[Olimoronio]

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what is the best circumaural headphones under $30??

 

 
I was gonna say the Maxell DHP II are close but went check the price at amazon ... 79$!!
 
I have heard the Senn HD202 are pretty decent, but never tried them, might want to read about them, perhaps.
 
Out of curiosity, why does it have to be circumaural? why not on-ear?

because i never had any circumaural headphones...but on ear would pretty much do if its comfy enough 

 
keep an eye on the For Sale forums here, yesterday i saw a sony mdr V7506 at 30$. you can fins used, but in good shape headphones there and usually very good deals.
as for 30$ everybody seems to like koss portapros.

Not everybody...
 

 

[roma101]

Hey joker -
 
Awesome write-up and I always continue to come back to this thread for references when deciding on a headphone. It's helped a lot.
 
But I have a request now that it's been thrown into the mix by Jude: Skullcandy Roc Nation Aviators.
When you find the time/money/someone to loan these to you, I'd really appreciate if you can review these. I'd love to see how they compare to all the others you've reviewed and to read your take on these. Not gonna lie - I've admired their aesthetics since I first heard about them last year (I've also been on the hunt for some light-weight circumaurals) but alas, I haven't heard many formal unbiased reviews of them.
 
Thanks again. 

 

[audiorapture]

Great work Joker, adding that skullcandy might be interesting.......

 

[ljokerl]

 
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But I have a request now that it's been thrown into the mix by Jude: Skullcandy Roc Nation Aviators.
When you find the time/money/someone to loan these to you, I'd really appreciate if you can review these. I'd love to see how they compare to all the others you've reviewed and to read your take on these. Not gonna lie - I've admired their aesthetics since I first heard about them last year (I've also been on the hunt for some light-weight circumaurals) but alas, I haven't heard many formal unbiased reviews of them.
 

Lightweight circumaurals? Any particular reason why the Phiatons out of contention? I've been comparing them to the B&W P5, Beats Solo, and other consumer-grade portable sets lately and they more than hold their own.
 
Anyway I may look into the Skullcandies if my backlog ever gets cleared up.

 

[Olimoronio]

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But I have a request now that it's been thrown into the mix by Jude: Skullcandy Roc Nation Aviators.
When you find the time/money/someone to loan these to you, I'd really appreciate if you can review these. I'd love to see how they compare to all the others you've reviewed and to read your take on these. Not gonna lie - I've admired their aesthetics since I first heard about them last year (I've also been on the hunt for some light-weight circumaurals) but alas, I haven't heard many formal unbiased reviews of them.
 

Lightweight circumaurals? Any particular reason why the Phiatons out of contention? I've been comparing them to the B&W P5, Beats Solo, and other consumer-grade portable sets lately and they more than hold their own.
 
Anyway I may look into the Skullcandies if my backlog ever gets cleared up.

I would honestly hope that they beat the tar out of both of the phones you mentioned.

 

[Ceporom]

 
Reposting this from another thread:

 

I'm looking to get a new pair of portable headphones or IEMs. Really, it's all about what I can get for my budget in the end, which would be around 150-200$. As I've understood, the best headphones for me here  would be ATH-M50, HD-25, TMA-1 (been hearing some backlash on these lately?). The IEMs I've been looking at mostly are DBA-02 and UE triple.fi 10. How do these compare to the above stated headphones purely from a sound quality perspective? Isolation is less of an issue.

 

As for my music preferences: I'd say I prefer a clear sound over a fun one so far, as I mainly spin hip hop, lots of different kinds of electronica, but also quite a bit of accoustic and vocal stuff. I Can't really say either gets more time unfortunately.

 

I'll try to supply more info if needed, but I hope this will suffice. Looking forward to any help with this!

 

[onebandonesound]

Quote:

 
Reposting this from another thread:
 
I'm looking to get a new pair of portable headphones or IEMs. Really, it's all about what I can get for my budget in the end, which would be around 150-200$. As I've understood, the best headphones for me here  would be ATH-M50, HD-25, TMA-1 (been hearing some backlash on these lately?). The IEMs I've been looking at mostly are DBA-02 and UE triple.fi 10. How do these compare to the above stated headphones purely from a sound quality perspective? Isolation is less of an issue.
 
As for my music preferences: I'd say I prefer a clear sound over a fun one so far, as I mainly spin hip hop, lots of different kinds of electronica, but also quite a bit of accoustic and vocal stuff. I Can't really say either gets more time unfortunately.
 
I'll try to supply more info if needed, but I hope this will suffice. Looking forward to any help with this!

I have the DBA-02s. they are the most comfortable IEMs I've ever had, and they can only be beat, or so ive heard, by the ck10s in electronica. hip hop, they may not have the bass for you, but for acoustic guitars and vocals, especially female vocals, these things are perfect. I have them in my ears right now and I am grinning ear to ear

 

[swbf2cheater]

maybe someone here with esw9a experience can sway me to buying it and make me feel better about it heh, i do have a few questions since its been a while since I actually demoed them
 
I'd like to know anyones impressions on their soundstage and how they fair in terms of immersion , depth, height and width compared to the phiaton ms400.  I loved my phiatons but the stage was very small and poor and not even remotely immersing enough for me.  

 

[Ceporom]

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I have the DBA-02s. they are the most comfortable IEMs I've ever had, and they can only be beat, or so ive heard, by the ck10s in electronica. hip hop, they may not have the bass for you, but for acoustic guitars and vocals, especially female vocals, these things are perfect. I have them in my ears right now and I am grinning ear to ear

Indeed, the DBA-02s is what I was leaning towards at first, but then I read some things about the build quality being so-so. The nice thing with some of the headphones I mentioned is that they have a replaceable cable, so hopefully they'll last quite a while. the DBA-02 has a warrant of 1 year I believe? I guess one could just say that I'm terrible at taking care of my IEMs, but I just want some good sound when I commute to and from, as well as when I'm at my work, without having to worry about if I'm being careful enough. If the DBA-02's are way better than any of the (semi-)portable headphones I listed, then I guess I'll go with them anyway, since sound is my top priority, after all. Thank you for your opinion!

 

[roma101]

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But I have a request now that it's been thrown into the mix by Jude: Skullcandy Roc Nation Aviators.
When you find the time/money/someone to loan these to you, I'd really appreciate if you can review these. I'd love to see how they compare to all the others you've reviewed and to read your take on these. Not gonna lie - I've admired their aesthetics since I first heard about them last year (I've also been on the hunt for some light-weight circumaurals) but alas, I haven't heard many formal unbiased reviews of them.
 

Lightweight circumaurals? Any particular reason why the Phiatons out of contention? I've been comparing them to the B&W P5, Beats Solo, and other consumer-grade portable sets lately and they more than hold their own.
 
Anyway I may look into the Skullcandies if my backlog ever gets cleared up.

Actually, your review of the Phiatons got me really interested in them. However, my funds are low right now, but I may be able to get a good deal on the Aviators. Also, I've heard the Phiatons may not be fully circumaural for some people. They're definitely on my to-buy list once the price goes down and I'll be checking the FS forums. But till then, my eye has been on those Aviators.
 
If you ever get a chance, I know your review would be helpful!

 

[Olimoronio]

Quote:

Hey joker -
 
Awesome write-up and I always continue to come back to this thread for references when deciding on a headphone. It's helped a lot.
 
But I have a request now that it's been thrown into the mix by Jude: Skullcandy Roc Nation Aviators.
When you find the time/money/someone to loan these to you, I'd really appreciate if you can review these. I'd love to see how they compare to all the others you've reviewed and to read your take on these. Not gonna lie - I've admired their aesthetics since I first heard about them last year (I've also been on the hunt for some light-weight circumaurals) but alas, I haven't heard many formal unbiased reviews of them.
 
Thanks again. 

I just wanted to add that I too think the Roc Nation Skullcandy's are gorgeous...
 

 
 
 
I mean, come on, how could you NOT love the look of those. But anyways, another guy did short review of them and had some good and bad things to say about them (mostly good) as usual but later goes on to compare them to the Beats in value proposition.
 
Here's the review - you should check it out if you haven't already.

 

[roma101]

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Hey joker -
 
Awesome write-up and I always continue to come back to this thread for references when deciding on a headphone. It's helped a lot.
 
But I have a request now that it's been thrown into the mix by Jude: Skullcandy Roc Nation Aviators.
When you find the time/money/someone to loan these to you, I'd really appreciate if you can review these. I'd love to see how they compare to all the others you've reviewed and to read your take on these. Not gonna lie - I've admired their aesthetics since I first heard about them last year (I've also been on the hunt for some light-weight circumaurals) but alas, I haven't heard many formal unbiased reviews of them.
 
Thanks again. 

I just wanted to add that I too think the Roc Nation Skullcandy's are gorgeous...
 

 
 
 
I mean, come on, how could you NOT love the look of those. But anyways, another guy did short review of them and had some good and bad things to say about them (mostly good) as usual but later goes on to compare them to the Beats in value proposition.
 
Here's the review - you should check it out if you haven't already.

I second that sentiment. I loved them for a while. Now that people are saying good things about it... well there goes my wallet.

 

[Olimoronio]

Well, just to make myself clear - he said good things about them but he also said that they weren't a very good value. Though he did say that what they do right they do better then any other can he's heard, so I dunno... So confusing.
 
They are just so pretty I think I'll have to buy a pair and if I think they suck well I have like a million drivers to try in 'em so what the hell. First I've got to get my Prodipe Pro880's though.
 
Give me the sound of the Prodipe's and the looks of these Skullcandy's and I might be in heaven.
 
 
 
If you do get them PLEASE do a review or at least give some brief impressions. I'm curious to get more than just one single opinion on these.

 

[Armaegis]

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maybe someone here with esw9a experience can sway me to buying it and make me feel better about it heh, i do have a few questions since its been a while since I actually demoed them
 
I'd like to know anyones impressions on their soundstage and how they fair in terms of immersion , depth, height and width compared to the phiaton ms400.  I loved my phiatons but the stage was very small and poor and not even remotely immersing enough for me.  

I did compare the MS400 and ESW9a back to back, but that was a while ago. I find them both to have a roundish stage, with the esw9a being a bit larger in all directions. They also have slightly different resonant characteristics, with the Phiatons giving a heavy oomph with lots of body, and the esw9a giving an airier touch to the sound (one would be tempted to say a woody characteristic to the sound, but that's probably placebo talking).
 
If you're looking for that total immersion though, I don't think you'll find it in the esw9a (but you never know until you try again right?

)
 
What sources/amps have you been using? Maybe a different amp and/or jumping to balanced might be an option.

 

[swbf2cheater]

I use a meier Audio headsix for all my amping needs
 
I know it wont satisfy my immersion needs, but I cant think of anything that meets most of my requirements that I have not already owned
 
-short cord
-thin headband
-circumaurial ( or supra but man it better be insanely comfortable )
-decent clarity with good stage in height, width and depth
-$150 budget 
 
lol