[PhoxHound]

Hey all! It's been quite a while since I've been on Head-Fi, but once again I'm looking to buy a pair of headphones. For a long time I've been using my beloved Bowers-Wilkins 686 desktop speakers for my main audio setup, but due to college-related moving I'll be without them for a significant period of time. Since I don't really have a very good pair of headphones, this seems to me to be an ideal time to invest in a pair. Right now I own a pair of Roland RH100 which by all appearances and information I've gathered are identical to the Sony MDR-7506. Basically they're fairly generic monitors. They sound decent, but the biggest issue I have with them is that no matter what I do to try and soften up the fit, the fit is very tight. I like to listen for a long time and it can be quite off-putting to actually get a headache from wearing them for several hours. On this note, listening fatigue is a related problem.
 
So comfort is a significant factor in what I'm looking for. As far as my own tastes in music, I listen to a fairly varied spectrum of music: primarily dance/drum and bass, but quite a bit of classical and jazz, as well as some rock. I'm not a serious audiophile, but I am a serious music listener and the quality of sound is just as important to me as comfort.
 
Budget range is a few hundred dollars; less than 300 would be ideal but 350 seems like a reasonable maximum. As far as amplification goes, I don't currently own an amp but I'm considering building one of the kits from http://www.bottlehead.com not only because they've gotten excellent reviews as amplifiers, but also for the electronics experience (I'm currently a computer science/engineering major so understanding of circuits is definitely important to me). Whether or not I have the amp, these headphones will spend most of their time at a desk, running from my M-Audio soundcard as a source. They may also spend some time unamped with an MP3 player.
 
For things I've already considered, I've looked at the Denon D2000, the Beyerdynamic DT770 or DT880, and the Ultrasone HFI 580 (I haven't looked into other Ultrasone models; how would they fare?).
 
That's about it; I don't really have a way to compare directly since I can't audition any of these headphones anywhere, so I'd like your opinions: which headphones deliver strong bass for electronic music while maintaining good performance in less bass-heavy genres and have a comfy fit for long listening?

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I'd probably start off with the D2000 as they are very comfy, have plenty of bass, and scale well with amplification. I don't think Ultrasones have much in the way of comfort.

 

[nyjets28]

imo, the ultrasone's are plenty comfortable, at least for me. i have the pro750's and there's plenty of bass and isn't too overpowering or muddy. the clamping isn't really too bad on these and they are actually pretty comfortable - not as much as say beyers but i'm able to wear them for about 2 hours before comfort is a problem. 

 

[nyjets28]

if you're upper limit is 350, i'd go for the ultrasone pro900s - admittedly, i've never heard them before but i read they are very good for bassheads.. a friend of mine told me that you can get them for as low as 320 from buyauthorized on ebay. just send them an offer and you might get lucky. 

 

[PhoxHound]

Just a quick question; how deep are the cups on the Ultrasones? I've heard that the Denon has pretty deep earcups.

 

[colmustard]

Quote:

Just a quick question; how deep are the cups on the Ultrasones? I've heard that the Denon has pretty deep earcups.

Extremely shallow, it gives you a very upclose and in your face type of sound.

 

[Canadian411]

beyerdynamic fro the price and it value.

 

[PhoxHound]

I've been reading the Ultrasone 900 thread for a bit, and it seems like they don't hold up nearly as well for genres outside of electronic. While I do listen to tons of DnB and house, I still enjoy rock and classical; would this mean that the D2000 or DT770 would be a better pick?

 

[macrocheesium]

I'd rather have the DT880 than the DT770; why would you pick the 770 instead of the upgrade? And I second the Ultrasone PRO 750, it's a really great can.

 

[WhiteCrow]

D2000 or Ultrasone HFI-580*price is good and great bass* the D2000's are super nice. If you only want bass get the XB700.

 

[Arnotts]

Quote:

I'd rather have the DT880 than the DT770; why would you pick the 770 instead of the upgrade? And I second the Ultrasone PRO 750, it's a really great can.

Whether it's an upgrade or not is totally subjective. The higher model number doesn't mean that one is better than the other, just that they're different.

 

[macrocheesium]

 
Quote:

Whether it's an upgrade or not is totally subjective. The higher model number doesn't mean that one is better than the other, just that they're different.

I know that's true in some cases, but from what I've heard the DT880 is better in every way. I was just curious and asking PhoxHound why he'd rather have the DT770.
 
I have the HFI-580 and I agree it's a really great can at that price! I didn't recommend it because PhoxHound's budget is quite a bit higher, but if I had to pick one can under $180 it would totally be the 580.

 

[colmustard]

the dt770 and dt880 are completely different headphones, I have no idea what your talking about. Quality wise they are equal, but the dt770 has much more of a bass emphasis than the dt880s which are very neutral and shouldn't even be mentioned in a thread that contains basshead in the title.

 

[PhoxHound]

Wow, thanks for the great replies, guys! I've been reading reviews around the internet; just based on what I've read, the Pro 750 seem to have a better track record with comfort than others, so if I was going Ultrasone I'd probably go for the 750. So, between the DT770, the D2000, and the Pro750, it's a tough choice. From the sound of things they all perform exceptionally with bass-heavy music. However, I feel like the DT770 is the best deal, as every review I've found gives it very high marks on both comfort and bass quality; the D2000 seems to be more popular over a wider range of music, but it also costs significantly more. So right now it looks like the 770 is my choice. You all have been super helpful

 

[WhiteCrow]

OH I FORGOT TO MENTION, the D2000's leak sound like a sieve. I'm honestly thinking of selling my HFI-580's and saving up for some D2000's...I need tonot think about it as I will impluse buy and not get a dac.....Hopefully I will have enough money from graduation to afford a tablet and DAC ahaha.