[tendollar]

Hello guys, 
 
I am new around here. After 7.5 years, my Audio Technica ATH-AD700 headphones have broken. I opened the headphones up and everything seems fine, so I think it might be the connector. 
Anyway, I am looking to buy a new pair of headphones that will be a noticeable upgrade over my old pair of headphones and will work well with my current equipment.  
 
- I have a Steinberg UR242 Audio Interface, so the headphones will be going straight into this using a 6.3 mm (1/4") connector. 
- I have an Audio Technica AT2035 Condenser Microphone
- I do vocal recording and digital piano recordings using Cubaise AI 8. 
- I need a pair of headphones that can reproduce high pitched vocals very well (around 4 kHz).
- I do a bit of gaming (mostly First-person shooters), so anything that can deliver a deep resonating bass would be great. 
- The music I listen to is mostly classical. Also a bit of Japanese and Korean ballad and rock music.  
 
Budget: $200-$250 USD 
If anyone knows of a pair of headphones that will be perfect for me, but exceeds my budget, please post it anyway. 
 

 

[PETEREK]

IMO, the Beyer DT990 250 ohm is your best bet. They can do highs very well, they are amazing for gaming (I use a 32 ohm version because of my gaming amp) and the bass is very good for an open headphone. The only other headphone I can suggest is a Fidelio X1 or X2 if a low impedance is necessary. 

 

[TMRaven]

Sennheiser hd600.  It has a healthy amount of response in the upper midrange around 2-4khz.

 

[PETEREK]

The HD600 isn't very good for gaming IMO, at least not with FPS games. The bass is OK, but nothing that will get the attention of someone that likes bass.

 

[TMRaven]

And neither will the DT990 reproduce the upper midrange well, as it has a suckout there in comparison to its mid-bass and mid-treble.
 
The only open headphones that will reproduce true, deep bass extension are the planar magnetics, but those are only ok in soundstage-- slightly less than HD600 and DT990 in width, however slightly deeper.
 
Also, he is coming from the AD700, so everything will have a healthy amount of bass in comparison.

 

[cel4145]

Why not upgrade to the ATH-AD900X? Amazon has them for $140 at the moment, which is close to an all time low.

 

[tendollar]

  And neither will the DT990 reproduce the upper midrange well, as it has a suckout there in comparison to its mid-bass and mid-treble.
 
The only open headphones that will reproduce true, deep bass extension are the planar magnetics, but those are only ok in soundstage-- slightly less than HD600 and DT990 in width, however slightly deeper.
 
Also, he is coming from the AD700, so everything will have a healthy amount of bass in comparison.

 
 

  The HD600 isn't very good for gaming IMO, at least not with FPS games. The bass is OK, but nothing that will get the attention of someone that likes bass.

I am willing to give up on the deep bass and move gaming to my low priority list if I can get headphones with a good soundstage and great clarity for vocals. My main priority is headphones that will reproduce amazing classical, ballad music. 
What would you recommend then?
 

Why not upgrade to the ATH-AD900X? Amazon has them for $140 at the moment, which is close to an all time low.

That looks like a very tempting option, but I wouldn't mind moving to a different brand — having been with Audio Technica for a very long time. The bass on it is a bit disappointing, but I am contemplating forgetting about the bass. 
The wing design for the headband is also a bit of a turn off. I know the AD700s have a really loose design and they've improved that on their headphones over the years, but a nice thick band (e.g. Beyer DT990's headband design) across the top of my head feels like the right option. 

 

[DangerClose]

AKG 701 (maybe with bass mod) goes deep.  Deeper than DT990 and I assume HD600 (I have the similar HD580) during normal listening, though maybe some eq would help those two.  What I'm trying to say there is DT990 has a lot of bass, but the deep bass may be overpowered by the 80-100hz area bass and may not shine unless that area is eq'd down.  Neither of those two are lacking in "deep bass," but the 701's clarity/separation/dryness makes it more obvious.
 
I could say some nice things about it, but the HD580, and I assume HD600, aren't even close for soundstage size to 701 and 990, and soundstage size is apparently a dealbreaker.  
 
DT990 sounds more musical and natural than a 701, but with doing recordings, maybe the more analytical 701 would be better.  It also has a little bit wider soundstage, though it doesn't have the 3-Dness of the DT990.  I can't see doing recordings with the DT990 without eq'ing down the bass.  And that's a fine thing to do, but just pointing it out.
 
DT880 is probably a better choice than the DT990, but I don't have one so can't say for sure.  I'm thinking, due to doing recordings, a 701 (maybe with bass mod) might still be the better way to go.
 
If that Steinberg in the OP isn't an actual amp, just a reminder that these will need a pretty good amp.

 

[cel4145]

That looks like a very tempting option, but I wouldn't mind moving to a different brand — having been with Audio Technica for a very long time. The bass on it is a bit disappointing, but I am contemplating forgetting about the bass.
The wing design for the headband is also a bit of a turn off. I know the AD700s have a really loose design and they've improved that on their headphones over the years, but a nice thick band (e.g. Beyer DT990's headband design) across the top of my head feels like the right option.

Yeah. I'm not a big fan of the wing design, so I can understand that.

However, the AD900X will improve a bit on the bass extension of the AD700.