So, what's with all the plastic headphones?

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Empty_Quarter

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A few years ago, I was into the headphone game, played and tested with lots of different brands. Since then, to me, the Beyerdynamic DT770 proved to be the best. I loved it so much that I got another Beyerdynamic (DT1350) for portable use and that headphone became my standard, the perfect sound. Naturally, I've become a Beyerdynamic fanboy & loyalist.

Now, my DT770 is getting old (6.5 years), and while it's built like a tank, I'd like to update that with something a little higher up, and naturally was aiming for another beyer (T90?).

So I walk into one of my favourite boutique stores in Montreal, and unfortunately they dont carry Beyerdynamic anymore. But since I was already there, I tried various other brands. Now some of them sounded damn good, but I could help but notice the excessive plastic and cheapness used on these headphones, what happened? Are teens driving this?! Are they all beats wannabe's now? There's a ferrari brand now?

Honorable Mentions:
Denon: WTF happened there?! Their new lineup looks and feels like utter shit
PSB: I have high respect for this brand from their speakers. Their headphones sounds amazing, but I lost just a teeny bit of respect with all the excessive plastic used, felt really really cheap. Looked childish.
Sennheiser: Aside from their higher end headphones (HD700+), their mid-range headphones felt rather cheap (especially the momentum)
 
If you liked the DT770, and aren't opposed to an open headphone, check out the DT990. You won't regret it.
 
DT990s are great and what I use.

It sucks, but it seems almost every brand out there has compromised on build quality. But ultimately the problem is with consumers, who constantly expect more product for less money. Consumers are the ultimate reason manufacturing is being shipped to China and India. If people voted (with their wallets) that made in the USA goods with high build quality are what matter, then we'd get those. But nope. Nobody wants to spend more than a buck fifty on just about anything, and so we get crap products from the third world, the buying of which is harmful to our economy and boosts the economy of countries we have poor relations with, all while providing us with garbage products. You get what you pay for. Or in this case, you get the minimum equipment that other people are willing to pay for.
 
I use a pair of Grado RS2i's. They are fantastic. Handcrafted with real mahogany air chambers, and a real leather band. They are an open air chamber though. Very natural sound, with no over done bass (it's tight). They are $500, so that might be a little out of your price range.

Otherwise, you may like the Grado 325is. They are made out of an aluminum open air chamber. They sell for $295. I haven't tried them, but I don't think you could ever go wrong with any of the Grado headphones providing you don't mind them being open air.
 
Grados are a great product, unfortunately they are on the polar opposite of the spectrum I enjoy. I like my sound closed, tight, and bassy as if I were in a nightclub. Grados are also more catered to rock which I listen none of. As awesome as they are, Grados are not an option.

As far as price range goes, I think I'm ready to fork out large for a high quality piece as one last hurrah. I've narrowed down how I like my music, brands I like, and especially after beig disappointed with the build quality of today's products. I think it's really down to the higher end beyers (or older Denons). Maybe $800 w/ amp included?
 
spaceman said:
I think that you might enjoy Darth Beyers. They are upgraded 770s and sound like it. They also show up on the FS over at headfi from time to time. They do not need a huge amp.

http://www.headphile.com/page8.html
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I had the quintessential Darth "boobies." Look them up if you need to. They sounds like crap. Putting wood where it doesn't belong. Trying to upscale the look with detriment to sound. Specifically very muddy bass. Smeared mids.

I used to think the better a headphone felt and looked, the better it must be. Now it's about the sound AND COMFORT. Newer plastics are stronger, have less reverb and can be molded to whatever shape the engineers want for that sonic signature. Most importantly they are lighter.

I agree with you that I like the feel of solid headphones in my hand. Ill take a plastic lightweight on my head.
 
I had the Boobies first lol. Can't say that I thought the bass or mids had issues beyond the limitations of the 770 drivers. I was using an extremely powerful headphone amp that I could also power my K1000s via the speaker hookups. I sold both for stax I think.

Anyway yeah. The op liked the 770 sound so I still think the Darths are a good idea. Now, I must say that I like my Sennheiser 558s just fine as a gaming headphone. The plastic housing is tough and light. The headband could be improved upon however. Kind of narrow and lacking padding.
 
I have a pair of 770. I recabled them because of a connection issue, as expected, no sonic improvement, but they work now.

I also put on the gel pads. Great for extended gaming and movies. I have the 880 with gels, less so for gaming (leaks).

I would not recommend Darth anything. Was made for aesthetics (IMO) with secondary consideration to sound.
 
Unless you are willing to spend >$500, Mad Dog's are your best bet for a well built great sounding all-arounder. Pretty much end of discussion, IMHO.
 
EPOQ said:
Unless you are willing to spend >$500, Mad Dog's are your best bet for a well built great sounding all-arounder. Pretty much end of discussion, IMHO.
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I agree. For clarity they are made by Mr Speakers (Dan) and current revision is 3.2. Very nice headphones and one of the most comfortable.

They are quite comfy. Not like the mdr-f1 but that a whole different discussion.
 
IMO there's nothing wrong with all-plastic designs. Metal/wood/leather simply adds to the weight, without really improving the SQ.
 
viralcow said:
IMO there's nothing wrong with all-plastic designs. Metal/wood/leather simply adds to the weight, without really improving the SQ.
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You would think so, but all plastic designs like the PSB are actually quite heavy.

Checking out these mad dog speakers
 
Empty_Quarter said:
You would think so, but all plastic designs like the PSB are actually quite heavy.

Checking out these mad dog speakers
Click to expand...

I mean yea, you'll find examples where the generality doesn't fit.

I will counter by saying and headphone over $300 is going to be high quality and sound.
 
dandragonrage said:
DT990s are great and what I use.

It sucks, but it seems almost every brand out there has compromised on build quality. But ultimately the problem is with consumers, who constantly expect more product for less money. Consumers are the ultimate reason manufacturing is being shipped to China and India. If people voted (with their wallets) that made in the USA goods with high build quality are what matter, then we'd get those. But nope. Nobody wants to spend more than a buck fifty on just about anything, and so we get crap products from the third world, the buying of which is harmful to our economy and boosts the economy of countries we have poor relations with, all while providing us with garbage products. You get what you pay for. Or in this case, you get the minimum equipment that other people are willing to pay for.
Click to expand...

Consumers have nothing to do with the drive to cheap manufacturing. It's return to investment 100%. What has happened in reality is that the headphones that used to be made in USA used to have lets say 20 dollars labor cost per set. With raised salaries the labor cost would now be maybe 27 bucks per set.

They still sell the set with the same 100 bucks, except now in China the labor cost is 5 dollars per set and they don't have to worry about enviromental problems such as recycling costs. So consumers pay the same or more for an inferior quiality product, investors get 60% more return for investment.
 
B00nie said:
Consumers have nothing to do with the drive to cheap manufacturing. It's return to investment 100%. What has happened in reality is that the headphones that used to be made in USA used to have lets say 20 dollars labor cost per set. With raised salaries the labor cost would now be maybe 27 bucks per set.

They still sell the set with the same 100 bucks, except now in China the labor cost is 5 dollars per set and they don't have to worry about enviromental problems such as recycling costs. So consumers pay the same or more for an inferior quiality product, investors get 60% more return for investment.
Click to expand...

I agree, IMO, I think this is it more than anything else. The fact that plastic headphones cater to the majority of consumers is just a bonus
 
What is so terrible about "Plastic" headphones? Both my Beyerdynamic headphones have considerable amounts of plastic yet neither has ever broken. I don't recall ever wishing to myself that they were metal instead, and weighted twice as much while sitting on my head. :rolleyes:

I agree that there are some seriously cheap headphones out there that are made out of plastic, but if it's a proper design, there should be nothing wrong with plastic.
 
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