[sack patrol]

 
 
Hello,
I'm looking to upgrade my Yamaha RH-5Ma headphones that I've had for nearly 4 years and I'm barely holding together with duct tape and super glue. Very nice pair and they've proven to be extremely sturdy too since they've gone through huge amounts of abuse over the years. 
After loads of reviews, comparisons and research, I've decided on 3 pair of headphones: M-Audio Q40, Grado SR80i and SR125i. I've heard that Grado make nearly perfect headphones, but the Q40 seem pretty nice as well since they've been getting good reviews too. Since I'm not too good with sound in general, I can't really tell the difference between all the different sorts of headphones and what makes a good pair good, so I need some help with deciding which pair delivers the best quality for the money. I'm also open to other suggestions, though I've gone though quite a load of headphones, but maybe I've missed or misjudged something. My budget is up to 200$ and I'm looking for a noticeable upgrade from my Yamaha (as much of a difference as a 200$ pair of headphones can deliver).
 
I'll be using the headphones mostly for gaming, music and movies. I need accuracy for the gaming in order to pin point where certain sounds are coming from. Concerning the music, I listen to a lot of electronic music - techno, dubstep, etc., also rock and a bit of every other genre of music that is out there.
 
I own a sound card which is the Razer Barracuda AC-1 gaming sound card.
 
Thx for any help.

 

[sack patrol]

I've been reading more and more about the Shure SRH840 and I think it might actually be better an the Q40. There was even a comparison of the two (and two other models) on this forum. Also, the Shure doesn't seem to be as fragile as the Q40 which is better for me since I do tend to abuse my headphones because of the fact that I use them very often and for long periods of time so accidents are bound to happen.

 

[maximosa]

I can vouch for the SRH840s as being a very accurate and precise sounding headphone - they are intended for use as a reference headphone so things like instrument separation is very good. This would definitely be a plus for gaming and movies. Another consequence of this however is that the bass is a little light. This is improved a little with a headphone amp but in general they are not a bassy headphone - I don't know if this would affect your enjoyment of dubstep etc...
 
I won't make comment on the sturdiness of them however. They are a heavy set of headphones but I am not one for throwing them around - they are far too precious. 

 

[sack patrol]

lol, I'm sure they can't be less bassy than my Yamaha headphones. Though if I feel the need, I could always get an amp later on.
 
Thx for the input though.

 

[Armaegis]

Quote:

I've been reading more and more about the Shure SRH840 and I think it might actually be better an the Q40. There was even a comparison of the two (and two other models) on this forum. Also, the Shure doesn't seem to be as fragile as the Q40 which is better for me since I do tend to abuse my headphones because of the fact that I use them very often and for long periods of time so accidents are bound to happen.

Was that my 840/M50/Q40/HDJ-2000 comparison perchance? For electronica, I actually preferred the Q40 over the others. It gave the best sense of depth and bass.
 

 

[sack patrol]

Possibly, though the Q40 seems to be pretty fragile so I decided to go for something else. Since I'm upgrading a Yamaha RH-5Ma, I probably won't notice a difference between one or the other (Q40 or SRH840) since they'll both sound much better than the Yamaha despite their little differences.
 
Here is which comparison I was referring to: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/442697/comparison-of-four-closed-cans-m-audio-q40-vs-ath-m50-vs-shure-srh840-vs-gmp-8-35-d-monitor-in-progress

 

[Armaegis]

Ah, well here's the one I did a few months back: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/512762/review-shure-srh-840-audio-technica-ath-m50-m-audio-studiophile-q40-pioneer-hdj-2000

 

[ArmAndHammer]

IMO...the jump from the SR80 to the SR125 is so small it is not worth the money. Now the jump from the 80 to the 225 is pretty large and the SR225 are right at the top of your budget at about $200 new. I have zero experience with the other headphones mentioned though so no help there.

 

[sack patrol]

 


Quote:

IMO...the jump from the SR80 to the SR125 is so small it is not worth the money. Now the jump from the 80 to the 225 is pretty large and the SR225 are right at the top of your budget at about $200 new. I have zero experience with the other headphones mentioned though so no help there.

Yes well, I was initially going to buy the SR325si, but the thing is that in Canada everything seems to be more expensive and I can't really buy from the USA cuz there are fees n other bs that I need to pay, so it gets to around the same price if not more. The SR225i are not 200$ for me, they are 250$. If I add shipping and tax, it will get to around 300$ which I though I could spend, but then I bought a new graphics card so now I can't. I think for my needs, the Shure SRH480 will be enough, plus as I mentioned, since I'm upgrading such low level headphones as the ones I have right now, I'll notice a difference no matter what I get. I don't think that the SRH480's quality is bad since imo there aren't necessarily 'good' or 'bad' headphones, only difference in their performance to suit different needs. Considering that I'm not a professional I don't have any super picky needs except the ones I mentioned in the op.
I think that for the price, the SRH480 delivers. Not saying that the Grado headphones are bad, but as of yet I simply haven't had much information regarding their performance under similar conditions as the ones I will need them to meet so I can't say if they will suit me or not even though it's said that they are nearly perfect because those aren't gaming headphones so maybe they don't perform that well in this regard. Though I can just be naive and say that sound is sound and the better the device, the better any sound will sound, so just go for the best, but I doubt it's that simple.

 

[ArmAndHammer]

 
[size=medium]

Oh...I'm sure it's not that simple...lol...I use my Grados to listen to games on my computer but I would definitely not call them a gaming headphone. While playing the game does sound pretty darn good through my 325's, if you are looking for performance such as sound stage and directional sound...you are correct in assuming that the Grados would not be the best choice. 
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Quote:

Though I can just be naive and say that sound is sound and the better the device, the better any sound will sound, so just go for the best, but I doubt it's that simple.

 

[sack patrol]

I'm not sure the SRH480 can be called gaming headphones either, but I think they should do fine. I could be totally wrong thought, otherwise I wouldn't be here. It'd be nice to get some info about the SRH480 and directional sound since I haven't really seen people talk about this aspect that much (them not being gaming headphones n all

), and maybe some other suggestions for headphones that do well with directional sound but still provide high quality sound. 
 
It seems that the Audio-Technica ATH-AD700 are considered by many as good gaming headphones... How are they with the bass and music quality tho?

 

[DittoBox]

IMO...the jump from the SR80 to the SR125 is so small it is not worth the money. Now the jump from the 80 to the 225 is pretty large and the SR225 are right at the top of your budget at about $200 new. I have zero experience with the other headphones mentioned though so no help there.

Hmm, this is entirely opposite of what I read about the 125/225 when I did research on them before purchasing the 125. I read here and several other places that the only difference between the 125i and 225i was that the drivers were more closely matched in the 225i and that the cabling was of higher quality. In fact I specifically remember that the jump from 80 to 125 was greater than 125 to 225.

I don't have experience with anything outside of the 125i though, but I'm a little confused having read that...

Though I can definitely agree about your soundstage comments. Mine have no sound-stage and extreme stereo separation. Still, I like the sound.

 

[sack patrol]

I've finally decided to get the Audio Technica ATH-AD700 headphones. It looks like they are going to suit me best.
 
Can anyone recommend me an online retailer located in Canada that has those in stock? Thx.
 
I think I'll just order these: http://cgi.ebay.ca/Audio-Technica-ATH-AD700-ATHAD700-Headphones-NEW-/380287206390?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item588ae243f6 though I'm worried that I'll need to pay extra tax for the importation into Canada.

 

[ArmAndHammer]

From what I remember when I demoed the Grado line, the 80 to 125 jump was smaller than the 80 to 225 jump. I could be mistaken, it was a few weeks ago and I really haven't given it too much thought since then. But yeah...if the sound stage was larger with the Grados I think for me they would be perfect. The upper range to me is fantastic, bass is almost right on...could use a little more, and the mids are just so right. But the sound stage is just small. G-cushions seem to help and I am hoping that some distancers will help a little more. The saving grace is the separation which is thing is really good and keeps the small sound stage from just turning in to a pile of mush. Yeah...I like the sound too. Sorry OP...not trying to turn this in to a Grado thread...lol

 

[yifu]

If you want bass, get the ATH M50s.
If you want treble, get the Grados.
If you want natural sounding phones, get the Fostex T50rp.
For open soundstage, look into open cans like the HD595s...
All are very good cans in the 100-200 price range.