[thatoneheadphonedood]

Hello!
i currently own a pair of Akg k52 headphones that are majorly modded and Grado sr60e’s. And if you want to count my Sony MDR-v700’s (cracked a little). Pictures will be below and will be getting soon, koss kph30i’s.

Before you post please read this below—

rules:
1. cant be anything above the price of $300 (usd)
2. Has to be full sized headphones.

Thats it! Keep it clean and have fun posting! If you have any questions or something to add to this thread to make it better, please message me!

IEM and earbud thread

 

[mlau]

First, what is cheap? Are you asking about sub $100? Sub $20?

Second, how picky are you about audiophile? What qualifies?


FWIW, I've found that I'm decidedly mid-fi at best. I love my Philips 9500 for unamped listening (got it for $50).
For amped listening, I use a used pair of Meze 99 classics (but was thinking of getting a Massdrop Sennheiser or something).

The Grado SR60's were definitely good

 

[thatoneheadphonedood]

First, what is cheap? Are you asking about sub $100? Sub $20?

Second, how picky are you about audiophile? What qualifies?


FWIW, I've found that I'm decidedly mid-fi at best. I love my Philips 9500 for unamped listening (got it for $50).
For amped listening, I use a used pair of Meze 99 classics (but was thinking of getting a Massdrop Sennheiser or something).

The Grado SR60's were definitely good

Oh! Thanks for mentioning this! It can be sub 150. For how picky i am, to be honest i dont know because i haven’t tried anything in the higher end range. Just anything qualifies that is “audiophile grade”. And i love my grados a lot and my akg’s.

 

[DenverW]

How about iems? I got a pair of Er2xr for $50 and a jvc fd01 (which I modded to fdx1) for $125. Both are absolutely fantastic sounding.

 

[zazex]

I'm not familiar with any 'cheap" "audiophile grade" headphones.

And it's not a simple matter to define "audiophile"

I do think there are some "very good" sounding, well made headphones
available at relatively low price points. -

Sony MDR 7506,
Audio-Technica ATH-50x,
Grado SR 225x,
Yamaha HPH=150,
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/HPH150Bk--yamaha-hph-150b-open-back-headphones-black,
AKG 240 Mk II...
https://www.amazon.com/AKG-240-Ster...10db6&pd_rd_wg=b6hB9&pd_rd_i=B0016MNBAM&psc=1

Quite sure there will be many recommendations from others.
These are mine. I've listened to all of them and in fact
still have the Yamaha's and Audio-Technica's in my collection.

I also have headphones that to me, sound even better. But they did cost more.

I think that the least expensive entry into many aspects of "audiophile headphones"
are the Grado SR325x (or SR325e's on the secondary market).

 

[thatoneheadphonedood]

How about iems? I got a pair of Er2xr for $50 and a jvc fd01 (which I modded to fdx1) for $125. Both are absolutely fantastic sounding.

You can post those!

 

[thatoneheadphonedood]

I might release another thread with better rules and understanding of what to post. I kinda didnt make that clear. Just look out for a thread with the same title or related.

 

[pbui44]

Drop Hifiman HE-X4 for $129:

https://drop.com/buy/drop-hifiman-he-x4-planar-magnetic-headphones

Philips Fidelio X2HR for $150:

https://www.amazon.com/Philips-X2HR...d=1&keywords=philips+x2&qid=1623558573&sr=8-3

Philips Fidelio L2 for $99:

https://www.amazon.com/L2BO-27-Fide...d=1&keywords=philips+x2&qid=1623558581&sr=8-7

Shure SRH-840 for $120:

https://www.amazon.com/Shure-Profes...hild=1&keywords=srh+840&qid=1623559035&sr=8-1

JVC HA-RX900 for $68:

https://www.amazon.com/JVC-HARX900-...jvc+rx900&qid=1623559115&s=electronics&sr=1-1

Brainwavz HM-5 for $63:

https://www.brainwavzaudio.com/collections/headphones/products/hm5-studio-monitor-headphones

Spadger CD-990 for $55:

https://www.amazon.com/Headphone-Sp...s=spadger&qid=1623559312&s=electronics&sr=1-1

 

[zazex]

I might release another thread with better rules and understanding of what to post. I kinda didnt make that clear. Just look out for a thread with the same title or related.

Sounds like a good idea. Why not do it real soon while the thread is still short and easily manageable?

 

[thatoneheadphonedood]

Sounds like a good idea. Why not do it real soon while the thread is still short and easily manageable?

Okie! Imma do it today at some point!

 

[ADUHF]

If you want to start another topic, that's fine. But you can also edit the title of this one, using the "Edit thread" option in the settings pulldown menu in the upper righthand corner of the thread. If you feel that's needed. (I think the current title is ok though.)

Also, since this is the full-size headphone forum, I'd suggest keeping most of your focus on that. And perhaps starting another similar thread in the Portable/In-ear forum for IEMs, if you want. Otherwise the forum mods may feel its better to move this topic to a more neutral location, such as the Introductions forum.

Good luck though whatever you decide. It looks like you've gotten some great feedback so far, in addition to the ones in your original post, thatoneheadphonedood!

 

[ADUHF]

I have not tried them myself, but in the lower-cost audiophile category, maybe the HiFiMan HE400se might be another one to look at. I believe these are also generally in the $150 range.

Recent review by Resolve.

 

[thatoneheadphonedood]

Set some new rules and title of what to post. Gonna make another thread for the IEMS.

 

[ADUHF]

Another possible resource for some lower-cost full-size headphones with more of an audiophile flavor is Crinacle's rankings list...

https://crinacle.com/rankings/headphones/

I believe he is in the process of doing a major overhaul of this list though, since updating some of his assessment criteria. So I'd expect some items there to get shuffled around a bit.

In addition to the Shure SRH840, which currently ranks a B+, some other headphones in the sub-$300 range that also currently rate a B+ (there are no "A's" at this price point) include the Senn 560S, 650/6XX, and AKG K612 Pro. There are several other options in the "B" category, including HFM 400i (2020 version), AKG K371, Shure SRH440, and Beyer DT-990. Things begin to get a little more dicy below this level.

Crinacle seems to favor somewhat brighter-sounding HPs in his rankings btw (esp. for the lower-cost HPs), which would include many of the above. Also, if you are looking for something that is closer to an "audiophile" sound (whatever that is), then I would not look just at his overall scores, but also at the headphone's technical grade as well, which has more to do with it's imaging, resolution and transient response. The Shure SRH440 may rank fairly highly in terms of it's overall score, for example. But that probably has more to do with it's tuning (and probably brightness) than it's technical abilities, which only rank a C+.

There may also be some headphones which rank lower in terms of their overall scores. But which still have very good technical performance. And maybe some EQ-ing could be used to fix some of their tonal balance issues.

Crinacle apparently hasn't measured or ranked the HFM HE400se yet btw.

 

[ADUHF]

My personal picks, based on a couple handfuls of mostly consumer and studio HPs I've listened to or tried over the years in this price range, are still pretty much the same btw. And all of the headphones I've owned have had issues of one kind or another, and things I liked and things I didn't... So none have been a slam-dunk.

Comfort and durability often take priority over other factors, including sound quality to some extent. Because I put alot of wear and tear on my HPs. Though I also pay attention to things like frequency response, distortion, speed and stereo imaging. And use EQ to adjust the FR on all my headphones to what I feel is a more neutral and accurate response.

Having said all that, the 250-ohm DT-770 is the headphone which is receiving the most use at the moment, on a daily basis. And prior to that it was the AKG K553 Pro. Comfort played a large factor on both of these. Though I had to do more work to get the pads on the K553 to provide a reliable seal and sound quality.

The other headphone I currently have in this price range is the AudioTechnica M50x. I've had it for more than 6 months. But it hasn't gotten much use, because the DT-770 is so much more comfortable.

Some other headphones I've been perusing lately include the AKG K553 MkII with the detachable cable (which is something my previous pair didn't have), the AKG K371, Shure SRH840 (which is currently marked down a bit at GC), and the Sennheiser HD560s. And maybe also one or two others. I wouldn't mind trying a planar as well, maybe somethin like the HFM HE400se. The others are just a bit more accessible though.

Some other full-size HPs in this price range that I have tried, or listened to...

AKG K361
AudioTechnica M30x, M40x
Beyerdynamic DT-990
KRK KNS6400
Sennheiser 280 Pro, 380 Pro, and one of the 5 series (can't remember the exact model, but it was <$200, and not one of the best)
Sony MDR-7506

The AT M30x, M40x and Sony 7506 are all considered full-sized HPs btw. But their earcups are small enough that they'll probably sit at least partly on top of alot of people's ears.