[Jameslikesme]

Hi guys!

I'm looking to buy a pair of headphones for a mate of mine's birthday. He listens mostly to hip-hop and funk music, and to a lesser extent techno and rock/pop. Their use would primarily be through an mp3 player, as he spends a lot of time skating to/from places, and also buses, trains, walking around uni etc. I'm looking to spend around the $120 -180 mark, but am willing to go higher if it meant they were going to be noticeably better or more durable.

As far as I can tell, open cans would be better, as my friend skateboards a fair bit as a means of transportation, so he needs to be able to hear traffic etc. Power usage may be a factor, I don't really know - as he's the type of guy who wouldn't bother to recharge his mp3 player every night, but this isn't a huge issue, as he can learn to do that if necessary. However, they must be comfortable, as he can wear them for several hours at a time, and it would be an added bonus if they fit around his neck for when he wasn't wearing them.

However, the main caveat is that they must be 'stylish', which cuts out a lot of the potential headphones. Ideally they would look something approaching the style of the Senny HD201's, Senny HD555's, DT440's, or ATH-Pro700's - that sort of look. I 'may' be buying these phones for him without actually showing him first to see if he approves, but the phones he has now have that sort of look. I am aware that the 'stylishness' of headphones is inherently subjective, but I think that most people would agree that those types of phones aren't ugly.

My current front runners are the Sennheiser HD 555's, Beyerdynamic DT440's, or Beyerdynamic DT250's, but in all honesty I have no idea what phones would be best, as this isn't really my area of expertise.
I know I've listed a lot of 'desired specs', but any advice you guys could give would be greatly appreciated, cheers!

 

[souperman]

I would not skateboard with full-sized headphones at all like the HD555's....I might with the Denon AH-D1000's though. They provide minimal isolation which is great, they are light and sound WONDERFUL. They can be had for $99 at JR.com which is an AWESOME price.

 

[Bootleg]

Denon Ah-D1000's

 

[xinoxide]

this ones dependant on style of the wearer i guess. i cant see a house DJ wearing these:

Ultrasone DJ1

heres an alright price on em.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=120149442760

 

[Jameslikesme]

Thanks for the responses guys, very good of you to help me out.
However, as far as I can tell, the Denon AH-D1000's and Ultrasone DJ1's are both closed, and I don't think that they would really be safe enough for on-road skating. I'll consider them, but would prefer open headphones.
They're both really stylish, though, and I'd actually consider buying them for myself if I was in the market.

 

[xinoxide]

its not easy finding an open headphone that doesnt need amplification. moreover finding an open headphone in your pricerange that doesnt look like total ass, or fal apart.

BUT YET! there is grado. the Grado SR60 is about $70 retail, you can find it for as low as like $50. you can even get bigger foam pads, or mod the bowl pads with socks for comfort. but that goes into an assy look, even foam has its own kind of anti attraction.

 

[riceboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bootleg /img/forum/go_quote.gif Denon Ah-D1000's

X3

 

[Bootleg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xinoxide /img/forum/go_quote.gif but that goes into an assy look, even foam has its own kind of anti attraction.

children, cover your eyes

 

[onvn]

Entry-level Grado/Alessandro should be somewhere on the top of your list.. I don't know if the design appeals to you though, as I consider them quite attractive, some may see them as too industrial-looking..

 

[jdimitri]

Audio-technica ES7

 

[d.phens]

Panasonic RP-HTX7.
Just LOOK at them!

 

[d.phens]

These sound good enough to be at least a little high-end.
Got a little midrange drop but that's just what's needed for moden-style music.
He will love the sound and the look as well.
I see no point in buying him a lot bigger cans that sound just better, indeed but the sound difference would be hardly distinguishable without proper setup (amp, source) and which would even sound pretty gross out of a portable player.

Ah, here I see you need OPEN cans

Then - go Grado!

Maybe iGrados as they're just suited for street-style. Won't fall off head even during moshing.

Other possible choices:

Sennheiser PMX-100 (check these out, famous brand and carbon-like finish)
Ultrasone i-Cans (maybe too much sound isolating and too expensive)

 

[Jameslikesme]

Thanks for the responses guys.
I'm particularly interested in the Grado SR60's, and the audio Technica ES7's.
I'll have to talk to my mate though to see what he's interested in, particularly from an aesthetics viewpoint. After all, if I'm going to spend $60+ on a pair of 'phones then I want to know that he'll be happy with them.

Cheers,
Jim

 

[Andrew_WOT]

ATH-ES7 is stylish and sounds very nice, but is *supra-aural*.

 

[Ikrit42]

I'd say Grado SR-60/80 or Allessandro MS-1s.
They're sort of retro-cool, with little antenna-ish things... I like the look, but I know that some don't.

http://www.goodgearguide.com.au/im.p...ssandroMS1.jpg