Less than $150 Headphone
Oct 1, 2010 at 10:19 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 21

wingliger

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I need suggestions of a good headphone that's $150 or less. I listen to all kinds of music. Im leaning toward the AD700's but it doesnt go good with everything. Any suggestions? This is my first post but I've been looking around.
 
Oct 1, 2010 at 10:28 PM Post #3 of 21
Thank you. That's the other headphone I was leaning toward, but I heard AD700 was more comfortable, but M50s are better for different types of songs, so I guess Ill go with them. Are there any other suggestions?
 
Oct 1, 2010 at 11:20 PM Post #4 of 21
Personally I feel the AD700 does fine for most music though I can see why some would say otherwise.  The DT440, DT250, or SRH440 are other options to consider.  M50 could be ok I guess but they aren't very balanced sounding nor what  Id consider good allrounders. Too much bass, recessed mids, etc.
 
Oct 1, 2010 at 11:45 PM Post #5 of 21
I like my m-50s a lot. I mostly listen to drum and bass, hip-hop, trance/progressive, and some punk and rock occasionally. I think the one advantage to them is they're very easy to drive (not sure on the AD700s, though I've considered picking up a pair for a open headphone) and sound find without an amp. 
 
I get cd's from a friend every month from his dj company so I've got a rather large and diverse library now. Some days I just hit play+shuffle in the zune software and listen to whatever song it picks. Never ran into anything that sounds bad really, other then country cause I skip every country song lol. 
 
Oct 1, 2010 at 11:50 PM Post #6 of 21
I never heard the m50 but if you listens bass heavy song like rap and hip hop you might be dispointed with ad700. AD700 is good can that lacks that punch people are looking for in raps.
 
Oct 2, 2010 at 4:10 PM Post #10 of 21
I think the first question to ask whenever looking for any sort of audio equipment is, "What sort of sound signature do you prefer?"

OP, do you prefer treble, mids, bass, or an all-around sound?
Do you prefer laid-back or forward sound?
Do you prefer something fun/lively or neutral? Warm or bright?
Open or closed?
 
Oct 2, 2010 at 5:12 PM Post #11 of 21


Quote:
I listen to alot of pop and instrumentals, but occasional rock but mostly korean music such as pop and ballad and slow songs.

For those music genres, I believe a treble/mid focused headphone with very good bass extension and a slightly bright yet natural and unfatiuging sound is recommended.
 
For that I recommend first the
ATH-AD700
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/474286/ath-ad700-review
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/478073/steggy-s-review-of-the-audio-technica-ad700-headphone
 
Or:
Sennheiser HD580
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/370/full-review-of-the-sennheiser-hd580s
 
 
If you want something neutral, detailed/analytical, and that presents all sounds equally and slightly laid-back (treble/mids) I'd go for the Shure SRH840. It's very unfatuiging.
 
I hear the ATH-M50 is similar to the SRH840 but recessed mids and more bass and slightly less soundstage. I recommend those the least if that's the case.
 

 
Oct 2, 2010 at 5:33 PM Post #13 of 21
+1 for the Shure SRH840 if you can expand your budget very slightly. They'll be worth it!
 
Oct 2, 2010 at 6:01 PM Post #15 of 21
A bit of a warning when buying neutral headphones. If you expect to be blown away by amazing "in-your-face" live/fun sound from a neutral headphone such as the SRH840 do not be. Expect to hear uncolored, analytical/highly-detailed "as-it-is" sound.
 
I got the Fischer Audio DBA-02 IEM's that sound slightly bright/fun with some neutral aspects and I've found that to be my favorite sound signature and found my SRH840's quite boring afterwards.
 
The SRH840 is a great value headphone but it may turn out to be one of those "liking it more with time" product to you.
 
I'm actually thinking of getting the ATH-AD700. You can't really say the SRH840 for example is better than all of these cans mentioned in this thread.
They're different sound and you gotta chose the sound YOU like.
 
The ATH-AD700 and SRH840 are both very easily driven so I recommend choosing between those two since you don't have an amp.
 
You might want to end up getting both in the future however. They'd compliment each other very well I'd think.

 

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