[TheUnliked]

Hi all

I'm looking for a pair of closed back headphones for under $200 AUD (~$150 USD).
My priorities are comfort as I will be wearing them for hours at a time, looks and sound quality.

I listen mainly to EDM, Pop and Alternative/Indie and enjoy a good amount of the bassy duff duff.


I was about to get the M50x's as they have the bass I want, but got put off by reviews which stated that they were uncomfortable and better options for this price point were available.

The MSR7 headphones have also piqued my interest with nice treble and look pretty nice. They would have been perfect, albeit a little over my budget. However, they are more treble focused which doesn't suite my requirements.

Other headphones I have looked at:
Beyerdynamic DT770 - really good reviews but I can't get over its looks (too bulky)
AKG K553 - also would have been nice but also look strange
Sennheiser HD 598 Cs - costs more than the M50x where I live and is apparently worse then the M50x

What other closed back headphones would you guys recommend at this price point?

 

[Mhog55]

Meze 99 Neo. Might need to stretch the budget a bit or buy used

 

[PaganDL]

Hi @TheUnliked,

if you can stretch your budget a bit more, for your requirements, AddictedtoAudio has the Sony 1AM2 which fits your requirements for $299 AUD, subjectively & personally, it 'surpasses' all the headphones on your list & the 99 Neo which is good but subjectively & personally, a little dark for me & I lean towards the 99 Classics but that's another story.

Hope you have a great day !

 

[TheUnliked]

I appreciate all the replies. Unfortunately, both of those headphones are a fair bit more than I was hoping to spend in the beginning. I will definitely have a look at them though.
Are there any other options in the $200 AUD neighborhood?

 

[PaganDL]

Hi @TheUnliked,

Sadly, no which is why no one has recommended anything so far below $ 200 AUD which is good & more importantly fits your requirements.
Though I would suggest if you're after something in that range, switch to IEMs, you get more options & for value with current AUD to USD exchange rate, you certainly have a better chance.

Hope you have a great day !

 

[TheUnliked]

No worries. Thanks for your time!

 

[marka250]

Hi all

I'm looking for a pair of closed back headphones for under $200 AUD (~$150 USD).
My priorities are comfort as I will be wearing them for hours at a time, looks and sound quality.

I listen mainly to EDM, Pop and Alternative/Indie and enjoy a good amount of the bassy duff duff.


I was about to get the M50x's as they have the bass I want, but got put off by reviews which stated that they were uncomfortable and better options for this price point were available.

The MSR7 headphones have also piqued my interest with nice treble and look pretty nice. They would have been perfect, albeit a little over my budget. However, they are more treble focused which doesn't suite my requirements.

Other headphones I have looked at:
Beyerdynamic DT770 - really good reviews but I can't get over its looks (too bulky)
AKG K553 - also would have been nice but also look strange
Sennheiser HD 598 Cs - costs more than the M50x where I live and is apparently worse then the M50x

What other closed back headphones would you guys recommend at this price point?

I still think ATH-M50X, or Meze 99 Neo could be your best bet, with the latter being slightly pricier but well worth the extra money.
MSR7 is not a good headphone if you are fond of bass-oriented sound signature.

 

[TheUnliked]

Have you had experience with the M50X? Is the M50X really that bad for it's price?

 

[marka250]

Have you had experience with the M50X? Is the M50X really that bad for it's price?

Actually, the opposite of bad . They are really god at their asking price, many successors and many new headphones can't beat the M50x.

I had the M50x before, and loved their relaxing sound. The sound is a perfect balance between neutrality and musicality in some ways, as for a reason they are the most popular monitoring headphones for artists working in a studio. For their price, they are the very obvious recommendation from me.

 

[PaganDL]

Have you had experience with the M50X? Is the M50X really that bad for it's price?

Hi @TheUnliked,

Unfortunately, the M50X gets a bad rap for various reasons, more often than not, it comes down to personal subjective taste & whether said gear (doesn't matter what it is) is value for money to an individual or not, that is more the question than not.
Personally, M50X doesn't suck as bad as people say though there is significantly better sound quality for just a little more money otherwise IEMs are usually the go.

Oftentimes, it is better to spend more or less on certain gear depending on what personally appeals, another part of the problem with living in the Big Brown Land, where audio gear is concerned, especially when it comes to cost vs value, it is easy to get shafted.

Also, forgot to add, not much of a stretch to your budget would 1more Triple Driver as another alternative.

Koss PortaPro Classic is a very inexpensive & good option though most wouldn't recommend it as cable durability is borderline.

Koss Pro4S is another good option which fits your budget though wouldn't be high on recommendation list for other than price as stock pads are terrible for any length of time.

Anyway, all you can do is trust your own ears & judgement, hope you find what you're looking for...

Hope you have a great day !

 

[TheUnliked]

@PaganDL Thanks for the extra recommendations.

@marka250 I apologize for all these questions. Do you find it comfortable enough to wear for the whole day or at least several hours without removing them? Also, what do you think of it's sound quality, especially on the lower end?

 

[PaganDL]

@PaganDL Thanks for the extra recommendations.

No problem, @TheUnliked

 

[serman005]

v-moda M100

 

[marka250]

v-moda M100

Second that. Damn I forgot this bass monster!

 

[marka250]

@PaganDL Thanks for the extra recommendations.

@marka250 I apologize for all these questions. Do you find it comfortable enough to wear for the whole day or at least several hours without removing them? Also, what do you think of it's sound quality, especially on the lower end?

They are not as comfortable as something like the HD600/650 with larger openings in the earpads to surround the ear easy, but they are large enough--- most parts of the ears won't incur pressure from the earpad clamping. The ATH-M50s earpads are comfortable enough for semi-portable closed backs. I would consider them to be really comfortable. Take V-moda M100 as an example, the M50x is slightly more comfortable than the M100, even if you swap to the V-moda XL pads.

But if you like bass, V-moda is 100% a more suitable headphone for you.