[Siva108]

Hey guys.
 
So I'm in the market for some new gear to upgrade the stock earphones in my Sansa Fuze (which are incredible since I haven't really sampled any high end gear).
 
My options are:
 
Sennheiser HD201
 
Sennheiser HD202
 
Sennheiser HD205 MK-II 
 
Sennheiser CX300-II Precision 
 
Ultimate Ears UE100
 
Ultimate Ears UE200
 
Ultimate Ears UE350
 
Koss The Plug 
 
Koss UR40T
 
I also have the option of some other Koss/TDK headphones/earphones which are cheaper than what I've listed (like the Koss Mix Jockey) and can list them if need be.
 
My main priorities are sound quality and reliability/build quality.
 
I'm looking for the most neutral headphone I can get.
 
Thanks.

 

[streetdragon]

hd 202 is not so fancy looking, but they sure are tough as heck   (the 2 earcups are removable and thier construction is simple) the bass is slightly bloated, fairly powerful and the mids are elevated, the highs are very rolled off

hd201, not so sure about build quality, should be pretty decent too. overall is more neutral than the hd202, bass is tighter and treble is more prominent

hd280 not so sure, but i read its not so comfortable

hd205, a big nono from me, could be different for other people though, but i feel the headphone pads are hard and they clamp on your head hard and it hurts , their sound is flat and monotonus, seems dry and partly dead although bass heavy, same applies to the hd215 as well

cx300-II i feel those sound pretty decent, not really neutral but fun sounding, friend has one so i tried his model for a minute or 2 only

hd 418 and 408, havent heared these, but will be heading to the shop in 2 days time to try out some models, i can help you note down the characteristic of these cans too^^

others.... im not sure sorry, i didnt have the privilage to listen to the rest, hope someone else here can help you on that (overall senhsier's headphones are slightly bass heavy and have pretty good soundstage)

how about the koss porta pro or superlux hd668B for neutrality? they cost very similar to the cans listed and are very neutral sounding too, not to forget the shure srh440, you should audition these too, hope this information helped^^

 

[Siva108]

Thanks for the quick reply man. Appreciated.
 
Yeah some impressions of the HD418 and 408s should really help.
 
I'll look for the Porta Pros and the Shures, though I doubt the Superlux are available here.

 

[streetdragon]

hmm im not sure about the porta pro's sound signature though, the shure srh440 is quite treble intensive, and might be annoying for those sensitive to treble spikes and lack of good bass. the sennheiser's are more of a smoother sound which is relaxing, but not as detailed and is more bassy

 

[Siva108]

I'm actually looking for as neutral a sound as possible. I'm not a fan of exaggerated bass/treble and want a natural sound.

 

[streetdragon]

well... according to frequency graphs the shure is the one you should be looking for, but nuetral also has its veriations, for example my friend's srh940 and my hd558 are classified as both neutral and have a very similar graph except his +10 db treble spike at 8khz, but his headphone sounds very different than mine. his bass seems a lot weaker and details are a lot better being overall very bright while mine sounds more bassy and fairly dark,

but in short, make sure its what you enjoy listening to, its what will make your money's worth (but then again lower end shures are flatter on the graph than the sennheiser's, and i don't know about ultrasones yet, you can go to www.headphone.com to check the graphs, a good graph should be something close to the hd800 or some other high end headphones like the Audeze LCD3, cause i read somehwere that a completely flat graph would sound harsh because of the way headphone sound interacts with the ear canal

 

[LithosZA]

Quote:

a good graph should be something close to the hd800 or some other high end headphones like the Audeze LCD3, cause i read somehwere that a completely flat graph would sound harsh because of the way headphone sound interacts with the ear canal

Not completely true. What sounds harsh to you might sound natural to me. It is a matter of taste.
Most people seem to like the +/- 5dB hump in the +/- 100Hz to +/- 250Hz range that most 'high end' headphones like the HD800 and LCD3 have.
 
 
Quote:

I'm actually looking for as neutral a sound as possible. I'm not a fan of exaggerated bass/treble and want a natural sound.

Neutral might not sound natural to you, but if you want neutral then Sennheiser HD280 PRO should work. The headband is prone to cracking.

 

[Siva108]

So basically the flatter the frequency graph the more neutral it is?
 
Btw, streetdragon, I can't find the Shures here sadly.
 
@Lithos, Damn that's something I really hate in headphones since I've had so many that have broken in exactly the same way.
 
I guess I'm looking for the most neutral headphones that have good build quality as well.
 
Any more input guys?

 

[Emospence]

Rough budget range?

 

[Siva108]

Thing is, in my country, those are the only options I have.
 
I've just listed the ones I can afford.

 

[Hailin]

It might help if you just list the country you are from. People might be able to find a deal in your country that you didn't even know about. There are some pretty crazy deal hunters here.
 
I would try to find a Koss KSC75 if it is dirt cheap and then decide if you really need more. Portapro if you want to step up a tad more and want that retro look and more bass.

 

[Siva108]

I'm from Sri Lanka. Good luck finding a deal over here. Hehe
 
Is the Portapro neutral? I remember a place having Portapros some time back but I need to see if they still have 'em.
 
Edit :Yep I can get the Portapros too, so that's an option as well.
 
Edit 2: Just realised Portapros are on-ear. I really prefer either over ear or in-ear tbh (but I like over ear best) since isolation is pretty important to me.

 

[Emospence]

Quote:

I'm from Sri Lanka. Good luck finding a deal over here. Hehe
 
Is the Portapro neutral? I remember a place having Portapros some time back but I need to see if they still have 'em.
 
Edit :Yep I can get the Portapros too, so that's an option as well.
 
Edit 2: Just realised Portapros are on-ear. I really prefer either over ear or in-ear tbh (but I like over ear best) since isolation is pretty important to me.

On ears are capable of providing decent isolation.. Just not open ones. Which the Portapros are lol.

 

[Siva108]

Ah I see. Newbie to all this. I guess on-ears have left a bad impression on me from the discomfort I've had from pretty much every pair I've tried, but then again, they were ultra cheap, ultra crap headphones.
I've narrowed my options down to either the UR40T or the HD201.
 
Leaning towards the UR40T at the moment. How's the isolation on these?
 
Oh and the Koss Pulse KEB40 isn't neutral by any chance is it? I know the CX300-IIs are out coz they're bass heavy.

 

[MattTCG]

I owned the hd202 for about 10 years and they're still ticking.