[folie]

Hello , For the past few days I've been looking for some quality headphones for my pc , previously I've owned a pair of Sennheiser HD203 , but something happened to them and there is no more sound in the right speaker . I will be mainly listening to rock / metal , some thrash and that sort of music .
I have 80 euros at my disposal and I plan on buying them from amazon.it as it has the largest range of products and I can get free shipping on some of them . Thanks for your time.

 

[NA Blur]

The Grado SR-80i would be a great fit for your musical tastes.  You can even go with the SR-60i if you want to save some more money as the sonic differences are very subtle.

 

[folie]

Thats a very pretty pair of headphones , I will look up few reviews on it , also I wanna see if I can get free shipping from amazon.com in europe, because on amazon.it it is much more expensive unfortunately. What do you guys think of Sennheiser hd449 ? those were my choice before I've seen the Sr 80/60i.

 

[rebelinho]

I would say the 449 is completely different compared to the Grado's. one closed, other open, one over ear, other on-ear, one so-so sound (for the price), other fantastic sound (from what I've read). If you prefer closed headphones there are better option than the HD449. the HD439 is said to be better

 

[folie]

Hmm , now I've seen the sr 80i are on-ear , that could prove a little uncofortable I think , because I am only using them at the pc  (I don't really need to take them outside , I don't listen to music while jogging or anything else) , and sometimes over long periods of time , I play a few games as well ( I didn't mention it as the quality of the sound ingame is irrelevant to me , I mainly want them for music ). Closer vs open , I think I would probably want closed headphones , I live in a very lively neighbourhood , but if it takes a big toll on the audio quality I think I can live with the noise outside. What would be my best options in the given budget considering those things above?

 

[rebelinho]

yeah, grado's aren´t the most comfortable things in the world, but the pads are easily moddable, and there are plenty of threads on that matter. so I wouldn't give up on them from that reason.
 
as far as SQ goes, the open vs closed is a long discussion, but overall I would say open is better. but, if there is the sligtliest noise, you need to turn up the sound to go around it, it never completely fades away, and SQ goes down. so if you know you can expect noise the majority of your listening session, closed back is the way to go.
 
up to 80€ CAL! is one of the best. check it out
 
Edit: forgot to ask. where do you live?

 

[folie]

I live in Italy , Some people already told me about CAL , what made me think it's not such a great choice is the difference in price , on amazon.it they are 80 E , in other countries I've seen them at 50 euros , it's a rather huge gap , and I was wondering wether they are really worth 80E , even if they were , I feel ripped off paying 30 euros more than I should.

 

[rebelinho]

well, you can get the Phillips Citiscape Downtown for just 35€ at pixmania.it. they are very similar to de CAL!, with a bit less definition and clarity but better isolation and deeper, punchier bass. warmer sounding, in overall

 

[folie]

I'm really sorry if I am very indecisive, but aren't those on-ear as well ? I was quite pleased with my "old" hd203's , do those two compare? For 35E they seem like a rather good deal , I am only worried if they fit my needs , because I don't really buy things such as headphones often and I would prefer if that would remain so , for that very reason I don't mind spending the entire 80E . And also thank you for wasting your time with me and my pickiness.

 

[rebelinho]

no problem and there's no such thing as indecisiveness, it's better to spend time looking for the best deal than regret it
 
yes, the Downtowns are on ear, but are said to be very comfortable. on ear headphones aren´t necessarily uncomfortable, but it is easier to get a more comfortable liste from over ears. if they are well made, everything can be good.
 
The decision is up to you. considering the price difference I would go with the Downtowns. Also, I have no idea on howany of them compare to the HD203. sorry

 

[folie]

Okay , so as a hopefully final question , which would be the best over-ear headphones in 80E? After that I will take my time to google everything up and see wether I will remain with the cheaper philips , maybe push up my budget for the grado ones or if you can suggest me something over-ear , I could even consider the aurvana if you say they are worth the 80 euros althought I am a bit reluctant in that matter.

 

[GearMe]

Here are some options from Amazon.it in the price range you seem to be considering.
 
I like the CALs a lot!  Even at $80 they're a good value.  I'm not sure I'd pick them for Rock / Metal though.
 
I'd go with Grados...but I don't have any comfort issues with my SR60's.  
 
Koss Pro DJ100 - Fit your budget and have some good reviews for Rock / Metal.  See comments by Magicman74 in Post #8 here (http://www.head-fi.org/t/653844/best-on-ear-headphones-for-rock-metal-and-other-rock-genres)
http://www.amazon.it/AKG-ProDJ100-Koss-PRO-DJ-100/dp/B003X1BEKI
 
AKG K518LE - I use these to listen to a variety of music genres (especially Rock) on the go.  They're inexpensive, have good sound, and the foam mod brings out the highs to balance the bass.
http://www.amazon.it/AKG-518-Yellow-Cuffie-tradizionali/dp/B00BERHRPE
 
Haven't heard the Shure 440s but they seem to be mentioned a fair amount in this budget range for Rock / Metal (http://www.head-fi.org/t/575538/rock-metal-headphones). 

 

[folie]

Thanks a lot guys , you've really helped a lot , I will go through all the options and i'l let you know what i've decided on.

 

[folie]

I've been giving this a lot of thought , I've checked a lot of reviews about the grados , people say they are great headphones for unplugged music and not so good in other genres , is that true ? The biggest minus though,  is the fact that they have an open back , I am very tempted to buy them , but that's quite a drawback , beside the noisy neighbourhood , It's rather bothersome to have everyone around my room hear what I'm listening to , it pretty much defeats the entire purpose of using headphones.
 
I think I will pass on the AKG and the Philips , I will be using the headphones only at home , I don't own any mp3/4 player or anything of sorts.
 
The DJ100 seem interesting , I will do a bit more research on them , they look nice , although I will most likely not change the pads on them if I am to buy them , its too much of a bother to order them separately and pay the shipping.
 
The Shure 440s are again some good looking headphones , what worries me is people saying that it kind of lacks bass? I am not sure how much that matters in the genres i'm listening to , I am no audiophile , I merely like listening a lot to what I find to be good music. The hd203's were my first decent pair of headphones so I am not very knowlodgeable in what the difference between a headset with a good bass and one lacking it would be. Am I worrying for nothing?

 

[NA Blur]

The 440 has very little thump and is a hard headphone to like for very long.  The pads are terrible and decay away, but can be replaced.
 
The Philips Cityscape Downtown is a great headphone.  I have a pair and find them remarkably good and probably one of the most underestimated headphones to date.