[kyba274]

Hello,
 
I was recommended this website by a friend and have been browsing around a fair bit.
I need a recommendation as to what headphones to buy.
 
I'm a complete novice when it comes to this world, and have previously just used headphones that one can buy at JB Hi Fi or Dick Smith Electronics.
Awhile back i bought a decent set of panasonic headphones but they broke recently. Since then I have bought two sets of  headphones, both more expensive than the panasonic (each around $60), but still have not been able to find something as good.
I am looking for headphones with very clear and strong base, to listen to trance style music, but with good crisp high end notes too. I would like to try the closed back variety of headphones this time.
Ill be doing a fair bit of airplane travelling, and will be running the headphones from a phone or ipod. However they will spend most of their life plugged into a computer.
My budget tops out around $180...
 
My friend recommended ATH-m50's, and these look pretty appealing. Im pretty keen to buy them, but was wondering if you guys had any other recommendations?
Also, will I need an amplifier for the m50's to get proper sound if running them from an ipod nano?
 
Cheers
Kuba

 

[crinacle]

Clear and crisp highs with bass? The M50s do okay with that criteria, but a better choice would be the Ultrasone HFI series. I would go for the 580 if I were you.

 

[kyba274]

Im mainly looking for good bass for listening to melodic trance. How does the bass compare between the ultrasone HFI-450 and the ATH-M50?

 

[crinacle]

I don't have any experience with the 450, but I do have a review on the HFI 580 vs the M50. Check my profile.

 

[kyba274]

Thanks for the help crinacle. That review is pretty good. I am assuming that the 580 will be a higher class than the 450, and upon reading your review ive already decided that i prefer the m50 to the 580.
 
Is the volume or bass diminished what so ever with no amp on the m50's? Ive read that the m50's gain minimalistically from amping. However on an airplane, that little bit extra volume or bass is well appreaciated.

 

[crinacle]

I guess amping helps with the volume, and some portable amps with a bass boost feature (e.g. Fiio, Cmoy) also increases bass as well.

 

[kyba274]

Hmm ive been reading up on it a bit more and decided to go for trusted decent basshead cans.
You regarded the 580's as rather uncomfortable. Is there anything with a similar or better bass response with just as much clarity, but with a higher comfort rating?
 
Cheers

 

[crinacle]

I wouldn't say that it's that uncomfortable, but I got used to it and the clamping eased up quite a bit too. Comfort is really subjective and I strongly recommend that you try out the headphones personally before reaching a decision.

A lot say that the Beyer DT770 80 Ohm Pro version are VERY comfortable and offers very good bass quality, but I don't have much experience with them. My personal first impressions on them was that they sounded a little muddier than the HFI-580 and had slower bass than the M50.

 

[idale]

Comfort's definitely subjective, because as I'd posted in crinacle's review, I'd personally like to have even more clamp on my HFI-580s. Several people have said that they're not as comfortable as the M50 because of the difference in the shape of the pads, but I've had no complaints personally (obviously). As disclosure, though, I wear glasses with wide, thin, flexible arms and so that can affect my perceived comfort and clamp level (probably clamps slightly less and comfort could be either slightly better or slightly worse but probably not by much). Some people like the "pillows" on the Sony XB series, for example, others hate them; there's no telling for sure what you'll think of anything (but at least you can get general thoughts by combining a lot of other people's thoughts).
 
Ultrasones seem difficult to try out because few places seem to stock them in-store, but you can also either buy used or buy new from somewhere with a good return policy and return if they aren't going to work. Personally I hate doing that, but it worked out this time, at least, since I do really like my 580s.