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$100 vs $300 headphones?

D

Dario D.

Gawd
Joined
Dec 8, 2004
Messages
582
Can someone who really knows the difference tell me what improvements you can expect from $300 cans, compared to, say, $60-100 ones?

Is there actually a difference in sound quality (noticeable to the average person)? Is the comfort significantly better? (I assume yes on the latter, but I've never worn truly expensive headphones)

Since I use headphones so much nowadays, I'm thinking about getting a new pair (my 80-something-dollar Sennheisers are on their last threads, and the comfort isn't very high) and I want to know what I can expect in more expensive ones. (Actually, what I REALLY want to know is why $100 can't even get you something that doesn't grab your head like a nutcracker (my Sennheisers) or not have enough bass (the Siberia Steel Series I returned))
 
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Is there actually a difference in sound quality (noticeable to the average person)? Is the comfort significantly better?
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The answer is obviously yes. The most general thing I can say about the difference in sound quality is that the sound from most mainstream $100 cans are muddy/full of bass bloat while the $300 cans will give you tighter bass and clear full mids and highs and better frequency range. Good luck finding new headphones.
 
+1 for head-fi.org

You will learn audio terms very quickly and figure out around what models would be best for you if you browse around for a day.

Also once you start getting premium audiophile brand headphones over 100$, your sound card or lack of amp will come into play. Also the enjoyment of sound improvement are all subjective to a point so it's hard to say how much of an improvment you will notice.

Also just because your 80$ somthign sennheiser's and steel series don't live up to par to comfort or bass doesn't mean $100 *can't* fulfill your needs. Also posting your model will help as Sennheisers vary a lot depending on what they are made for.

I own a pair of Audio Technica's ATH-AD700 and they are amazing comfortable. If you want a lot of bass these aren't for you though. I don't like very punchy bass, every other category these things are teh pwnage.

Comfort is also subjective, in this area going by price is not really possible. You will just have to read reviews or go to a store and try them.

Basically if you have to ask if there's a difference between $300 and $100 headphones, you need to read up A LOT. Icemat and cheap sennheisers are not a thing you can go off of at all. Hard to explain what you gain depending on what models your jumping between, but I guess if you do a somewhat apples to apples wheres same brand, same type, same model category cept for a number, the higher price will likely improve on everything(sound wise). Might more or same bass, but it will be more detailed and less muddy, same with the mids and highs etc..

Personally I would stay in the $100 area and research your purchase. Figure out if you want closed or open, big soundstage and clarity for the highs or nice punchy bass, how much comfort you want. The most popular ones that will be recommended around this price point will probably be...

Grado SR60i, SR80i (has ALOT of hardcore fans, very good for music and pretty portable, comfort is not the greatest but its not terrible)

Audio Technica ATH-AD700 (Best for gaming because its sound stage giving the ability to pin point with 100% accuracy, Best in comfort by far, very clear sound for it's price but lacking bass for some(I love it), not portable at all)

Sennheiser HD-555 (Very nice all around headphones, These be the ones to get if your a fan of Sennheiser, I've never tried them on but they are supposed to be very comfortable.)

As persisting1 said, go to http://head-fi.org and study up, unless you just want to base headphones off price alone and be oblivious to the important factors on what will be perfect to you. There's way to many different models that are targeted to do different jobs. Once you start browsing head-fi you will quickly see many members owning ATLEAST 2 pairs of top quality cans so they have the right tool for what they want to hear at a certain time.

EDIT: Just read your sig, your dedicated creative x-fi shouldn't have a problem running any of the listed above without amp. My audigy2zs push my ATH-Ad700s very nice.
 
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Tbird87 said:
I own a pair of Audio Technica's ATH-AD700 and they are amazing comfortable. If you want a lot of bass these aren't for you though. I don't like very punchy bass, every other category these things are teh pwnage.

Audio Technica ATH-AD700 (Best for gaming because its sound stage giving the ability to pin point with 100% accuracy, Best in comfort by far, very clear sound for it's price but lacking bass for some(I love it), not portable at all)

Sennheiser HD-555 (Very nice all around headphones, These be the ones to get if your a fan of Sennheiser, I've never tried them on but they are supposed to be very comfortable.)
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I also own the AD700 and what u said is spot on. they are extremely comfortably, feels like im not wearing them. Accurate sound, awesome for gaming. lack bass but i didnt get them for bass, i got them for gaming.

if ur going to be using them for a little bit of everything though (gaming, music, movies etc) then the HD-555 would be an excellent choice. I got them for my dad last x-mas and he loves them (using them with a portable dvd player). They are comfortable but not in the same league as the AD700s. The senns are fine for a movie (about 2 hrs), but after that they start to be a bit annoying. I could wear the AD700s all day with a little break here and there.

so it just depends on what ur needs are. and another +1 for head-fi.org. they know their headphones and just by reading on there u can pretty much decide what u want. of course, nothing beats hearing them in person if u can
 
head-fi is a great site, but you cannot take everyones word as absolute truth as audio is very subjective and there are a lot of "strong" opinions there. it can often be a little misleading.

If you sit back and read for a while you can get the bigger picture and sum up the opinions getting a pretty good idea about what you are looking for. The problem is there are a LOT of headphones in that price range and everyone has their own favorite.

It can also end up costing you a lot of money, although they do warn you. :p
For me it started by getting the hd280-pro four years ago after finding that site. Now I have a ath-esw9 at work and a d7000 and hd650 with a wa6-se at home. Can't say that i regret it though ;)
 
of course, nothing beats hearing them in person if u can
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Ah, that would be the problem. Does anyone know of any American store chains that have headphones sitting around, that you can listen to?

Btw, thanks for the replies, all. Very helpful.
 
Dario D. said:
Can someone who really knows the difference tell me what improvements you can expect from $300 cans, compared to, say, $60-100 ones?
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objective, quantitative differences: you spend 3x as much, build quality is *generally* more uniform (meaning theres less likely to be some weak point in the design that criples the whole thing), generally will reproduce the entire audible frequency range, warranties are actually honored/customer service exists

subjective, qualitative differences: generally will look nicer/sharper, fancier packaging, $5 words used in marketing literature to make you feel "fuzzy", and of course the armchair audiophile favorite: "night and day sonic improvements"

Is there actually a difference in sound quality (noticeable to the average person)? Is the comfort significantly better? (I assume yes on the latter, but I've never worn truly expensive headphones)
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depends on what you're comparing to what, consider that SkullCandy has headphones for something like $140, the pads and headband are solid plastic, they *will* break apart under relatively normal use, there is no customer service/warranty support to speak of, and they won't reproduce the audible freq range (this is by SPEC, not "Feeling"), but there are also $300+ vanity headphones that are about the same crap (Theres also Grado's, which aren't bad for sound quality, but comfort isn't exactly in their dictionary)

Dario D. said:
Does anyone know of any American store chains that have headphones sitting around, that you can listen to?
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Guitar Center will usually have Sennheiser, AT, and Ultrasone professional headphones, maybe/sometimes M-Audio and Beyerdynamic as well (for example the one nearest me will sell Beyerdynamics, but does not stock them)


depending on where you live, theres probably some local hi-fi store with better options
 
FWIW: I had a pair of sennheiser headphones. I don't remember the model, but they looked like these: http://www.studio1productions.com/images/senn-pro212.jpg

I bought them when I worked at circuit city (for an amazing discount) and they sounded awesome. They retailed for around $80 (this was a while ago) and were a huge step up from the crappy little sony headphones I was sporting at the time. My only regret is...they felt a bit cheap. They lasted me a few years before I ripped the cable out of the cups. I fixed that easily enough, but a bit later, they basically fell apart. The cups wouldn't stay on the headband. I admit, I was hard on them - tossed them around often - they spent many a day in the bottom of my laptop bag - etc.

The next set I bought were the Beyerdynamic 770. Putting the sound quality aside (they sound stupid awesome if a bit bassy) - they are tanks. I've had them at least 4 years now and the only way you would tell they are not brand new is by the dingy ear pads. The "pleather" pads of my sennheiser headphones started peeling within a few years and, while I thought they were comfortable when I first got them, they cannot hold a candle to the "pillows" on the beyers. The metal construction is enough for me to spend the extra cash on premium cans.

Taking the discussion on a tangent:
The difference in sound when going from some $30 ear buds to the "cheap" $100 IEM's (mine are by Shure) was eye opening. They are 1000x more comfortable and provide a frightening amount of noise isolation. If going up to $300 IEM's will give me the bass response of my Beyer's, it is worth it.

I'm no audiophile by any means, but after spending $200 on my beyers, I could see myself spending $300 on a pair of headphones without much hesitation...though I would likely put that money in a pair of IEM's instead.
 
MargaretB said:
The answer is obviously yes. The most general thing I can say about the difference in sound quality is that the sound from most mainstream $100 cans are muddy/full of bass bloat while the $300 cans will give you tighter bass and clear full mids and highs and better frequency range. Good luck finding new headphones.
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I use a $100 ATH-A700 and honestly I couldn't criticize the frequency response even if I wanted to :cool: It's not that powerful, yes, but definitely accurate to my ears. But then again, I never used a $300 pair in recent memory.
 
When you get to that headphone range, oftentimes you can't factor just the cost of the headphones. They'll likely need equipment to drive them to their full potential, with powerful amps to properly drive the higher impedance headphones, and the DACs to feed these amps the signals to do so. That could be anywhere from another several hundred to several thousand more dollars on top of that headphone, so maybe that HD 650 will end up costing you two grand in total after everything is factored in.
 
I too have a set of ATH-700's, paired with my fiio e5 which adds just enough bass punch is a superior buy for the price. Clearly you should do some research at head-fi, where I am also a member to get the low down. Things can be cyclical over there (grado 60's being the "it" can, followed by AD700's etc.), but you'll get the general lay of the land, and at least learn to stay away from Bose.
 
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