[biggbenn74]

Quote:

warrenpchi

How do you like the Q701?  

I love them. So clean and clear. I can hear music the way it was intended. Honestly, I would have paid so much more for the sound, but they are in my opinion the deal of the century.

 

[warrenpchi]

Quote:

Honestly, I would have paid so much more for the sound, but they are in my opinion the deal of the century.

 
Whoa, whoa, double whoa!  Hey AKG Marketing Dept., he did NOT mean that!  That's a running Head-Fi gag we like to do.  He's totally messing with you guys.

  LOL!!11!one one
 
 
Yo biggbenn, chill with that stuff bro, I haven't gotten mine yet!

 

[BrownBear]

I would nominate the Koss Pro/4AA. I think it tends to be thrown to the wayside in today's modern headphone world, but the pair I bought last year was great. At or under $100, they were durable, isolated like a beast, looked retro and cool, had a lifetime warranty, and of course, sounded good (to me).

 

[obobskivich]

Warren,

Yeah was going by MSRP to try and keep it easier, but I'm wondering if that's problematic.

The PRO4/AA are already up there. And the other list I'll have to integrate when I'm on the other PC (I can tell you the KRKs are up there, but the rest probably aren't).

 

[warrenpchi]

Quote:

Warren,
Yeah was going by MSRP to try and keep it easier, but I'm wondering if that's problematic.

 
It might actually be the best way now that I think about it.  Tracking current street prices would be a full-time job as that list expands.
 
And just because the SE-A1000s have been $60-ish for weeks now doesn't mean it will be tomorrow - especially with Amazon.  Yeah, you got it right.  Besides, if anyone actually reads the thread, they'll find out anyway. 

 

[tdockweiler]

I was thinking the MDR-SA3000 was another one. I was surprised how good it sounded for the price.
Too bad it's build quality is pretty average. Lots of reports of it falling apart on Amazon.
 
I wanted to keep mine, but with the Q701 it was kind of pointless.
 
The pads are a bit scratchy though.
 
I wonder if I loved the SA3000, i'd like the SA5000? The treble on the SA3000 doesn't bother me at all.
 
SA3000 with gaming (only) reminded me of some things I loved about the ATH-AD2000.
 
That was one of my favorite gaming headphones.

 

[thecourier]

Grado Alessandro, curious because they are supposedly to be tweaked grado's. They should have more attention. 

 

[Eric_C]

Quote:

Grado Alessandro, curious because they are supposedly to be tweaked grado's. They should have more attention. 

 
Which ones do you like?

 

[zazex]

The HFI-15G,
my favorite Ultrasone's.
 
Light, amazingly comfortable on-ear headphones that
never fail to knock me out with how good they sound.
Balanced and musical throughout the spectrum, with fine
soundstage imaging as well.  Sound great with or without
an amp. 
 
All for sixty bucks.
 
I can only imagine they're so under the radar due to
lack of marketing,
a generally funky look,
and the overwhelming positive reputation of the Grado SR60's
at this price point.
 
But their wearing comfort and sound quality are really outstanding.

 

[KimLaroux]

Shure SRH440.
 
Seriously. These are affordable and they sound very good. They have a "studio" sound curve, which means it's mostly flat down to 70hz and then drops. Back a few years, this was considered "audiophile" frequency response.
 
But for some reason, these are trashed here on Head-fi. Every time I go recommend them to someone, someone else comes back and say "Oh no these have no bass, don't buy them. The M50 are SO much better...". One of my "welcome to head-fi" post reply was along the line of "Oh come on, all you've got are the SRH440, these sucks". I have a bad feeling people hate them simply because they are not expensive enough. If they had a street price of 150$, I bet they'd have a better reputation around here.

 

[manveru]

Quote:

Shure SRH440.

 
While personally I had a few issues with them, I wouldn't say they outright suck. Aside from lacking bass extension (a deal breaker for me), what they did have was very good. Punchy and great mids. Didn't care for the treble spike at all but that's easily equalized. The biggest thing for me though was comfort. "Uncomfortable" doesn't even begin to describe it. It was literally extremely painful to wear them (even with 840 pads and HD600 padding, though they helped a little). People with certain heads have to be careful. 

 

[manveru]

Speaking of underrated headphones, I was thinking about the Philips Uptown. They are still relatively new though, so maybe it's a little early to say? In any case, I don't think a huge number of people have heard them. The soundstage/imaging is comparable to the AD2000. Excellent bass--tight, extended, clear, can punch if needed. Extremely comfortable too. All I can say is that at <=$150, I switch back and forth between them and the AD2000 without a care.

 

[Kukuk]

Quote:

The AKG K271 never really got any attention, and they've been going for $60-70 on eBay lately, which is a silly price considering they're the closest to neutral I can think of under $100. The AKG K181 got close to no attention either, which kind of befuddles me, since they're not horrible. Heck, they're so overlooked I got mine for $28.

 
Can't believe I didn't see this post. The K271's really are an underrated gem. And I'm not just saying that because I'm trying to trade mine!

 
They really tick a lot of boxes. They have superb isolation, on par with much more expensive headphones, like the HD25's and DT1350's, and a mid range that totally crushes either 'phone. They lack the bass extension (and emphasis) those other two have, but the treble extension is very, very nice. Not to mention their soundstage is much bigger than either, especially with the velour pads.

 

[obobskivich]

I was thinking the MDR-SA3000 was another one. I was surprised how good it sounded for the price.
Too bad it's build quality is pretty average. Lots of reports of it falling apart on Amazon.

I wanted to keep mine, but with the Q701 it was kind of pointless.

The pads are a bit scratchy though.

I wonder if I loved the SA3000, i'd like the SA5000? The treble on the SA3000 doesn't bother me at all.

SA3000 with gaming (only) reminded me of some things I loved about the ATH-AD2000.

That was one of my favorite gaming headphones.

I haven't heard the 3000, but if you like the AKGs, I don't think the 5000s will do it for you. Then again, if the treble doesn't bother you, they might not be a bad can to try.

 

[warrenpchi]

Quote:

Shure SRH440.

 
I actually wanted these for a long time . . . but then I ended up getting a pair of AKG K240 Studios for around $70.  I loved those so much that I started looking for closed-back cans with a similar signature for portability reasons, and it seemed like an SRH-840 would fit the bill.  But that was too pricey so I picked up a pair of AKG K422s in a $20 deal via The Deals Thread to hold me over.  Those got jacked by my uncle who liked them a lot, so I replaced those with a Sennheiser HD 238.  But then my uncle got a Sennheiser HD 448 and gave back the K422.  In the meantime, I've since grown very fond of the Pioneer SE-A1000.  Now the SRH-440 is but a distant memory.  I didn't really underrate it though, more like totally forgot about it.
 
Quote:

Speaking of underrated headphones, I was thinking about the Philips Uptown.

 
I think that's more of the general stigma in years past that Philips didn't make very good cans.  Still, Tyll seems to like these quite a bit, so maybe they're worth looking at.
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by Kukuk /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
And I'm not just saying that because I'm trying to trade mine!

 
Lol, sure.  That's what they all say...