Help me find headphones for music & movies.

[mastertop101]

Hi, I am looking for headphones in the 120-180$ range that would be suitable for music and movies. I'd want them to be comfortable and sound isolation is pretty much a must too. Voices should be crisp and the headphones should be suitable for most kinds of music. I am a sound beginner and have no precise "wants" about the characteristics of sound. I have no intention in buying an amp unless it's real cheap or it's totally worth it... I just want headphones that will make me say "wow".

There are a couple of headphones I've been looking at:
AKG K271 MK II
SENNHEISER HD-595
BEYERDYNAMIC DT770 PRO80

Obviously, I will not overlook other propositions

also, what do you think about wireless headphones? Is their quality much worse than wired headphones of the same price?
Thanks a bunch for your advice

[[[UPDATE]]] bought Q40 finally, see impressions below

 

[brn80]

The AKG and Beyer definitely benefit from an amp. The Beyer in stock form will probably only go fine with certain kinds of music. They make great movie headphones though imo. The HD595 is open, so it will probably leak sound. I found the HD595 lacked the bottom end, speaking on a movie-watching perspective.

Ultrasone are having a sale. The Pro 550 comes to $149 with shipping. From what I researched not too long ago, they're good movie headphones and will suit most music. They have a bit of a bass emphasis.

Some other choices for you to consider: Audio-Technica ATH-M50, M-Audio Q40, JVC RX700/RX900. These are closed back and in the sub $150 range. Although not as refined for music as some slighltly higher priced options.

Are you going to be using them primarily for movie-watching or music or 50/50.

 

[brn80]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mastertop101 /img/forum/go_quote.gif also, what do you think about wireless headphones? Is their quality much worse than wired headphones of the same price? Thanks a bunch for your advice

The general consensus, is yes, you sacrifice substantial sound quality for that wireless convenience. Mind you, this is if you want to use the same headphones for music listening as well. There's not many reviews of some of the Pioneer wireless units, which are said to be pretty decent. Also, there are options from AKG and Beyer but those are in the $1k region.

 

[mastertop101]

Thanks for answering.
The Pro 550 are actually 269$ US on the link you've sent (?).
The Q40 look very interesting, but I am a bit concerned about its comfort (I'd say I have a large head)...
I'd most certainly use them mostly for music, but movies sound quality might be as much or more important...

Are you suggesting that the Q40 would almost certainly be better than the AKG 271 MKII with no amp?

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mastertop101 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The Pro 550 are actually 269$ US on the link you've sent (?).

The 40% off coupon is applied when you add them to your cart. At least thats the way it was yesterday.

 

[mastertop101]

I suppose this is an awesome deal... However they do not seem to ship in canada

 

[ljokerl]

Ah... Canada. I didn't realize Ultrasone restricted it's shipping. Perhaps some of the Canadian members could help you out then.

 

[brn80]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mastertop101 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I suppose this is an awesome deal... However they do not seem to ship in canada

Oh, you're in Canada. That narrows things down...a lot unfortunately. Expect to pay 25% more at the minimum vs. US prices. Where in Canada are you located? You'll may have good luck sourcing them locally if you live in M, T or V regions.

Online choices:
RX900: ~$99 from newegg.ca. The RX900 probably doesn't hit bass notes hard, but people (from what I read) prefer them for all round music use.
JVC DX1 is another one that you could check out. It comes to around $120 CAD shipped from Overstock.com (they ship to Canada and take care of taxes)
Creative Aurvana Live from buy.com canada for under $100 shipped. I don't generally recommend anything Creative, but these are supposed OEMs of the Denon 1001 which are supposed to be good closed all-rounders.

The M-Audio Q40 and ATH-M50, there might be some local dealers, but if you want to keep it sub $150, ebay with a seller shipping to Canada+using USPS is your best bet. Avoid UPS shippers like the plague.

As far as the amping issue, my understanding is that while both benefit from an amp, the Q40 has plenty of oomph without needing amping.

 

[mastertop101]

I live very near montreal. I can get the Q40 for 165$ CAD shipped (from Canada). Or the ATH M50 for 138$ CAD (from USA, ebay).
Considering that price is little of an issue (as long as it's in this price range), what would be my best bet ? (I'd rather take something good now than something so so and buy something good later)

 

[brn80]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mastertop101 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I live very near montreal. I can get the Q40 for 165$ CAD shipped (from Canada). Or the ATH M50 for 138$ CAD (from USA, ebay). Considering that price is little of an issue (as long as it's in this price range), what would be my best bet ? (I'd rather take something good now than something so so and buy something good later)

I know we have a few Head-Fiers from QC that might be able to chime in on local availability. Yeah I forgot the Q40 is actually available from a few online vendors like xpresscanada and canadacomputers. The Q40 has a big impressions thread here:http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/m-a...Q40+impression I don't think there was a specific ATH-M50 thread, so you'd have to maybe look at various posts.

I don't think you can go wrong with either of those if you narrowed it down to the two. Both are made by long time audio companies made for studio use. With the Q40, you can replace them with velour Beyerdynamic pads which bring up the comfort level. Don't think I've seen any pad replacements for the M50. I think both come stock with pleather ear pads--if that helps with making a decision. I would also look at the JVC RX900 @ $90-ish from Newegg. It's 'closed' back but it might have a wider soundstage than the first two.
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/jvc...ighlight=RX900

 

[paaj]

The AKG is a pretty nice headphone, does need an amp but there are a few cheapish solutions for that.
The HD595 basically is just like you describe your wants list, except for the isolation. Very good all-rounder though, and very comfortable. You could look for the HD555 for almost the same sound but a bit cheaper.

 

[sihebat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mastertop101 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have no intention in buying an amp unless it's real cheap or it's totally worth it... I just want headphones that will make me say "wow".

Hehehehe.
Its funny that I was at your place before
asking the same question: headphones to make me "wow"
After you have your first "wow" then u want another.
And then you realise that you have an urge to buy and amp
and then better headphones, and so on....

As for the question: I end up buying hd595 (the first headphone that make me "wow")

 

[mastertop101]

Thanks again for all your advices. The hd595/555 seems like a no go for me since sound isolation appear to be poor. I have heard about the ath-a900, which I could get for 220$ CAD (which is okay) directly from japan... I'm wondering though, is this too high end for standard quality mp3s, divx movies and tv shows with no amp? (I'm mostly not going to change my whole media lifestyle to appreciate better headphones you know)... It seems like those could be great, and it seems unlikely I'd want to look back anytime soon... Am I right? Or is it a waste of money to get 220$ headphones with my audio sources?
Actually... I just might change my "media lifestyle" somewhen... so... are those headphones worth it?

I know I might be a pissant tick. Sorry for this.

thanks

[edit] maybe the HFI 780 would be good too... damn... searching for the perfect headphones seems so hard... nobody agree with each other it seems

 

[brn80]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mastertop101 /img/forum/go_quote.gif [edit] maybe the HFI 780 would be good too... damn... searching for the perfect headphones seems so hard... nobody agree with each other it seems

Yeah it's quite hard to find a good answer. Usually for a certain price range you can narrow it down to about 3-5 choices. Narrower than that, if you leave it to opinions from on here to decide, you will be going round in circles. I found that the best thing is just to decide on one and then selling it if you don't like it. Obviously this implies that you would have to buy used. Head-Fiers, compared to other folks that sell used gear, usually take meticulous care of their gear though (in my experience). About 90% of the stuff I've tried I bought on the FS forums.

The A900 is a good can, well I've only tried the A900LTD, but they are said to be very similar, the latter supposed to be a bit better. They are good as far as closed headphones go, and have a nice soundstage for their closed back nature. So for movie watching they will be good. Also, see if the A700 is available to you cheaper--the 700 is actually officially imported by Audio-Technica North America. But not a lot of retailers (that I've seen) carry it north of the border. The A900 vs. A700 debate, from what I read, boils down to the 900 being more 'refined' sounding for music. But if you want it primarily for movie watching, the A700 may just do fine. Also most of the A and AD series benefit minimally from an amp and do perfectly fine unamped--probably one of the headphones mentioned most often for unamped use.

As well, like I mentioned in the previous post, a lot of places have been describing the JVC RX700/900 as a budget A900, so something well worth investigating imo. Not to mention the easily availability for Canadians.

 

[mastertop101]

just to say, I ended up buying M-AUDIO Q40 since I had read good reviews and it seemed to be good value.. (I felt I would have paid the RX900 twice the price Americans would pay)
Up to now I am very satisfied although I find them quite heavy (albeit comfortable)... Some songs sound absolutely incredible with it... and it's supposed to become better after time, so it's all good.
thanks for all your answers, I looked up for all the propositions