[kcirbmab]

Alright, so I have a pair of $8 earphones from Zellers; I like them just fine but just like every other pair of sub $10 headphones I've had, they died within a year. I decided to try out some canalphones, but I hate the fealing of them: my ears pop every time I put them in, they often slide out, my hearing feels a bit wierd after using them for a while, and I hear they're the most damaging of the bunch.

Anyways, I'll get to the point: I'm interested in full-sized headphones (I think they look cool), probably somewhere around $50 Canadian. Would the difference in quality from the $8 generic phones be big or does it depend too much on the person/brand? Also, how about build quality? Will they last a lot longer than my previous earphones? Does the difference between brands/models have a large affect on sound quality?
I guess what I'm asking is: would any ~$50 headphone be a big improvement over my old phones or does it depend largely on the model?

And also, are there any stores that let you sample headphones before buying? So far the closest thing I know of is buying them from walmart, returning them, and buying a different kind, repeat.

Thanks in advance.

 

[MusicallySilent]

Welcome to head-fi sorry about your wallet

The ksc75 clip ons will get reccomended right away

 

[ChaseD13]

ksc75 (ur40 if u want full size - same sound as 75 though).
-they are very very very good for the price (around 20$)

maybe akg k81djs or audiotechnica sj5 if u want mid sizers

 

[qazwsx]

Would the difference in quality from the $8 generic phones be big or does it depend too much on the person/brand? Also, how about build quality? Depends on the person, but you'll see a good change regardless. Brand means little, unless it's Bose or Skullcandy, then they all suck.

Will they last a lot longer than my previous earphones? Most likely.

Does the difference between brands/models have a large affect on sound quality? Every model has its own sound, and every company has their good and bad.

I guess what I'm asking is: would any ~$50 headphone be a big improvement over my old phones or does it depend largely on the model? Almost any, but not all.

There are a few good full-sized headphones at $50, but it depends on what kind of sound you like.

 

[grndslm]

KSC75, and do the headband mod (among the other mods for it).

 

[StealthR6]

KSC75, PX100 these are not full sized but they are high quality portable phones that sounds great for the $$$. Full size would 1) cost a lot more for quality cans 2) expect to pay around $60US for something like a grado SR60 or AKG K81 DJ which is a great place to start for bigger cans then the KSC75/PX100.

 

[ericj]

The under-$100 game is tricky business. You can pay too much for too little very easily. Under-$50 is even trickier.

So, that's why we have our standard recommendations. Koss KSC75 or UR40, Sennheiser PX100, etc.

In the $50-$75 range, Equation RP-15mc, Audio-Technica ATH-SJ5, Grado SR-60 (bought from TTVJ with first-time-headfi-customer coupon).

$75-$125, gets more contested. I say Equation RP-21 and RP-22x, Alessandro MS-1 and Grado SR-80 too, probably, but I'm not a grado man myself.

 

[Clutz]

Perhaps the Sennheiser HD201.

 

[kcirbmab]

Thanks for the replies. I'll look into all the ones mentioned. The big problem for me is availability. I don't really know what stores to look for. So far I've really only bought headphones at the big super-store chains and they didn't have the biggest selection so they might not even carry the above mentioned. Are there any stores that have a good selection of headphones?

 

[StealthR6]

Radio Shack and Circuit city I believe carry the Koss KSC75. I think its like $20. They should also have some basic Senn's like the PX100. Don't waste your time at best buy. I would look online: Headroom, TTVJ, Audiocubes etc.

 

[kcirbmab]

Quote:

Originally Posted by StealthR6 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Radio Shack and Circuit city I believe carry the Koss KSC75. I think its like $20. They should also have some basic Senn's like the PX100. Don't waste your time at best buy.

Hmm, I don't have any of those stores in my town, unfortunately.

 

[StealthR6]

http://www.radioshack.com/home/index.jsp

 

[grndslm]

AAAHHHHhhh... The Internet is soo wonderful.

 

[qazwsx]

Best Buy doesn't really have anything but the high end Sony line (SA series, which is hit or miss with people) and the V-Crap series.

 

[kcirbmab]

I just remembered, how is the sound cancelation on most full, closed headphones? Going both ways (me hearing the outside world, the outside world hearing my music).