[AudibleDruid]

TL;DR
switchable bluetooth/wired over/on ear headphones for metalcore and rock as a bonus. are grado sr80's good for loud rooms like a food court? are audio technica m50x's and m40x's worth it? they have a bluetooth module i can buy but can i get something better?

LONG VERSION
Im new here. im looking for recommendations on over/on ear headphones that sound good listening to metal, mostly metalcore, and early 2000's rock. Examples would be: OM&M, BFMV, Trivium, blessthefall, ADTR, DGD, Secrets, and Breaking Benjamin. i also listen to bands like Incubus, Staind, Cold, Sevendust, Kittie, and 10 Years, as well. recommendations should be for metalcore, if they sound good with early 2000's then thats a plus though.

ive done my research but most recommendations are for headphones above my price ($150 max). and cant be switchable bluetooth and wired like id prefer. Example would be the JBL E45BT which use an AUX or BT.
i really want some grado sr80's because people swear by them for rock/metal but theyre open back and im in college and study with friends in a place as loud as a food court. i heard the audio technica m50x's are good, but that the m40x's are better for my music because the mids arent scooped. im worried about build quality though. ive heard also heard they dont have the speed to keep up with fast paced bass-y music like death and thrash and consequently, they start to sound muddy. heard the same for Sennheisers too. Example: bullet for my valentine and trivium drum lines are pretty fast and would sound muddied.

any recommendations? sorry for an essay. thanks for reading and for any help.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

i really want some grado sr80's because people swear by them for rock/metal but theyre open back and im in college and study with friends in a place as loud as a food court.

If they can study in a place that loud, then them hearing your music will only be a problem if they hate your music.

As to whether you can listen and hear everything...HUGE problem. At best you'll crank it up and maybe just not hear bass but hear a crap ton of the cymbals.

Something that loud what you'd need is ANC or the best possible passive noise cancelling. Problem there is even if you can find ANC at your price point there will be too many compromises, including the effectiveness of its ANC. Closed headphones aren't good enough passive noise cancelling in that environment. You'd probably be better off with an IEM, but ergonomics and comfort can be an even bigger problem then depending on how they fit and how you like something jammed in your ear canal and what material you can tolerate in there (ie rough foam is the absolute itchiest dry or sweaty; smooth foam might be an improvement in either situation; plastics can be a bit too hard for some when they're actually too soft and the bore of the IEM is wide enough so your ears are going to end up really feeling that hard bore; etc).

 

[AudibleDruid]

If they can study in a place that loud, then them hearing your music will only be a problem if they hate your music.

As to whether you can listen and hear everything...HUGE problem. At best you'll crank it up and maybe just not hear bass but hear a crap ton of the cymbals.

Something that loud what you'd need is ANC or the best possible passive noise cancelling. Problem there is even if you can find ANC at your price point there will be too many compromises, including the effectiveness of its ANC. Closed headphones aren't good enough passive noise cancelling in that environment. You'd probably be better off with an IEM, but ergonomics and comfort can be an even bigger problem then depending on how they fit and how you like something jammed in your ear canal and what material you can tolerate in there (ie rough foam is the absolute itchiest dry or sweaty; smooth foam might be an improvement in either situation; plastics can be a bit too hard for some when they're actually too soft and the bore of the IEM is wide enough so your ears are going to end up really feeling that hard bore; etc).

its loud but not usually that loud, but thats worst case scenario. i would use them for home use too. would you suggest i just use my cheapo headphones when im out and get the grado sr 80's for home use? or are the audio technica m50x/m40x's good for all around use? any other suggestions? the thing that appeals to me about the grado 80's is that they can keep up with the quick punchy double bass lines in the faster music i listen to without sounding muddy, or so ive been told. thats where the audio technicas and most other suggestions ive seen struggle from what ive read.
one reason i havent bought the grado 80's though is because theyre open back and im worried i wont be able to hear my music when i study at places away from home. since ive never owned open back headphones idk what to expect. is it really that hard to hear the music from open back headphones like the grado's if theres lost of loud noises going on around you?

 

[voxie]

TL;DR
switchable bluetooth/wired over/on ear headphones for metalcore and rock as a bonus. are grado sr80's good for loud rooms like a food court? are audio technica m50x's and m40x's worth it? they have a bluetooth module i can buy but can i get something better?

LONG VERSION
Im new here. im looking for recommendations on over/on ear headphones that sound good listening to metal, mostly metalcore, and early 2000's rock. Examples would be: OM&M, BFMV, Trivium, blessthefall, ADTR, DGD, Secrets, and Breaking Benjamin. i also listen to bands like Incubus, Staind, Cold, Sevendust, Kittie, and 10 Years, as well. recommendations should be for metalcore, if they sound good with early 2000's then thats a plus though.

ive done my research but most recommendations are for headphones above my price ($150 max). and cant be switchable bluetooth and wired like id prefer. Example would be the JBL E45BT which use an AUX or BT.
i really want some grado sr80's because people swear by them for rock/metal but theyre open back and im in college and study with friends in a place as loud as a food court. i heard the audio technica m50x's are good, but that the m40x's are better for my music because the mids arent scooped. im worried about build quality though. ive heard also heard they dont have the speed to keep up with fast paced bass-y music like death and thrash and consequently, they start to sound muddy. heard the same for Sennheisers too. Example: bullet for my valentine and trivium drum lines are pretty fast and would sound muddied.

any recommendations? sorry for an essay. thanks for reading and for any help.

Hi, as far as I am aware...there is a dedicated thread on Head-fi that should be of help.

 

[AudibleDruid]

Hi, as far as I am aware...there is a dedicated thread on Head-fi that should be of help.

then could you please direct me to that thread? ive probably read it already whatever it is. ive been reading and googling this topic for almost a week now. as well as probably already reading it, theres also the part where i mention most solutions on here are well over my budget. some headphone recommendations are $200+ if im lucky but most are $250-300+. as a college student. i dont have that kinda money. i will say i did like my re400's but the first pair broke after 3 months and the second pair broke after a week. i just need beginner recommendations for some nice audiophile headphones that are good for metalcore and stuff like that.

send me the link to the thread please and ill give it a look, but im sure ive already read it.

 

[serman005]

I like the SoundMAGIC HP151 for you, but they are wired.

 

[voxie]

then could you please direct me to that thread? ive probably read it already whatever it is. ive been reading and googling this topic for almost a week now. as well as probably already reading it, theres also the part where i mention most solutions on here are well over my budget. some headphone recommendations are $200+ if im lucky but most are $250-300+. as a college student. i dont have that kinda money. i will say i did like my re400's but the first pair broke after 3 months and the second pair broke after a week. i just need beginner recommendations for some nice audiophile headphones that are good for metalcore and stuff like that.

send me the link to the thread please and ill give it a look, but im sure ive already read it.

Hi, type " Headphones for metal music - ultimate solution" into the search field.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

its loud but not usually that loud, but thats worst case scenario.

Any environmental noise far enough from "laboratory level dead silent" will already be detrimental to the bass. That's how a lot of people buy something like the HE400i and then complain there's no bass, despite the fact that they reach down to 20hz flat, but hand them a headphone with a gigantic bass plateau (both these measured in a lab) and wow finally, some bass.

the thing that appeals to me about the grado 80's is that they can keep up with the quick punchy double bass lines in the faster music i listen to without sounding muddy, or so ive been told. thats where the audio technicas and most other suggestions ive seen struggle from what ive read.
one reason i havent bought the grado 80's though is because theyre open back and im worried i wont be able to hear my music when i study at places away from home. since ive never owned open back headphones idk what to expect. is it really that hard to hear the music from open back headphones like the grado's if theres lost of loud noises going on around you?

The SR80e isn't just open back; as much as it has a bump in the upper bass it's quite literally downhill from 70hz. Even if you get to hear the hard fast bass the tone can be drastically different in that high noise environment since you can't hear what is already barely there. The hard fast double pedal bass drums for example can sound more like stuffing a snare with pillows.

One way to kind of get an idea what that sounds like - ask anyone you know who has a good sound system at home or in their car. Hold a party in that house and keep the doors to the room with the sound system open, or drive the sound quality-oriented (ie not the ghetto bass oriented) car system and take it out to a tail gate party and try to listen with the windows open. Or just drive on the freeway on older tires that aren't anything like the Yokohama AVS dB with the windows open.

i would use them for home use too. would you suggest i just use my cheapo headphones when im out and get the grado sr 80's for home use?

If you can live with what your cheapos sound like on the larger chunk of time you're likely to use them then no problem doing that really.

or are the audio technica m50x/m40x's good for all around use?

ATH-M40X on a smartphone gets loud but bass is a little weak yet still loose.

M50X has louder bass but can get kind of loose. You can remedy that by loosening the clamp, but 1) that takes a lot of time and puts a lot of wear on the earpads while 2) coming at the cost of how effective its isolation is since they'll fit looser.

any other suggestions?

SR80e at home and a sub-$50 in-ear monitor and an EQ app for use outside.

 

[AudibleDruid]

Any environmental noise far enough from "laboratory level dead silent" will already be detrimental to the bass. That's how a lot of people buy something like the HE400i and then complain there's no bass, despite the fact that they reach down to 20hz flat, but hand them a headphone with a gigantic bass plateau (both these measured in a lab) and wow finally, some bass.




The SR80e isn't just open back; as much as it has a bump in the upper bass it's quite literally downhill from 70hz. Even if you get to hear the hard fast bass the tone can be drastically different in that high noise environment since you can't hear what is already barely there. The hard fast double pedal bass drums for example can sound more like stuffing a snare with pillows.

One way to kind of get an idea what that sounds like - ask anyone you know who has a good sound system at home or in their car. Hold a party in that house and keep the doors to the room with the sound system open, or drive the sound quality-oriented (ie not the ghetto bass oriented) car system and take it out to a tail gate party and try to listen with the windows open. Or just drive on the freeway on older tires that aren't anything like the Yokohama AVS dB with the windows open.




If you can live with what your cheapos sound like on the larger chunk of time you're likely to use them then no problem doing that really.




ATH-M40X on a smartphone gets loud but bass is a little weak yet still loose.

M50X has louder bass but can get kind of loose. You can remedy that by loosening the clamp, but 1) that takes a lot of time and puts a lot of wear on the earpads while 2) coming at the cost of how effective its isolation is since they'll fit looser.





SR80e at home and a sub-$50 in-ear monitor and an EQ app for use outside.

oof. i really would rather not live with just the cheapos. i think ive decided on the beyerdynamic dt 770 pro for all day use because based on reviews it seems decent for metal. i had a pair of hifiman re400s that i liked a lot but they kept ****ing breaking. second pair i had broke a week into using them. first pair lasted about 2 months.

you think the beyer 770 pro will be good for using them all the time, and are they good with metal? or should i get some sr80e's for home use and get some IEM's for outside school use?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

you think the beyer 770 pro will be good for using them all the time, and are they good with metal? or should i get some sr80e's for home use and get some IEM's for outside school use?

One thing to consider about portability: the IEMs can be looped into a small case, DT770 won't even fold flat to rest on your shoulders and chest.

 

[GravityEyelids]

You could try tracking down a pair of Sennheiser HD25-1 ii's. They sound incredible, are much more portable than M40x's and other over-ears, and the sound isolation is second to none. They are among my favorite headphones for heavy rock, metal, distorted guitar, etc. Should be able to find them for not much more than $100

 

[Mhog55]

Open over ear - Massdrop Sennheiser 58X
Closed on ear - Sennheiser HD 25
I listen to 95% rock and metal, and own both of these. I won't buy or keep headphones that don't sound great with these genres.

 

[BrainsyK]

I'd like with the Grados suggestions. SR 80s are quite good.