[Zelcroft]

HI , I'm new here and I know there are a lot of "What is the headphone for me" type of threads around but I just need to know. I use the stock earphones from my Samsung Galaxy Nexus and was thinking of giving cans a shot. 

- My portable player is my phone (Galaxy Nexus as stated above) but 70% of the time I listen to my music at home
- My budget is say..$200 give or take a few hundred if there is a can at that price
- I listen to mostly Kpop (Mostly Bubblegum-ish Pop , a little electronic and some ballads)  , normal english Pop and R&B
 
I didn't make this thread without lurking and searching so I know the ATH-M50s are recommended A LOT but has mixed reviews for certain people , would that be good for me? I was also thinking of the Monster Diamond Tears , I know people here aren't quite fond of Monster products but i think those look very nice and I've also read that they're one of or probably Monster's only "even" headphones. So before you close the page after seeing the word " Monster" I'd hope for some suggestions.

Thanks. Some other cans I've seen recommended after lurking : AudioTechnica A900X , Ultrasone HFI-580 . Are these suitable for my needs?

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
AudioTechnica A900X
AKG K167
Ultrasone HFI 780
Beyer DT770 PRO
 
I would take any of those over the M50. I especially enjoyed the A900X & DT770 with k/j-pop the most.
 
Very best,

 

[Zelcroft]

Thank you for the reply. 
I see , and how about the Diamond Tears?

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

Thank you for the reply. 
I see , and how about the Diamond Tears?

 
Another $300ish Monster headphone.
 
Add some extra bass. Suck the mids out. And either give it harsh, or dull treble. Built it in plastic. Make it look trendy. Endorsement added. Boom. You have a $300 Monster headphone. It's a $50 toy being sold as neck jewelry for an inflated price. I jest.
 
Really though, just search reviews for the Tears. There's a few here. Some say it's bassy. Others say its neutral. That in and of itself scares me.
 
Very best,

 

[MegaMushroom]

The monster brand does fall short when compared to other headphones.  I can vouch for the Ultrasone HFI-580s.  Fun headphones. 

 

[Zelcroft]

Ah , in that case if it was between the Ultrasone HFI-580 and the Audio Technica A900x which would suit my needs as stated above?

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

Ah , in that case if it was between the Ultrasone HFI-580 and the Audio Technica A900x which would suit my needs as stated above?

 
The A900X is easily better in almost all categories and is exquisite for k/j-pop.
 
Very best,

 

[Ishcabible]

Quote:

 
Another $300ish Monster headphone.
 
Add some extra bass. Suck the mids out. And either give it harsh, or dull treble. Built it in plastic. Make it look trendy. Endorsement added. Boom. You have a $300 Monster headphone. It's a $50 toy being sold as neck jewelry for an inflated price. I jest.
 
Really though, just search reviews for the Tears. There's a few here. Some say it's bassy. Others say its neutral. That in and of itself scares me.
 
Very best,

 
There are also people that would call the HE400 shrill, the HD650 exciting, and the DT770 bass-deficient. I used to think my K271s were bassy, so someone with the same tastes as I used to would consider anything above SA5000-levels of bass to be bassy as well. And I haven't seen any reviews that say they're bad...care to show me one? I find it rather unfair that it's being discounted by people that hasn't heard it; not that I'm recommending it because I haven't heard it myself either, but it shouldn't be scrapped until someone with experience with them chimes in. Sure, their track record isn't that great, but from the looks of it, they seem to be channeling their Turbine/Miles Davis quality to their full-size headphones more than their Beats roots lately.
 
But I have heard the A900X and I'm a fan, if you don't pay retail and can deal with its ridiculous size. Seriously; I used to use my A500 (older, low end model but they're similar in size) portably because I had nothing else to use and I had a bad time every time. If you have a Best Buy with a Magnolia section near you, you'll be able to try them out and see how big they are.

 

[MegaMushroom]

http://www.head-fi.org/t/612859/new-monster-headphones-first-impressions
 
Here's a link to an entire lineup.  Just skimming over it I found one first impression on the Tears.  If I remember correctly Tears has a K-pop star endorsement behind them, so they actually might fit your needs.  Granted just looking at the images they don't look to comfortable.  Can't be any worse than the Beats Solo.  

 

[Zelcroft]

Quote:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/612859/new-monster-headphones-first-impressions
 
Here's a link to an entire lineup.  Just skimming over it I found one first impression on the Tears.  If I remember correctly Tears has a K-pop star endorsement behind them, so they actually might fit your needs.  Granted just looking at the images they don't look to comfortable.  Can't be any worse than the Beats Solo.  

It's actually the manager of one of the top entertainment companies for K-pop who is also a performer and producer himself but anyway yeah , that was one of the reasons why I considered the Tears to be one of my choices of all things. From the view impressions and reviews I've read they are said to be quite comfortable but of course I haven't tried them myself and we all have different heads so i wouldn't know.
 
Thanks ,everyone anyway , I'll look for the A900X and maybe try some other cans when I have time. 

 

[dBz-]

The Phillips Citiscape Uptown are recommended quite often.

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

The Phillips Citiscape Uptown are recommended quite often.

 
I had two pairs of Uptowns. Sold one. Kept one.
 
They are nice headphones for their cost. Great sounding, great build, everything about them except one fatal flaw, is good. I would recommend them easily, except for this flaw. And that flaw is the cable. The cable is short, flat, and very flimsy. It's terrible. And how it connects to the headphone wobbles around, it's very flimsy, and this will be your first breaking point on this headphone. For the cost of this thing, I would expect a more robust cable. Especially since they marketed it towards portable media players (iphones) and the like. They gave it a very poor, pathetic, and unforgivable cable. I don't know how that made it past the idea team and what not or through the trials. But the cable is absolutely unforgivable. Beware.
 
Very best,

 

[Tom22]

Quote:

 
I had two pairs of Uptowns. Sold one. Kept one.
 
They are nice headphones for their cost. Great sounding, great build, everything about them except one fatal flaw, is good. I would recommend them easily, except for this flaw. And that flaw is the cable. The cable is short, flat, and very flimsy. It's terrible. And how it connects to the headphone wobbles around, it's very flimsy, and this will be your first breaking point on this headphone. For the cost of this thing, I would expect a more robust cable. Especially since they marketed it towards portable media players (iphones) and the like. They gave it a very poor, pathetic, and unforgivable cable. I don't know how that made it past the idea team and what not or through the trials. But the cable is absolutely unforgivable. Beware.
 
Very best,

hi there i was actually looking into getting the downtowns from phillips, and they had the same cable i believe. I wonder why they decided to go with a permanent attached cable. i heard many good reviews on the uptowns and downtowns and everyone complains about the same thing, the cable. the sound, design is great but the cable being short , flimsy, made me stay away.
 
i ended up getting the noontecs instead. hopefully phillips would reintroduce these headphones and instead make the cable replacable, and maybe add more colours  then i would buy it in a heartbeat.