[averydonovan]

I have never had any really good headphones, but given how much I listen to music I figure it would be worthwhile to get a good set of headphones. I am inclined to get the Sony MDR-V6's since they seem to be rated well and I've heard them before (over 3 years ago), although not with the kind of music I listen to now. They sounded absolutely incredible when I had listened to them, very good sound and tight, clean bass that went quite deep. But I am wondering if there are possibly better sets in the sub $100 range.

I listen to a lot of Industrial music, mainly Project Pitchfork, VNV Nation, Covenant, and the like. I tend to like spacious, enveloping soundfields and deep, tight bass (not boomy). I like closed-cup headphones for their noise-blocking ability, but am not particularly attached to them. The music I listen to usually has quite a bit of bass as well as sound-effects.

What headphones should I be taking a look at? Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

 

[Snufkin]

Hm... my favourite headphones for that kind of music would be the Beyer 250-80s or 770pros, although the DT531s do reasonably well also, they don't quite have the bass impact and the high end is a little more detailed which can make some of the harsher industrial a little painful to listen to at higher volume.

Only problem is my suggestions are all above your budget, but they're definately worth it.

 

[a1leyez0nm3]

Sennheiser HD280 PRO. its like the V6, only better in sound

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

Originally posted by a1leyez0nm3 Sennheiser HD280 PRO. its like the V6, only better in sound

a1leyez, I've point this out before: the HD 280 doesn't necessarily have "better" sound -- it has different sound. I personally prefer the V6 overall, and I know I'm not the only one. Others prefer the HD 280. Both are very good headphones.

 

[averydonovan]

Thanks for your responses. I checked out some of the other posts in this forum and found the Sennheiser HD 497's were getting good reviews around cost around $69.99 list. A $100 budget for headphones was already stretching it for me, so that price seemed very reasonable to me. I managed to find them at a local CompUSA of all places (tried Circuit City, Best Buy, and Virgin Megastore to no avail) at full list price, which seems the norm at CompUSA. I was used to the RadioShack Pro-35 headphones which were previously the best headphones I had ever owned. they were a little too boomy and quite uncomfortable, though I managed to use them for over 6 months (sound over comfort). They did sound quite good otherwise and I got used to the boomy bass.

To say the least I am very happy with the 497's. Even being by far the most expensive headphones I have purchased (I stuck to whatever was $25 or less) I feel they were a bargain for what I paid. They sound even better than I expected from what I have read of sub-$100 headphones, with quite clear overall sound, deep but not overly boomy bass, and they still sound relatively open with a pretty spacious feel compared to my Pro-35's. And they are very comfortable, I hardly feel like I'm wearing such relatively large headphones. I want to get the most out of these headphones and from all the posts here that breaking in a set of headphones properly will help realize their potential better. Any suggestions on how to do this? I am thinking maybe a couple days solid of Winamp playing random tracks from my MP3 collection.

 

[TimSchirmer]

I'm glad you like your new phones. Personally, I like to listen to my KSC-35's when blasting the funkervogt, And One, and Front242. It sounds even better when hooked up to my prescious HD-600's.

 

[a1leyez0nm3]

Quote:

Originally posted by MacDEF a1leyez, I've point this out before: the HD 280 doesn't necessarily have "better" sound -- it has different sound. I personally prefer the V6 overall, and I know I'm not the only one. Others prefer the HD 280. Both are very good headphones.

sorry, let me restate that:

the 280 pro I think sounds better. it seems to have better soundstage, and less treble spikeyness/honkyness. but the V6 is smaller, but the 280 has better isolation.

 

[Magicthyse]

The HD280's do spike badly in the treble. They are very precise phones however - and have a very controlled, very deep - but ultimately rather weak - bass response.

It can be uncomfortable for many, and the isolation doesn't prevent the weak bass from disappearing when in use outside in high-ambient noise-environments. In it's favor is a solid build despite the over-plastickiness of it - and it folds for portability (although if you have a single ounce of style you would not be caught dead wearing it outside).

MacDef I believe mentioned the Koss UR40 elsewhere. I have no idea what that's like since it only came out in spring of this year, but it could be worth fishing around for comments - it's closed, collapsible and looks inoffensive in an HD590-style way. I have no idea what prices are for this, but I would imagine, knowing Koss, that it will be well under $100.

I don't think there's that much more around in terms of closed phones for under $100.

There's the HD212, which is the closed brother to your 497, but these have a bit too much bass - I can't recommend them unless your source has an EQ, and you're able to take the bass down a couple of notches - once you do, they sound perfectly OK for their price.

Then there's the Beyerdynamic DT231 - I'm given to understand that it's quite a nice little balanced phone, and about the same cost as your 497's.

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

Originally posted by Magicthyse MacDef I believe mentioned the Koss UR40 elsewhere. I have no idea what that's like since it only came out in spring of this year, but it could be worth fishing around for comments - it's closed, collapsible and looks inoffensive in an HD590-style way. I have no idea what prices are for this, but I would imagine, knowing Koss, that it will be well under $100.

You can check out my other thread on the UR40. They're only around $25, so they're *way* under 100 bucks. That said, I'm still waiting before commenting too much on the sound -- they're burning in right now and I want to give them a chance

 

[Magicthyse]

[size=small]$25!!!!![/size]

I presume they're the KSC-50 drivers with closed back then?

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

Originally posted by Magicthyse [size=small]$25!!!!![/size] I presume they're the KSC-50 drivers with closed back then?

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showth...threadid=15450

 

[Dusty Chalk]

I'm surprised no-one suggested the Sony V6's. I haven't heard the others suggested, so cannot compare, but EBM/Industrial sounds just fine on the Sony's for under US$100.

 

[averydonovan]

Dusty Chalk, I tried to get those a couple weeks ago. Most sites I found that actually had them there were out of stock, and the one I ordered from that seemed to have some in stock (etronichaven.com) turned out to be out of stock too. I like these Sennheiser HD 497's, but if I can get a hold of a pair of V6's I could return the Senns (can only afford one decent pair of headphones right now). Anybody know where to actually get a pair?

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Quote:

Originally posted by donovansmith Dusty Chalk, I tried to get those a couple weeks ago. Most sites I found that actually had them there were out of stock, and the one I ordered from that seemed to have some in stock (etronichaven.com) turned out to be out of stock too. I like these Sennheiser HD 497's, but if I can get a hold of a pair of V6's I could return the Senns (can only afford one decent pair of headphones right now). Anybody know where to actually get a pair?

Sounds like a really bad coincidence. They should be readily available. I would just wait until one of those establishments get them in stock.

 

[nierika]

Quote:

Originally posted by Magicthyse The HD280's do spike badly in the treble. They are very precise phones however - and have a very controlled, very deep - but ultimately rather weak - bass response. It can be uncomfortable for many, and the isolation doesn't prevent the weak bass from disappearing when in use outside in high-ambient noise-environments. In it's favor is a solid build despite the over-plastickiness of it - and it folds for portability (although if you have a single ounce of style you would not be caught dead wearing it outside).

Magicthyse, I disagree with your assertion that the HD280s spike badly in the treble. I think you are the only one on this board who has described them as such. The bass is certainly weak if you're using them on a weak output. However, if you provide them with a good amount of power and boost the bass, they're simply slammin'. And I mean sitting in the back seat of a car with an overpowered 15" Treo in the trunk slammin'. If I plug them into a Sony portable CD player or my Sound Blaster Audigy, they don't sound nearly that good. I think the "64 ohm version for use with portables" is a bit misleading.


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