[Dave2521]

Good evening all,

I am in the market for a pair of new headphones (well first real quality headphones I should say). My research has lead me to these two. I will be using them mostly as a gaming headphone but will also use it to travel and watch movies/music.

My budget is $100, I am open to either open or closed back, however my concern with open back is I have a baby that sleeps in the room near my office, and because my office gets hot i tend to leave my door open a little. I am concerned open back headphones will wake her. The Semi openness of the HD668B though i think would be ok.

I am also open to any other suggestions that anyone else may have.

thanks!

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

I would recommend the Lasmex L-85. Better soundstage than the Status one, less sound leakage than the Superlux. It sounds fantastic, is well built and is super comfortable.
It's 'semi open' but it actually leaks far less sound than the Superlux...it's a very quiet semi open headphone.
In your price range it is an absolute winner....and it is currently on sale:
https://www.amazon.com/LASMEX-L-85-...F8&qid=1532397522&sr=8-1&keywords=lasmex+l-85

 

[Dave2521]

The lasmex look interesting. I haven’t seen many reviews on them though. Anyone have them and want to share their opinion. Or any other suggestions

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

The lasmex look interesting. I haven’t seen many reviews on them though. Anyone have them and want to share their opinion. Or any other suggestions

there aren't a lot of reviews out there....but I am here to tell you, I have some right now, and I like them a lot.
I got them to compare to the Philips SHP 9500s...soundstage is similar,the 9500s has better midrange comparatively...side by side the midrange on the l85 is slightly recessed...but the bass is better on the l85. It goes deeper with the same level of accuracy and clarity....
About bass...I like to think of there being 2 kinds basic kinds of bass: analog and digital...analog being things like a stand up bass, digital being the sounds coming out of an 808 drum machine for example. The l85 does 808 bass better than the 9500s....the 9500s have decent bass, especially how I have tuned mine, but the l85 really does it better. I can't really listen to hip hop on the 9500s, it's just not as fun...the l85 can handle hip hop, it's fun to listen to. They definitely dig deeper
Treble is fairly similar between the two. It's not overly bright, or sibilant, but it's prominent, not rolled off at all.
In terms of build quality, the l85 uses good materials and it's built well....it feels like a more expensive headphone than the $50 or $60 it is right now.
If I had to pick only one headphone under that $100 mark, between the SHP 9500s and the Lasmex L85...I'd probably go with the Lasmex, they are more versatile in terms of genres you can use them with, they are somewhat portable (they leak a little sound...the 9500s leaks a LOT) and they are better built, nicer feeling.

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

I forgot to mention movies...one of the things I really like my 9500s for is movies, so I compared the Lasmex and they do movies pretty well. Side by side I like them equally, it's honestly just a matter of taste as opposed to one being better than the other. The soundstage is similar, which is important for movie watching. As an example, I have the Philips Fidelio L2 and for music they really shine, an absolutely fantastic headphone...that sucks for movie watching. The soundstage is too intimate...it's really deep but not very wide, which makes movies sound off...things seem to be happening in an oddly crowded space. By comparison the Lasmex is more cinematic sounding.

 

[Dave2521]

I forgot to mention movies...one of the things I really like my 9500s for is movies, so I compared the Lasmex and they do movies pretty well. Side by side I like them equally, it's honestly just a matter of taste as opposed to one being better than the other. The soundstage is similar, which is important for movie watching. As an example, I have the Philips Fidelio L2 and for music they really shine, an absolutely fantastic headphone...that sucks for movie watching. The soundstage is too intimate...it's really deep but not very wide, which makes movies sound off...things seem to be happening in an oddly crowded space. By comparison the Lasmex is more cinematic sounding.

Well so here is the crappy thing - looks like it is no longer in stock or on sale at amazon. lol go figure I was just about to send it to my wife to buy for my birthday and its no long available

any other ideas?

thanks!

EDIT* Cancel that - looks like it came back in stock as i was typing this - that is weird!

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

Well so here is the crappy thing - looks like it is no longer in stock or on sale at amazon. lol go figure I was just about to send it to my wife to buy for my birthday and its no long available

any other ideas?

thanks!

EDIT* Cancel that - looks like it came back in stock as i was typing this - that is weird!

Yeah I saw that earlier...I was recommending it in another thread and when I checked it showed it was sold out....the good news is it still has a coupon...I paid $78 a couple of weeks ago, and it's 20% less now...I'd seriously snatch it, that's a good price for the quality of headphone you get.
I just re-read your original post...they really don't leak much noise, so I wouldn't worry about waking the baby...they are whispery as far as how much they leak.