[dhaze579]

Alright. Well, here's the deal: I've had my 700's for about a half year and, a week ago, I decided to purchase some 558's.
 
Needless to say, I am not impressed with them. The 558's seem to produce less enjoyable sound than my 700's, even after being burned-in for over a dozen hours, and being that the 700's were $35 and the 558's were $125, well, it's just not worth it.
 
So, I've been looking at the FA-011's and the SR-80i's, but before I buy anything, I want your help.
 
What should I get that produces great sound, preferably is open, and under $130? I'll be doing a lot of gaming and listening to music like electro, drum and bass, glitch and classical, usually in that priority, for several hours a day, as I really love music. I have a Xonar DG soundcard, which contains an amp.
 
Any suggestions? Thanks!
 
P.S. If anyone could help me out with why the 558's sound bad that would be great! Also, is my sound card's amplifier good enough? It can get uncomfortably loud, even with the headphones on my desk two feet away. I'm not very experienced with audio, so if anyone could educate me, please do!
 
P.S.S. They just broke... Really was not expecting that from Sennheiser.
 
Issue gone. Magically repaired themselves over two days.

 

[dhaze579]

Come on guys, a little help here?
 
bump!

 

[ztreb185]

I have the 558s, I think they are solid..  Maybe u want more bassy headphones?  The 558s are supposed to be more neutral and balanced and it has the typical laid back Sennheiser sound.  Some people hate it, many love it.

 

[dhaze579]

I might have gotten a faulty pair, I didn't think Sennheiser could sound that mediocre. Maybe I just don't like open as much as I do closed, who knows?
 
I just want some suggestions, I really don't know where to start.

 

[dhaze579]

Okay, I've narrowed it down to either the SR80i's or the AD700's. Which do you guys like better? Which has better quality highs, mids or lows? Which is more durable? Which is more comfortable? Better soundstage? Do the SR80i's actually cover your entire ear?
 
I'd really appreciate your opinions!

 

[dhaze579]

All of you have been so helpful! Thanks for your abundance of quality input to my decision, it really made an impact.
 
I've decided to go with the Grados. Hopefully they will be better than the one-day 558's.

 

[chicolom]

AD700 has zero bass, so stay away from that.  Grados will have smaller soundstage the the HD558s, so that's not great for gaming.  Also soundstage matters for classical, and IMO electronic too.
 
What is wrong with the 558s.  They seem like they wouldn't be a bad choice.  And how did they break?
 

 

[dhaze579]

Well, the 558s just sounded really plain, no exciting feeling when listening to music at all, just a sort of melancholy sound that really turned me off. They would also sometimes produce significantly more sound in the right driver than the left, and that got pretty annoying. After that, I was playing a game of CS:S and listening to music when it crashed, and I decided to restart my computer because there was a sound loop from the game. When I turned it on, no sound.
 
I have heard to SR80is are good for gaming if you get the L cush pads to increase the soundstage a bit. People say they can pinpoint someone's position exactly by their footsteps when they're close to them. I loved gaming with the 558s wide soundstage, very surrounding audio, but even in-game it just seemed mediocre and i could not get good directional positioning, probably because Sennheiser put something to reflect the sound all around the ear phones. No fun feeling to them, just boring.
 
What other headphones below $130 should I consider?
 
EDIT: What about the AKG 142 HD or 240 HD? They seem pretty nice.

 

[chicolom]

Well, I still can't see the Grados being good for gaming, but they would have a less boring sound.  More treble emphasis and in your face sounding. 
 
The AKG 240s are slightly bass heavy IMO and slightly warm.  I would want their treble to to be a little brighter for classical.  Their soundstage is medium (they're semi-open).
 
The Creative Aurvana Live are nice.  A little bassy with decent soundstage for closed.  Slightly on the warm side.  Pretty good for electronic.
 
Some people seem to like the FA-011 soundstage.  I've never heard them (seems like I read they were bass heavy somewhere...)

 

[ibage]

I've tried the MS1i (comparable tot he SR80l) for gaming... I tried it a few times and was sorely disappointed. However, I'm curious to try the MS1000 mod and see if the soundstage increase there is enough. But that aside, I've only heard the SR60i and MS1i but I can't see Grados being good for gaming. I use the HD555 for gaming but it has no bass. 
 
Can't comment beyond what I've heard here but the FA-011 are supposedly great int he bass department and have the soundstage that works for gaming. I haven't heard them however so take that with a grain of salt. 

 

[dhaze579]

Good, well, now I'm even more hesitant of my choice for any headphone...
 
Well, let's see. I guess I can make a list of what I want:
 
-Large soundstage
-Good/Great bass
-Relatively clear across the spectrum
-Open/Semi-open design
-Under $130
-Will last a while, at least two years
-Good/great for gaming
-Comfort
 
And that's about it. Again, what does everyone think about the AKG 142s or 240s? I have looked at the FA-011s and they seem perfect, but I'm hesitant of buying them because they come all the way from Russia, and there's only one dealer I know of that sells them. If they don't get lost/damaged, then I'll jump on buying them, but I'm concerned about them being shipped from Russia.
 
Thanks for your help.

 

[chicolom]

AKG 240s have a medium soundstage, but I wouldn't say it's large. 

 

[chicolom]

You could look at the Samson SR850.  They are supposed to be pretty good for gaming.  They probably have less bass than the 240s.  Lots of bass is bad for precision FPS gaming though.

 

[ztreb185]

Quote:

Good, well, now I'm even more hesitant of my choice for any headphone...
 
Well, let's see. I guess I can make a list of what I want:
 
-Large soundstage
-Good/Great bass
-Relatively clear across the spectrum
-Open/Semi-open design
-Under $130
-Will last a while, at least two years
-Good/great for gaming
-Comfort
 
And that's about it. Again, what does everyone think about the AKG 142s or 240s? I have looked at the FA-011s and they seem perfect, but I'm hesitant of buying them because they come all the way from Russia, and there's only one dealer I know of that sells them. If they don't get lost/damaged, then I'll jump on buying them, but I'm concerned about them being shipped from Russia.
 
Thanks for your help.

Quite hard to find a headphone that will do all that.  Open headphones have good soundstage, great for gaming, but lack bass impact.  Good gaming headphones usually wont have that strong bass because it will muffle up the sound for situational awareness, etc.
 

 

[dhaze579]

Very strange. It seems that the 558's have completely changed and repaired themselves over the time they were in storage. They went from producing no sound to being the best quality phones I've heard, ever, over three days. Now they're pretty much audio nirvana.
 
Thanks guys. Sorry I wasted your time. I was certain they were broken, I had tested them with pretty much every device capable of producing audio that I have.
 
All's good now!