Need a good $200-$249 headphone
Jun 7, 2009 at 9:19 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 37
Digital Felon

Digital Felon

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I have been debating on getting the "Beats By Dre" on eBay for $249.99 plus $39 cash back so it would be like $211. That is until I found this site and it seems everyone hates them. I was able to listen to them at Best Buy recently and I loved how the bass vibrated by ears. I only got to listen for about 30 seconds before I had to leave the store. OK here's what I need, I need a GOOD headphone within that price range that doesn't need a amp to sound amazing.

I'm going to be using this with my portable Zune 80 mp3 player so I don't want them to be huge and I want them to sound amazing. I listen to a lot of Beatles and old Classic Rock and Metal, Hip-Hop every now and then. So I need something that sounds good over many genres of music with no amp. At the eBay price for those Beats headphone is it a good deal or could I do better? I hate buying in the dark.

Any help you experts can give me with be much appreciated, the headphones will be a gift for my 23rd birthday by my parents (They basically told me to pick out a pair LOL.)
 
Jun 7, 2009 at 9:51 PM Post #3 of 37
Quote:

Originally Posted by jageur272 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Grado 225!

EDIT:
Oops, there I go recommending headphones I want to try but haven't heard. I borrowed Audio-Technica ESW9's for a while, they're REALLY nice.


Dude I typed those Audio-Technica ones into Amazon and they are $450! I need real life experiences and good suggestions not just guesses.
wink_face.gif
 
Jun 7, 2009 at 9:53 PM Post #5 of 37
Quote:

Originally Posted by Digital Felon /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Dude I typed those Audio-Technica ones into Amazon and they are $450! I need real life experiences and good suggestions not just guesses.
wink_face.gif



$450??? You can get them for around $250 (watch out for fakes though). And I know that they're awesome. 4 months of use. They're also designed to be portable.
 
Jun 7, 2009 at 9:55 PM Post #8 of 37
Quote:

Originally Posted by 3602 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
First things first. Do NOT get the Dre.
5Pro, maybe (Ultimate Ears).


I don't want in-ears I can't stand them
frown.gif
 
Jun 7, 2009 at 9:59 PM Post #9 of 37
Don't buy the Beats. They're thick, muddy and the noise cancellation cancels some of the music, too. I've listened to a few and thought they were terrible compared to the headphones discussed here. You might like the fuzzy bass now, but you'll eventually get tired of it.

For your tastes and equipment, try a pair of Grados. They're wonderful with your music and you should love them.
 
Jun 7, 2009 at 9:59 PM Post #10 of 37
In that case...
Still get the Grado.
They're open, though.
Do you want closed ones?
Closed Headphone
2-Sennheiser HD25-II ($175)
1-Audio Technica a900 ($200) Massive soundstage, strong bass, and comfort are its strong points. Great for movies and jazz. Slight weakness in the low-midrange. Crappy pleather Pads.
2-Beyerdynamic Dt250 ($200)
2-AKG 271s ($185)
Got that from a sticky post.
 
Jun 7, 2009 at 10:03 PM Post #11 of 37
Quote:

Originally Posted by 3602 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
In that case...
Still get the Grado.
They're open, though.
Do you want closed ones?
Closed Headphone
2-Sennheiser HD25-II ($175)
1-Audio Technica a900 ($200) Massive soundstage, strong bass, and comfort are its strong points. Great for movies and jazz. Slight weakness in the low-midrange. Crappy pleather Pads.
2-Beyerdynamic Dt250 ($200)
2-AKG 271s ($185)
Got that from a sticky post.


Alright Ill give Grado a look to see what I find.
 
Jun 7, 2009 at 10:22 PM Post #13 of 37
Quote:

Originally Posted by Digital Felon /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I want them to sound amazing.


Don't we all
tongue.gif


Joking aside, some good recommendations here. I'm assuming since you want to hook it up to your Zune, you want it to be as portable as possible. I think the consensus is the Sennheiser HD 25 is one of the most sturdiest and great sounding can in the price range you mentioned.

Audio Technica cans are pretty good though, the ESW9 mentioned isn't bad. I'd go with something like the AT-ES7. It's a popular all rounder and good with portables. The grados are.. well, I wouldn't wear one outside, but that's me. Can find the ES7 for around $100 or so shipped. You could just spend the left over on some Grado for home use, as they are really great for rock/classic-rock and some metal. I found them crappy for hip-hop.

audiotechnica-es7-black-pads.jpg
 
Jun 7, 2009 at 10:22 PM Post #14 of 37
******* the Grados are ugly as ****. Also what type of plug do they have? the mini or the bigger one? Also I never tried any of the ones you guys are mentioning but I have tried the "dreaded" Dr. Dre heaphones and they sounded good for the short time I heard them. I much rather buy something I know are comfortable on my big head and ears then something I have never wore before. This is a hard thing to decide on, I might just forget it all together and just skip the headphone idea.
 
Jun 7, 2009 at 10:33 PM Post #15 of 37
The higher end ones have the bigger (1/4) plug.

I'm going to plug (see what I did there) Sennheiser HD25 1 II and Audio Technica ESW9. I own them both, and love them to bits. I prefer ESW9 (clearer highs, fuller midsm wider soundstage), but HD25 isn't much of a downgrade, for $50 less. Also, it has it's plusses (better isolation, more precise bass...sometimes). Go for the ES7 if you want to save your folks some money, and again it's not a huge downgrade for $100 less, but you'll miss the bass response these former two provide, among other things.
 
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