[Gekko12482]

Hello Head-fi, just joined and immediatly a question, but well, that's what new members are for
 
I was looking for some new headphones, to be used in the bus on my way to school and for the breaks in school. This is the Netherlands by the way, so it's not  a schoolbus but just a bus as in public transport, so it's not that noisy in there. This is why I am looking for quite cheap closed headphones. I do like my current Corsair HS1A on my pc, but with the non-detachable mic I won't use it in public. I've boosted the 30Hz and 60Hz with 3dB and I put the 1kHz and 2kHz also a bit down (also about 3dB). Don't worry, I don't use an onboard soundcard but an Asus Xonar DG, with all the features that influence the sound turn off, except for the EQ ofcourse. I also listened to the Sennheiser HD555 in combination with the Asus Xonar Essence STX, which just sounded awesome. I really like Sennheisers sound anyway. I think the HD558 is a bit overkill for use on portable devices and not a good choice for use in public as it's an open headphone, also the high impedance and 6,3mm jack are not very handy in combination with a portable device. That's why I was looking at the HD428, HD438 and HD448. The HD438 looks to act totally different from the other two according to the graphs on this site. I know the technic talk behind the graphs (I study Mechanical Engineering, so I know about the math and meaning of the graphs, but as I'm not a hifi-expert I can hardly tell what's the better response). So, here are some plots I made, with the HD800 as benchmark:







The way I look at this, the HD438 performs the best of the three HD4x8's, am I right? And, as I only looked at the Sennheiser sets because I am the most familiar with them, any suggestions for other headphones? These are gonna be used on a Nokia Xpressmusic 5800 the next two months, and on some high-end android smartphone after that, and maybe also on my pc if I really like them. The music I am gonna listen to is mainly rock/metal and sometimes some dubstep/techno stuff. Bands I listen a lot are Dream Theater, Five Finger Death Punch, Enter Shikari, Paramore, Lamb of God, Flyleaf, All That Remains, Deadmau5, that stuff. Hope you can help me out on this one

 

[koolkat]

Graphs only tell half the story. I went for the HD438 simply because they were bassier, had velour pads and detachable cables. 
But the HD438's bass pales in comparison with other "certified basshead" headphones. Build quality* isn't great, doesn't fold,
so it's not really suitable for portable use. The headphones' lack of clamp force along with the velour pads make them great 
for extended listening. 
 
For $90 you would expect a little better build quality, but sound wise I think they were worth it. 
 
Alternatively, you could look into getting Grado/Alessandro headphones for rock/metal. 

 

[Gekko12482]

The Grado and Alessandro headphones are both open and on-ears. I will give them a try at the stores, but I have bad experience with comfort on on-ear headphones (although that were some cheap-ass that have nothing to do with hifi-stuff). I will test some open headphones at a store I still have to find around here But I just don't like to bother other people using open headphones. I don't need perfect isolation, but a bit of dampening would be nice. I would pick up the HD438 for the reasons you mention except for the bass. "But the HD438's bass pales in comparison with other "certified basshead" headphones." <- so that won't bother me much. It seems to have quite a flat response (according to this thread), the way I like it. Also someone said: "I listen to all sorts of music, but mainly variations of rock, jazz, and electronic music, and I think the HD438 does a great job with all of em. ", which is quite much the music I listen too. Do you (or anyone else reading this) have any other suggestions? I prefer full-sized, closed headphones, and I seem to be a fan of flat to a little V-shaped frequency responses (as I put the 1kHz and 2kHz a tad down).

 

[5370H55V]

I can't comment on the sound quality of the 438's, but if their build quality is similar to the 448's I wouldn't use it for portables. I bought the 448's as portable headphones, but the weakness of the headband and lack of clamp made me afraid of them slipping and falling off outside. You might think otherwise, but the build quality really is the biggest flaw in these phones. Their sound is good though, so theres that. However, the creative aurvana live! are right around your budget and has many good reviews, might want to check that out also.

 

[Gekko12482]

The creative's I had were all way too bassy in my opinion, and btw, I found this interesting thread:
http://rockgrotto.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=review&action=display&thread=6802

• "I finished modding my newly bought Sennheiser HD438.
  If you are interested in what I did just download the pdf below (5.5MB)
  http://www.mediafire.com/?isq8dinp9h7147z
  very interesting closed headphone once modded.
  I know it is not a well known headphone as it is new.
  Also not that interesting without mods (typical Senn signature) but actually is much better than expected and IMO highly underrated."
• "The modded HD438 is tilted towards the brighter side, missing the warmth and brighter a bit more like AKG HP's but without the slight lift they have in the highs."
• "a thing I forgot to add... besides the low clamping force it still remains very solid on your head.
  This might have something to do with it being very lightweight without feeling flimsy, nor did it appear to be built fragile to me. "

Well, I think this means I have to listen to some AKG headphones, do a second opinion on the Creative headphones, and if I can find them also try the Grado's or even better the Alessandro's (they seem to be the upgraded Grado's if I'm right)

 

[koolkat]

 
Quote:

The creative's I had were all way too bassy in my opinion, and btw, I found this interesting thread:
http://rockgrotto.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=review&action=display&thread=6802

1. "I finished modding my newly bought Sennheiser HD438.
   If you are interested in what I did just download the pdf below (5.5MB)
   http://www.mediafire.com/?isq8dinp9h7147z
   very interesting closed headphone once modded.
   
   
   I know it is not a well known headphone as it is new.
   Also not that interesting without mods (typical Senn signature) but actually is much better than expected and IMO highly underrated."
2. "The modded HD438 is tilted towards the brighter side, missing the warmth and brighter a bit more like AKG HP's but without the slight lift they have in the highs."
3. "a thing I forgot to add... besides the low clamping force it still remains very solid on your head.
   This might have something to do with it being very lightweight without feeling flimsy, nor did it appear to be built fragile to me. "

Well, I think this means I have to listen to some AKG headphones, do a second opinion on the Creative headphones, and if I can find them also try the Grado's or even better the Alessandro's (they seem to be the upgraded Grado's if I'm right)

There's actually quite a few things you can do with the HD438. I started a wiki on HD438 modding for newbies btw. http://www.head-fi.org/a/sennheiser-hd4-8-modding-for-newbies
 
The AKG headphones are not bass heavy. I believe what he meant by "The modded HD438 is tilted towards the brighter side, missing the warmth and brighter a bit more like AKG HP's but without the slight lift they have in the highs" is that the modded HD438 with the capacitor and resistor sounds a little more like AKGs, which is to say that the modded HD438s are less dark than stock HD438s. 
 
The bass in the stock HD438 is alrightish by "audiophile" standards. It's not boomy. It doesn't mud up the whole sound. But if you don't mind modifying your stock HD438s, then there are mods that can give you that epic bass you need for dubstep, while retaining the highs. The stock HD438s aren't very polarising. They can handle alt. and indie rock, dub, DnB, electronic fine, but you can mod them to be very polarising to suit your musical tastes. 
 
Lack of clamping force makes the HD438 really comfortable. There's enough clamp force to keep it on your head for when you headbang, but the headphones will slip about a little. lol.
 
But if you're going for a basshead headphone, then try the HFI-580 or if you're looking for a budget bassy phone, then maybe the Panasonic RP HTF-600 will fit you. Grados are an acquired taste. I use the SR60 for alt. and indie rock music, modded HD438 for electronic, dub and more bass heavy songs. Stock HD438s will do Paramore, Arctic Monkeys, Red Hot Chilli Peppers well but for more fast paced rock, then I say go for Grado/Alessandros. Throw in some G cush pads to make Grados circumaural.

 

[Gekko12482]

I went to a store yesterday, and I tested the HD428, HD558, AKG K 272 HD (these last two, just because I had the chance), HD448 (they did not have the HD438 <,<) and AKG K 520. I have to say, I really liked the balance on the AKG K 520. I could test the HD448 and K 520 with my own music on my phone, but all the other headphones were hardwired playing stuped dancy pop songs, so all there was to compare was the amount of bass. I am planning to test more headphones at another store, but so far I really liked the K 520's. ( http://eu.akg.com/akg-product-detail-eu/k520wht.html ) And I am quite curious to the Grado's, but it's really hard to find them around here. What I liked about the AKG's is that they sound more 'complete' and even more then that, they sound more detailed, like they follow the signal way tighter, but this can also be an illusion if they have more treble then the hd448. This the best I can do on describing my experiences so far I don't like most on-ears, but the K 520 was quite comfortable (although, if I buy the Grado S60i or S80i or the MS-1, I probably will the those g cushes).

 

[WakiDabeast]

Quote:

I can't comment on the sound quality of the 438's, but if their build quality is similar to the 448's I wouldn't use it for portables. I bought the 448's as portable headphones, but the weakness of the headband and lack of clamp made me afraid of them slipping and falling off outside. You might think otherwise, but the build quality really is the biggest flaw in these phones. Their sound is good though, so theres that. However, the creative aurvana live! are right around your budget and has many good reviews, might want to check that out also.

Yeah my friend had a pair of hd428's for about a month, not even, and BAM the headband got broken, he used duct tape to keep it in place, but damn the hd428 sounded more like 100 dollars than 50, they aren't as good as M50's, but I thought they came pretty damn near to my ms400's. 

 

[BestnotbuyBeats]

so out of the three which would you buy?

 

[Canuck99]

I think you bumped an old thread, however, I have the HD428s, HD438, and HD448 (I bought two used here and one on special from a store).
 
Despite what the graphs etc say I found that the 428 is the darkest sounding with the most bass, and the 448 is very flat sounding. The 438 falls in the middle. They all have the same bass impact with the drums, so I think they probably all share the same drivers. The bass goes into the lower mids on the 428 a bit, but it doesn't cover up detail.
 
I think they all require an amp despite their low impedance. The 428 sounds best without an amp, then the 438, then the 448. With the small portable PAV2 the 448 sounds best, the other sound the same as without it. With my Qinpu Q2 tube hybrid amp the 438 sounds the best, followed by the 448, and distant last the 428. With my home receiver the 438 and 448 sound the best, but the 428 scales up some as well.
 
Currently I use the 438 with my Qinpu and iPod via LOD, the 448 with my receiver and my CD player, and I actually use my Sony ZX500 more than my 428 with my iPod Nano without an amp.
 
Once I buy an M50 I will sell the ZX500 and the 428. I will keep the 448 as it is a nice neutral headphone, and the 438 as it scales up really well, has the clarity and nice highs and mids of the 448 but with more bass. I love the pads on the 438 also. None of these clamp much and they don't isolate much for a closed headphone. The chrome just pulls off from the 438 so it looks more like the 600.
 
I think the 438s are the best of the three, but the 448 are really good neutral headphones that are a nice alternative to have unamped. With amplification the bass shines on the 448s as well. None of these sounded great with heavy music like metal, they all sound better with pop and rock to my ears. there was something lacking when I listened to bands like Metallica on all of these headphones. Things like Paul Simon and Bruce Springsteen sounded great, Iron Maiden and Pantera did not.
 
I have read the new series of 4x9 headphones are better than the 4x8 series but I have not heard them. My Superlux 681s have more bass than all of these.