[ZeNmAc]

Hello everyone I have been looking to upgrade to some decent headphones for a while now, and now that Christmas is over its time for me to upgrade.

Right now I have some HD202's with an old Sound Blaster live! and an Ipod 5th gen. as a source. I listen to mp3's but I've recently been ripping them at higher bitrates or as lossless.

My budget limit is up to $200 between any headphone/amp/source upgrade you recommend. I don't necessarily want to spend that much, but that's my limit if its worth it.

It will be used 90% for music. I listen to mostly rock/hard rock/metal and occasionally techno or soundtrack. I don't really care about gaming as these will be mostly for music. I'll use them mostly at home. Honestly I don't care if they are open or closed, but sound leakage would bother me, both leaking sound in and out. I just wouldn't like everyone who walks by me to be able to hear exactly what I'm listening to. My computer is in a main room in my house and i think it would bother my family to partially hear my music all the time, and i wouldn't like conversations to compete with my music. I think this mostly eliminates open headphones unless I can listen at a reasonable volume without disturbing others around me.

From what I can tell so far, I think I'm looking for a clearer, more balanced sound. It seems like every sound system I have, or have heard sacrifices something. Either treble drowns out bass, or clarity is sacrificed for bass, etc... My 202's sound ok, it just sounds clouded, like i have to listen too hard to hear the details.

As far as comfort goes, I just want to be able to wear them for several hours on end without discomfort. My HD202's are fairly comfortable, but after about 3 hours they start to dig into the edge of my ear.

I think I covered everything. Basically, I'd like to know of course your advice on headphones, but also if its a good idea to upgrade a source or get an amp. I just know music should sound better than what I'm hearing right now. Your help is greatly appreciated

.

*edit* See last page for most recent questions

 

[Headphile808]

Welcome to Head-Fi & Sorry About Your Wallet
Beyerdynamic DT660@Amazon $124.96. I think you'll love em' based on your musical taste.
Good Luck & Happy New Year

Headphile808

 

[1audioz]

Audio-Technica A500

 

[scytheavatar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZeNmAc /img/forum/go_quote.gif From what I can tell so far, I think I'm looking for a clearer, more balanced sound. It seems like every sound system I have, or have heard sacrifices something. Either treble drowns out bass, or clarity is sacrificed for bass, etc... My 202's sound ok, it just sounds clouded, like i have to listen too hard to hear the details.

That's the audiophile world for you, even for high end phones many times your budget there's always some sort of sacrifice involve. There's no such thing as the prefect headphone, there's only the prefect headphone for you.

The most all-rounded closed back at your price range is probably the A900, but then again you might find it to be too all-rounded and not excelling in anything.

 

[ZeNmAc]

thanks for the suggestions guys. i guess ill read up on reviews for those

.

scytheavatar, I suppose i see what you're saying. I don't expect perfection, I just want to be able to hear bass while still hearing cymbals and vocals. Remember on anything i've heard this problem is much greater as they are cheaper headphones.

So i guess I'll look into the audio-technica A*00 seiries. is there any great difference between models or is it just SQ and price? Actually i was surprised when you recommended the DT660's, i'd never heard of them before.

Keep the ideas coming, even if you just agree with previous posts. I'd like to get several opinions before I spend $*00

. I really appreciate this.

 

[ZeNmAc]

*bump. I read a review that said the DT660's are uncomfortable and have a huge frame.

 

[ZeNmAc]

please help me out, I want to buy some soon, but I won't buy before researching.

 

[mbd2884]

Very nicely said!

Quote:

Originally Posted by scytheavatar /img/forum/go_quote.gif There's no such thing as the perfect headphone, there's only the prefect headphone for you.

Well first you have to decide what you want to sacrifice. If you don't leakage, Open Air are out the window. You don't want to have a lot of bass, you are very limited for closed headphones, which I have no suggestions.

For 200 Dollars, I have no idea what headphones to suggest that will have the balanced sound you want without being Open Air.

I would probably look at IEMs based on that description. You can get Ultimate Ears SuperFi 5 for under 200 Dollars, free shipping.

 

[Tomikans]

gahh.. trying to find a closed headphone that's balanced.. it'll be hard to find .. but try to see if you can find used hd-25's.

I not sure but correct me if i'm wrong. hd-25's are pretty balanced from what i remembered.

 

[ZeNmAc]

good point. I like a balanced sound, but I do enjoy bass. I just don't want it to drown out the mids/treble. I would say i prefer a darker sound to a bright sound if I were to sacrifice anything. as for sound leakage my only concern is if someone a few feet away from me can clearly hear what im listening to at a moderate volume. I would also like over ear instead of on ear. I've read the hd-25's are uncomfortable.

 

[Sherwood]

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You should take a look at the Baby Stax I'm selling. Obviously, I'd like to sell them, but I think they would serve your purposes extremely well. They're open, but leakage is nonexistent. They're slightly bass-shy, but the detail they present is staggering.

[/advertisement]

 

[tune_in]

I would recommend the ath m50, they are balanced studio monitors, but have great bass.
also, ive heard good things about the Q40.

 

[ZeNmAc]

keep the ideas coming please! i appreciate it!

 

[ZeNmAc]

bumpbumpbumpbumpbump

anyone?

 

[Sherwood]

I'm going to ignore the "closed" headphone recommendations here, as I think a good pair of open headphones would still alleviate most problems you might have with leakage, provided you're not in a dead quiet environment, and the people around you aren't right in your face. If you're just near a living room, and if the people are more than 5 feet away usually, you shouldn't have a problem.

Grado SR-225 are great for the kind of music you listen to, and they're fun as heck. I'd look into those.