[Kubernetes]

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What do you guys like :L No but honestly, if i am spending £200-300 on headphones i dont want to find out in a few months i got the wrong ones... 

How would you have gotten the wrong ones if you enjoy them?  

 
Don't be put off because people here find Beats and Bose to be bad values--if they work for you, that's all that matters.  Of course the issue is to find what works for you.  Are  you dissatisfied with your Senns?  If not, why upgrade?  And really, don't upgrade unless you do an A-B test and the candidate headphones blow you away and blow your Senns away.  If the Beats didn't do that, then maybe they're not for you.  
 
Someone did have a good suggestion to go to an Apple store to try some headphones.  Take your Senns and iPod with you, and try different cans with music you really like and know well.  Oh, and doesn't Apple carry the Audio Technica ES7?  Fun.

 

[mooseling1]

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How would you have gotten the wrong ones if you enjoy them?  

 
Don't be put off because people here find Beats and Bose to be bad values--if they work for you, that's all that matters.  Of course the issue is to find what works for you.  Are  you dissatisfied with your Senns?  If not, why upgrade?  And really, don't upgrade unless you do an A-B test and the candidate headphones blow you away and blow your Senns away.  If the Beats didn't do that, then maybe they're not for you.  
 
Someone did have a good suggestion to go to an Apple store to try some headphones.  Take your Senns and iPod with you, and try different cans with music you really like and know well.  Oh, and doesn't Apple carry the Audio Technica ES7?  Fun.

Thanks for the advice. I have tried the beats, and the shop was refusing to let me listen to my ipod, claiming they have a perfectly good demo track, until i pointed out it has no fast paced music, very little treble in the songs, no vocals and only songs i have never heard before. So when i got my ipod out and went into the playlist i use to test speakers/headphones i discovered the beats for midrange were barely better than my sennheisers, i think the bass was also better on the beats, other than it seemed to be not very precise and detailed as i listened to a song that when playing on my big speakers with proper amp and sub you hear lots of different levels and 'texture' to the bass, the beats didnt show any of that. The treble is my biggest problem with them, its not just bad. Its horrific. I cant believe how shrill it was, halfway through listening to a song that was a mixture of high notes/ violins/flutes with deep drums in the background i had to stop because of how bad the headphones were making the very high notes.  Thanks for the help. I am looking into the beyerdynamic DT990 at the moment.

 

[Eric_C]

Some users have found 990 to have shrill highs and exaggerated bass. As always, try before you buy (or purchase from a store with a good return policy).

 

[mooseling1]

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Some users have found 990 to have shrill highs and exaggerated bass. As always, try before you buy (or purchase from a store with a good return policy).

The original pair i was looking at were the sennheiser hd380, do you have any idea what they are like? I have read reviews and people seem to be very happy with them.

 

[Eric_C]

No idea, sorry. I'd advise you to search for reviews/discussions on any given headphone you're looking at.

 

[Kubernetes]

I currently have a pair of sennheiser HD205 headphones that i think are great, but, they are uncomfortable for long journeys, leak quite a lot of sound, and dont keep them much sound out so you hear a lot of background noise. 
 
 
Based on this, have you considered IEMs?  Really quality portable headphones aren't that common.  If you must have headphones, the Senn HD25s are very good, as are my AT-ESW9s.  The Beyer T50p is praised as well.

 

[Eric_C]

ESW9 barely blocks out ambient noise though, right?

 

[mooseling1]

Im trying to decide if i should go for open or closed headphones, i still think closed as i will be using them enough in the car, bus, train and and on planes to want that extra sound isolation and also less leakage to everyone around you..  I originally looked at the sennheiser HD380 pro and then went to a shop to see if they had them, they only had the Studio beats, but i couldnt listen to them there, i refused to buy them without trying first and when i did try them i realised why everyone hates them. So im now back to the sennheisers, 
 
For the beats, it would seem you are paying a lot more to have 'monster' and dr dre on the box, along with justin beibers face and a paragraph of him saying how great the headphones are. I highly doubt that he actually uses them, let alone the people who make his music use them.. yet he is pretending they are the best in the world...

 

[Eric_C]

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Never consider an open/semi-open headphone for those purposes.

In case you missed it the first time...

 

[Kubernetes]

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ESW9 barely blocks out ambient noise though, right?

I wouldn't say  "barely."  They don't isolate like IEMs or a full closed circumaural phone, but they do alright.  I can wear them on a train no problem--would probably not want them on an airplane.
 
 
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by mooseling1
 
Im trying to decide if i should go for open or closed headphones, i still think closed as i will be using them enough in the car, bus, train and and on planes to want that extra sound isolation and also less leakage to everyone around you

 
Definitely not open.  That's why I suggested IEMs--great isolation and relatively better quality for the price.  The only problem with iEMs, IMO, is they don't give you the same feeling as cans.  Music hitting your outer ears just feels more right.