[Silver Arrow]

Can anybody recommend any good heaphones that are around £50?
I was lookign at the AKG K450 and Sennheiser HD238.
The HD238s arrived today and they don't sound that bassy. They feel really weird on my ear as they just fit on top rather than snugly like they should.
 
 
Which are better out the two? I'm think of returning the HD238 for a refund but i'm not too sure.
Maybe they need to be broken in or something.
HELP?

 

[Silver Arrow]

Anybody?

 

[zero7525]

What do you think of the HD238 in terms of sound quality? I've owned it before, and I didn't like it at all. They were too "quiet" (read: laid back) in the mids and highs. On bassy passages, there is a HEAP of distortion. For example, when a low bass tone hits while a voice is singing, the voice distorts. I feel that there are better portable headphones out there. Here is a good comparison of ultra portables (though I'd recommend the slightly bigger portable headphones, which Headfonia also has a shootout on):
 
http://www.headfonia.com/ultra-portable-shootout-px100-px200-portapro-k404-v-jays-tracks-oldskool-and-hd238/

 

[Silver Arrow]

Quote:

What do you think of the HD238 in terms of sound quality? I've owned it before, and I didn't like it at all. They were too "quiet" (read: laid back) in the mids and highs. On bassy passages, there is a HEAP of distortion. For example, when a low bass tone hits while a voice is singing, the voice distorts. I feel that there are better portable headphones out there. Here is a good comparison of ultra portables (though I'd recommend the slightly bigger portable headphones, which Headfonia also has a shootout on):
 
http://www.headfonia.com/ultra-portable-shootout-px100-px200-portapro-k404-v-jays-tracks-oldskool-and-hd238/

Yeah they're quiet and they feel really wierd on my ears. They just float on top and there isn't really any bass like the reviews i've read on Amazon. I use them mostly at home on my laptop. The open design doesn't make much difference but i hear things that i've haven;t heard before in a song. Do you know of any other headphones that are good and have a lot of bass?

 

[sel00264]

Yes, the Sennheiser PX100-ii should take care of that for you.  Way more bass than the 238, too much for me in fact, and they fit much more snugly on the ears.

 

[Silver Arrow]

Quote:

Yes, the Sennheiser PX100-ii should take care of that for you.  Way more bass than the 238, too much for me in fact, and they fit much more snugly on the ears.

Cool. Should i go for the open or closed and what is the REAL difference between the two?
The closed ones are pricier £45 and have a better review than the open ones £27
I should mention i got the HD 238s on sale at £26 instead of the £42 they're retailing atm.

 

[musubi1000]

My first portable purchase was a px 100 which I loved. I still have them but retired them when I got my HD 238. The HD 238 is a great improvement to the px 100s. Very well balanced with more airy treble (something missin in the portables I've tried) stronger bass, good soundstage(another hard to do in portables), and efficient enough to be driven from an iPod.

They didn't sound like that when I first got em!!! You really should just run em for 200 hrs and then reevaluate.

In my never ending quest for perfect portables I purchased the px 100ii and the AKG q460 both of which happened to be mentioned here. Both the PX100ii and the AKG are closed designs and have unbelievable bass impact for such small cans. But both have softer treble. This is great for bad source material but creates an imbalance In my opinion at normal listening volumes. This imbalance disappears when you start cranking the volume up.
Both are legit but I will still reach for the HD 238s almost every time as the soundstage and treble easily best the other two. The only time I reach for the AKGs are when I need isolation and the tracks have fat bass lines. the HD238s offer no isolation and they leak sound. I've purchased other portables but now looking back at all the money I spent if I had just stopped reading this great website I would have found my perfect headphone 2 years ago in the HD238. The HD238 offers a value like no other inexpensive but great phones

 

[musubi1000]

Oh yeah forgot to mention the AKG Q460 is the same as the K450 but in different color.

 

[ostewart]

i had problems with the HD238 headphone jack twice which was a shame and a real let down as i loved the comfort and sound.