Headphones under £100 for Female Vocals

[alastair]

Hi,

I am new to the forums and have had a search around for previous posts but cant find one that answers my question. I am wanting to buy a new set of headphones (max £100 probably about $100) as i need them for uni next year instead of my Mission M71i's. I already have some PX100's which are better than my MX200's but i think if i am going to use them all the time i will need an even better set. My main music is Female Vocals but i also like to be able to hear the instruments in the background especially any Piano. The main artist I am listening to at the moment is Delta Goodrem.

My Shortlist so far is:

Grado SR-80 at £81
Sony MDR-CD1700 at £80
Beyerdynamic DT531 at £80
and Sennheiser HD555 also at £80

Any advice appreciated but it must be avaliable in the UK as i don't have time to import before I go back.

Al

 

[alastair]

Anyone

 

[deadkenny64]

I have no idea how much they are in £ but I have to jump in with the A500/A900 pitch. It's important to know what you'll be using them with as well as open/closed, portable/not. The A500s are closed, definitely non-portable and sound great unamped. They also do female vocals and piano very well as a lot of what I listen to falls along those lines.

 

[alastair]

Yes, i forgot that bit! Done a lot of testing today with Delta Goodrem's Lost Without You and what i want is a very laid back sound with a good balance of bass, midrange and treble. I really like the sound of my PX-100's they have a really rich bass and the instruments in Lost Without You sound great, but i also like the very laid back treble so i think any harsh trebles are definitely out. The source is a Marantz CD5400 and I compared the headphone port on this to my Marantz SR4300 and it was better so I will be using a Cambridge Audio C500/P500 combo as the headphone output as that is my university amplifier while the Marantz peforms surround duties in another room. The headphone would be best as open.

Thanks in advance,

Alastair

 

[Angelfly]

Owning the HD555's and having listened to the SR-80's I'd say that the HD555's are more of a beefy phone, they seem to have alot more emphasis on the low end compared to the SR-80's - not the sort of thing you need for a female voice! For that I'd go for the SR-80's.

 

[pbirkett]

Sony MDR-CD1700, nice warm midrange which sounds superb with female vocals. BTW, they are supposed to be £200, so they are a decent bargain at their £80 price from askdirect.

 

[alastair]

Ok, after looking at my finances again I can now only afford about £30-£40 so any ideas at this price range. Damned bills and greedy landlords!

Al

Is there anyway to change the title of the thread, if I change the title of the first message it doesnt change.

 

[bangraman]

Stick with the PX100.

 

[Duncan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bangraman Stick with the PX100.

I agree, there is nothing in the £30 / £40 arena that is particularily better than the PX100...

Although I agree with Paul up there, if you can double your budget to £70 / £80, then the Sony CD1700 are pretty impressive for the cash, and can be driven by just about anything

Also, with the original budget, the Beyer DT250-80 fits the bill