[Edward Reynolds]

Note: English isnt my first language so sorry if i get some confusing wording going on! Im happy to clarify if needs be.
 
Currently have a pair of Audio Technica ATH-A500s, but they are starting to die (cable busted, pads coming off, lots of sound bleeding in and out). I would like some new closed cans to replace them, but the problem is im completely ignorant of whats up or down when it comes to headphones. Sound quality is pretty good, head and shoulders above what i had before, although I was a bit let down by the lack of which can drown out other sounds sometimes. Comfortwise they are really nice, although id prefer a normal headrest bit than their weird wing things which are just a giant space waster. I have never even got sore ears or head weraing these things, I can wear em all day wiht no problem.
 
I use them for music with my mp3player mainly walking around or studying or on the bus etc so isolating incoming noise is pretty hihg on my priority list. I listen to heavy metal** pretty much exclusively and i enjoy bass so the other key feature it needs is solid bass that isnt too...'fuzzy' (dont know any technical terms sorry haha) while still having a nice kick to it and not masking the rest of the music (mids and highs i guess?).
 
Portability is not a factor, i dont care they sit around my neck 75% of the time in not at home anyway. Preferably a straight cable, and dont look too ugly. Better than the A500s anyway.
 
Have had a look  around and in this thread:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/561149/i-need-some-advice-guys-an-audiophile-wannabe
 
And got the feeling that the Audio Technica M50s might fit the bill which i can get delivered her to NZ at ~$180-200 US which is about my limit of my budget. Im not loyal to any brand, ill get whatever is the best for my needs.
 
Cheers for your time and help in advance
 
 
 
 
**If it helps some of the bands i thrash ill list below this so you might get an idea of the sounds i play
Periphery
Coal Chamber
Fear Factory
Metallica/Slayer/Megadeth
Devildriver
Killswitch Engage
Rammstein
 

 

[maverickronin]

The Audio Technica A700 should be almost as comfortable but they don't have much isolation, but even the M50s won't have a ton more.
 
Which factor is most important to you?  Comfort, isolation, or sound?

 

[Edward Reynolds]

Sound at the end of the day is the most important thing, I listen to music for the sound.
 
And as for comfort, the ear pieces just have to be big enough to not touch my ears as i wear a hat most of the time anyway so i cant even feel the top of my head.
 
If its too loud out, I can always just crank it up a bit and its only out of politeness to people around me (not many poeple can handle my music haha) that i care about keeping sound from bleeding out.
 
Cool headphone comparison link, but the A500s (AD500) you compared the A700s to were open, not closed. I cant even find A500s on that site.

And correct me if im wrong (always good to learn) but how can open cans have better isolation than closed?
 
Your comparison
http://www.headphone.com/headphones/audio-technica-ath-ad500.php
 
What I have
http://www.audiocubes.com/product_info.php?products_id=319

I also plan on getting whatever i decide on from ebay, seeing as that seems to be the best place to get get a decent price and actually ship here to NZ. Is there anything i should know about getting headphones from there other than to stick to top-rated sellers?

Cheers again!
 

 

[maverickronin]

Whoops.  You're right, I got mixed up.  You said you had the A500 but somehow I read it as the AD500.  The A series is closed, while the AD series is open.  Open 'phones can't have more isolation than closed 'phones.  I was just working off a false premise because I misread you.
 
If you already like the sound of your A500s then you might want to consider staying in the same line.  I haven't heard any of the A series myself but they are supposed to have a good sized soundstage for closed 'phones but that's the M50's (which I used to own) biggest weakness.  On the other hand, the M50 does have nicely extended and slightly emphasized bass.  In this price range there are lots of trade-offs so it will come down to what you want most and what you're willing to give up.
 
I haven't heard a whole lot of 'phones in that price range though so I can't give you any other solid recommendations.  This thread might be a good place to get some more ideas though.
 
Also, HeadRoom ships most models they carry internationally.  Some manufacturers (Grado I know for sure does) have restrictions but you can email them about a model you're interested in and ask for a shipping quote.

 

[Ishcabible]

Ooh, an A500 thread. I used to have one way back when, and I actually miss it. It was colored and really comfy, but the treble was a bit rolled off. You won't get much comfier headphones than that, so be prepared for a downgrade from here unless you get the nicer A700. I can't think of any other headphones other than another AT that sounds like an AT. The M50 is the red-headed stepchild (not necessarily a bad thing, but you lose the colored mids and get more treble) of the AT family. The A900 is the natural upgrade, but you might have to go a bit over budget for that.
 
Failing that, assuming you want a slightly aggressive closed metal headphone that's an upgrade from what you have, if possible, the Beyerdynamic DT150 is freakin awesome. I can't seem to find it for cheap on eBay anymore though, so ymmv.

 

[Edward Reynolds]

Well i kind of wanted something that looks different, as i really really hate the weird wing/wire fram headrest. But as i said sound is the main thing, and since ive been wearing my A500s which look amost identical i can definately live with more of the same.
 
It does make sense to just upgrade to the A700, or A900s seeing as they are all the same line. Most likely now ill go straight for the 900, im not too worried about the price being a bit over $200US just needs to be there abouts.
 
Best price ive found is where i origninally got my A500s from, Audiocubes, $230US + about $15US for postage. Thats cheaper than the best deal on ebay (that i could find), which seems odd. Not that im complaining. Only took 5 days to get from their warehouse in Japan to my door *thumbs up*
 
http://www.audiocubes.com/product_info.php?cPath=23_36&products_id=317
 
 
Can someone who has owned any combination of the A500, 700 or 900 comment on their relative qualities? i.e. the step of improvement between each model. Im going to assume that comfort will be indentical as they are almost exactly the same design.
 

 

[Ishcabible]

The differences are mostly detail and realism, ergo better mids, treble, and deeper, tighter bass. Honestly, I don't quite know what to recommend as an upgrade to the A500 in terms of comfort, closed, and metal. I'd easily pick the DT150 over the A900 though for sound.

 

[Edward Reynolds]

Hearing some pretty bad stories about the DT150 for comfort. I do wear these a lot, almost everysingle day for a couple of hours at least.
 
Could you guys reccomend some other online stores that sell headphones? Headroom doesnt seem to stock the DT150, plus they have insane shipping (+$45US) to NZ.
 

 

[maverickronin]

If they fit your head, the AT wings make them some of the most comfortable headphones there are.  You'll probably have a hard time finding something more comfortable in that price range.

 

[Edward Reynolds]

Ive been running with one wing for over a year now, thats why i started wearing hats. My main thing (and was reportedly the downfall of the DT150) is the ear pads fitting nicely over my ears.

Ive been looking for some mods to try out on thse A500s, but frankly cant find anything but ancient threads with no pictures for the blu-tack mod. Any suggestions/lins to other reversible mods for me to cut my teeth on with thse things? What would be worthwhile to do to these A500s?

 

[Alghazanth]

Quote:

Note: English isnt my first language so sorry if i get some confusing wording going on! Im happy to clarify if needs be.
 
Currently have a pair of Audio Technica ATH-A500s, but they are starting to die (cable busted, pads coming off, lots of sound bleeding in and out). I would like some new closed cans to replace them, but the problem is im completely ignorant of whats up or down when it comes to headphones. Sound quality is pretty good, head and shoulders above what i had before, although I was a bit let down by the lack of which can drown out other sounds sometimes. Comfortwise they are really nice, although id prefer a normal headrest bit than their weird wing things which are just a giant space waster. I have never even got sore ears or head weraing these things, I can wear em all day wiht no problem.
 
I use them for music with my mp3player mainly walking around or studying or on the bus etc so isolating incoming noise is pretty hihg on my priority list. I listen to heavy metal** pretty much exclusively and i enjoy bass so the other key feature it needs is solid bass that isnt too...'fuzzy' (dont know any technical terms sorry haha) while still having a nice kick to it and not masking the rest of the music (mids and highs i guess?).
 
Portability is not a factor, i dont care they sit around my neck 75% of the time in not at home anyway. Preferably a straight cable, and dont look too ugly. Better than the A500s anyway.
 
Have had a look  around and in this thread:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/561149/i-need-some-advice-guys-an-audiophile-wannabe
 
And got the feeling that the Audio Technica M50s might fit the bill which i can get delivered her to NZ at ~$180-200 US which is about my limit of my budget. Im not loyal to any brand, ill get whatever is the best for my needs.
 
Cheers for your time and help in advance
 
 
 
 
**If it helps some of the bands i thrash ill list below this so you might get an idea of the sounds i play
Periphery
Coal Chamber
Fear Factory
Metallica/Slayer/Megadeth
Devildriver
Killswitch Engage
Rammstein
 

Awesome, I love (instrumental) Periphery!
 
M50 could be decent for Metal, but if I were you I'd go for the D2000 around that range. It's what I started out with in full sized cans for Metal and it was definitely the right choice.
 

 

[Ishcabible]

Quote:

Ive been running with one wing for over a year now, thats why i started wearing hats. My main thing (and was reportedly the downfall of the DT150) is the ear pads fitting nicely over my ears.

Ive been looking for some mods to try out on thse A500s, but frankly cant find anything but ancient threads with no pictures for the blu-tack mod. Any suggestions/lins to other reversible mods for me to cut my teeth on with thse things? What would be worthwhile to do to these A500s?

Oh shoot I forgot to make a modding guide. It made them a whole lot better, but put simply, just line the insides with tack. Then put some polyfill in it. To solve the wing problem, just use some foam.
 
The D2000 works too, but I wasn't the biggest fan of it (too bassy for me, but I'm a freak)
 

 

[Edward Reynolds]

haha yeah man, I pretty much exclusively listen to them instrumental. Double album coming out next year so excited. You know you can get a massive dump of periphery demos (like 4 hours of material) from one of Bulb's (Misha Mansoor) websites right? Go find it right now if you dont. Ill post a link if i can find it for you. I dont dislike the vocals, but at the moment im just right into instrumental.
Stuff like Animals as Leaders, Cloudkicker, John 5, Apocalyptica, Jeff Loomis, Keith Merrow, or Vildhjarta. Feel free to reccomend some similar stuff, im always on the look out for sweet new music. Anything djenty with vocals is cool also, Tesseract or Monuments, or some prog/tech stuff like Sky Eats Airplane or Last Chance to Reason. Djent/prog metal is the juice.
 
The D2000s are a bit out of my range unfortunately. I am still a student after all!
 
Quote:

Oh shoot I forgot to make a modding guide. It made them a whole lot better, but put simply, just line the insides with tack. Then put some polyfill in it.
 

So line the inside of the plastic casing with about 1mm of blu-tack right? What is poly fill? Google is (for once) failing me. Im assuming this is like a bit of foam or some cotton ball type fluffy stuff right?

Ive been looking aroudn this site in particular for about an hour now and really cant find any good guides to do anything. Am i blind? haha

I really enjoy bass, nothing quite like being at a concert or in a car with a decent sound system or back home at mums wiht her huge ass home theatre system and (conciously) feeling the bass on your skin. Im pretty sure thats half the reason i like metal.

 

[Alghazanth]

Quote:

haha yeah man, I pretty much exclusively listen to them instrumental. Double album coming out next year so excited. You know you can get a massive dump of periphery demos (like 4 hours of material) from one of Bulb's (Misha Mansoor) websites right? Go find it right now if you dont. Ill post a link if i can find it for you. I dont dislike the vocals, but at the moment im just right into instrumental.
Stuff like Animals as Leaders, Cloudkicker, John 5, Apocalyptica, Jeff Loomis, Keith Merrow, or Vildhjarta. Feel free to reccomend some similar stuff, im always on the look out for sweet new music. Anything djenty with vocals is cool also, Tesseract or Monuments, or some prog/tech stuff like Sky Eats Airplane or Last Chance to Reason. Djent/prog metal is the juice.
 
The D2000s are a bit out of my range unfortunately. I am still a student after all!
 

I honestly could never get into anything but the original album itself. I heard a lot of the stuff and I just keep coming back to the album. I've been playing it CONSTANTLY since it first came out, discovered it by total chance too. Hooked me on Djent forever. I don't like the vocals at all, though my friend loves them for some reason. Just too whiny and he fails at anything aggressive. But the instrumental play is unbelievable.
 
I love Vildhjarta, Cloudkicker, Animals As Leaders, Fellsilent, Textures, etc too. Strangely enough, I could never get into Meshuggah no matter how hard I try.
 
D2000 used are actually within your range, and new are only $20-30 more. I bought them back when they were $349, and it was an enormous decision for me. In the end, it was completely worth it, they provided me with many months of wonderful enjoyment before I went much higher up the chain, and I still keep them around for nostalgia. Also, I listened to the entire deluxe Periphery album on them AT LEAST 50 times over

 

[Edward Reynolds]

Everywhere i look, the D2000s are $350US, which is well beyond my range. And thats ignoring shipping too.
 
http://www.headphone.com/headphones/denon-ah-d2000.php
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000MVEC0Q/ref=sr_1_1_olp?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1310076289&sr=1-1&condition=new
http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_kw=D2000%20denon&_clu=2&_fcid=149&_localstpos=&_sc=1&_sop=15&_stpos=&gbr=1
http://www.jr.com/ahd2000-aroundtheear-headphones/pe/DNN_AHD2000/
 
 
 
And just for laughs, a local link from where I live, $850NZD (which is around $700US)
http://www.mtvsound.co.nz/component/virtuemart/?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=1411&category_id=73&keyword=d2000
 
 
Meshuggah is an aquired taste for sure, but it is what got me hooked on weird timings and the djenty riffing sounds. Well them and Sikth for the crazy timings.