[PENNYoka]

Hey guys, been lurking here for a while, and decided it was finally time to become a member. Well, I have been looking for a good moderately priced closed can, and have been doing quite a bit of research. I have tried to decide for myself, so I wouldn't clog up this forum with more of these types of threads, but this is my first major audio purchase and I want to get it right. Seeing as most of you seem very helpful, please let me know what you think would be best for me. First, this is what I'm looking for:

I listen to mainly Hip-hop, R&B, and rock.

I like bass (as you could probably tell from my musical preferences), as long as it is not muddy, but I do want a well balanced phone that had good highs, mids, and bass.

I want phones that are pretty good at isolating sound (don't have to be perfect though) because I will be using these while studying, and I don't want to disturb others, and I do not want to be disturbed myself.

I plan to use these cans with my laptop and with my iphone, so portability would be nice, but it is not a top priority.

Also, I plan to use these without an amp, so they need to be good by themselves. I do plan on purchasing a portable amp in the future, but I figured getting a good can is the number one priority right now.

Lastly, comfort! I plan on wearing these for long periods so the more comfortable the better.

So far I have narrowed it down to these:

Ultrasone HFI-780
Ultrasone PRO-750
Denon AH-D2000
Audio Technica ESW9
Beyerdynamic DT770/80 Pro
Any others you would suggest that are within this price range and quality?

Sorry for all the questions, but any input would be greatly appreciated.
And yes, my wallet is already terrified, haha!

 

[PENNYoka]

anybody...please?

 

[wrecked_porsche]

If it helps, ESW9 won't be comfy for more than 3 hours or so of usage; this is based on my experience with supra aural cans, the ES7, its younger brother.
D2000 is comfy as hell, probably has the bass your looking for but does not isolate well. DT770 is ok too in terms of SQ and very comfortable too, but better isolation compared to D2000.

I voted for DT770. Its a toss between the DT770 and D2000 if it were up to me.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Oh and welcome to head-fi, sorry about the wallet!

 

[Andrew_WOT]

No K271S?

 

[PENNYoka]

Kinda forgot about the K271, should I look into those as well? I was actually leaning toward one of the Ultrasones, but now I may have to rethink that...

 

[PENNYoka]

Just curious, for all those that voted the ESW9 and the DT770, can you chime in as to why these are better than the other candidates...starting to lean towards the ESW9 since they seem to be the most portable, and they look so nice. Thanks to everyone that voted. Any other comments would be appreciated.

 

[wrecked_porsche]

I voted for DT770 because of comfort and isolation.

 

[ricmat]

of course I understand the issues here, but no ES7??... ... because it's particularly different than ESW9!

 

[Al4x]

i thought the hfi 780 was a good choice?

 

[CountChoculaBot]

The HFI-780 would be a good choice. Great bass, good all-rounder, they even have me thinking they have a bigger soundstage than my AD700's. They take their damn time to burn in, though.

Unfortunately, they are very uncomfortable for me. Clampyness can be fixed by stretching the headband, but they bake your ears pretty quickly IMO. And that pleather patch on top of the headband? It starts to hurt during prolonged usage.

ESW9 would probably be a great choice for portability due to their size. Just beware of the "STEAL ME!" sign they wave around with those wood earcups

 

[3x331m]

I haven't heard the Ultrasones. However, I would choose a "Recabled" D2000. Otherwise, I put another vote for the ESW9.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

My choice would be unlisted K271S but they need amp, out of the listed you can't go wrong with either D2000 or ESW9. ESW9 has a better build and is portable.
Ultrasones are just too idiosyncratic to buy without auditioning. For me they didn't work at all.

 

[Tyler J]

I love my D2000s. They even sound good straight from my IPOD. Isolation is not the best, but you should be fine for studying. I had the 770s and the Denons are better in every way. I have not heard the W9s or the ultrasones

 

[MaloS]

Either of the Ultrasones should be your priority.

DT770 will have muddy bass without amplification, and to me it still sounds muddy even out of a good source and amped.
D2000 is not very isolating.
ESW9 is not too bassy (it has bass, but I am tempted to say not as much as you would like).

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaloS /img/forum/go_quote.gif ESW9 is not too bassy (it has bass, but I am tempted to say not as much as you would like).

Amazing how differently we all hear, to me ESW9 would be even better if they actually had less bass, I played with headband, stretching it out a to make them more comfortable and lessen bass impact. They are still a bit too heavy there to my taste.