[TeamShades]

So far I've been pretty damn indecisive when it comes to buying headphones.  
 
So far the Panasonic HTF 600's seem to be the hot pick for under $50, but I've heard that they leak a lot of sound, which I really don't want.
 
I'll be using them to play single-players games and listening to music such as Drum&Bass.  I think 50mm headphones would be too big, so some 40mm possibilities would be good.  
 
Suggestions?
 
Thank you so much!

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
The HTF600 is fine. They're not huge. The drivers are big, but the cups are not monstrous. They're a good size. Normal size really. The don't leak nearly as bad as the internet has made it out to be. They leak a little more than a really good isolation closed-back headphone, but that's leaking out, they don't leak hardly at all in. So you're in your own world with them. They're fantastic for gaming, they have a good sound stage and imaging, and the bass is terrific for ambient sound in games and action and is out of control good for anything with a good strong 30hz kick to it like bassy music. As far as I'm concerned, in this price range, nothing is going to handle it except and IEM. If you want to move up in cost, the M-Audio Q40 would be the next tier stop.
 
Size of headphone for reference (they're not huge like Fischers/AudioTechnicas):
 

 
Full review in my signature if you want some more gushing.
 
Very best,

 

[TeamShades]

Thank you for your time and effort you put into your reply!  Definitely leaning more towards them!

 

[Kerry56]

And now for a dissenting opinion on the Panasonic HTF600.  These are some of my least favorite headphones I've tried.  After two months of misery trying to listen to them, I traded them off.
 
The Panasonics have dull, overbearing bass that overwhelms the mids.  The mids are so recessed as to be hard to discern.  And the highs produced by this set are one of its weakest areas, as it introduced distortion in many notes that was simply not there when listening to the same songs with other headphones.  And there is no detail apparent in any register.  Muddy and muffled are the best way I can describe them.  And yes, I did burn them in for 70+ hours.
 
The pads were cheap feeling and sweat inducing, so I never found them comfortable to wear.
 
After all that, they were barely adequate for gaming or listening to tv broadcasts, but for music or movies, they simply didn't cut it.
 
If you can find the Creative Aurvana Live on sale at Amazon for $55-60 (which does happen periodically), you'll be much better off for both music and gaming, at least in my opinion. 

 

[TeamShades]

Well, let the indecision begin.  The Creative Aurvana Live! is $73 on Amazon, so about double the HTF600's.  I'm not really prepared to spend that much on my first pair of legit headphones (I'm using the Jbuds J3 atm....), especially since after reading tons of forum posts, I still haven't seen that pair.  Only if they are like....twice as good, which I'm not really seeing.
 
Thanks for the reply though!

 

[TeamShades]

Any other opinions?
 

 

[KG Jag]

The CAL's are clearly the best choice when they are at their "usual" Amazon price--which was true less than a week ago.
 
For entry level phones in the $30 something price range, I'd pick the Superlux HD 681 Dynamic Semi-Open Headphones, which are currently $36.95 at Amazon.

 

[ssrock64]

Seconded. Superlux created some of the best bang-for-your-buck headphones out there.

 

[TeamShades]

I've heard the HD 681's are a little more treble oriented, while the Panasonics are more bass oriented.  Is this true? If thats the case, I'd probably go with the Pannys.
 
Also, the HD 681's are semi-open?  Does this mean they leak more sound than the 600's?

 

[PurpleAngel]

The Pannies and the Superluxs listed are all Semi-open headphones.
Superluxs  20%-25% open,  Pannies 10%-15% open.
If you google them, should be lots of pictures on the web, make up your own mine on how open they are.
Samson SR850C (made by Superlux) seem to be liked by gamers.
Nice thing about the pannies are you can get Velour pads (Beyerdynamic EDT 200) for $20.
 

 

[drtturnip]

Cad mh310 is closed and very good. It's a Superlux hd662. Can be found on sale as low as 39 but 50ish is the norm.

 

[TeamShades]

Yea the Cad mh310's look similar to the Superflux's, just a bit more expensive (all I see are $60+).  
 
It's really just the Panasonic HTF600-S vs. the Superflux HD 681's.  I hear Panny's are more bassy, hopefully it doesn't muddle the sound quality too much.  
 
Perhaps just a few more opinions between the two to finalize? 
 
Thanks everybody for helping

 

[ypark12]

Philip's............

 

[TeamShades]

Whyyyyyy
 

 

[ProjectDenz]

I'm gonna complicate things and throw in the Brainwavz HM3 into the ring.