Headphone reccomendation
Apr 1, 2013 at 10:05 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 14

Itskewl42

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Im going into high school and i want some new headphones. The main concerns are price sound and look. The sound has to have decent base and clear high lows and mids. I listen to rap but bass isnt that important to me. The price should be $100-150 and they should be portable and look decent. I dont care a whole lot about looks i just dont want really ugly ones. So i want headphones with the best balance of sound price and looks, in that order. 
 
Apr 1, 2013 at 10:59 PM Post #2 of 14
Koss Portapro, and Apple Earpods.

Both around $30 and very good sound overall.
 
I've tried more expensive models with spectacular raving reviews (Koss DJ100 and Klipsch s4i) and didn't like either.
 
Price =/= performance.
 
 
Apr 1, 2013 at 11:04 PM Post #3 of 14
Take a look at the Audio Technica M50's, Beyerdynamic DT770's, Ultrasone HFI 580's, AIAIAI TMA-1's, Shure SRH440's, and V-Modas. Read through some reviews of them and see if one jumps out at you.
 
Apr 1, 2013 at 11:07 PM Post #5 of 14
Ultrasone PRO 550?
 
Apr 1, 2013 at 11:11 PM Post #6 of 14
Quote:
Take a look at the Audio Technica M50's, Beyerdynamic DT770's, Ultrasone HFI 580's, AIAIAI TMA-1's, Shure SRH440's, and V-Modas. Read through some reviews of them and see if one jumps out at you.

 
The problem for the OP is that just about every one of those headphones gets rave reviews.
 
As did the Koss DJ100's I just bought. The 100's aren't bad, but they're not great either. I consider them to be inferior to the less expensive portapro's, ksc75's and earpods.
 
The 100's produce weird artifacts, such as nasally voices, and a weird echo/slow decay, which are difficult to ignore. The fit is far from spectacular, with the enormous headband sitting on my head and always making it's presence known.
 
There are some sites which claim that the 100's are very nearly the reviewer's favorite headphones of all time.
 
Even cheap, garbage headphones routinely get 4 star reviews on amazon.
 
With headphone reviews, you enter a strange twilight zone where every kid is a straight A genius, and every fat, wheezing kid on the playground is a star athlete.
 
It's a strange psychological phenomenon, which I think says far more about the placebo effect, the prestige of certain brands, and people's love of music, regardless of the quality of the headphones themselves.
 
Apr 2, 2013 at 12:02 AM Post #7 of 14
That's true, you get a better idea of a headphone's character when people compare them to different headphones they have. Luckily there are a fair number of comparisons on these forums to comb through.
 
Apr 2, 2013 at 12:17 AM Post #8 of 14
The sound has to have decent base and clear high lows and mids. I listen to rap but bass isnt that important to me.


I'd recommend the higher model Ultrasone HFI-780 over the HFI-580. More balanced than the 580s, yet still have that Ultrasone bass capability if you want to boost it a little bit. Slightly more refined sound, and they happen to be cheaper than the 580s right now.
 
Apr 4, 2013 at 8:34 PM Post #10 of 14
should have been more specific, i want over ears for sure and im not on a strict budget, also clarity is a HUGE factor because i listen to classical as well. one more thing, i know this is blasphemous, but i was listening to the hesh 2's at the store, and they sound pretty great. if i could get them for a good price would that be good despite the fact that they're skullcandy's?
 
Apr 4, 2013 at 9:58 PM Post #11 of 14
i just saw some reviews on the superlux hd 668b and the hd 681 and they are pretty enticing. are they any good
 
Apr 4, 2013 at 10:13 PM Post #12 of 14
Quote:
should have been more specific, i want over ears for sure and im not on a strict budget, also clarity is a HUGE factor because i listen to classical as well. one more thing, i know this is blasphemous, but i was listening to the hesh 2's at the store, and they sound pretty great. if i could get them for a good price would that be good despite the fact that they're skullcandy's?

The Hesh 2 aren't that bad. They were made by the new director at SC, who actually cares a bit about SQ. The Hesh 2.0, Aviators, and the MMM are all good.
 
Apr 4, 2013 at 10:35 PM Post #13 of 14
I think the Pro550 is a safe choice. 
 
Apr 5, 2013 at 8:14 PM Post #14 of 14
another thing i might do is go with some cheaper panasonics or superluxes and buy some speakers and an amp for the headphones. the lepai amp looks pretty god but i dont know if it will work
 

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