[triplestarfish3D]

Sony MDR7506

 

[AriGibson]

Sony MDR7506

Impedance might be too much, because he's not wanting to use an amp. Not exactly sure how much jack power a motherboard normally provides, but I was discouraged from getting 80 ohm headphones because of it. MDR7506s have 63 ohms.

 

[AnyOtherRay]

Give those a look, and let me know what you think.

It's smol', and doesn't seem like it can use a mic stand without maybe some modding.

Sony MDR7506

I looked at the Sony's before increasing my budget, but forgot about them so didn't check em' out again... Looks uglier and not as comfortable as the NVX, and its cable appears to be attached(I don't feel like goggling a review of it right now to make sure), meaning if the cable dies the headphones practically die with it.

 

[Malfunkt]

@AnyOtherRay i just listened to an HD569 at my local Best Buy. It is essentially a closed back HD558. I was pretty impressed with it. Very comfortable, more than the HD471. More expansive sounding than 471. Definitely check it out.

Oh MDR-7506 is pretty easy to drive but it’s tuning is pretty raw and comfort isn’t there. Great studio headphone, I’ve gone through two pairs until they fell apart. Replaced with my 7520 which is awesome - carries the tradition of that punchy Sony monitor ‘sound’.

 

[AriGibson]

I looked at the Sony's before increasing my budget, but forgot about them so didn't check em' out again... Looks uglier and not as comfortable as the NVX, and its cable appears to be attached(I don't feel like goggling a review of it right now to make sure), meaning if the cable dies the headphones practically die with it.

Not exactly... quick soldering job can get you up and ready to go. There's tutorials on YouTube, if you need it.

And the mic is small, which can be an issue for a mic stand. I'll look at some more of Samson's stuff, because personally I think that they have some great products for the price.

 

[AriGibson]

Well that's a tougher one for me. If you want a mic then a gamer headset, or some IEM might be a better option to stay inside budget. For example:
1. I have the 1More triple driver IEM. It's fantastic for the price and I am normally listening on much more expensive equip. The mic works for conf calls and I've had a years of listening to music and it's comfortable for a good hour. If I'm using it for 4 hrs on a call I noticed my ears do get sore.
2. I have an old Logitech wireless gamer headphone. IMO it sucks for music (but for wireless maybe it's tolerable but clearly inferior to wired options. I used it more for conference calls and VoIP).
3. For no mic I would put the budget into headphones. I've been comparing the opposite end of the budget range lately. I know from experience the SR850 is a good cheap HP, but I don't have a ton of flexibility and experience on this $100 limit. You could sell your blood until you have enough money to buy an LCD-MX4. I've never been a fan of extra amp/dac units that stack. I tried the Oppo HA-2 and returned it. I liked the boost but there were to many issues that I wasn't willing to tolerate. But if you used it for computer and portable maybe there is some value in something like that. I know the FiiO is good for the price and I have some happy coworkers who use them.
4. If you can shop used you can possibly find something better (like someone mentioned Sennheisers). If you watch the for-sale forum you might be able to talk someone down to your budget if it's close.

1. 1More IEMs are pretty great, but I don't really see the reason for IEMs when he's not going to be taking it with him anywhere.
2. Gamer headsets in general suck for music, except some of the Sennheiser and Audio Technica ones, which aren't cheap.
3. Can't seem to find anything on the LCD-MX4, send me a link? And, considering his reply of probably not wanted to upgrade in the future anyway, we'll skip it for now.
4. Used is good, but I'd go with Massdrop instead. Some new stuff, but good deals. At the moment, all they have for under $100 are Massdrop x AKG M220 Pro, which are found here. https://goo.gl/4jffMW

 

[Renato Fury]

Want a headphone for up to 100 dollars? Audio-Technica ATH-M40X, lightweight, portable, detachable cable, easy to drive and with a neutral signature as you want, problem solved..... NEXT!

 

[phase0]

1. 1More IEMs are pretty great, but I don't really see the reason for IEMs when he's not going to be taking it with him anywhere.
2. Gamer headsets in general suck for music, except some of the Sennheiser and Audio Technica ones, which aren't cheap.
3. Can't seem to find anything on the LCD-MX4, send me a link? And, considering his reply of probably not wanted to upgrade in the future anyway, we'll skip it for now.
4. Used is good, but I'd go with Massdrop instead. Some new stuff, but good deals. At the moment, all they have for under $100 are Massdrop x AKG M220 Pro, which are found here. https://goo.gl/4jffMW

1. I agree, mentioned it as someone talked about wanting a microphone as part of the solution.
2. You're probably correct here. I'm only going to mention the things I have experience with.
3. LCD-MX4: https://www.audeze.com/products/lcd-collection/lcd-mx4
That's not even an option for this discussion. I mentioned it as a joke. It's been on my mind because that is something actually I'm highly interested in. Also because I can't think of anything else on the $100 budget I could recommend. But this is a headphone I could wholeheartedly say is amazing IMO.
4. Good point. I don't have any experience w/ Massdrop but it does seem like they have deals from time to time.

 

[AriGibson]

1. I agree, mentioned it as someone talked about wanting a microphone as part of the solution.
2. You're probably correct here. I'm only going to mention the things I have experience with.
3. LCD-MX4: https://www.audeze.com/products/lcd-collection/lcd-mx4
That's not even an option for this discussion. I mentioned it as a joke. It's been on my mind because that is something actually I'm highly interested in. Also because I can't think of anything else on the $100 budget I could recommend. But this is a headphone I could wholeheartedly say is amazing IMO.
4. Good point. I don't have any experience w/ Massdrop but it does seem like they have deals from time to time.

3. Oh lol. I found that link, and was just thinking like, this guy can't be serious, I just found the wrong one
4. I've used them for a few mech keyboard things before, and they absolutely rock! Unfortunately, they only have that one pair right now. All the other headphones are $300+, but they have some great DAC sales at the moment, so I'd recommend checking some of those out.

 

[AriGibson]

Want a headphone for up to 100 dollars? Audio-Technica ATH-M40X, lightweight, portable, detachable cable, easy to drive and with a neutral signature as you want, problem solved..... NEXT!

Woah woah woah, hold up. It's not always black and white. Let's look at some other stuff before we decide that it's the best thing ever .

Head-Fi post comparing ATH-M40x, and the Samson SR850s, the semi open design of the SR950s, which so far has been one of the main headphones we've been discussing. Personally, not having listened to either, I think the post is extremely helpful. I'd recommend skipping to the last section, where he actually starts to compare them, except for AnyOtherRay, you might want to actually read all the way through before choosing either of those.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/ath-m40x-vs-samson-sr850-budget-headphones-comparison.760371/

Also, this WireRealm review calls the SR950s a "tough competitor" to the ATH-M40x (not considering price). They also talk about ATH-M50x blowing a lot of other headphones out of the water, but "However, they go for as much as $160, these are $70" (down to $50 at the moment).

http://www.wirerealm.com/reviews/samson-sr950-studio-headphones-review

Thoughts from others who have personally listened to both ( phase0)?[/QUOTE]

 

[AriGibson]

Also, from my friend's perspective (who currently owns the ATH-AD700 Air, bought M50x in past), the sound from the M50x wasn't that good compared to my current Samson Z35s (similar sound to SR950s). Again, this is a single person going against the whole world of headphone reviews here, but I guess it's worth mentioning. Probably won't impact the decision, but considering the limited reviews talking about the M40x compared to SR950s or SR850s, it might be worth something.

 

[phase0]

It also bears mentioning that if at all possible, you should try to listen before you buy, because the preferences you read can steer you in one direction, and it could turn out you have a different preference and end up with something not as satisfying as it could have been. Barring that I think most places you buy from, if you don't like it you can return it and try #2 on the list.

 

[phase0]

I thought of a couple more ideas. At one HP meet some guy had some cheap Koss Porta-Pro style that he modded some how to sound great. I don't have any experience with Koss beyond that but whatever he had done was not bad. I also saw on Ebay there's some old Beyerdynamic DT 770s for sale around $100. I had and old style DT 660 back around 2005. They were super comfortable. They sounded great. They had great bass. I don't think they retail within budget but that might be something to consider as a potential option.

 

[AriGibson]

It also bears mentioning that if at all possible, you should try to listen before you buy, because the preferences you read can steer you in one direction, and it could turn out you have a different preference and end up with something not as satisfying as it could have been. Barring that I think most places you buy from, if you don't like it you can return it and try #2 on the list.

Great points. AnyOtherRay definitely go check out your local Best Buy, tech stores, and friends, even though it's nearly impossible to choose from just those, because of the selection online...

I thought of a couple more ideas. At one HP meet some guy had some cheap Koss Porta-Pro style that he modded some how to sound great. I don't have any experience with Koss beyond that but whatever he had done was not bad. I also saw on Ebay there's some old Beyerdynamic DT 770s for sale around $100. I had and old style DT 660 back around 2005. They were super comfortable. They sounded great. They had great bass. I don't think they retail within budget but that might be something to consider as a potential option.

I've always wanted a pair of DT770s, but never had the audio budget for it . What's the impedance on those? DT770s come in 32 ohm, 80 ohm, and 200 ohm. If it's 32 ohm, I think you could do better buying a new pair, but of course, it's up to you. 32 ohm DT770s are currently $175 on Amazon, so your choice. If their anymore, of course, he'll need an amp. Did some Massdrop looking, and in the off chance that it's a 250 ohm pair, they'll need a great amp. Massdrop currently has a Massdrop exclusive DAC/AMP combo at 33% off ($100 with discount), which barely comes close to the 4.01 Vrms needed, at only 2.9.

 

[phase0]

If you search eBay for DT 770 there's lots of examples. I saw a 16ohm on there too. Yea that is something to keep in mind if you did that the 250ohm would probably need an amp or be too difficult to drive. 32 would be okay and 80 is probably still okay. Anyways, it's another thought. I had several good years with Beyerdynamic.