Looking for a new pair of headphones for around 200 dollars (Powered by an amp)

[Lunova]

Hello everyone, I am here looking for a new pair of headphones that I am going to be using primarily for gaming, recording, and music. 

What I need for my headphones are a closed pair as I have a very loud computer, and am rebuilding the house I am living in so there is a lot of noise, and I live next to a elementary school with tons of kids and cars going about all the time. They don't need noise cancellation, just decent noise isolation. Along with that they need to be comfortable enough to wear for long periods of time with glasses on. Those are about my only requirements.

Previous headphones I got were the sound magic HP-150 I believe and they were honestly not great headphones that broke in about 3 months even though I took extra care of them. The only ideas I had were the sony mdr7506, the ath m50x, beyerdynamic dt 770 (I think the higher impedance models are cheaper), and maybe senheiser hd 598 closed. I'm not an audio expert, but I think the pair of headphones I am looking for need to at least have some decent bass, but other than that I don't like everything flat, or neutral (unless it can be changed with my amp/equalizer, then I will be fine). I mostly listen to rock, metal, instrumental, classical, and a decent variety of music. 
 
Things like portability aren't an issue as I will just use them in one room all the time, and I could care less about the fashion side of headphones as well. The That ath m50x aren't the ones I am probably going to get as they don't seem too comfortable after periods of time, but seem to have a close enough sound stage and noise isolation to what I need, but I think I can do better. The sony mdr 7506 seem like a steal at their price range right now, and dont' seem to have many flaws, but my budget can go a bit higher if I can get something that also takes advantage of my amplifier. Lastly the DT 770's are always praised wherever I do research, and have different models for different impedance.
 
I'm not decided on any of these headphones; they are just the ones I that came up the most when I did research. If you have any other headphone ideas, or would like to add any input in feel free to. Also I would like to mention that if you have anything that is maybe 100-250 dollars above my price range that would work out the most you can recommend those too.
 
Thanks for any help/input and have a great day

P.S. I am new to a lot of this stuff, and wasn't sure how impedance worked with my amplifier. I have a Harman/Kardon HK3300 and I am not sure what they could run, or what their limit is. I wasn't sure how to check that at all. I know the DT770's have models up to 300, or so ohms and I just wanted to make sure that my amp would actually be able to run something like this, or what it could run.

 

[Monsterzero]

A couple things....

Im not a fan of using AV receivers to drive headphones.I have tried and found the results to be....meh.

Secondly when you say "rock and metal" thats a pretty subjective and broad term...lots of rock and metal are guitar/vocal oriented where you will want nice mids...metal sub-genres(black/death...etc...)mids arent as important...neu metal(like Disturbed,Korn,FFDP,etc...)uses a lot of down tuning where punchy mid bass is good,and that typically leaves the mids to be recessed to a degree.

Thirdly I would only recommend DT770s if you like neu metal and dont mind very bright highs.

Other than that I cant give any other suggestions as im not a fan of closed back headphones,but I encourage you to define "rock and metal" a little better as it will help others help you.

 

[Lunova]

I guess I did mean rock and metal in a general way. I really listen to all types of music from heavy metal, to classic rock, synthetic metal. EVen the more instrumental metal like nightwish, and similar bands. I'm an all around person. So probably just emphasize on the video game part more.
 
and if I had a choice it would be open headphones, but it's not possible where I live in my situation.

 

[Monsterzero]

Try reading and asking here:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/715478/headphones-for-metal-music-ultimate-solution

 

[atarione]

That HK3300 is an older stereo receiver right??   I think it will do pretty well with something like the beyerdynamic DT770 Pro250Ohms   I have used mostly for the last 3~years a 80s vintage Kenwood KR-V106R receiver to power my DT880 Premium 250Ohms.. I quite like it.. actually like it better than my FiiO E09K /E07K.
 
I think the DT770's are a really good option they are very comfortable, I have the Pro80's I quite like them ...I listen to quite a lot of classic rock/metal with them.
 
looking I see the Pro 80's are $134 on amazon right now vs $199 for the 250 Ohms...  I think I'd get the 80s for that price difference..   I got the 80s because I liked them better YMMV and because i can use them with my smart phone... they are OK w/ my Galaxy S6 ..better w/ an amp but alright even without.
 
I do not think you're going to need to buy an amp ..or at least try the receiver before spending money on one.. I think it is going to be good.  I quite like vintage stereo's as headphone amps.
 
 
edit... oh yeah I also own the M50X's the DT770's are MUCH (allcaps) more comfortable and better sounding... the only thing that makes me keep the M50X's is they are much more portable.. 

 

[Monsterzero]

I love vintage receivers for headphones but that HK is 1991,long after companies stopped making good stuff

 

[atarione]

  I love vintage receivers for headphones but that HK is 1991,long after companies stopped making good stuff

 
I'm going to respectfully disagree with you... quality good sounding stereo gear was being built in the 80s and 90s well and 00s and 10s now even.   Certainly there is a fair bit of junk from these decades..but there was toons of garbage in the 70s and 60s also.. most of that stuff is gone now ..so mostly you find the better stuff from those decades.
 
here is my 1989 Sony ES Stack (TA-N77ES, TA-E77ESD, 700ES, 730ES) (i paid $75 for it...true story... I was pretty happy about that) also pictured my glorious ALL PUSH BUTTON Kenwood (also circa 89')...    by many accounts that Sony ES amp is one of the best amps to come from Japan pretty much ever... I looove mine.
 

 

[Monsterzero]

   
I'm going to respectfully disagree with you... quality good sounding stereo gear was being built in the 80s and 90s well and 00s and 10s now even.   Certainly there is a fair bit of junk from these decades..but there was toons of garbage in the 70s and 60s also.. most of that stuff is gone now ..so mostly you find the better stuff from those decades.
 
here is my 1989 Sony ES Stack (TA-N77ES, TA-E77ESD, 700ES, 730ES) (i paid $75 for it...true story... I was pretty happy about that) also pictured my glorious ALL PUSH BUTTON Kenwood (also circa 89')...    by many accounts that Sony ES amp is one of the best amps to come from Japan pretty much ever... I looove mine.
 

Nice set up!

Yes it is true you can find quality gear from all eras but as you said the garbage from the 70s is mostly in a junk yard by now,so mostly what you find for sale on fleabay from the 70s will work great with most headphones.

My understanding is that the vintage gear powered headphones with the main power amp that also handled the speakers,with simply a resistor in between to keep it from blowing headphones.Some companies might still do that today,but I have read that they many/most dont.

For reference my Sansui 881 drives everything I toss at it..HE-500,LCD-2,600 ohm low sensitivity headphones like AKG K240s and K340s...all sound great.

You plug those headphones into my 2014 NAD and they sound...umm...not good.

You plug them into my Rogue Audio Cronos Magnum and its even worse...and that wasnt a cheap amp! I spoke to the designer on the phone awhile back and that particular amp has a separate "amp"for headphones....it can only drive my Alessandros,X1s and my sons Grados,everything else its gutless.

So my point was more of a general statement,rather than a blanket one....perhaps there are hidden gems from 80/90s/present that rock not so easy to drive headphones,im just going on personal experience and pretty fair amount of time on that other forum dedicated to vintage gear.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  I guess I did mean rock and metal in a general way. I really listen to all types of music from heavy metal, to classic rock, synthetic metal. EVen the more instrumental metal like nightwish, and similar bands. I'm an all around person. So probably just emphasize on the video game part more.
 
and if I had a choice it would be open headphones, but it's not possible where I live in my situation.

 
Because of impedance issues (headphone jack) with receiver/stereo amplifiers, getting headphones in the 250-Ohms to 300-Ohms would make the most sense.
So I vote you get the DT770 Pro 250-Ohm.
Assuming you running a audio cable from the computer to the HK?
 
Otherwise get a Creative Labs Sound Blaster Z card for the PC.

 

[Lunova]

Thanks for the reply, and yeah I definitely will cross the m50x's off the list because portability isn't an issue for me. I got the amp because the house we flipping (and also moving in) had a brand new HK 3300 just sitting in there and they said I could have it. I never used an amp before, but it makes these crappy turtle beaches I was using in the mean time sound pretty awesome.

 

[Lunova]

Yeah, it has a headphone jack which I plug in with the converter and I can actually use the cord that came with my crappy turtle beaches that allow you to split the audio into your video on your tv for the amp. I've never used amps before, but this one seems to work well and fine for me. It was just fortunate for me I was able to get one as I can't really afford one and a pair of headphones.

 

[gabrihamlincoln]

Hangout on the deals thread for a bit, you'll find something great for $200 sooner or later.

 

[Lunova]

It seems like I can get a used pair of dt 770's for around 80 dollars which seems good enough for me.

 

[PurpleAngel]

  It seems like I can get a used pair of dt 770's for around 80 dollars which seems good enough for me.

 
There is a chance the used DT770s that are selling for $80 might be in need of replacement ear pads, factory replacement ear pads (EDT770 V) are usually around $35.
Generic ear pads sell for around $10-$15, they usually decent, but not as good material (outer covering) as factory replacements.