[lazy]

Greetings, my 1st post here.

I apologize if I should do more research before starting such a thread, but I searched for threads on the subject of what I want, but only came up with one or two rather old threads from 2004. I thought it would be better to start a new one to see if there are newer, better headphones out there worth getting.

First I should say that I never owned 'hi-fi' headphones, so I can't tell what kind of sound I like. I can only say what my requirements and usage is and hope some good all-around headphones will suit my needs. So here they are:

- They should be closed headphones because I mostly use them very late at night when the rest of the house is sleeping.

- The phones are gonna be plugged directly to the headphone jack of the Audigy2 ZS external box.

- Usage:
* A high amount of music (many genres, but mostly heavy rock/metal) and gaming (mostly racing simulations).
* A smaller amount of dvd's and cabletv.

- The cord should be at least 2.5 meters long.

- Budget is up to $200 but it can be stretched if it's really worth it.


I hope that's all the necessary info.. so are there any headphones that fit the description?

Thanks!

 

[lmilhan]

Look no further than a pair of AudioTechnica A900s used.

If you want a pair of decent closed phones on the cheap, consider:

AKG K 81 DJ or
KOSS A130 (really cheap on ebay right now).

Good luck.

 

[F1GTR]

Beyerdynamic DT770/80

 

[Azure]

Quote:

Originally Posted by F1GTR Beyerdynamic DT770/80

Quote:

The phones are gonna be plugged directly to the headphone jack of the Audigy2 ZS external box

DT770s sound horrible (IMO) unamped.

I second the A900 suggestion (Retail for $189).

 

[flamerz]

Since you've never really listened to anything hi-fi, you should first try auditioning headphones at your local Guitar Center, or any other stores with hi-fi headphone equipment that allow auditioning. If you can't really hear any differences between different headphones, you should just try getting something good, but not astounding, or in other words, something cheap. If it turns out that you don't hear differences, try Sennheiser HD201's.

 

[lazy]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions!

Two votes for the AudioTechnica A900 so far, but why did lmilhan said to get them used? Are they not available new anymore?

flamerz, I live in a small town in portugal, I never seen a store with the headphone brands that I read about here, so I'm gonna have to order them online. That's why I just wanted some nice all around phones under $200, or are the A900's what you consider 'astounding' and maybe I should go for something cheaper?

I'm sure whatever I get will be much better than the crappy headphones I've been using for years.

 

[Gaughtfried]

They are available, but it's just cheaper to buy them used.

New they cost about $190 w/o shipping.

 

[jparris1]

Certainly it is not the Head-Fi way to suggest thing under your budget, but you might also look at the A900's little siblings the A700 and A500. Also closed and comfortable, as well as cheaper.

 

[lazy]

Since there was no more recommendations, I'm gonna go with the ones that got mentioned more, the AudioTechnica A900.

What would be a good place to order them from that ships to europe?

Thanks.

 

[warubozu]

Another vote for the A900s, great sounding pair of cans that are easy to drive and doesn't require an amp to sound good. You can get them thru Audiocubes and they ship world wide; http://www.audiocubes.com/

 

[nickchen]

Next A900 vote.

 

[F1GTR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azure DT770s sound horrible (IMO) unamped. I second the A900 suggestion (Retail for $189).

They sound pretty fantastic out of my M-Audio Revolution 7.1 unamped.

I owned an SR-71 at one point in time and there really wasn't a night and day difference to my ears between amping them and running them straight from the soundcard. Perhaps the Audigy isn't as capable?

 

[FIJI]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azure DT770s sound horrible (IMO) unamped. I second the A900 suggestion (Retail for $189).

i just picked up a pair of the dt770/80's and while i haven't listened to them much, and i do agree that they sound better amped (from the microstack) i don't think they sound HORRIBLE unamped. straight out of the headphone jack on my pc i think they sound very acceptable. they will be even more acceptable/sound really good to someone who has never heard a headphone through an amp. in fact, straight out of the front panel on my x-fi i was easy to drive them to acceptable listening levels by turning the volume knob to about 11-12 o clock. from my microamp on low gain i achieve the same volume ~10 o clock. and please don't take this personal at all, this is just a general statement, (i realize that you did say that it was jsut your opinion too) but before saying a headphone is horrible unamped (unless it's a headphone that's extremely hard to drive) it might be better to consider the other person's situation and consider their listening experience.

 

[FIJI]

and to reply to the original poster - i haven't heard the a900s or any other of the audiotechnicas so I can't comment on how the dt770/80s compare to them. What I can say is that the dt770/80s can be found for cheaper and won't need to be imported compared the a900's so you won't have the advantage of a warranty. you can, however, buy the a700's from a US dealer and get the warranty and, based on your listening experience, I'm sure the a700's will be more than adequate plus they are cheaper than the a900's. As far as the dt770/80's go...I have only listened to them briefly (just bought them today) they have A LOT of bass. Do you like a lot of bass when you're listening to music? Also, the build quality on these is really good. They, by far, are the sturdiest headphone I own (the others being sr-60, hd555's, and k701's). Most other people say the build quality on these is MUCH better than the a900's as well (again only what I've read). As far as plugging them straight into your headphone out on your audigy, like I said in my previous post, I think you will be fine...especially since you haven't heard headphones through an amp before. Let me know if you have any other questions about the dt770/80's. Welcome to headfi

 

[Azure]

The A500s (Similar to the higher model A900s) sounded much smoother to me than the DT770s unamped did. The bass on the A500s was much more controlled to my ears; the DT770s sounded like a loose cannon to me. The DT770s were much brighter than the A500s from what I remember. Build quality definetly goes to the DT770s; they're built like a tank compared to the A500s. Comfort-wise, I'd say that the DT770s just barely get the cake. The velour pads are VERY nice, though the downside is that they caused my ears to get hot much quicker than the pleather pads on the A500s.

I found the A500s to be much more versatile, so I think the A900s would suit your needs for music, gaming, and movies/tv. The DT770s are great, but I think they'll need to be properly amped to outshine the A900s.