[momor]

hi everyone, evidently I am new here, but I've looked at all the threads and reviews that had the headphones I was interested in, but ultimately I thought I should probably ask about them directly since I seem to have picky criteria. my in-ear earphones broke recently and I always wanted some headphones so I thought it's high time I bought some!
 
I'm currently considering the ATH-SJ3 or ATH-SJ5 - does anyone know which one offers better mids/highs? I'm planning on buying it from accessoryjack.com. I'm a student in Australia so high priced headphones are a no-go and its hard to come across a good range here... so I ended up online.
 
here are my criteria:
- I am not a basshead, in fact as long as the bass has some depth and a little boom and not tinny and flat I'm satisfied.. if the bass is too loud it covers up the vocals and gives me a headache
- I want headphones that have good vocal. for reference, I listen to music like this and this (please don't judge me or the music I listen to!).
- in short, vocal > piano/violin > everything else > bass
- rather durable would be nice
 
I'm still a newbie when it comes to headphones so I hope you can give me some awesome advice thank you! I'm probably going to choose either sj3 or sj5 depending on whichever one has the lesser bass/better treble or whichever is durable.
 
EDIT: just remembered I forgot to add that I wear glasses 24/7 and switching to contacts are a definite no-go..!
 
EDIT 2: to shorten down my criteria so I won't be too picky... as long as I can hear the trebles better than the bass it's fine, I guess.

 

[the search never ends]

After digging around, I'm finding the sj5 to be labeld as "powerful bass" phones, which leads me to believe the sj3 are going to have better mids/highs, that's normally the case. Powerful bass in the name generally means the mids and highs are muffled to varying degrees.  My 2 cents

 

[Drubbing]

You can't afford to be too picky, $50 doesn't buy that much.
 
Those AT's are DJ phones, which usually means high bias bias, so not really what you're after.
 
In Australia, I'd suggest going to headphones.com.au and their forum. Excellent range, good prices and honest advice. Free delivery as well as a exchange for something else if you don't get it right.

 

[momor]

drubbing - thanks for reminding me about headphones.com.au, I will do some research at their forum later too. I've been to their website and their headphones are good albeit too much for my budget.
 
the search never ends - thanks for your opinion, I'm leaning a bit towards the SJ3 now 

 

[poliact]

SJ3 is a very good pair of phones for its pricetag. But beware, it is most probably going to spoil after 1 year, 3 out of 4 of my sj3 spoiled after a year.But at 50, what more could you ask?

 

[toby5678910]

Grado SR-60 for 10$ more

 

[Drubbing]

He's in Australia. Try $120 for SR60 here. And Grado don't let dealers ship o/s.
 
Momor, I'm confused. About the only thing the SJ meets of your criteria, is price. It sounds like completely the wrong product for what you said you want.
 
If you want something with clarity and quality, I'd suggest the clip on KSC75. Glasses friendly, sound terrific for the price and has natural bass. Right around your budget too.
 
You could do a lot worse for your money, and I think with the ATs, you will.

 

[buddhashenglong]

Try the for sale forum here or even ebay, somebody willing to ship to AUS will have something for you. Koss KSC-75 are nice for the price too, I've had 4 or 5 pair.

 

[momor]

I swear I wrote a reply before but it seems to have disappeared...

what made me look at the SJs was the price and also at first the looks (I'm a girl if that clears things up a little) and I read some reviews that said it didn't have that strong a bass and pretty good mid/highs. I also like the way it folds up for a headphone (well, KSC-75 doesn't need folding up).

The KSC-75 are also on my consideration list but I'm kind of hoping for something that doesn't leak that much sound.

 

[jjinh]

     Quote:

I swear I wrote a reply before but it seems to have disappeared...

what made me look at the SJs was the price and also at first the looks (I'm a girl if that clears things up a little) and I read some reviews that said it didn't have that strong a bass and pretty good mid/highs. I also like the way it folds up for a headphone (well, KSC-75 doesn't need folding up).

The KSC-75 are also on my consideration list but I'm kind of hoping for something that doesn't leak that much sound.

Go with the KSC-75s.
 
I have plenty of headphones (see my profile) but I still enjoy my Koss KSC-75s (I just added another pair). You can get the KSC-75 for about 25 aussie dollars delivered... and they dont leak that much.

 

[jjinh]

Ok, just read that you wear glasses - that could be a problem with the Koss ksc-75s using the clips; you might need to get a headband for them (by the way I've got one pair with the clips, one pair with a headband).
 

 

[momor]

jjinh - where can i get them for $25 and where do i get a headband? if its $25 I think I'm sold.
 
EDIT: oh wait I see it $25 delivered on eBay. that sounds absolutely wonderful except the glasses......

 

[clou91]

Not sure if the KSC75s all have durability issues, but my bro's broke after a couple months. I just listened to that Pride of Glory track with some Koss Porta Pros and it sounded fine to me.They can be had on ebay for around $50.

 

[momor]

thanks clou91 - I'm also looking at headphones on ebay right now. Is there a way to tell whether the phones are fake or genuine?

 

[clou91]

I have no idea....I just usually go by the seller's feedback and their product description. I haven't really heard of fake headphones before, but I could be wrong.