[Sennec]

Hello there,

I have searched the forums thoroughly over the last few days but I still haven't come to a decision yet. I did narrow my choice down to 3 hps.
Which are, as stated in the title, the M-Audio Q40s, Denon D2000s and BD DT 770 Pro. OR another hp!?
I made a list of things I find the most important, in order of importance

1. Excellent sq: Obviously..
2. Bass: I like full, deep bass.
3. Sound great unamped: I'm not going to buy an amp, atleast not in the near future. So they should sound excellent and loud enough unamped (I'll hook them up to an iPod).
4. Comfort: I should be able to wear them atleast 3 hours without any pain.
5. Durability: It's very important that the hps are well built. The previous (and first) hp I had literally fell apart after a month (they were Logitech NC hps). I'll carry them to school every day and when I don't use them they go in my backpack. Plus, I just like hp that feel sturdy & of high quality.
6. Minimal sound leakage: I take the bus to school everyday and I don't want to disturb people sitting around me.
7. Good isolation: I don't want to hear people talking on the bus either while I'm listening to music.

A few more things:
250$/150€ is the maximum amount I want to spend. I'll probably buy them from eBay, but new though!
Electronic music is my favorite type of music, hence the emphasis on bass. My favorite subgenres are: breakcore (Venetian Snares, Dev-Null, Otto Von Schirach, Doormouse), trip-hop (Amon Tobin, Bonobo, Mr Scruff, DJ Krush, DJ Food), drum & bass (various, I like dark d&b, like noisia, konflict).
I'm willing to do some diy on them if that would greatly improve the sq.

I hope you can give me some great advice so I can finally decide which hp I should buy. And enjoy the music.

 

[AYEBOOBOO]

I might not be the best source of information because I am by no means an expert.

However, I love my DT 770 Pro's 80 ohm version. My major drawback from usage ,sadly, is the fact that I cannot get the volume up high enough to really feel the music as much as I want. I do love'em though.

I, personally, am deciding on DT 880's or the Denon's so when I make a decision and am able to receive them, I'll definitely give you a heads up. Also look into the Audio Technica line of headphones...they are quite nice. audiocubes.com is a great site they carry many of that line.

Enjoy the search for something that you will love.

 

[Sennec]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AYEBOOBOO /img/forum/go_quote.gif I might not be the best source of information because I am by no means an expert. However, I love my DT 770 Pro's 80 ohm version. My major drawback from usage ,sadly, is the fact that I cannot get the volume up high enough to really feel the music as much as I want. I do love'em though. I, personally, am deciding on DT 880's or the Denon's so when I make a decision and am able to receive them, I'll definitely give you a heads up. Also look into the Audio Technica line of headphones...they are quite nice. audiocubes.com is a great site they carry many of that line. Enjoy the search for something that you will love.

Yea, Audio-Technica. How is the ATH-A700, I'm considering those too..

 

[Sennec]

...

 

[AYEBOOBOO]

I don't ahve any personal experience with the ATH-A700's but from reading some of the impressions here I think they are the most favored sub-$200 dollar closed headphones out there. I hear the A900 also improves on this quality and for 219.99 its not terribly more expensive. I am seriously in a crux here, as you probably are.

Haha, fun times.

 

[mookowz13]

I'd avoid the A700's as they are NOT PORTABLE AT ALL.

Seriously...they're huge.

 

[notoriousmatty]

avoid the denons. you said good build quality and these things are terrible. Mine fell apart after 1 month of babying them. Im looking into some Beyers myself right now...amped though.

 

[hauntingtheholy]

Q40's sound quality is awesome with warm, full bass. They also match your point #5 perfectly - they "feel sturdy." They don't isolate well, however.

 

[divideby0]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sennec /img/forum/go_quote.gif I made a list of things I find the most important, in order of importance...

While I can't speak from personal experience with the others, perhaps I can help you with the Q40s

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sennec /img/forum/go_quote.gif 1. Excellent sq: Obviously..

I've been very pleased with the sound quality, detailed highs & mids with articulate bass (not bloated or muddy at all)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sennec /img/forum/go_quote.gif 2. Bass: I like full, deep bass.

see above, the Q40s have nice bass

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sennec /img/forum/go_quote.gif 3. Sound great unamped...I'll hook them up to an iPod.

The Q40s impedance is only 64 Ω, so they're easily driven by both my Clip & iPod (unamped), they're actually lower impedance than my previous full-size cans (Sony MDR-CD60s)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sennec /img/forum/go_quote.gif 4. Comfort: I should be able to wear them atleast 3 hours without any pain.

They clamp fairly hard for the first day or two, then they loosen up, I can comfortably wear mine for 8+hrs now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sennec /img/forum/go_quote.gif 5. Durability: It's very important that the hps are well built.

See the pics in the Q40 thread, they have metal hinges and are *very* well made, I couldn't be happier with the build quality unless they were made from machined titanium

(no I'm not aware of any headphones made in such a fashion, but they would be terribly expensive if such actually exist). Suffice it to say that the Q40s are solid.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sennec /img/forum/go_quote.gif 6. Minimal sound leakage: I take the bus to school everyday and I don't want to disturb people sitting around me.

I've found sound leakage to be minimal at moderate/normal listening levels. Others have reported leakage issues, but I haven't been able to replicate leakage except under very loud volume (loud enough to fear ear-damage)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sennec /img/forum/go_quote.gif 7. Good isolation: I don't want to hear people talking on the bus either while I'm listening to music.

Isolation is decent, but could be better, they keep out moderate sounds, but loud stuff still gets through. The Sennheiser HD280 Pros have better isolation from what I've read.

In short, the Q40s are an excellent set of well-rounded cans and I think you would be well-pleased with your purchase.

The DT770s are also well-regarded, esp for bass-heavy music; though you may be disappointed if your tastes include classical, jazz, or other types where exaggerated bass is a problem. (think of a Sony Discman with the "Bass Boost" feature enabled all the time). That being said, I'd love to get a set of Deep Darth Beyers for a large part of my library (Juno Reactor, Lunatic Calm, Moby, Rammstein, etc) as I think the colored sound would compliment certain types of music well.

 

[fuzzylogic76]

Another vote for the Q40 here. I've had mine for about a month now, and couldn't be happier with them. Great overall SQ, strong punchy, not boomy bass, great build qulity. Best bang for your buck.
Though I'm still looking to have the cheap cable it comes with replaced...

 

[Sennec]

Thank you for the replies. I have one more question though.
How do the Ultrasone HFI-580's score on my list?

 

[Sennec]

..

 

[Tapiozona]

Q40's are the best bang for buck but the Denon's are easily the best headphones out of the bunch. Their only downfall from your checklist is their isolation/sound leakage. Every other aspect they win in. They're honestly in a different league than the other two and should be compared with better cans. There's a 100 dollar difference in price there and as such theres a huge gap in overall quality as well.

 

[Sennec]

What about the ATH-ES7s vs the Q40s?

 

[fuzzylogic76]

The Q40's are large full sized cans where as the ES7 are smaller and more portable.

In terms on SQ, the Q40 is more balanced and better bass extension and control. I found the ES7 to have slightly exaggerated mids.