[CrizzlDK]

Hi,
 
I'm looking to buy my first quality headphones. My budget is around ~200$ and I will be using them at my PC at home. I prefer over-ear headphones and I listen mostly to hip hop, electronic and rock. I tried a pair of ATH-M50X's and I liked the way they sounded but it's the only "quality" headphones I've tried so I don't really have anything to compare them against. I've seen their sound described as "fun", and I would like to get something similar. I'm not looking for a neutral/analytical type of headphone but more like a accurate with some bass type of headphone. I should also mention that I would prefer if I didn't have to buy an amp.
 
Hope you can help me finding something that ticks these boxes, thanks in advance!

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Grado SR225e

 

[Monsterzero]

Philips Fidelio X2

 

[SHAMuuu]

Dt770 80. It's a super fun can.

 

[CrizzlDK]

Thanks a lot for all the suggestions! Regarding the DT770 80 ohms they'll require an amp right?

 

[SHAMuuu]

  Thanks a lot for all the suggestions! Regarding the DT770 80 ohms they'll require an amp right?

I would think so. I'm sure you could use a little portable amp if you really wanted to use it on the go, but to reach its potential a nice desktop amp. It would work off an ipod, just not reach loud volumes, but def listenable. I've had a 250ohm with Fiio McKinley (E3 i think?) with phone and it got good volume. They are like $20. Most prob wont recommend these as a commuter can due to long cable.

 

[brkitup]

Those ATH-M50x headphones might be right on the money for you. I've owned a lot of headphones and IEMs, and I keep coming back to my M50s, which is the older version of the M50x. The one problem I've always had with them is their slight "peaky" nature in the treble, which is something that has apparently been addressed in with the M50x. Hope this helps.

 

[Intensecure]

If you can find them at the price, depends where you are but prices are coming down, Sony MDR1A could be a first and last "good" pair. I had similar criteria, and tried lots of alternatives. The Sony are so very nice, warm rich but not as some would say overly heavy, sounding. Certainly a great easy listening pair, with perfect comfort.

 

[autoteleology]

Sony MDR-7506. They will not be your end game, but they will be excellent for a first good headphone.
 

1. They can be run out of anything
2. They are almost perfectly neutral (so you can decide with prolonged experience what colorations, if any, you seek in future gear)
3. They are both comfortable and indestructible
4. They offer an incredible value for the price ($75)

 
There is a reason they are so incredibly popular, both in consumer and professional use. I cannot imagine a better first headphone to own.
 
With the money you save, you can get a FiiO E17K (an amazingly cost-effective, portable, and versatile amp/DAC) and still come under your budget. The FiiO E17K has a fantastic bass boost feature, so if you find the 7506 aren't quite fun enough for the music you like, you can add essentially as much bass as you like, and take it away for more accurate listening.
 
See also: http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-150-over-ear-headphones/

 

[atarione]

between the DT770 Pro 80s and the M50X ... it would be DT770 all day every day for me..  for home use.
 
They would be better with an amp ...I have used my DT770 with a $15~ (on sale at the time) Asus Xonar DG sound card, which has built in headphone amp and it was quite fine.   Mostly I use my DT770's with a FiiO E07K/E09K combo and also with a few vintage stereo receivers ... basically the DT770's sound great with any of these options.   I did use them with just my samsung galaxy S6 last night... because I was too lazy to find my portable amp..it was ok.. not quite as loud as I might have liked but fine really even with just the phone.
 
The DT770's are miles ahead on comfort vs the M50X's , they are also "fun" headphones but somewhat better SQ with the DT770s in my view.
 
 
you might add the Senn HD598's to you considerings also (or other HD5xx line headphones).

 

[Music Alchemist]

To my ears, the Koss KTXPRO1 beats tons of headphones in the three-figure range, and it only costs ten or fifteen bucks.
 

  Sony MDR-7506. They will not be your end game, but they will be excellent for a first good headphone.
 

1. They can be run out of anything
2. They are almost perfectly neutral (so you can decide with prolonged experience what colorations, if any, you seek in future gear)
3. They are both comfortable and indestructible
4. They offer an incredible value for the price ($75)

 
There is a reason they are so incredibly popular, both in consumer and professional use. I cannot imagine a better first headphone to own.

 
The 7506 is one of the brightest, harshest, and least neutral headphones I have ever heard. (And I am an experienced musician. I know what instruments are supposed to sound like.) The upper frequency peaks are incredibly nasty to the point that it is often painful to listen to. Sounds great with the Sonarworks EQ, though.

 

[autoteleology]

 

The 7506 is one of the brightest, harshest, and least neutral headphones I have ever heard. The upper frequency peaks are incredibly nasty to the point that it is often painful to listen to. 

 

 
credible-opinion.txt

 

[Music Alchemist]

 
Those are not the actual raw measurements; they are compensated measurements showing how they follow an arbitrary curve.
 
Here are some other links with graphs better illustrating how bright it is, though these are still compensated, not raw.
 
http://sonarworks.com/2015/06/studio-headphone-review-sony-mdr-7506/
http://en.goldenears.net/4726
 
And here's a headphone that is actually neutral:
 
http://cdn.head-fi.org/6/6d/6de6f4f3_STAX_SR-207_EP-507_SB2217.png

 

[autoteleology]

Those are not the actual raw measurements; they are compensated measurements

 
Of course they are compensated. Have you ever heard of Fletcher-Munson curves? The human ear's frequency response is not flat, and it changes depending on the volume of listening. ALL frequency response curves are compensated to this curve depending on what volume the measurement was taken at (Headroom's measurements are taken at 80 phon).
 
Notice how I took my measurements from a site that isn't trying to sell you an audio correction curve - Headroom has no conflict of interest, unlike the sites you linked.
 
Also, no STAX Lambda headphone is neutral. I should know, I owned three of them (303, Lambda, Lambda Pro).

 

[Music Alchemist]

  Of course they are compensated. Have you ever heard of Fletcher-Munson curves? The human ear's frequency response is not flat, and it changes depending on the volume of listening (Headroom's measurements are taken at 80 phon).
 
Notice how I took my measurements from a site that isn't trying to sell you an audio correction curve.

 
Regardless, that headphone is about as far away from accurate as I have ever heard. It sounds like someone turned the treble ALL THE WAY UP! Absolutely awful sound quality. (Without EQ, at least.) It especially makes cymbals sound bad. Listen to real instruments, then listen to quality recordings on that headphone. It's nothing alike. If you think that Sony is neutral, then you need to hear the STAX I linked, which follows the diffuse-field curve more closely than nearly any other headphone.