[Ryannnn]

Hi guys, just wanted to know what you guys think are some great headphones that give a pleasurable experience when listening to music? Its kinda a wierd question, but im looking to buy a new pair of headphones which are under $350, that are comfortable, give a fun experience and have good sound performance... I trhought of getting the V-Moda m100 since many people say that they are so much fun with a punchy base and nice mids... so yeah. what do you think?

 

[TheChillburger]

I found the HE-400 to be really 'fun' if you like the V-shaped signature. The bass in particular has a lot of personality I guess, or maybe I'm just weird.

 

[TMRaven]

It really just depends on what you think is fun and what excites or wows you when it comes to audio.
 
Is it big bass, sparkly treble, a huge soundstage, or complete neutrality, etc.

 

[Ryannnn]

Kinda in the middle of them... i love crisp sounds yet i want a fun and punchy base with nice surround... thanks for replying guys

 

[Lorspeaker]

philips A5Pro.... closed can
 
philips X2....open can

 

[dreamwhisper]

I'll just leave this here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4gd49nLqZY

This guy is one of the best reviewers out there.

 

[Ryannnn]

Thanks man! ill look at couple of his vids

 

[Steve_72]

I would definitely second the HE-400 suggestion. Very fun headphones with a spacious soundstage and punchy yet not bloomy bass. Only stipulation is not everyone finds them comfortable as they are kind of heavy for headphones.

 

[Ryannnn]

Ahhh okay, thanks for the recommendation, ill take a look ;D

 

[nicolasete]

I really still don't get the whole "sound signature thing". For me this whole "fun" vs "analytical" vs whatever thing just looks like a commercial gimmick to either hide uncapable technology or just sell more headphones to collectors.
 
 
I doubt that when Chopin was composing a song he was thinking "now i want an analytic sound", "now im just having fun"... he just played a damned piano and sound came out of it.
 
 
 
 
 
For me the only valid question would be "which headphones are able to reproduce sound as close to reality as possible?". 
 
 

  philips A5Pro.... closed can
 
philips X2....open can

 
Might I ask why didn't you recommend the DT150 as a fun can this time? 

 Comfort maybe?

 

[zhenya]

I really still don't get the whole "sound signature thing". For me this whole "fun" vs "analytical" vs whatever thing just looks like a commercial gimmick to either hide uncapable technology or just sell more headphones to collectors.


I doubt that when Chopin was composing a song he was thinking "now i want an analytic sound", "now im just having fun"... he just played a damned piano and sound came out of it.





For me the only valid question would be "which headphones are able to reproduce sound as close to reality as possible?". 

Nice in theory. Gets a little bumpy when you run headlong into the reality of recording, mastering, and reproduction. It's not marketing when people who own very revealing setups say that they just aren't that fun with some music. The fact of the matter is that most music is not recorded that well, and as a result, revealing gear can be like looking at a low quality digital image too closely. Far better to sit back and take in the image from a distance than get too familiar with the details that are all pixelated and smeared. I have such a rig. It works wonderfully on great recordings. For plenty of other stuff I have other headphones or other amps I can substitute that make great music with recordings that might not be that appealing with the highest resolution gear. The world is awash with all kind of music - much of the best of it not recorded that well. Having different gear to best match it is no gimmick.

Certainly many great musicians have been aware of the importance of the venue their music is played in, which could be thought of as the equivalent of us choosing our gear to match our favorite music.

 

[SunshineReggae]

Yeah, also, the problem comes when you get the headphones that as you say reproduce music as close to accurate as possible. You think you have it made, then you hear headphones that are less accurate.... but you like them better.

 

[nicolasete]

Nice in theory. Gets a little bumpy when you run headlong into the reality of recording, mastering, and reproduction. It's not marketing when people who own very revealing setups say that they just aren't that fun with some music. The fact of the matter is that most music is not recorded that well, and as a result, revealing gear can be like looking at a low quality digital image too closely. Far better to sit back and take in the image from a distance than get too familiar with the details that are all pixelated and smeared. I have such a rig. It works wonderfully on great recordings. For plenty of other stuff I have other headphones or other amps I can substitute that make great music with recordings that might not be that appealing with the highest resolution gear. The world is awash with all kind of music - much of the best of it not recorded that well. Having different gear to best match it is no gimmick.

Certainly many great musicians have been aware of the importance of the venue their music is played in, which could be thought of as the equivalent of us choosing our gear to match our favorite music.

 
As far as i'm concerned the acoustic differences of different venues can be adjusted digitally through equalization.
 
When you pluck a double bass string, it will vibrate strongly no matter where you play it, it will be bassy and move a lot of air. It's the kind of thing you can feel in your chest. It goes the same with lower piano keys. That's why i find the so appraised and so called neutrality laughable (when it comes to enjoying music, music engineering is a whole different thing).
 
It's not about hi-fi and low-fi. It's about what makes hi-fi hi-fi. To my understanding, the goal of hi-fi should be to be able to reproduce as "much sounds" as possible as close to the source (I don't want to say reality given the ammount of digitally created music we have these days) as possible. Then you can make as many adjustments as you want if you find weirder stuff more enjoyable.
 
 
But the goal should be not to be able to tell the difference between a real piano and a piano recording (at least in your ears, i'm taking for granted that no headphone is going to make your chest tremble xD)

 

[zhenya]

As far as i'm concerned the acoustic differences of different venues can be adjusted digitally through equalization.

When you pluck a double bass string, it will vibrate strongly no matter where you play it, it will be bassy and move a lot of air. It's the kind of thing you can feel in your chest. It goes the same with lower piano keys. That's why i find the so appraised and so called neutrality laughable (when it comes to enjoying music, music engineering is a whole different thing).

It's not about hi-fi and low-fi. It's about what makes hi-fi hi-fi. To my understanding, the goal of hi-fi should be to be able to reproduce as "much sounds" as possible as close to the source (I don't want to say reality given the ammount of digitally created music we have these days) as possible. Then you can make as many adjustments as you want if you find weirder stuff more enjoyable.


But the goal should be not to be able to tell the difference between a real piano and a piano recording (at least in your ears, i'm taking for granted that no headphone is going to make your chest tremble xD)

But the sound of that bass note will be completely different depending on whether it is plucked in an auditorium, a cafe, or an open field. It will also depend in where you are in relation to it. Equalization is a rabbit hole for most people because they don't have the expertise to do it well. I'm also not convinced it can really transform the sound of one headphone into that into another. For most people, owning a couple of different sounding headphones is a lot more practical and enjoyable than the alternatives. Not to mention that not everyone's library is entirely digital.

Lastly, the goal for you may be to get closest to the recorded sound. For other people it's what moves them emotionally which has little at all to do with accuracy. Plenty of musicians split this dichotomy as well. It is rarely the technically most proficient musicians that draw the biggest fans.

 

[nicolasete]

Lastly, the goal for you may be to get closest to the recorded sound. For other people it's what moves them emotionally which has little at all to do with accuracy. Plenty of musicians split this dichotomy as well. It is rarely the technically most proficient musicians that draw the biggest fans.

 
That's my point. I am moved emotionally listening to e.g. Chopin with my cheap-ass CALs plugged in my cheap-ass laptop (and even more in my not so cheap-ass desktop). I would be even more moved if my headphones could reproduce the sound of a piano perfectly, even if it was under a specific venue (say, the small room of a recording studio). You don't need 2000$ to be moved emotionally, and I'm starting to think that you don't need 2000$ to get accurate sound (under certain situations). Give me headphones that can reproduce sounds exactly as reproduced in a studio and i will be the happiest person alive.
 
If i want the spaciousness of an opera venue or a open stage, i can always buy some other headphones (head-fi response), just change the preset in my audio manager (which might actually do the trick), or even better. just go to an opera venue or open stage ^^.
 
 
My point is that i see a lot of people spending hundreds of (insert your currency here and make it plural) just to get that specific sound signature with sighlty 1% more mids than usual that they like... but the fact is that if a bass-head and a neutralism-supremacist were standing toe to toe in a studio listening to a piano player (or to Muse, for all i care), BOTH would hear exactly the same. So it's not a matter of taste. I don't think that the "different" sound signatures everyone speaks about are related so much to "venue specifics" (which again, its more a matter of the spacious feeling in the music, and can be easily changed with presets) as it is to getting to a particular sound config of the user liking (which, hard or not, should be able to be achieved through equalization, given that you have a good enough headphone).
 
 
So i could summarize with a question... is there a headphone thar reproduces sound exactly as recorded in a studio?