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Headphone recommendation

M

Mcseiam

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Apr 14, 2002
Messages
4,721
I will be moving into a townhouse that will negate me using my Klipsch 5.1's and I need a good set of headphones to use with my laptop

They will mostly be used for movies (DVD's) and some MP3 audio - no gaming

I want something that will sound great and they can cost up to $110 - I have no brand loyalty so recommend anything as long as they are comfortable (open ear or closed doesnt matter)

Also, I see people discussing headphone power requirements and would rather not use an external amp, if you can get me 5Hz to 40,000Hz with no amp in that price range (kidding as I know that costs quite a bit) then let me know

Thanks in advance ;)

Mcseiam
Super Mod
 
IMHO The best way to make an educated decision on headphones is to find a local shop that will allow you to audition them and go make up your own mind which ones are best for you. :D
That way you are not walking into the store expecting brand A to sound better then brand B.
Once you have done that come back and ask us for opinions.

Given the requirements you outlined above....... I would suggest you try:
The Grado SR80's,
The Grado SR125's,
The Sennheiser HD515s
The Sennheiser HD555's
The Sennheiser HD580's
The AKG K401's
The AKG K501's
The Audio Technica ATH A900's
and on an on.....
Note, that some of the cans listed above will require an amp to reach their full potential. ;)
 
Mister X said:
IMHO The best way to make an educated decision on headphones is to find a local shop that will allow you to audition them and go make up your own mind which ones are best for you. :D
That way you are not walking into the store expecting brand A to sound better then brand B.
Once you have done that come back and ask us for opinions.

Given the requirements you outlined above....... I would suggest you try:
The Grado SR80's,
The Grado SR125's,
The Sennheiser HD515s
The Sennheiser HD555's
The Sennheiser HD580's
The AKG K401's
The AKG K501's
The Audio Technica ATH A900's
and on an on.....
Note, that some of the cans listed above will require an amp to reach their full potential. ;)
Click to expand...

Hey mister, did you even read the post? He said up to $110 and unamped. :D Of course, there is always used....

Mcseiam, are you just going to be using the integrated audio?
 
zachary80 said:
Hey mister, did you even read the post?
Click to expand...

Always. ;)

zachary80 said:
He said up to $110 and unamped. :D
Click to expand...
I covered that price range.
The Grado SR80's,
Click to expand...

Hmm. I see your point now.

Also note that the idea was to AUDITION these cans.....
Wait.
The last person that followed that advise ended up buying some overpriced Sony's.
Time to rethink that strategy. :p
And we all know about the whole unamped thing so I left it be.
 
Mister X said:
Always. ;)
I covered that price range.
Click to expand...
HD580s for under $110? :confused: Plus they need an amp to truely show their greatness. I guess they are ok unamped though. I dont mean to doubt you, you are the king of the Audio forum, just questioning :D
 
I appreciate the advise and plan to check some out but understand that I am no audiophile, I will be using the integrated audio on the i9100


I am a videophile yes but audio? I just want something that sounds good and will allow me to enjoy my 4-5 movies a day that I watch

I will be in film school and need something good :)


Thanks again and I will look around my area for some places I can try these out

I am scared that some of you can rattle these off so quickly - isnt it odd what people know sometimes when they have a hobby? :D
 
If you are listening in school how quiet do you have to be when listening? You might need to consider closed rather than open units.

I am no audiophile but I picked up a pair of Grado 125 and let's just say the kick the shit out of my old Sony MDR-V600s. I am not going back to closed units.
 
Alessandro MS-1. They're an SR80/SR125 hybrid that's been tuned for linearity for $99 shipped anywhere in the world. Can't go wrong with these.
 
Mcseiam,

Do you have any preference for a type of sound, like in speakers? For instance, Grado's are generally bright, with an emphasis on treble, so they sound like they are right in your face, while Sennheiser's sound more 'even.' That's just my experience with the two lines. I've not heard any highend Grado's [just the SR60's and 80's] while I've heard the 570s, 580s and 650s, but I've heard that same characteristic covers the whole line.
 
I have no real preference for a type of sound other than to say I want the sound "accurate" which is not much help to you really.

If I had to choose between bright and even I would choose even any day as the seem more accurate to me, at least in terms of speakers. I want somethng with a fairly broad soundstage which is difficult given the proximity and number of the audio sources but I know that some sets do a better job of this than others.


As for how loud I can be, open headphones are fine - I just need something quieter than my Klipsch 5.1's ;)
 
I just bought a set of Shure E2C from the local Fry's for $100, and man are tehy nice...that is if in-ear phones are your thing.

Superb sound, easy to carry with you, and excellent noise suppression. I do reccomend using the foam pads though...at least for me all three sizes of the rubber pads were too big for my ear canals...but I'm a freak...apparently a 4ft 8 chick at work has larger ear canals than me :( For some folks, the plastic ones work..shure also offers some optional silicone pads you can buy from them. The plastic and silicone pads don't need to be replaced, just cleaned...the foam pads are usable for a month or so, then need swapped out...earwax makes them not compress right.

I've been running mypair off of the headphone out form my soundstorm motherboard, and my Onkyo GXD-90 speakers. I do know my T-40 thinkpad's docking station does NOT play well with these though...the sound is incredibly crappy...I don't know how the laptop itself was, since I didn't have time to get it off the docking station (locked down)....but that was due to me screwing with my phones at work instead of doing...well...work :p
 
If you are interested in even, I'd look more at Sennheiser phones. The Grado's are a bit boosted in the high frequency, or so it seemed to me at least. I'm not familiar at all with the other suggestions people have posted, but I've heard good stuff about Shures, though those are canalphones, which might not be very comfortable for you.
 
Another suggestion for the Audio technica's

I would suggest the following
Audio-Technica ATH-A55
Audio-Technica ATH-A500

These are closed phones, so no one will bother you (unless they are in your field of view)

Otherwise the
Audio-Technica ATH-AD5

These are open air versions of the A55's. You lose some bass (audio technica's are known for the bass) and you gain some spatial advantages.
 
The entire grado SR series has a bit of treble boost, but it wasnt near as bad as Sony's, and was actually rather listenable for the price, especially if you like movies or rock music.

Now, the grado reference series are nothing short of incredible....but your paying well over $400 to get into that line...

As far as the Shures...the design is not for everyone, but if you can use it without problem, they are very good....rather neutral sound, works well with every type of music I put through it...and I listen to everything from country, metal, rap, jazz, blues, big band, techno...basically anything...and it sounded great on it all.

But, all makers have their duds...so be sure to listen around if possible.

If you really want cheap, Sony EX-71 is a nice canalphone as well, and is only $40-50. Or you can get a Koss Portapro, those have been around for decades, and are still considered a very strong entry level audiophile headphone.

Once you get up around $100, that is where you start seeing the stuff that will impress you.
 
eattofuholmes said:
<drool> sony 700s </drool>
Click to expand...
<WTF> BLEH! </WTF> :mad:
I never cared much for any of the Sony MDR-VFLOP series. They sound boomy without going very deep, and they provide little if any actual treble (high frequency) response. Moreover, that severely overbloated upper bass and lower midrange response tends to completely muddy the entire sound from those headphones. You'd need an extremely fancy parametric EQ just to even use those headphones for music listening.
 
I never cared much for any of the Sony MDR-VFLOP series. They sound boomy without going very deep, and they provide little if any actual treble (high frequency) response. Moreover, that severely overbloated upper bass and lower midrange response tends to completely muddy the entire sound from those headphones. You'd need an extremely fancy parametric EQ just to even use those headphones for music listening.
Click to expand...

Here Here, those sony's have a large if not extreme bass hum around 60 Hz. They are very muddy in lower end voices as compared to most if not all of the cans mentioned above.

I would say no to that pair of headphones in a second.
 
Treyshadow said:
Here Here, those sony's have a large if not extreme bass hum around 60 Hz. They are very muddy in lower end voices as compared to most if not all of the cans mentioned above.

I would say no to that pair of headphones in a second.
Click to expand...
Not only that, but everything between 60Hz and 1kHz is overboosted on those MDR-VFLOPDJ's.
 
Mister X said:
Wow that sick thread thing realy DOES work. :p
Click to expand...


I was like "where the heck did my thread go?" and so I searched for it...... heh, sticky?


It's cool though... I need the advice :)
 
Get the Concorde cans. :D

Seriously....Concorde thing or not that is a pretty good price for those cans. :)
 
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XLShadow said:
no Beyerdynamic?
Click to expand...

Nothing decent <110bux.

I'd look at Sennheiser HD497s. Those seem to be the most popular among gamers and audiophile beginners. :)

Sounds good unamped, sounds even better amped!

Either that or the Alessandros. I love the sound of the Grados, so I can only imagine the Alessandros sound even better.

But really... get your arse into the nearest place you can try headphones. At the very least, try Sennheisers and Grados. You should be able to tell the difference. As stated before, depends what you want. Bright, upfront and maybe even fatiguing would be the Grados. Perfect sound, IMHO. Just a lil unforgiving though. Good for rock and stuff like that with bright up and downs:) You're right up there with the band while listening to these.

Sennheisers on the other hand have a more relaxed soundstage. More like a symphony hall. Mellower, though still excellent sound reproduction. More open soundstage.

Some can't listen to Grados with rock for more than an hour.... too bright. It's up to you though, bright your favorite CD and ask them to play it! They're for your ears, so let your ears decide :)

(BTW: I dislike closed cans. I mean, they have their uses. But I don't like how they change the sound so much...)
 
I bought a set of these a fedw months ago.
http://www.sennheiserusa.com/newsite/productdetail.asp?transid=005180

And I love them. For the price I paid, got em for 69.00 they are outstanding..granted they say they are designed for modern music. I've watched hundreds of movies with them on and cant complain at all. Big thing for me is the comfort they have given me wearing them long periods. First pair of headphones that doesn't give me a headache after a few hours.
 
Comfort is definitely one thing that is very important if you plan to use your headphones a lot. I myself prefer circumaural phones, as I don't like supraaural ones smashing my ears flat.
 
My brother bought a pair of DJ headphones (for real DJ use), the Sennheiser HD 25-1. How do these compare to the ones recommended? (Like the 470's or whatever and up)

I'm liking these right now, the bass is a lot louder and clearer than my current headphones, some crappy $30 set of SONY's MDR-V100's.
 
Would anyone recommend these Radio Shack Headphones to me? I like the looks, and they look like a good deal, although they are generic, and I don't know if I should. If not, would anyone recommend some cans with a max price tag of $70 for me? Here's a few stats that would help in finding some for me...

Music Preference :: Hard Core Punk, Hard Rock, Alternative
I am a... :: Gamer, Beginning/n00bie audiophile...
I also would like the cans to be full-sized.

EDIT :: I'm raising my price limit to $110, and thinking about these...

Is that a good idea?
 
Blananar said:
Would anyone recommend these Radio Shack Headphones to me? I like the looks, and they look like a good deal, although they are generic, and I don't know if I should. If not, would anyone recommend some cans with a max price tag of $70 for me? Here's a few stats that would help in finding some for me...

Music Preference :: Hard Core Punk, Hard Rock, Alternative
I am a... :: Gamer, Beginning/n00bie audiophile...
I also would like the cans to be full-sized.
Click to expand...
Oh, those RadioShack headphones are exactly the same headphones as the Koss UR-40's, sold at Best Buy for $40 regular price (on sale this week for $38). Thus, RadioShack almost always charges you more money for the same headphones with a different name on them.
 
Those Radio Sack cans are very overpriced.
You can find much better cans for a lot less money.
Check out the Sennheiser HD497s and or Grado RS80s
 
Radio Shack fucking sucks shit. They are the equivelent of going to a mom and pop computer shop just to get like a 1.44MB 3.5'' floppy drive or IDE cables.

Anyways, anyone ever listen to the HD 25-1's, and how they compare to the 470's 550's and stuff?
 
Since there was no linkage, I went to find it on my own, and whlie I was at it I figured I would share with you. Though I couldn't find a direct link for the audiotechnica's.

The Grado SR80's, http://www.gradolabs.com/product_pages/sr80.htm
The Grado SR125's, http://www.gradolabs.com/product_pages/sr125.htm
The Sennheiser HD515's, http://www.sennheiser.com/sennheiser/icm_eng.nsf/root/05341
The Sennheiser HD555's, http://www.sennheiser.com/sennheiser/icm_eng.nsf/root/05342
The Sennheiser HD580(-1?)'s, http://www.sennheiser.com/sennheiser/icm_eng.nsf/root/products_headphones_hi-fi-wired_04195
The AKG K401's, http://www.akg.com/products/powerslave,nodeid,1,mynodeid,173,id,337,pid,337,_language,EN.html
The AKG K501's, http://www.akg.com/products/powerslave,mynodeid,186,id,255,pid,255,_language,EN.html

So, Mister-X, want to share some knowledge on headphone amps? :) Maybe list a few, cheap modles?
 
i just got a pair of sennheiser hd497 from ecost.com for $34

i tried them for the first time today, and they are really amazing!

i would recomend them to anyone, they are really comfortable, have awesome sound, and they are pretty cheap!
 
This thread is quite useful. I was wondering the same thing. The Sennheiser 497 seem to be the most recommended. I currently use the Senn PX-200 (yeah, the small ones). These things produce really great sound but does anyone think the 497s would be worth spending $50 or will I just get more or less what I am getting right now? With almost 100% of the attention focused on big headphones, I wouldn't be surprised if no one has even compared the two.
 
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Night0wl said:
Since there was no linkage...Though I couldn't find a direct link for the audiotechnica's.
Click to expand...

It took a little bit of digging but here it is ...

ATH-900

Personally, I would think of those listed the Grado and the ATH-900 was be the best unamped choices. I have a pair of AKG-501s, love'em but they need an amp.
 
Luthorcrow said:
It took a little bit of digging but here it is ...

ATH-900

Personally, I would think of those listed the Grado and the ATH-900 was be the best unamped choices. I have a pair of AKG-501s, love'em but they need an amp.
Click to expand...

The new Beyerdynamic cans (DT440, DT660, DT860) are easy to drive as well. I know the OP said a $110 limit, but I think they would be a good contender with the A900s at the price range. I have the DT440s and they are very nice cans. You can get em for $155 at Meier-Audio:

http://home.t-online.de/home/meier-audio/
 
Sorry to hijack the thread but anyone have any insight into a gaming set of cans, ie with mic. Less than $100US.
Thanks,
Des.
 
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