[hailtheking]

Hi all,

I do not know much about headphones and I have been listening to a 5$ headphones till now and I want to upgrade to a decent pair of headphones

My budget is around 100$, and I can stretch to at max 115$ if the phones are too good.

I use them mostly at home to watch movies and at office to listen to music with my dell laptop with the onboard sound card and no amp. I would like sth with decent build quality as I would carry it around with me in my laptop bag.

I want the sound to be clear,neat with no harshness at low,mid or highs at all.Decent and neat bass is enough.Actually I have very minimum knowledge about sound related things like highs, soundstage etc.They do not need to sound big but clarity is important.

My present shortlist: audio technica ath m50
Grado sr80i
alessandro ms 1
Audio Technica ath ad700
Sennheiser hd 448,555

Right now I am inclining towards ath m50 because of reviews I read on many sites.

Actually I stay in India, and one of my friends is coming from US to India in early December and will get these for me.

Any suggestions hugely are welcome.

 

[1Time]

Welcome to Head-Fi. 
 
Do you need headphones that are good at not leaking out sound that may bother others near by, or is that not a concern? 

 

[hailtheking]

I have no idea about leaking, but I prefer not to disturb others in office who sit at around 4 feet away from me. Office is mostly silent.

 

[hailtheking]

wow, thanks alot for the reply.I didn't expect one so fat

 

[1Time]

FWIR... considering your preference for the type of sound that you gave, I suggest considering the HD428. I suspect you'd find bass of the M50 to be too much and loose.
 
You will want closed headphones such as these - not open headphones like the SR80, MS1, HD555, and AD700. 

 

[hailtheking]

considering the price of 428 and as I can pay almost double that, can u suggest something better? As I have said, I have minimum knowledge about sound of headphones, I want one that is good for movies and music across many genres.

 

[1Time]

FWIR...
 
You might prefer the HD448. Another if you can find it in your price range might be the SRH750DJ. 
 
Quote:

considering the price of 428 and as I can pay almost double that, can u suggest something better? 

 

[hailtheking]

Thanks alot for the response. Based on your suggestions and some reading I have done , I have changed my shortlist to

Audio Technica ath m50(not able to get this off of my list, a little more bass is fine with me)

M-Audio Q40

Shure srh840(though out of my price range, I am willing to spend a little more than my limit if my friend can find a good deal somewhere for around 125$)

and on your suggestion sennheiser hd 448.

If I can get a deal on the Shure srh 840 , I am going to get those.
Otherwise what do you suggest out of the other three, right now I am leaning towards Q40.

 

[Clicker7]

 
 
If you don't get the Shure 840's for the price you want, then consider the Shure SRH440's (around $100)-- they are excellent for the money!

 

[hailtheking]

I will consider them, what about the q40. I don't want to use any amp, just with my laptop.

 

[1Time]

 
I recently had the Q40 - didn't like it. Has an up front sound similar to the SE-M390 - which I recently owned. I haven't much considered the SRH440 - maybe it could work for you. But FWIR the HD448 seems to be the sound you described earlier. Headroom rates it highly - but it's not popular on HeadFi. There are ways to attenuate the bass of the M50 - which doesn't mean the bass would tighten up. But you "may" enjoy it nonetheless. I sooner would go for the SRH750DJ and equalize the bass to taste. 
Quote:

I will consider them, what about the q40. I don't want to use any amp, just with my laptop.

 

[hailtheking]

Hey 1Time, thanks alot for your patience with me. I guess my choice finally will come down to at what price I am getting the phones.