[Yummerzzz]

Hello, this is my first post (and to be honest, I'm not sure if this is the right section, I wasn't sure if the banner for recommendations and whatnot was the right place to ask this, so bear with me please) and I'd like to ask a question about these headphones, or maybe other in this price range (£150, UK), but I've narrowed it down to these two. To make things clear, I wouldn't class myself as an audiophile, though I love music and have been lurking these forums for a while now. My main source/playback device for music is my HTC One X phone (international, so has a terrible built in DAC) but at the end of the month I'm upgrading to a Sony Xperia Z1 as I've heard good things about their built in DAC's (plus that SD card expansion for .FLACs, .WAVs and .AACs right?), I don't have a portable headphone amp, though I'm planning on buying one when I get my new phone. My main music file types are FLACs, WAVs and a lot of 320kb/s MP3's, I know lossy MP3's are a sin, but I just don't have the storage space at the moment to store all my favourite songs as lossless files.
 
On to my dilemma, both of these headphones fit snugly in my budget, though I want to know if they will be better than Beats Mixr (my sisters, I promise). For starters I'll list my favorite artists :-
 
Plus 44
KOAN Sound
MitiS/Joe Torre
Blink-182
Jamie T
Kid Cudi
I'm partial to a bit of Paramore
The XX/Jamie XX
Alexisonfire
Bloc Party
Enter Shikari
Fall Out Boy
Tonight Alive
Zedd
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Ellie Goulding
 
I'm wondering which will be more suitable for my...variety of tastes, as far as I've researched, the ATH-AD900X's lack punchy bass which will be a big problem for me as I enjoy Liquid DnB, Chillstep and Glitchhop, but not the more generic dubstep genres. One final question, about Open headphones, I usually listen to music for 3-4 hours when I go to bed, but the rest of my fairly are in the adjacent rooms to mine, and I usually play my music at atleast 50% or higher volume, would the open/leaky nature of open headphones make this no longer possible?
 
Thanks for advance for any help given, and if it's in the wrong section...please move or delete it.

 

[Trunks159]

As for leakage, it shouldn't be a problem.

Open headphones in general will lack the subbass necessary for the genres. They are however more comfortable. The HD598 has even less bass. The Fidelio X1 will be satisfactory, though it costs more. For me I like them but some others may need more bass. EQ should help, though in an closed headphone you'll get more substantial, better bass, and a more congested/closed in sound, and less comfort.

Open Cans:
NOT the HD598
Fidelio X1
DT990
MDR MA900

Closed:
MDR 1R
AKG K550
ATH A900x (best out of these, and personally I feel is your best option)
DT770

 

[Yummerzzz]

As for leakage, it shouldn't be a problem.

Open headphones in general will lack the subbass necessary for the genres. They are however more comfortable. The HD598 has even less bass. The Fidelio X1 will be satisfactory, though it costs more. For me I like them but some others may need more bass. EQ should help, though in an closed headphone you'll get more substantial, better bass, and a more congested/closed in sound, and less comfort.

Open Cans:
NOT the HD598
Fidelio X1
DT990
MDR MA900

Closed:
MDR 1R
AKG K550
ATH A900x (best out of these, and personally I feel is your best option)
DT770

Wow, thanks for the quick reply.
 
So you're saying for my tastes the a closed headphone would be better, but the ATH-AD900X's would be the best open option? I MAY be able to fit the Fidelio X1's into my budget, if you believe they are that decent. I should have mentioned the ATH-AD900X's I am talking about are these ones

I believe, and not the closed ones.
 
Another option I found for £125 are the AKG K550's which are closed, sorry for all the questions, but I'm quite a newbie when it comes to this sort of stuff.
 
Thanks

 

[Yummerzzz]

As for leakage, it shouldn't be a problem.

Open headphones in general will lack the subbass necessary for the genres. They are however more comfortable. The HD598 has even less bass. The Fidelio X1 will be satisfactory, though it costs more. For me I like them but some others may need more bass. EQ should help, though in an closed headphone you'll get more substantial, better bass, and a more congested/closed in sound, and less comfort.

Open Cans:
NOT the HD598
Fidelio X1
DT990
MDR MA900

Closed:
MDR 1R
AKG K550
ATH A900x (best out of these, and personally I feel is your best option)
DT770

Wow, thanks for the quick reply.
 
So what you're saying that a pair of closed cans would be best for me, but if I chose open the ATH-900Xs would be the best choice? I MAY be able to fit the Fidelio X1's into my budget if you think they are that decent. Also, the ATH-900X's I was going to purchase are open ones, if that's a misunderstanding, sorry, my bad.
 
I could also get the AKG K550's for £125, if you think they are any good? Sorry for all the questions haha, as you can see I'm a newbie when it comes to these sort of things, thanks for all your help so far.

 

[Trunks159]

All of the headphones I listed are good, but they're all different.
It's impossible for me to know how much bass you will actually be satisfied with, especially of you don't have any cans to set as a reference point. What I can give you are safer recommendations. Closed cans in general simply don't sound as natural as open cans.

The Fidelio X1 sounds better than everything I listed, and it would nit only be a safe option since it has substantial bass, but it's actually I think the best of them.

The the k550 is great, though it's relatively bass light to closed cans.

 

[Yummerzzz]

All of the headphones I listed are good, but they're all different.
It's impossible for me to know how much bass you will actually be satisfied with, especially of you don't have any cans to set as a reference point. What I can give you are safer recommendations. Closed cans in general simply don't sound as natural as open cans.

The Fidelio X1 sounds better than everything I listed, and it would nit only be a safe option since it has substantial bass, but it's actually I think the best of them.

The the k550 is great, though it's relatively bass light to closed cans.

Ah, okay, sorry, Beats Mixr and Solo HD's are my two references. So the X1's are better than both the K550s and ATH-AD900X opens? I really like the bass of the Mixrs, but would enjoy a richer sub-bass that's more punchy and pronounced in the bass sector.

 

[Trunks159]

Yeah, then open cans except for the X1 aren't for you. Yes the X1 is the best IMO. The K550 doesn't have too much bass.

 

[Yummerzzz]

Yeah, then open cans except for the X1 aren't for you. Yes the X1 is the best IMO. The K550 doesn't have too much bass.

Sorry, forgot my passsword haha, thanks, will definitely look into getting them 

 

[solblack]

I find the A900x have decent bass.
I use them mainly for my commute paired with the C&C BH2.

 

[Yummerzzz]

I ended up grabbing the K550's while they were are on sale and I'm loving them, the bass may not be as prominent as the Mixr's but the bass separation an and clarity is better.

 

[Trunks159]

  I ended up grabbing the K550's while they are on sale and I'm loving them, the bass may not be as prominent as the Mixr's but the bass separation an and clarity is better.

Definitely.  You're one of the people that the K550 fits well.

 

[Yummerzzz]

  Definitely.  You're one of the people that the K550 fits well.

Fortunately haha, I asked at least 6 of my friends if they thought I had a decent sized head!

 

[sofastreamer]

for your recommendations i would try kef m500. x1 and maybe cals

 

[Ironandwine]

I actually think the ad900x has sufficient bass for the artists you mentioned, i just got mine pair and they are performing quite wonderfully

 

[marone]

Another vote for the 900x...