[dxzdxz1]

Hi everyone, my name is Deivid, I'm 22yrs old and I'm from Brazil. This is my first post here but I already lurk a lot on this forum.

In the last few months I started looking for the 'almost perfect' headphone but with no luck so far. I have no experience with mid/high-end headphones, I only have some IEMs.

My musical tastes are mostly Alt Rock, acoustic-like artists like Jack Johnson, Reggae, Indie/Garage Rock, but I listen to Classic/Hard/Metal/Punk often too (and even more).


So, I'm looking for a headphone sit at ~250$ price range that can fit my musical tastes. I know that is not possible find a headphone which perfectly suits all these music genres, but if I found a headphone that can be enjoyable with all these genres I would be very satisfied.


I don't expect to hear every single detail of my songs, but i'd like to hear as much as possible for a headphone at this price tag.
I appreciate a good quality bass in a good amount, but I'm no basshead. In fact, I hate bloated sound.

Since I have a medium-to-large ear, this headphone should be over ear or a very comfortable on ear

Portable and stylish to wear outside my home.

This headphone also have to be easy to drive since I will be using plugged on my smartphone most of the time.


FTR, all my music are ripped or downloaded in flac or mp3 320/v0 and encoded through qaac to aac Q91 (~200kbps) for my smartphone.



Any suggestions?

 

[cel4145]

Welcome to Head-Fi! Sorry about your wallet

Check out the Innerfidelity Wall of Fame lists. The short descriptions of individual headphones often typically lead to a full review which will address comfort and fit.

 

[dxzdxz1]

Thanks for the reply!
 
After looking at the Innerfidelity Wall of Fame, 2 headphones seems to be te best option to me: NAD VISO HP50 and Focal Spirit Classic. Both are more expensive than I can pay right now, but I can buy it with a little effort.
I live in Brazil, so I can't return a headphone if I don't like the sound or whatever. And since they are very expensive, I have only one chance to find the best for me.

Have you heard them? Or at least one of them?
In your opnion, which one is the best for my music taste?

 

[cel4145]

I haven't heard them. But I trust Tyll's reviews

 

[MacGuyver]

I'm really new to this whole world so there might be more experienced people on here that know better than I do... but, I just got the Phillips Fidelio X1s and I LOVE them, and they were only ~$230 on Amazon when I bought them. They are my first pair of nice headphones (virgin ears ). I'm not sure if they will suit your needs, they are open back; so not really good for around town use. I am having a little bit of an issue driving them on my desktop but the sound good on my phone, tablet, and laptop (laptop works best, phone is S3, Tablet is nexus 7). Anyway, I'm sure others will know better, just my experience... coming from a newbie as well

 

[dxzdxz1]

Fidelio X1 is a good option to use at home, although I like a more balanced sound and they are more like U shaped. But what I really need is a headphone which I can use at home, at the office and at the bus/subway etc. So a closed back is mandatory.

 

[halfinfinity]

If all your files are FLAC, and you like quality bass, look into the KEF M500. They are on ear, but the most comfortable on ear's I've ever tried. Perhaps even better than some over ears.
 
As cel mentioned, innerfidelity wall of fame is a good place to start as well.

 

[dxzdxz1]

KEF M500 seems to be a good choice. They isolate well?

 

[takato14]

  Hi everyone, my name is Deivid, I'm 22yrs old and I'm from Brazil. This is my first post here but I already lurk a lot on this forum.

In the last few months I started looking for the 'almost perfect' headphone but with no luck so far. I have no experience with mid/high-end headphones, I only have some IEMs.

My musical tastes are mostly Alt Rock, acoustic-like artists like Jack Johnson, Reggae, Indie/Garage Rock, but I listen to Classic/Hard/Metal/Punk often too (and even more).


So, I'm looking for a headphone sit at ~250$ price range that can fit my musical tastes. I know that is not possible find a headphone which perfectly suits all these music genres, but if I found a headphone that can be enjoyable with all these genres I would be very satisfied.


I don't expect to hear every single detail of my songs, but i'd like to hear as much as possible for a headphone at this price tag.
I appreciate a good quality bass in a good amount, but I'm no basshead. In fact, I hate bloated sound.

Since I have a medium-to-large ear, this headphone should be over ear or a very comfortable on ear

Portable and stylish to wear outside my home.

This headphone also have to be easy to drive since I will be using plugged on my smartphone most of the time.


FTR, all my music are ripped or downloaded in flac or mp3 320/v0 and encoded through qaac to aac Q91 (~200kbps) for my smartphone.



Any suggestions?

AKG Q701 if you're flexible about the portability part. Almost entirely perfect and the best headphone anywhere NEAR its price.
 
If you can live with an IEM, get an Etymotic ER-4PT. Strikingly similar to the Q701 in almost every way.
 
If not, the only other thing I can think of is a Sony DR-Z7. It would be an almost perfect match for you; it's portable, stylish, incredibly durable, isolates like a beast, and has a very transparent sound signature. If you get lucky enough they can go for <$100. Unfortunately, they are rarer than hen's teeth and your ears will quickly become very resilient if you do find one, as they clamp a LOT and can be troublesome for >=2 hour listening sessions.
 
Other than that, you're outta luck. There is a distinct lack of good portables or even just good closed headphones these days.
 
EDIT:

  KEF M500 seems to be a good choice. They isolate well?

The M500 has fit issues that make it prone to falling off your head. I advise against them as a portable. 
 
They're also extremely dark according to the measurements so you would not want them for rock/metal genres.

 

[Claritas]

I don't recommend the Focals if you have large ears. But the NADs probably won't be that much better (better though). SRH840 is a good choice.

 

[takato14]

I don't recommend the Focals if you have large ears. But the NADs probably won't be that much better (better though). SRH840 is a good choice.

My personal opinion is that Shure's lineup is overpriced garbage and should be avoided in it's entirety.
 
Then again, this hobby is highly subjective and your own opinion is far more important than that of anyone else, so take this as you will.
 
I would look into the Fischer Audio FA-003 and FA-003Ti before the Shures if I were you. Both offer very competent sound at a very reasonable price, especially the Ti version. They may be a bit large for portables in most people's opinion but they're not ugly by any means and they isolate very well while remaining highly comfortable.