[sfflash]

As you can see I'm new to the forum and have a concerning question. I couldn't find any topics on this comparison that fitted my situation, so anything will help! Here goes:
 
I'm into house and hip hop music as of late and narrowed down my choice of headset to 3 options, listed in the title (feel free to inform me on "better" headphones than what I listed).
 
I really want a headset that is suited more towards bass, but I also would like those mids and highs. That's why I'm stumped with the ATHM50s because they are a more "balanced" headphone due to their studio build. BUT they are said to be great headphones! The ATHM50s are priced at $120 on Amazon.
 
Then, we have the Sony MDR-XB700's, which are priced at $125 on Amazon. From what I read, these give great bass, while giving okay mids and highs. But from what I've read so far and what has really stumped me on this headphone is I get mixed reviews when comparing these to the Beats Pro. NOW LET ME SAY THIS CLEARLY, I have an opportunity on craigslist (legit, lol) to purchase a pair of Beats by Dre Pro, OEM/Monster edition, for.........*drum roll*......$165. NOW, this is a huge mark down from the RSP of I believe $399. This guy has a couple of these, so that's his price.
 
So, with the information I've collected so far, the MDR-XB700's and the Beats Pro give great bass. That's what they're made for. But, which one is better? They are practically at the same price in my situation, but I also need to include that the ATHM50s have gotten high praise from many audiophiles.
 
So, given that COST is not a matter when dealing with this price range of $120-180 and that there is no better headphone in that given price range, THE BURNING QUESTION: Which headphones are best suited for house/hip hip genre music?
 
One last question folks, I'm beginning to learn that MP3 formatted files are GARBAGE compared to the WAV format through iTunes. Is there any program out there that can turn the mp3/mp4 files I have in my library into WAV files of higher quality? I will most likely be playing my tracks on my computer, macbook, PS3 and another decision I'm debating on is either getting an iTouch or Cowon Z2.
 
Phew, I know this is a lot to take in, but ANYTHING will help in my situation.
 
Thank-you for your time!
 
-Sam 

 

[sfflash]

Bump?

 

[AgentCOPP1]

Well, it's in my personal opinion that the 700s are the best out of those options. The M50s, like you said, are more balanced than the other two. Yes, they do have some emphasis on bass, but not as much as the 700s and the Beats. For the Beats, it's almost like Dr. Dre completely forgot that bass is only 1/5th of the equation. The bass is REALLY boomy and just really overpowers all of the other frequencies. 700s have a really punchy bass, but at the same time you can still hear the mids and highs quite well.
 
As for the file format, you cannot simply "upgrade" a file into a higher standard and expect better audio quality, because once a song goes from FLAC (compressed lossless. Allows for a completely pure, unaltered music file) to MP3 (an altered music file which is extremely compressed at the cost of quality), the quality of that file is forever set. During the encoding process, the subtle nuances, the bit rate, the sampling rate etc have been reduced so that the file is smaller. You cannot simply restore those aspects of the file because the computer has already deleted them. If a file is at 250Kbps, it will forever stay at 250Kbps. You cannot simply make the bit rate higher, because where would you get the extra information needed to get back to the original, unaltered file? It's already lost in cyberspace.
 
And plus, MP3 is not simply garbage per se. A lot of people would argue that once you start to get into the bit rate of around 320Kbps, the human ear can't really distinguish the difference between that and a FLAC audio file. It's true, it is pretty easy to tell the difference between 250 and 320 (at least to the slightly trained ear), but once you get higher than that, it takes REALLY high end equipment to really be able to tell the difference.

 

[Doc-holliday]

Also go to best buy and try a pair of UE6000 from your own source.

 

[sfflash]

Thanks Agent for clarifying audio formats for me. Along with that, it sounds like the 700s are the way to go?
 
@Doc The UE6000's look awesome, but they are $200. Along with that they were made specifically for apple products, and I think I might be getting a Cowon Z2. I do not know yet though. Too many decisions.

 

[AgentCOPP1]

Quote:

Thanks Agent for clarifying audio formats for me. Along with that, it sounds like the 700s are the way to go?
 
@Doc The UE6000's look awesome, but they are $200. Along with that they were made specifically for apple products, and I think I might be getting a Cowon Z2. I do not know yet though. Too many decisions.

Yeah, I mean that's what I would pick. If you maybe listened to other genres besides bass-heavy ones, I would suggest the M50s, but since you like those genres, I think the XB700s would suit you well.

 

[Dutchi MerenGue]

without even hearing any of these i would say go with the beats, if you like them then u keep them, if u hate them, there is no way in hell you can not turn around and sell them for MORE than what you paid and put that money towards one of the other ones and still come out ahead moneywise

 

[Docks]

Beyerdynamic DT770 80ohms.