Good circumaural headphones, ~$50

[frostedflakes]

Checked out some of the stickies at Head-Fi and looks like the Sennheiser HD201 are within my price range and fit the bill, but I'm willing to spend a bit more, so wondered if there were any better options out there at $50 or less.


AV'd

ATOT Moderator ElFenix

 

[Tiamat]

Probably get more replies here. In that price range, I like the Koss Portapro. The Grado SR-60 is also in that price range.

 

[frostedflakes]

Yeah I was debating OT or AV&HT.

Thanks for the suggestions, but I'm really looking for a closed circumaural design.

 

[Tiamat]

Of course Head-fi should be easily able to help you spend 100x your budget 🙂

I stay away from that place because my wallet just can't take it.

 

[frostedflakes]

Heh yeah that's why I figured I'd ask around here. I'm sure I'd get a lot of great suggestions there, but they'd probably be beyond my budget. 😛

 

[dbk]

mdr-v6... i bought mine here

 

[coldmeat]

I bought a pair off of the FT/FT forum at head-fi. There are some good deals that pop up every now and then.

 

[ivan2]

Originally posted by: dbk
mdr-v6... i bought mine here

where did u get the v6 for 50 bucks? do tell.

wanted to add that as a v6 owner myself i am very happy with them. they are better amped.

 

[swbsam]

headfi has a thread about these $40 JVC's that supposedly sound as good as grado sr60s. I love my sr60s, by the way. if you can spring the $20 more..

Koss are nice as well. I'm wearing a pair of sen HD201s right now.. They're not bad, but I'd give those jvc's a try - $40 shipped from buy.com

 

[swbsam]

http://www.buy.com/prod/jvc-ha...loc/111/206897541.html

You can find headfi threads on this and the rx900. Most prefer the sound of the rx700, and it's dirt cheap.

 

[frostedflakes]

The RX700 look great, think I'll pick them up. Thanks for the suggetion swbsam! 🙂

 

[swbsam]

No problem, reply back with a review - headfi loves it and one more positive will force me to break out the credit card 🙂

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: swbsam
No problem, reply back with a review - headfi loves it and one more positive will force me to break out the credit card 🙂

wow 35$? That's almost cheap enough to just pay to try! 🙂

My Koss portapro's foam is all decayed now and has become uncomfortable to wear. i was debating what to replace them with...

 

[swbsam]

Originally posted by: Tiamat

Originally posted by: swbsam
No problem, reply back with a review - headfi loves it and one more positive will force me to break out the credit card 🙂

wow 35$? That's almost cheap enough to just pay to try! 🙂

My Koss portapro's foam is all decayed now and has become uncomfortable to wear. i was debating what to replace them with...

I would have bought these when I first head of them, but my wife made me promise not to buy anything until after christmas.

Then I ended up getting some ultimate ears and a grado set, so spending even $40 seemed excessive...

But.. I'm VERY tempted

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: swbsam

Originally posted by: Tiamat

Originally posted by: swbsam
No problem, reply back with a review - headfi loves it and one more positive will force me to break out the credit card 🙂

wow 35$? That's almost cheap enough to just pay to try! 🙂

My Koss portapro's foam is all decayed now and has become uncomfortable to wear. i was debating what to replace them with...

I would have bought these when I first head of them, but my wife made me promise not to buy anything until after christmas.

Then I ended up getting some ultimate ears and a grado set, so spending even $40 seemed excessive...

But.. I'm VERY tempted

Yeah, I have a pair of Grado SR-125 already, so its tough for me to justify having another pair of headphones lying around...

 

[herm0016]

Originally posted by: ivan2

Originally posted by: dbk
mdr-v6... i bought mine here

where did u get the v6 for 50 bucks? do tell.

wanted to add that as a v6 owner myself i am very happy with them. they are better amped.

the V6 is very good. i own a pair also. they are fine unamped, but do sound a bit better amped. i got mine on amazon for not more than 65.

 

[cheesehead]

Refurbished MDR-V6s can be had for under $60 - a fellow I know buys them by the carton for $50 each. While they're not the best headphones, they're better than anything else for under $100 - including, notably, the Grado SR60s. Furthermore, while you may be able to get higher fidelity headphones, you can't get them any tougher - they're nearly indestructible.

There's a reason why Paul Van Dyk wears nothing but MDR-V6s during his whole World Tour video.

 

[hans030390]

Originally posted by: Cheesehead
Refurbished MDR-V6s can be had for under $60 - a fellow I know buys them by the carton for $50 each. While they're not the best headphones, they're better than anything else for under $100 - including, notably, the Grado SR60s.

I heard them and didn't think they were all that great (the Sony's).

 

[swbsam]

Originally posted by: Cheesehead
Refurbished MDR-V6s can be had for under $60 - a fellow I know buys them by the carton for $50 each. While they're not the best headphones, they're better than anything else for under $100 - including, notably, the Grado SR60s. Furthermore, while you may be able to get higher fidelity headphones, you can't get them any tougher - they're nearly indestructible.

There's a reason why Paul Van Dyk wears nothing but MDR-V6s during his whole World Tour video.

That's blasphemy. They're good for different purposes, but there is no way that the v6s are "better" than the grados, using sound quality as the primary deciding factor.

 

[moonboy403]

Originally posted by: Cheesehead
Refurbished MDR-V6s can be had for under $60 - a fellow I know buys them by the carton for $50 each. While they're not the best headphones, they're better than anything else for under $100 - including, notably, the Grado SR60s. Furthermore, while you may be able to get higher fidelity headphones, you can't get them any tougher - they're nearly indestructible.

There's a reason why Paul Van Dyk wears nothing but MDR-V6s during his whole World Tour video.

In terms of sound quality, that's a very bold statement. Different headphones are good at different things and hence excel in different genres.

The V6 and SR60 are completely different headphones. They have completely different sound signature. One is supra-aural and the other is circum-aural, one's open the other's closed. You really can't say that one's better than the other. It all boils down to what you're looking for in a headphone and what kind of music you listen to.

 

[hans030390]

Originally posted by: swbsam
No problem, reply back with a review - headfi loves it and one more positive will force me to break out the credit card 🙂

I went ahead and ordered a pair as well...even though I just got a pair of Grado SR-60s. I'm hoping the JVCs don't leak out sound as much, cause that's what they'll be used for (situations where the Grados would be inappropriate, like a library). I'll post back here when I get them (assuming I remember, and they're also on back order for now).

 

[frostedflakes]

Glad I didn't hesitate, mine shipped yesterday.

I'm hoping these will be similar to the Audio Technica A500s. I used to have a pair and loved them, but couldn't justify owning a $100+ pair of headphones, so I sold them.

 

[swbsam]

Keep us in the loop! 🙂

 

[moonboy403]

Originally posted by: frostedflakes
Glad I didn't hesitate, mine shipped yesterday.

I'm hoping these will be similar to the Audio Technica A500s. I used to have a pair and loved them, but couldn't justify owning a $100+ pair of headphones, so I sold them.

You should definitely stay away from head-fi! You have NO IDEA what they'll do to you! 😉

 

[cheesehead]

Originally posted by: swbsam

That's blasphemy. They're good for different purposes, but there is no way that the v6s are "better" than the grados, using sound quality as the primary deciding factor.

Y'see, I own both. I do not like the way the Grados sound - the mid-treble frequencies seem to be boosted, though this may just be a harmonic distortion peak if the measurements on headphones.com are to be trusted- and like even less their extreme flimsiness, lack of noise isolation, and high pricetag. I really should emphasize that the MDR-V6s are orders of magnitude tougher than the Grados.

Of course, I never use the MDR-V6s. I have a pair of Beyerdynamic DT250s, which are better than the MDR-V6s in almost every way - though not nearly as tough. I've owned AKGs, MB Quarts, Beyerdynamics, Shures, and UE-10s.

Originally posted by: moonboy403
It all boils down to what you're looking for in a headphone and what kind of music you listen to.

I put on one, then the other. The v6s sound a little bit better, cost a little bit less, and are a heck of a lot better value for money in terms of utility and longevity. The local public television station agrees with me.

I personally consider myself a good judge of headphones for one single reason: As a rule of thumb, I loathe them. I hate the frequency response artifacts. I hate the lack of high-treble response. I hate the fact that I'm going to have to spend bloody ages building an amp for my iPod to get the best sound out of my IEMs. I hate the pricetag. And I really, really hate how a pair of DIY speakers for half the price can work twice as well.

As such, if there is a problem with a pair of headphones, I'm pretty much guaranteed to notice it.

Originally posted by: hans030390

I went ahead and ordered a pair as well...even though I just got a pair of Grado SR-60s. I'm hoping the JVCs don't leak out sound as much, cause that's what they'll be used for (situations where the Grados would be inappropriate, like a library). I'll post back here when I get them (assuming I remember, and they're also on back order for now).

V6s are pretty good in terms of low noise leakage - they're the only non-IEM headphones I've used that could be listened to on a bus without cranking up the output to absurd levels.

Originally posted by: moonboy403

You should definitely stay away from head-fi! You have NO IDEA what they'll do to you! 😉

Those deluded fools in the "Tweaks and Mods" section are good for a laugh. $500 cables? Magical power cord? Black rhodium bananas? WTF?