[darthdiddy]

I am planning on ordering The Beats By Dre tomorrow and I want to be sure that I am making the right $300.00 decision. I have been trying different headphones and I can't seem to come up with a better sounding solution for my needs. The Beats By Dre in my opinion make the music out my D2 come alive and I feel like I am sitting in front of a loudspeaker vs listening to something on my headphones. I listen to about 90% late 80's early 90's Hip-Hop and it seems like the Beats were built for that genre of music.

I walk to work everyday so portability is of the up most importance. The Beats are easily driven my D2 with extra headroom in the power department so that I don't need a portable amp. I guess a portable amp would not be totally out of the question for my needs but it would suck to have to lug around an extra piece of equipment in my jeans pocket. I have taken suggestions from this forum in the past and it has been a mixed bag for me at best.

I first bought some er6's years ago thanks to suggestions from this board and I hated them. I next bought some PortaPro's and some Sennheiser PX-200's which were adequate at the time but I eventually moved on. Next I tried the AKG-271 which could not be powered sufficiently by my Creative Zen or my Supermini amp so I decided to go back to IEM's and got a pair of Atrio M5's which are held in pretty hi regard here along with a D2. The Atrio's were ok I guess but they lacked synergy in my opinion with the D2 so I sold them to a friend. I decided to pick up some Superfi.EB's on a hunch even though they were pretty much despised here and I loved them. Unfortunately, my dog ate them literally and here I am back on the market again. I am open to headphone suggestions but please take the following things into consideration:

1. Must be portable
2. Easily driven by MP3 player
3. Sturdy construction
4. Somewhat Bass Heavy but no recessed highs.

Any thoughts?

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by darthdiddy /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am planning on ordering The Beats By Dre tomorrow and I want to be sure that I am making the right $300.00 decision. I have been trying different headphones and I can't seem to come up with a better sounding solution for my needs. The Beats By Dre in my opinion make the music out my D2 come alive and I feel like I am sitting in front of a loudspeaker vs listening to something on my headphones. I listen to about 90% late 80's early 90's Hip-Hop and it seems like the Beats were built for that genre of music. I walk to work everyday so portability is of the up most importance. The Beats are easily driven my D2 with extra headroom in the power department so that I don't need a portable amp. I guess a portable amp would not be totally out of the question for my needs but it would suck to have to lug around an extra piece of equipment in my jeans pocket. I have taken suggestions from this forum in the past and it has been a mixed bag for me at best. I first bought some er6's years ago thanks to suggestions from this board and I hated them. I next bought some PortaPro's and some Sennheiser PX-200's which were adequate at the time but I eventually moved on. Next I tried the AKG-271 which could not be powered sufficiently by my Creative Zen or my Supermini amp so I decided to go back to IEM's and got a pair of Atrio M5's which are held in pretty hi regard here along with a D2. The Atrio's were ok I guess but they lacked synergy in my opinion with the D2 so I sold them to a friend. I decided to pick up some Superfi.EB's on a hunch even though they were pretty much despised here and I loved them. Unfortunately, my dog ate them literally and here I am back on the market again. I am open to headphone suggestions but please take the following things into consideration: 1. Must be portable 2. Easily driven by MP3 player 3. Sturdy construction 4. Somewhat Bass Heavy but no recessed highs. Any thoughts?

Why not just flush the $300 down the toilet? These cans sound like crap. They claim to have sound canceling, but really compared to the Audio Technica/Bose/etc... they have none that I can hear.

$300 is a lot for stylish looking headphones that are horrible.

 

[crossmd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by darthdiddy /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am planning on ordering The Beats By Dre tomorrow and I want to be sure that I am making the right $300.00 decision. I have been trying different headphones and I can't seem to come up with a better sounding solution...I feel like I am sitting in front of a loudspeaker vs listening to something on my headphones. I listen to about 90% late 80's early 90's Hip-Hop and it seems like the Beats were built for that genre of music.

a. How many different 300$ phones have you tried/applied back to The Beats?

b. That live sound feeling can be had(is supposed to be had..at the bare minimum?) by most phones at that price level. From what I hear, there are better ones out there than The Beats. This is unconfirmed by my experience though. I'd actually be curious to hear them, honestly.

Don't let aesthetics get in the way of sound quality, assuming that that's what you're going for.

 

[mcspectre]

Most people will say that the beyerdynamic DT 770 80ohms need to be amped but i'm telling you they dont! SURE they do sound better amped but not enough IMO for them not to be suggested to someone going ampless.

I power mine through a mini3 but whenever the battery dies i have zero issues listening to them through my ipod, creative zen or laptop. These cans really shine when it comes to impactful beats and i think you'd really enjoy them just as much as the Beats but at a third the price!

Only downsize is that they are not as nice looking as the beats, but that's not an issue for some.....but i dont really consider them portable or attractive for that matter, but they are built like a tank and comfy as hell.

 

[darthdiddy]

I think everybody got me wrong, I don't really care what my cans look like. I just don't want to have to carry around a portable amp for premium sound if I don't have too. I tried the Beats with my D2 for about 20 minutes and the sounded really good. I am sure there are other phones out there that will trump the Beats in regards to sound but they would also require an amp. The Beats excel at Hip-Hop directly out of an MP3 player, I am just trying to see if there are any other real contenders out there. I don't think the DTT 770 80ohm would be for me in my situation because I hear they are still pretty hard to drive and they may not fit under my jacket hood if its raining. I need volume, not ear shattering volume but enough to were I can listen at a reasonable level and my mp3 player doesn't have to struggle or distort to keep up.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Have you considered the new and upcoming Shure headphone models?

 

[darthdiddy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMarchingMule /img/forum/go_quote.gif Have you considered the new and upcoming Shure headphone models?

Do you have a link?

 

[darthdiddy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by crossmd /img/forum/go_quote.gif a. How many different 300$ phones have you tried/applied back to The Beats? b. That live sound feeling can be had(is supposed to be had..at the bare minimum?) by most phones at that price level. From what I hear, there are better ones out there than The Beats. This is unconfirmed by my experience though. I'd actually be curious to hear them, honestly. Don't let aesthetics get in the way of sound quality, assuming that that's what you're going for.

I have did research on other cans like the Denon 1001, ATH-ES7, Utrasone HFI-780, DT770, Sennheiser 600, etc. Unfortunately, I can only listen to what I can audition here locally which has been Bose, the entire Sony XB line, some Sony NC headphones, and my old pair of AKG 271's.

 

[krmathis]

Frankie say...

+ YouTube Video​

ERROR: If you can see this, then YouTube is down or you don't have Flash installed.

 

[MaloS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by darthdiddy /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have did research on other cans like the Denon 1001, ATH-ES7, Utrasone HFI-780, DT770, Sennheiser 600, etc. Unfortunately, I can only listen to what I can audition here locally which has been Bose, the entire Sony XB line, some Sony NC headphones, and my old pair of AKG 271's.

Get yourself Equation RP-22x and begone. Saves bunch of moneys too. =)

You won't really be able to try it, but I am willing to take bets it will be better than beats.

 

[.coco]

Check out the Ultrasones, I have a HFI780, and it sounds exactly like what you are looking for.

1. Must be portable - Yup, they fold up, and come with a little baggy. They are also closed, so you wont piss off the rest of the world.

2. Easily driven by MP3 player - yup

3. Sturdy construction - I wouldnt be afraid to toss them in a bag and go. Seems sturdy.

4. Somewhat Bass Heavy but no recessed highs. - Yup, take a look at a lot of the reviews.


By the way, I have heard the Beats...I can say they are one of the worst headphones I have ever heard.

 

[kg21]

I would probably recommend the dt770 as well, powerful bass which is good for hip hop and much cheaper than the beats, doesn't require a really good source/amp. Is there a low impedence version though? I forget.

 

[spideyman409]

D2000

 

[intoart]

Except for the part about not fitting under your jacket hood, the DT770/80s would be perfect in your situation (and for half the price of the Beats.) They have great overall sound with lifelike levels of clean bass (but not overpowering.) They are easy to drive (my friend's iphone can drive them much louder than I can stand), and they totally block outside sound.
For even less $, HD280s will give you many of the same properties and will fit under your hood.

 

[lutwey]

Ii wouldnt even recomend the beats to my worst enemy. for 300usd you can get the dt770 AND hfi-780. check them out. did lot of reading about them the 780 is up par with its pro brothers and just lagging behind the ed9, while the dt770 pro 80 will give you all the bass you can handle. if iam in your place ill go with thoose to or save up and go with the mdr v6.