oz are you? Most capital cities will have a store you can demo a good variety of gear. If you're here is Sydney, go check out Minidisc in Chatswood or Addicted to Audio in Newtown. They tend to concentrate on higher end stuff but they do have cheaper gear too.

I'm out in the sticks over the other side of the Blue Mountains and no way to get to a decent sized town anytime soon. Nearest option *might* be a music store in Orange, NSW... but no idea when I'll get a chance to go there. If only I were in Sydney or Melbourne

 

[onevstheworld]

Orange? That's only 3-4 hours away... no different than trying crossing the harbor bridge this morning

Seriously though, check out those store's website... they've got a decent selection on gear within your budget (and a whole lot more outside it).

My suggestion: I haven't heard them personally, but going by reviews and Meze's other products: Meze Neo 11
https://addictedtoaudio.com.au/collections/headphones/products/meze-neo-11-in-ear-phones

 

[Lotness]

So I have been researching some more.. having another look through the Aussie Amazon site and reading more head-fi reviews.

I've come down to the following as options:

• Superlux HD681 EVO ( https://www.amazon.com.au/Headphone...UTF8&qid=1522848998&sr=8-33&keywords=superlux )

• Superlux HD662 EVO ( https://www.amazon.com.au/Self-adju...UTF8&qid=1522848480&sr=1-3&keywords=HD662-EVO )

From what I understand they are both quite good considering my budget constraints. Leaning towards the 662's as they seem to be properly closed-back.. but the 681's sound like they might be 'better' in terms of sound.

Opinions?

 

[Lotness]

Orange? That's only 3-4 hours away... no different than trying crossing the harbor bridge this morning

Seriously though, check out those store's website... they've got a decent selection on gear within your budget (and a whole lot more outside it).

My suggestion: I haven't heard them personally, but going by reviews and Meze's other products: Meze Neo 11
https://addictedtoaudio.com.au/collections/headphones/products/meze-neo-11-in-ear-phones

You've given me somewhere to go visit on my next trip over that way at least. Time will tell on that one, I'm a disabled pensioner.
They look quite comfortable from what I can see, so definitely something to consider.

 

[PaganDL]

Hi Lotness,

Meze Neo 11 is a good choice, keep in mind this is subjective & personal but I find it tends to lean towards favouring bright & sounds a little 'metallic' to me but still good overall so you shouldn't be disappointed.
I know it's out of your budget but I favour the Meze 12 Classics & since I heard that way before the Neo 11 was even out, I may be a bit bias.

Honestly, the only good way to know what you like is when you can, just do as many demos as you can.

 

[Lotness]

Hi Lotness,

Meze Neo 11 is a good choice, keep in mind this is subjective & personal but I find it tends to lean towards favouring bright & sounds a little 'metallic' to me but still good overall so you shouldn't be disappointed.
I know it's out of your budget but I favour the Meze 12 Classics & since I heard that way before the Neo 11 was even out, I may be a bit bias.

Honestly, the only good way to know what you like is when you can, just do as many demos as you can.

Yeah, can't wait to get to the city sometime (or maybe the music store at Orange) to try out whatever they've got in stock. You guys are all making it a lot easier on what to look for. and I've been reading so many threads and reviews. I didn't realise there were people that do this as a hobby lol

 

[PaganDL]

Hi Lotness,

Generally, the forums are the place to be on masse, there are also quite a few reviewers on here who are helpful to some degree & have their own review sites but as said before, if possible, trust your own ears is key.

Also, one thing I almost forgot to suggest was if you can get to a pro audio store, sometimes they can point you in a good direction as well as have good deals on headphones/iems.

The important thing is to have fun & enjoy yourself.