GENERIC THREAD #1232: $80 to spend on Portable Headphones - Any sort of advice is appreciated (more details inside).
Apr 3, 2011 at 9:03 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 8

Boullion

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Hello Head-Fi! I know I'm just another one of those uninformed newbies, but I would really, really appreciate it if I could get some suggestions. Thanks in advance.

 
As the title says:
  1. My budget is around $80 - anything lower is fine.
  2. I am looking for Portable Headphones - something similar to Koss Portapros, for example.
 
What I would like:
  1. Good sound - obviously, this is the most important part. I guess I'd like something with good balance (I don't need head-thumpingly heavy bass).
  2. Any sort of sound isolation - at least enough to let me listen to them on a noisy vehicle or something.
  3. Little sound leakage - let's just say that some of my music is a bit....embarrassing. So it would be great if not too much of it leaked.
  4. OPTIONAL: Looks - It would be nice to have headphones that sound good AND look good to wear in public. But of course that's not quite as important as the other three points above.
 
Again, thanks for any upcoming replies
bigsmile_face.gif

 
Apr 3, 2011 at 10:36 PM Post #2 of 8
Joker has a portable headphone review compendium here:
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/433318/shootout-74-portable-headphones-reviewed-audio-technica-ath-sq5-ath-fc700-03-29
 
He organizes by price range so it'll be easier for you to find.
 
Apr 3, 2011 at 10:56 PM Post #3 of 8
Ahh, I went through that thread not too long ago. But thanks for bringing it up.
In the $50 - $100 range, I thought the Koss Pro DJ100 was a good deal.
But apparently it isn't so good without an amp, and it also has a coiled cord.

Does anybody have personal recommendations? Or more lists?
 
Quote:
Joker has a portable headphone review compendium here:
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/433318/shootout-74-portable-headphones-reviewed-audio-technica-ath-sq5-ath-fc700-03-29
 
He organizes by price range so it'll be easier for you to find.



 
 
Apr 3, 2011 at 11:11 PM Post #4 of 8
Do you want a fully circumaural portable headphone or a true supraaural headphone? If you can deal with having bigger headphones and can stretch your budget a little bit (up to $100) than usual you open yourself up to things like the Numark PHX-Pro, M50, SRH750DJ, etc.
 
If you only want supra-aural, there are fewer options. A couple options come to mind - the Audio-Technica ES7 and the Sennheiser PX200ii. I'm not too well-versed in that arena, though. Joker seems to like the SQ5, too.
 
Apr 3, 2011 at 11:43 PM Post #5 of 8
I was looking for a supraaural headphone, actually. Sorry for not making myself clear!
While I was gone and doing some self-research, I also stumbled upon the Sennheiser PX200-IIs that you mentioned.
After reading some reviews and etc., I decided that the PX200-II was the most similar to my budget and interest (portability/isolation-wise). So I guess I'm going with that.
Thanks for the replies and suggestions, I really appreciate it!
bigsmile_face.gif


EDIT: Oh jeez, major facepalm moment here. The PX200-IIs were already in the list, so I have no clue how I forgot about them
blink.gif

...ignoring my idiocy...thanks again. If anybody wants to personally recommend a pair before I make a leap of faith, feel free to drop a post.
 
Quote:
Do you want a fully circumaural portable headphone or a true supraaural headphone? If you can deal with having bigger headphones and can stretch your budget a little bit (up to $100) than usual you open yourself up to things like the Numark PHX-Pro, M50, SRH750DJ, etc.
 
If you only want supra-aural, there are fewer options. A couple options come to mind - the Audio-Technica ES7 and the Sennheiser PX200ii. I'm not too well-versed in that arena, though. Joker seems to like the SQ5, too.



 
 
Apr 4, 2011 at 12:33 AM Post #6 of 8
I think you can do much better if you are willing to get second hand ones in the used forums. I have seen Shure SHR840 sold for 105 and M50s less than 100.
 
Apr 4, 2011 at 12:44 AM Post #7 of 8
NM, looks like you need portable headphones.  For under $80 I can only recommend, portapros as I haven't tried many.
 
Apr 4, 2011 at 1:50 AM Post #8 of 8
Your money goes furthest if you are patient and stalk the buy/sell forums and/or craigslist. I've found dt770's for 90, sr80's for 15, and ha-m750 for 15, as well as a fiio e7 for 50.
If you are more impatient, I highly recommend the ha-m750. It fits all of your criteria, besides being balanced (though they aren't that colored), and they sound pretty good.
 

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