[papermoon]

Hi, I'm looking for some durable, decent sounding headphones at the lowest possible price. I'm fedup of stupid skullcandy earbuds breaking every 3 months, so I want something that will last. I'm debating between the skullcandy hesh, sony mdr v6, sennheiser hd 280/555, and any other suggestions you have. I'm not an audiophile and I will be using these headphones with my ps3, for music (but they are 128 kbps mp3s) and for pc gaming. 
 
Also, i heard that nicer headphones like the mdr v6 could make my lower quality mp3s sound like crap?? and id actually be worse off with better headphones? what exactly does this mean?
 
thanks!

 

[NapalmK]

Welcome to Head-Fi.
 
What kind of music do you listen to? Budget? Preemptively I'll say stay away from SC and look up the Audio Technica M50. I have a pair of HD280s and really like them but they do get uncomfortable and the bass leaves something to be desired.

 

[papermoon]

i listen to rock/mainstream mainly. my budget is around the ~120$ range, but im in canada so everything is around 25% more expensive. I'm not gonna be listening to FLAC files or anything, just general computer use, but I want something better than crappy $20 headphones.

 

[m3phisto]

since you like rock , u could try grado ms1i

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I quite liked the JVC HA-S700. They are cheap, and look like Bose. They actually feel pretty sturdy, and are VERY comfy, and sound great with just a Fiio E5. They will run you about $30.
 
If you want higher quality sound, the M50s, for sure.

 

[baka1969]

Upgrade your music. You can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig. Regardless of what was said on Mythbusters, even if you can shine a turd, it's still a turd. GIGO. It all says the same thing, get rid of the 128kbs mp3 crap. No headphone will improve that compressed junk.
Once you change that the Grado SR-80(i) is an excellent entry level, high quality headphone that, to me, are almost impossible to beat for the price.

 

[earerror]

The Audio Technica ES7 excels with rock genres. 

 

[MuuMuu]

imperfections on your recording will be somewhat noticeable with better headphones.  Take the '128kbps is no good' rhetoric with a grain of salt, as it's still very good; even with modern-day rock and pop you'll lose a little bit of fidelity, but there will be just as many imperfections on the recording that has nothing to do with the mp3 format because, well, a lot of people are listening to these things using their stock crappy earbuds and couldn't tell the difference anyway.  That said, you'll live longer and happier with 192kbps or greater encoded tracks next time you rip your CD collection.
 
If you don't mind your headphones clinging to your ears, give Koss KSC-75s a shot as well.  15 bucks on Amazon, won't mess up your hair, great general take-anywhere phones that sound awesome for their asking price.  It's not super-high-fidelity either, and will mask a lot of the imperfections on worse-sounding recordings -- perfect for listening to your 128k tracks while you save up for something better (i.e. the stuff everyone else is suggesting) and improve your audio collection.

 

[Noobiiee]

if you're not audiophile and listening to 128kps mp3s, might just stick with apple earbuds. They're very forgiving and come free with your ipod + the stylish K701 white look

. However if you change your mind and decide to upgrade your music collection, go for the V6 if you're short of cash, otherwise Shure SRH440/840, AT-M50, equation rp21, roland rh50. The HD515 is supposedly made for gaming too and is fairly cheap.

 

[ConGrUenCy]

Maybe you should try the PortaPros, their about 30$ iirc.