[hade1223]

Hello everyone, this is my first thread here and I was wondering what headphones you would recommend to me that are under £100. I am looking to use these mainly for listening to music at home and also gaming, so I don't really mind if they aren't portable, and I don't mind if they are open or closed.. I want them to look decent, and I want them to have heavy bass whilst remaining clarified. I don't know much about amps, but if I can get the total to stay under £100 I don't mind getting one if necessary. They need to be long lasting and comfortable too.
I have been looking at Sennheiser mainly because I have, owned a pair of CX-500's and I loved them but they broke, so I now own IE7's and I like how they sound too.
The model I was planning on getting was the HD 555's but they aren't available anywhere that I can see.
Denon look good also.
So if anyone can recommend me something, then please help me out, I don't know what I should buy.

 

[Lazwarth]

I would recommend the HD 558 or 518, as you will not be using them in a noisy environment you don't need any isolation. The HD 558 are good for bass, soundstage comfort, looks and they are better sounding than the 555 for approximately the same price (new). However, if you don't mind spending a bit more than your budget, the HD 598 are nice looking, very good at all genres, very comfortable, have great bass and do all these things better than the 558 by a reasonable margin, 

 

[hade1223]

I am currently thinking the 558's because they are just the right price. Would I need an amp to properly power these? I would probably just plug them straight into my PC or PS3 or whatever.
The 598's look like they would sound amazing, but the looks don't actually do it for me, and they are quite a bit out of my budget.
I have heard that there was little difference between the 555s and 558's, and the price difference is quite a lot.
What about other brands, or are sennheiser just generally my best bet?

 

[Flumphy]

I say --> go for this!
 
http://www.lindy.co.uk/premium-hi-fi-headphones/20378.html
 
Search for the 'Fisher Audio' FA-003' headphone and 'Brainwavz HM5'... they are basically all the same.
 
 
Best regards,

 

[hade1223]

Quote:

I say --> go for this!
 
http://www.lindy.co.uk/premium-hi-fi-headphones/20378.html
 
Search for the 'Fisher Audio' FA-003' headphone and 'Brainwavz HM5'... they are basically all the same.
 
 
Best regards,

I haven't ever heard of any of those brands! Why would you recommend those over anything else? What are they good for?
 

 

[Lazwarth]

An amp would definitely improve the sound of the 558's but it is not necessary, and any amp that would make a noticeable difference would greatly exceed your budget.
Beyerdynamic is another brand worthy of notice, but I do not know them well. I also highly recommend that you go out and listen to the headphones before buying them, compare the price to the improvement it gives. And do not base your judgement of a headphone purely on the opinions of others.

 

[hade1223]

Quote:

An amp would definitely improve the sound of the 558's but it is not necessary, and any amp that would make a noticeable difference would greatly exceed your budget.
Beyerdynamic is another brand worthy of notice, but I do not know them well. I also highly recommend that you go out and listen to the headphones before buying them, compare the price to the improvement it gives. And do not base your judgement of a headphone purely on the opinions of others.

I know little about amps. What sort of ones would bring out the best of a 558?

 

[Cheapy]

Are you gaming on PC or console? If your gaming on PC grabbing a cheap sound card like the Asus Xonar DG for £20 would be a good idea as it has an onboard amp (up to ~150 Ohms its rated for) and does dolby headphone for gaming.
 
Havnt heard the Sennheiser or done any research on them so wont comment. I was looking about the same price range as you in Jan so ill just mention some other options that people haven't said. For a bassy sound the Beyerdynamic DT990 PRO are the cheapest at £130 or the closed DT770 can be worth a look on the Beyerdynamic side of things but the DT990 really need a better amp than what the DG has but that can be a upgrade later down the road just bear it in mind.
 
Another option is the Fischer Audio FA-011 which is meant to be a good fun sounding headphones with some bass emphasis and good for postional sound in games. Have a look at the thread on them and they should be fine with the DG's amp too. Seeing as your UK you can get them from Frogbeats for £96 so would be slightly over budget for them and the Xonar DG at ~£120.
 
Goldring DR150 are cheap over here and are often recomended for gaming but they are more mid centred to me than my DT990's so although about £50 probally arnt what you are looking for.
 
Hope some of this is helpful.

 

[Lazwarth]

I would recommend that you forget about the amps for now unless your are willing to spend 100s above your budget. If you are, a good tube amp would work well, something like the wa3 or wa6 for your budget. 

 

[Shogunner]

I just got 558's and did the 555 foam mod (google it, it's the same thing for 558) and they sound screwing excellent in my opinion. I'm using them with Dolby Headphone via the XONAR_DG and it's been great so far. I didn't even notice how I didn't take them off a single time whilst playing Arma II for 9 (i shouldnt do this anymore lol) hours yesterday. They're just incredibly comfortable, and they're great for music and movies too.

 

[TabooPc]

+1 to the Sennheiser HD-5XX series. IMO the best headphones for the money currently on the market. 
 
Lots of people would say low end grados, like the sr60, but I feel like you still get a ton more from the sennheisers.
 
If you've never spent a ton of time listening to audiophile headphones then an amp something for the future. Headphones is ~70% of the sound quality out of any system. Amp is something you want to get way later, when you get more into having great sound. For now, get the Sennheisers and enjoy them strait out of your 1/8" Jack.

 

[hade1223]

I have just had Sennheiser HD 558's for about 2 weeks now and unfortunately the sound in the right ear has started to vibrate when strong bass was playing... so I am returning them. I was going to get replacements but Amazon didn't give me that option, so I have asked for a refund. Unfortunately, the price has gone up by almost £30 since I ordered them, and now after wearing them I don't know if they are worth the extra money for me.
I liked them overall (the clarity was excellent and I loved being able to hear every individual part of the music) but personally for me I think they lack a little bass. I don't know if it is because they are open, or whatever the case may be, but I would like to find another pair of headphones around the same price that have perhaps a little more bass. I also didn't like the fact that I couldn't use them when out and about, because too much sound got in and I found it hard to even hear my own music unless very loud.
Anyone got any recommendations for me?

 

[hade1223]

I am liking the look of the Beyerdynamic DT990 PRO's, but I have never heard of that brand before. I don't know whether it is just me and my lack of knowledge, but I am getting recommended some brands which I have frankly never heard of.

 

[Thommohawk]

Quote:

I am liking the look of the Beyerdynamic DT990 PRO's, but I have never heard of that brand before. I don't know whether it is just me and my lack of knowledge, but I am getting recommended some brands which I have frankly never heard of.

The Beyerdynamic brand, along with Sennheiser, are used all the time in TV studios and live broadcasts. Beyerdynamic headphones are built like tanks (obviously, after all they're manufactured in Germany) and they're extremely good headphones for the money they cost, especially the DT 990 Pro.

 

[GREQ]

I think a lot of audiophiles won't have ever heard of 'Lindy' at least as a serious audiophile brand, so I would ignore that one, but Beyerdynamic has been producing top quality studio headphones for a long time and are often recommended in various shapes and sizes because of the variety of sounds they offer in their variety of headphones.
 
I'm probably going to get burned for this, but here's a list of good brands to look out for:
Sennheiser, AKG, Grado Labs, Beyerdynamic, Shure, Audio-Technica (although all those I've tried sounded awful to my ears , Ultrasone, Denon, Koss... (might be a good idea to check out brands and reviews here: http://www.head-fi.org/products/category/headphones)
There are a lot more quality brands out there, but these seem to be the most common/popular.
Brands audiophiles generally avoid are Bose, Beats and big electronics companies, although they do sometimes produce gems - in the end your ears are unique and what sounds like a constipated cat to one person may actually be your audio nirvana... although that's rarely the case
 
Also as previously mentioned if you are a PC gamer, upgrading your sound card would also be a good idea - the Asus card mentioned would be a good all-round starter choice.