[XERW]

Still stuck on Indonesia (I located and bought that AF62 thank you for asking). There's a local store selling limited variety of decent cans and I need help deciding what should I buy. Budget is around $200 - this will be the first mid-tier can purchase so I want to get it right. Importing is no-go thanks to exorbitant customs fee so brick and mortar purchase are the only way to go.
 
My history is: HD201, HD202, E10S, and Air-fi Matrix 2 (AF62).
 
Available cans at the store:
- ATH-M50x
- Beyerdynamics DT 70 Pro
- Bose AE2i
- V-Moda V80
- Sennheiser 598
- Sennheiser Urbanite
 
I prefer balanced sound if possible. Detachable cord is a must. My HD201 & 202 had issues regarding the cable. Thanks in advance~
 
 
 
 
 

 

[Beyakusenn]

What will you be using the headphones for? That is quite important to know because your selection contains on-ears, over-ears, large over-ears and even open back over-ears.
Can you listen to the headphones at the store? Listening to them yourself is always more informative than any advice we could give you. Everyone has unique ears, so the perceived sound is different for everyone.

 

[XERW]

I'll be using them mainly for listening songs in office/home setting with a bit mixing/synth to create a matching tune for friend's Vocaloid vocals.
 
Sadly no, they're locked behind the display case.Otherwise this would've been easy to solve...

 

[Beyakusenn]

Okay, then the HD598 is definitely the best option from the headphones you mentioned above. The DT770 Pro might also work, but that headphone has somewhat recessed mids, so if you compensated for it in the mix, the same song would have more forward vocals on other more neutral headphones.
 
Do you make music for Vocaloid more often? I'm a big fan of Vocaloid, so I'd love to hear some of your works! Here is a tread you might be interested in: http://www.head-fi.org/t/555595/the-touhou-and-vocaloid-music-thread

 

[XERW]

I managed to find someone with 598 on local recording studio, going there to test it later, does the 598 need amp to drive or will laptop and smartphones can drive them just fine?
 
And no, not really. I'm usually in charge of making the PVs, our pal had RL issues so I substituted when he's not around. Thanks, definitely going to check the thread

 

[Beyakusenn]

The HD598 does not need an amp to drive.
It will sound better with a different DAC (Digital to Analogue Concerter) than what is standard on a phone or a PC because standard DAC chips on PCs and mobile phones are usually of mediocre quality. If your budget does not go beyond the price of the HD598, then it's not really an issue to use it without an external DAC. Just remember that a new DAC would be the next logical upgrade.