[Mrvile]

Hey guys,

As you may know, I'm soon moving out of the "expensive gear" town and moving into "college convenience." I've sold all my stuff and am now looking for something to get me through college. My budget is about $100, and I'll be feeding it with my laptop, so no amp. I want the general sound signature to be quite warm and colored, and thus I want it to be somewhat forgiving with bad sources and poor quality music. Isolation doesn't really matter to me although it is a nice bonus. Style doesn't matter, but no IEM's because I want to be able to put them on and take them off quickly.

Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[dealmaster00]

ATH-A500 or Grado SR-80. I have both...and if I could choose one or the other it would be the A500. The SR-80 sound better with music but with all the activity going on in the dorms, you won't be able to enjoy them as much because they barely provide any isolation. At night, you can't use them either because your roommate will probably be trying to sleep and they leak a lot of noise. You can't take them to the library because they'll make too much noise...and it's hard to enjoy them on a bus because there's too much background noise. While the ATH-A500 are not as portable, they'll still sound pretty decent for music, they really shine for movies and games, you can still hear stuff with the crazy dorm room activities/bus noises going on (actually this depends if you are in a quiet dorm or not...most dorms aren't quet AFAIK, but if you are in a quiet dorm, background noise would no longer be a valid issue.) and you can use them at night when the roomie's asleep because of no noise leakage. They are 90 bucks from audiocubes.

Only bad thing about A500 I can think of is they aren't necessarily "warm and colored..." they can definitely provide bass though with games and movies.

 

[guttorm]

oh man, you sold your hd750s?

 

[Mrvile]

How much better are the A900's than the A500's? I may be able to spend a little more if it's worth it...

 

[Azure]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mrvile /img/forum/go_quote.gif How much better are the A900's than the A500's? I may be able to spend a little more if it's worth it...

I have only heard the A500.

From what I've read, the A500 is like ~85%-90% of the A900 (the difference is supposedly very small).

 

[cotdt]

i hope you realize that you won't be able to use them at the library because people will be able to hear your music and you'll get kicked out for disturbing the peace.

 

[kamal007]

Equation RP21.. Closed. isolate well and they sound real good. If you could grab a pair of Beyer Leather Pads and combine them, they'll do better but the stock pad is already great

 

[zachary80]

Open = NO

If style doesn't matter, how about the hd280? mdr7506?

 

[dealmaster00]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cotdt /img/forum/go_quote.gif i hope you realize that you won't be able to use them at the library because people will be able to hear your music and you'll get kicked out for disturbing the peace.

Meh...not with the A500s. Very little to no noise leak at all.

 

[uraflit]

closed is definately the way to go. a500 is a great choice, but if i were the OP, i would just get the a900 and get it over with.

other notable alternatives would be the sj5, es7, v6, rp21, etc.

 

[uraflit]

oh, and you might as well get a TBAAM just to get a bit better sound =]

 

[Azure]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dealmaster00 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Meh...not with the A500s. Very little to no noise leak at all.

I'd only use the A500s in a library if you listen to music at very low levels. Otherwise, they'd still leak and could possibly bother those around you.

 

[compuryan]

Equation RP21. I just ordered mine yesterday!

 

[Progenitor]

My A900 leaks a little bit of sound. If the person sit one or two seats beside you, they will definitely hear a muffed sound coming out of your headphone. Otherwise, they should be okay for library uses. They do however make a pretty tempting target for theft. Many people have remarked how expensive this headphone must be (since it doesn't have a common look).

 

[Mrvile]

The RP21 looks interesting. Any other details on how it sounds? I can get it new from ebay for about $110 shipped.