[flyers130]

Hi folks,

I'm new here. Right now, I have Sony earbuds that I use for headphones. I need to upgrade. I am in college, and live in a four-person suite, so the noise gets loud with everyone talking and/or playing music. I like to study with music, so I'd like a good pair of headphones that can eliminate some noise.

Being in college, however, puts me on a strict budget. I'd like to stay below $60, but I can be swayed. Right now, here's the list that I've come up with:

Grado SR60
Philips HP170
Koss PortaPros
Sennheiser HD 212 Pro
Sennheiser HD 202
Sennheiser PX200
Sennheiser HD 497

Since I'll be wearing these a lot, for long periods of time, I'd like them to be comfortable and to block out noise. Obviously, I want good sound too, but I'm not an audiophile, so I'm betting that whatever I get will be an upgrade from my current headphones.

That list above has been pretty well-researched by me, but I would love to hear other suggestions, as well as opinions on what I have listed above.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts that you can provide.

 

[mclaren20]

i only have heard the PP's and grado sr60's, and i can tell you that they will not block out noise.

while reding the thread, i thought Senn PX200, so thats what i think you should go with.

 

[Guyferd]

all the above choices are excellent for beginner. And I cannot just recommend you sportapros though I very much like them.. the same person can say he prefers an sr-60 or even hd497 to it.
So my ans is: try and listen to all of them, then decide which is the one for you. All the above are equally good, just different sounding(sportapros being the heaviest in bass region, sr60 being the most upfront)
Who am I to recommend the headphone if I don't know which type of sound you prefer

 

[Rizumu]

Extend your budget to about $70 and buy the Sony MDR-V6. Cheap isolation (meaning they block out sound and keep it in) and good sound.

The other closed headphones on your list won't do as good of a job.

The Grado SR60 and Koss Portapro are great but unfortunately have little to none isolation.

 

[flyers130]

Well, even I don't know what kind of sound to look for. I have a Memorex CD player that I carry with me when I go walking and stuff, and then a Sony PSYC stereo. I listen to them with my Sony earbuds, which are OK, but I know there is far better.

And when I'm in my room with the door closed, I can block out some of the noise. I basically need headphones with a full sound (or as close to full as I can get for $60 or less) that will block out some of the outside noises. I know none of the headphones on my list will do a perfect job of this, but I'm looking for what will be best.

 

[flyers130]

Rizumu: where would I find those headphones? Someone else suggested them to me, but I looked on Amazon and saw that they are discontinued (according to Amazon, at least).

 

[blessingx]

Yeah, they are discontinued. A few online sellers still have them. They show up on eBay quite often and the For Sale forum here. Also do a search for 7506's (their often more expensive brothers). If there's a Fry's Electronics near you they've had a decent stock and where I picked up my pair. If you get the V6's, once you can spend an additional $25 get the Beyer pads.

The Grado's are much better phones though, but with zero isolation. The 497's are also better overall in my opinion compared to the V6's (though still not closed- but better than the Grados).

 

[Guyferd]

I think a lot of folks here recommend the koss...
so I suggest that you go for the sportapros.. great sound for the money. If you decide to get a better phone for home,you can still use them for portable phone.

 

[SptsNaz]

Quote:

Originally posted by flyers130 Rizumu: where would I find those headphones? Someone else suggested them to me, but I looked on Amazon and saw that they are discontinued (according to Amazon, at least).

I've looked around ebay and found this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=40137

The currents bid is now $51.00 with about 2 days remaining
Seller has 13 feedback with 100% positive I think.

 

[Rizumu]

Quote:

Originally posted by flyers130 Rizumu: where would I find those headphones? Someone else suggested them to me, but I looked on Amazon and saw that they are discontinued (according to Amazon, at least).

http://store.yahoo.com/millionbuy/snymdrv6.html

Etronics.com also has them although they're out of stock at the moment, I believe.

 

[flyers130]

Thanks for the info, guys.

The Sony's look tempting, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to make that jump yet since I'm on a tight budget.

And when you guys mention that these phones lack isolation, are you referring to an outdoors environment or indoors? I'm not in an insanely noisy dorm. I mean, if I put on my earbuds, I do a pretty good job of blocking stuff out (by just having the music on, basically), and I would assume that these phones would improve on buds.

 

[flyers130]

Also, any thoughts on these:

Panasonic RPHT710 Basic Headphones


???

 

[Rizumu]

Quote:

Originally posted by flyers130 Thanks for the info, guys. The Sony's look tempting, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to make that jump yet since I'm on a tight budget. And when you guys mention that these phones lack isolation, are you referring to an outdoors environment or indoors? I'm not in an insanely noisy dorm. I mean, if I put on my earbuds, I do a pretty good job of blocking stuff out (by just having the music on, basically), and I would assume that these phones would improve on buds.

Grado SR60's lack isolation. What does this mean? It means you can hear everything that goes on around you, and everyone else can hear you music. Like, really hear it. All of it. (that is, if they're next to you) And you hear them. If you don't want to disturb other people with your music, and need to block out other sounds (turning up your open phones to block out sounds is never a good idea), isolation is what you want.

Just buy some Koss Portapro's if you're not in that noisy of a place. Best newbie phones out there.

 

[flyers130]

If I'm listening to PortaPros in a library, would that cause a disturbance?

And if I really wanted isolation at an affordable price, would the Sonys be the way to go?

 

[SptsNaz]

Quote:

Originally posted by flyers130 If I'm listening to PortaPros in a library, would that cause a disturbance? And if I really wanted isolation at an affordable price, would the Sonys be the way to go?

I'm pretty sure the porta pro's will be a distraction if the library is very quite. My grado sr-60's leak like hell (people around me can hear EVERYTHING I'm listening to) I think the Sony will satisfy your concerns.