looking to spend $100 on headphones

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sdy284

Gawd
Joined
Dec 6, 2006
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601
Looking for some cans, my old Sony MDR-V600's finally bit the dust. Usage is all over the place, music, movies, gaming. I don't need/want "surround" headphones. Dont need a headset either.

recommend away.

Oh, and these will not be plugged into a soundcard or headphone amp. Just good ol' onboard audio
 
Have a look at this.

In my opinion one of the best headphones for under $100 for all uses.
 
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Open or closed phones?

Personally I'm an audio-technica fan, I've owned the A700 and now A900. Very comfy compared with some of the lower end Senns I've used. Only 32ohms so no amp required. In the upper end of that price range you have two good options-

Open
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826402014&Tpk=ad700

Closed
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826402012&cm_re=a700-_-26-402-012-_-Product

I havent tried the HARX900 above but they look pretty good.
 
sorry for noob question, and i think i know the answer, but whats the difference/benefits between open/closed cans
 
sdy284 said:
sorry for noob question, and i think i know the answer, but whats the difference/benefits between open/closed cans
Click to expand...

Closed Cans = Circumaural = Over the Ear (Cancels out room noise)

Open Cans = Supra-aural = On top of the Ear (Lightweight)
 
The original Sony V6 are some of the absolute best headphones ever made, and they've been around nearly 25 years now. Nearly flat frequency response which is awesome, but most people that listen to them are "uncomfortable" because they've been listening to crappy headphones so long they don't know how to judge almost uncolored audio when they hear it. It's downright shocking... :)

Grados would be in the mix here (no pun intended), but it depends on what the OP is actually looking for. Open "cans" are those that sit on outer ear, like portable headphones for the most part. Closed cans are ones that totally surround the entire outer ear and provide a modicum of sealing outside sounds, to some degree.

Personally, after all the cans I've owned over the decades, big, small, Senns, Grados, ATs, Sonys, whatever, I'm just using my trusty PortaPros at home now and KSC-75s on the go. I don't care what other people think, say, or do, but these drivers are still the best sounding headphones that I've ever had the pleasure to listen to considering their cost. Nothing else even comes close...
 
based on the descriptions, closed cans are for me. I'm not going to be using these anywhere but at home
 
DarkZen said:
Closed Cans = Circumaural = Over the Ear (Cancels out room noise)

Open Cans = Supra-aural = On top of the Ear (Lightweight)
Click to expand...

Incorrect. Opened and closed cans have nothing to do with circum/supra-aural designations, which you're right about.

Closed cans have sealed housings. Open cans have meshed or some other permeable material in the housing, allowing for sound to leak through. This impacts the type of sound the headphone has (particularly in the low frequencies) and how much background noise you'd want to leak through.

Open Circumaural:
http://www.productwiki.com/upload/images/sennheiser_hd600.jpg

Closed Circumaural:
http://di1.shopping.com/images1/pi/..._Sennheiser+Sennheiser+HD280+Professional.jpg

Open Supraaural:
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2009/09/px100II.jpg

Closed Supraaural:
http://www.productwiki.com/upload/images/sennheiser_hd_25_1_ii_1-400-400.jpg


As for the original question, I would honestly look at the Grado sr80 or your V6's big brother, the MDRV 7506.
 
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Davidion said:
As for the original question, I would honestly look at the Grado sr80 or your V6's big brother, the MDRV 7506.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure he's using the V600's ( which is inferior to the V6 ). The V6 and V7506 are basically the same headphone except one is gold-plated and if I remember correctly the cord is different.
 
correct i was using the V600's and I do/would prefer the extra bass from closed cans
 
Ahh, I see. Also, the 7506's are professional headphones, so the warranty is a little better. Some have said that the 7506 also has a slightly more improved sound, but I've never heard the difference.

I mean, in this case I DEFINITELY recommend looking at the 7506.
 
I've been really happy with my HD280. They block out noise really well and are rugged. Sound is smooth across the spectrum and sounds nice, and not harsh.
 
look around and spend a little more for a hd595 you won't regret the purchase
 
Davidion said:
Incorrect. Opened and closed cans have nothing to do with circum/supra-aural designations, which you're right about.

Closed cans have sealed housings. Open cans have meshed or some other permeable material in the housing, allowing for sound to leak through. This impacts the type of sound the headphone has (particularly in the low frequencies) and how much background noise you'd want to leak through.
Click to expand...

Listen to this man.
 
Davidion said:
Incorrect. Opened and closed cans have nothing to do with circum/supra-aural designations, which you're right about.

Closed cans have sealed housings. Open cans have meshed or some other permeable material in the housing, allowing for sound to leak through. This impacts the type of sound the headphone has (particularly in the low frequencies) and how much background noise you'd want to leak through.

Open Circumaural:
http://www.productwiki.com/upload/images/sennheiser_hd600.jpg

Closed Circumaural:
http://di1.shopping.com/images1/pi/..._Sennheiser+Sennheiser+HD280+Professional.jpg

Open Supraaural:
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2009/09/px100II.jpg

Closed Supraaural:
http://www.productwiki.com/upload/images/sennheiser_hd_25_1_ii_1-400-400.jpg


As for the original question, I would honestly look at the Grado sr80 or your V6's big brother, the MDRV 7506.
Click to expand...

Pair of Grado sr125 here (next step up from sr80). I highly recommend Grados. Don't be turned off by the open cans, you won't be able to hear external noises (though they'll be able to hear you) when you're using these monsters. Unless, of course, you're using super low volumes or your surroundings are very loud. For home use I don't see why you wouldn't want open cans, the bass is truly astounding. It is like being punched in the ears (in a good way). I suppose if you watch massive amounts of porno and don't want your roommates/family knowing, then go with the closed cans.
 
I used to own a pair of Audio Technica ATH-A900's but they broke just a few weeks ago. I didn't have the $230 to replace them so I opted for the Audio Technica Ath-AD700's. I got them off amazon.com for like $80 and I'm very pleased with them. They're not quite as good as the 900's but they're very close just slightly less bass but a more ope soundstage.

I haven't tried a lot of headphones in this price range but I would be surprised if you could find better headphones for $80.
 
sdy284 said:
based on the descriptions, closed cans are for me. I'm not going to be using these anywhere but at home
Click to expand...

Yeah you will be rethinking that when I sneak up behind you late and night and slit your throat. MUAHAHHAHAA!
 
aZn_plyR said:
Pretty sure he's using the V600's ( which is inferior to the V6 ). The V6 and V7506 are basically the same headphone except one is gold-plated and if I remember correctly the cord is different.
Click to expand...

The original V6 with the nickel-plated plug and coiled cord (very tough to find these nowadays, my pair is coming up on 22 years old and they sound better each year). The frequency response of the original V6 is 5 Hz to 30,000 Hz...

The lackluster remakes, aka the V7506, are 10 Hz to 20,000 Hz, a pretty big cut in the high end potential for upward harmonics so, for those of us that still have and own the original V6, I can and do spot the difference between them even if I'm blindfolded. I've got some 24 bit 96 kHz material that I can easily with almost no effort use to discriminate between the V6 and V7506.

The V7506 has the straight cord and the gold plating but, they don't help make up for the shoddy performance. :)

If you really want the best of the best, at least from Sony, the newer and highly improved V7509 offers 5 Hz to 80,000 Hz capability.

Talk about freakin' insane stuff...
 
Bahamut said:
the newer and highly improved V7509 offers 5 Hz to 80,000 Hz capability.
Click to expand...

You can hear sounds way past 20khz? Where can I get a set of your magical wonder ears? I didn't get the memo that we developed ear replacements that could discern noises up there, or that headphone manufacturers were catering to them. :D
 
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