[coderobot]

Hi everyone, I came from /r/headphones. I posted in their recommendations thread and didn't get any replies. I thought I'd check out your website after seeing your links tossed around there. Here's what I've filled out from their form. If you need anymore answers from me please do ask!

Budget - Up to $300. Flexible.

Source - My phone or computer. Mostly phone.

Requirements for Isolation - Some or none isolation would be ok. I will mainly be using my headphones outdoors and on public transport. At home if I'm not too lazy to plug them in.

Preferred Type of Headphone - On-ear or full sized. I have a small head, so I also would like keep this in mind as a factor.

Preferred tonal balance - Balanced or v-shaped seems best suited for me.

Past headphones - I'm currently using Xiaomi Mi IV Hybrid iems. Have also used the Panasonic RP-HJE120-PPK before that. They're just ok. I'm looking for something more.

Preferred Music - Indie, EDM, some rap, instrumentals.

Young the Giant - Home of The Strange
Lorde - Pure Heroine
Fox Stevenson - Sweets (Soda Pop)
Frank Ocean - Channel Orange
A Trip To Soda Island

What would you like to improve on from your set-up - More detail, immersive.

 

[serman005]

Since you will be using them outdoors and on public transport, you are going to want closed headphones with fairly good isolation, so your music isn't spilling out onto other people. Given your list of interests, I would recommend that you take a look at the slightly v-shaped SoundMAGIC HP151 and the more smooth MEZE 99 Classics, which is really good. Maybe read about them and see what you think. It is possible one of them could work for you. I guess you could also consider a nicely portable B&W P7--it might work, too. There are not a huge number of closed options in your price range, unfortunately, but these are three good ones that may suit you.

 

[cossix]

I'd recommend the B&W P7 or the Sennheiser HD1. I prefer, and own, the HD1. It's V shaped and fun, but has good clarity and balanced bass which never feels overpowering. It is very solidly built, looks amazing, and has comfy ear pads which block out a good amount of noise. Also has an in-line mic and volume controls. It scales well with a portable amp but its not necessary for casual listening at all. Good luck!

 

[coderobot]

Thank you both for your suggestions. I will check out all of them thoroughly. So far the MEZE 99, B&W P7, and Sennheiser HD1 looks interesting. I'll definitely do some more research on them.

 

[Savage_Makoa]

For $300 if your opened to refurbished there are more options. The mdr-1000x is good balanced option at $259 refurb from amazon. Additionally the PXC 550 is also great choice at $295 refurbished. Beside that it might be possible to get a qc35 for $300 on sale instead of $350. Overall all those options are the best ANC headphones on the market so noise cancellation is the best with these phones at least from my understanding and testing. It'll depend on which sound signature you like more. I am akin to the PXC 550 and QC35 as the bass is much stronger than the Sony mdr-1000x. The Sonys do have much better anc as it drowns out more types of noises but I feel the qc35 is still better for constant noise. Also your type of cell phone will be helpful deciding. Apple products use proprietary AAC Bluetooth codecs as well as MacBook pros. The nice thing with MB pros is they can use aptex as well. So if your using apple products the Bose and Sony have support for AAC meaning the music fidelity can support CD quality mp3s. The Sonys and sennheiser pxc 550 support aptx which is supported on most android phones, windows pcs, and MacBook pros and also boasts cd quality. Overall aptx is better than aac and LDAC is the best possible Bluetooth quality it should be noted all these codecs are better than standard sbt codec which is used on unsupported devices. Also I should note if you have a Sony Walkman or Sony experia phone then you want the Sony mdr-1000X as they support LDAC which is supported mainly on Sony products. Support for LDAC is coming to all android phones in the near future but I'm unsure how many devices will get the functionality.

 

[briman1000]

You can get NAD Viso HP 50 for like $140 or so on ebay brand new. Very hard to beat for the money and they used to cost twice as much. They sound excellent with the music you describe as I have them and listen to to similar. Read some reviews. They are closed and comfortable.

 

[serman005]

You can get NAD Viso HP 50 for like $140 or so on ebay brand new. Very hard to beat for the money and they used to cost twice as much. They sound excellent with the music you describe as I have them and listen to to similar. Read some reviews. They are closed and comfortable.

You don't have any comfort issues ever?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Hi everyone, I came from /r/headphones. I posted in their recommendations thread and didn't get any replies. I thought I'd check out your website after seeing your links tossed around there. Here's what I've filled out from their form. If you need anymore answers from me please do ask!

Budget - Up to $300. Flexible.

Source - My phone or computer. Mostly phone.

Requirements for Isolation - Some or none isolation would be ok. I will mainly be using my headphones outdoors and on public transport. At home if I'm not too lazy to plug them in.

Preferred Type of Headphone - On-ear or full sized. I have a small head, so I also would like keep this in mind as a factor.

Preferred tonal balance - Balanced or v-shaped seems best suited for me.

Past headphones - I'm currently using Xiaomi Mi IV Hybrid iems. Have also used the Panasonic RP-HJE120-PPK before that. They're just ok. I'm looking for something more.

Preferred Music - Indie, EDM, some rap, instrumentals.

Young the Giant - Home of The Strange
Lorde - Pure Heroine
Fox Stevenson - Sweets (Soda Pop)
Frank Ocean - Channel Orange
A Trip To Soda Island

What would you like to improve on from your set-up - More detail, immersive.

1. You can't have little or no isolation on public transport or anywhere but a quiet room. You'll hear everything else going on and you'll overcompensate by cranking up the volume and whoever is in the same room will have to listen to what you're listening to. At minimum, hearing damage. Worst case scenario, somebody punches your face for obnoxiously forcing them to listen to what you like.

2. If you're coming from IEMs and then using heapdhones with a smartphone you'll have a problem improving on detail. The IEMs have more isolation even against closed headphones, that means less background noise to get in the way of what you're listening to. And with higher sensitivity the IEMs will go louder with less distortion out of the smartphone.

 

[smy1]

sony mdr 1a

 

[Manav Mathur]

Hello. Did you found any? I am looking for bass earphones in the same budget.

 

[cossix]

sony mdr 1a

The MDR-1A is pretty bass heavy, and it's a sloppy bass. I borrowed a pair for a week and stopped analyzing them after 4 total hours of listening. They look nice but don't feel very high quality. Sorry to poop on your suggestion but I don't think they fit with what the OP is looking for

 

[Peter Zhang]

The MDR-1A is pretty bass heavy, and it's a sloppy bass. I borrowed a pair for a week and stopped analyzing them after 4 total hours of listening. They look nice but don't feel very high quality. Sorry to poop on your suggestion but I don't think they fit with what the OP is looking for

Well I honestly think they are perfect for op. They are bass heavy, but not sloppy by any means. They don't have the tightest bass but it's definitely nowhere near, you know, beats bass. Also they are slightly v shaped but with very defined mids. They are super duper portable and very comfy. TBH they're not the most luxurious looking pair but man they survive my abuse which is much abuse. And the pads I'd totally marry them so freaking comfy like some fracking engineer flew to my city and took mold of my ears and made the pads.
Only thing is how small your head is. My head is quite big but they're just fine for me and they *might* feel funny on your head if it's small.

 

[cossix]

Well I honestly think they are perfect for op. They are bass heavy, but not sloppy by any means. They don't have the tightest bass but it's definitely nowhere near, you know, beats bass. Also they are slightly v shaped but with very defined mids. They are super duper portable and very comfy. TBH they're not the most luxurious looking pair but man they survive my abuse which is much abuse. And the pads I'd totally marry them so freaking comfy like some fracking engineer flew to my city and took mold of my ears and made the pads.
Only thing is how small your head is. My head is quite big but they're just fine for me and they *might* feel funny on your head if it's small.

Fair enough, I feel ya. I just think they momentum 2 beats it in every category based on the differences I found having owned the momentum 2 and tried the MDR 1a for a week. Going back and forth highlights the exaggerated bass in the Sony and makes the momentum 2 much more balanced and cleaner in comparison

 

[Peter Zhang]

Fair enough, I feel ya. I just think they momentum 2 beats it in every category based on the differences I found having owned the momentum 2 and tried the MDR 1a for a week. Going back and forth highlights the exaggerated bass in the Sony and makes the momentum 2 much more balanced and cleaner in comparison

Yeah I know the tuning of Sony headphones below $400 is debatable. It takes time to get use to AND to get out of. It's just a tad too much treble and a tad too much bass and for the amount of v shape they possess the two ends could use a lot of improvement: the highs could be way smoother while the lows could be way tighter. OR they could've made them just a bit more balanced. But ultimately they are $100 cheaper than momentum and hell they don't get beaten for the price. Btw msr7 could be also a good choice. They are 1a's biggest rival.

 

[buke9]

Hello. Did you found any? I am looking for bass earphones in the same budget.

V-Moda M100's are bass heavy. To be honest I was listening to them on my QP1R so that might have a bit to do with the outrageous bass from them as it is fairly powerful Dap.