[Maxxtro]

Hello everyone!
 
I need your help! I´m searching for a HiFi headphone.
 
 
So I listen to rock, jazz-rock and even to some HipHop.
I only have about 200$ to spend for headphones and I do want a good sound quality in these genres.
 
At the moment I am listening to that music throug my speakers but especially at night I have to be much more quiet

.
 
What I do not need are some uber-headphones that make my music sound better than it acutally is, you know what I mean

. Of course they do have to sound much better than a 20$ PC-Headset with way to heavy low-frequencies but I don´t need as good headphones as the most of you i guess

 
 
That I will need (and do want) an amplifier is clear to me and I want to build one by myself (CKKIII or something like that), so I don´t think that will cost much more than maybe an additional sum of 50$.
 
 
 
Any suggestions on which headphones to buy in these category?
 
 
Greetings,
Maxx

 

[Katun]

Hello Maxx, and welcome to Head-Fi.

 
First off, I would highly suggest you head over HERE and take a look around. Find a couple that look interesting to you. Don't worry, ignore the prices, you can generally find them cheaper elsewhere.
 
Generally speaking though, I'll recommend you the Audio Technica M50's right off the bat. They are $100, and are well known around here, as well as many other websites. It's even in HeadRoom's top 10.
 
Well, just take a look at that link, and find a couple that you like. Come back and tell us the ones you are thinking of, so we have a better idea.

 

[Maxxtro]

Well you want to know which headphones I´m thinking about?
 
 
AKG K601:
Pros: best looking to me so far, exactly within the limit
Cons: as far as i could read their sound quality is not too good and hard to drive
 
Beyerdynamic DT770 PRO:
Pros: within my limit, too
Cons: looking... well... cheap, too much bass, i´ve read
 
Shure SRH840:
Pros: best sounding of these three?!
Cons: a little bit above my limit, looking not that good, though not as bad as the DT770 PRO.

 

[NapalmK]

Quote:

Well you want to know which headphones I´m thinking about?
 
 
AKG K601:
Pros: best looking to me so far, exactly within the limit
Cons: as far as i could read their sound quality is not too good and hard to drive
 
Beyerdynamic DT770 PRO:
Pros: within my limit, too
Cons: looking... well... cheap, too much bass, i´ve read
 
Shure SRH840:
Pros: best sounding of these three?!
Cons: a little bit above my limit, looking not that good, though not as bad as the DT770 PRO.

I personally didn't care for the DT770. The bass was overpowered and boomy, mids were pretty recessed, and the treble was boosted a little as well. The do great with movies and gaming but for music there are better options in your price range. They are also very comfortable and very well built (read durable).
 
The 840s are pretty neutral with a good overall sound though I did have some comfort issues with the ones I audiitioned. Definitely a better choice than the DT770s imo. You can generally find them for around $130 or so in the FS forums.
 
Never heard the 601s so I can't comment there.
 
Hope this helps.
 

 

[Maxxtro]

Of course it helped me! So I´ll forget the DT770 definitely now!

 

[Katun]

Those three are all great for their own reasons, with the Shure probably being the most balanced.
 
The problem is, those three headphones really need an amp to show their full potential, especially the K601.
 
If you are not planning on buying an amp yet, I would find some headphones that are easier to drive.

 

[NapalmK]

Quote:

Those three are all great for their own reasons, with the Shure probably being the most balanced.
 
The problem is, those three headphones really need an amp to show their full potential, especially the K601.
 
If you are not planning on buying an amp yet, I would find some headphones that are easier to drive.

The Shures seemed to run pretty well unamped from my netbook. I never got to compare to amped though. How much difference does an amp make with them?

 

[Maxxtro]

I will have an amp! As I wrote I´ll build one...

 

[stevenswall]

My overall impressions from CanJam, brand wise, where that Beyerdynamics had the nicest bass, AKGs had almost none, but made up for it with articulation and imaging, and Audio-Technicas had the nicest sound-stage and overall smoothness, less bass, but not so sterile as AKGs offerings. Concerning bass/treble/midrange, check out headphone.com learning centers headphone graphs... though they say nothing as to quality/texture of the sound, they can fairly accurately gauge quantity.

 

[Maxxtro]

What kind of music did you listen to when so that you say the AKGs have almost no bass?
Almost no would be not good, but I´m not the one who needs shakeing headphones, even when I listen to HipHop.

 

[stevenswall]

I listened to some classic violin and cello pieces from a tube amplifier... the music was not warm, and the deeper notes where noticeably less audible. If you are listening from an iPod, it would be even more sterile and bassless.

 

[Maxxtro]

No I´ll only listen from a CD-Player with a seperate Amp.
 
But anyway you wouldn´t recommend them i see...

 
 
Edit: Oh and I´ve just started to read on headphones.com and I´ve immediately seen the frequency response graph of the Denon AH-D2000 / Audio Technica ATH A700 and... wow! Are the freuquency responses of headphones really that bad?

Of course they might not be as "linear as those of speakers with seperate drivers for the different ranges but that bad...?

 

[stevenswall]

If you go by the graphs, Etymotic does the best, since their frequency response is the closest to how the human ear hears... They also win for isolation. Be careful with the graphs, they are a great tool, but not an end all solution, though yes, some 'audiophile' headphones are close to being bass-less.

 

[Maxxtro]

So the graphs tell me, that Grado SR80i / SR225i have even less bass than the K601s... but why are less people arguing about not enough bass by the Grados than by the AKGs?

 

[J&J]

Look at used headphones listed in the forum here. You can buy  last year's  lightly used $400.00 HP for 50+% discount. AKG 701s at less then $200.00 are showing up all the time