Headphone suggestions ~$200

[apac]

I recently started my new job and my manager told me to go buy myself a pair of quality headphones, as they give everyone a budget for some. I think anything under $300 is fair game. This is great because my Sennheiser HD580s quit working about a year ago, and I loved those to death (and used them to death for about 8 years).

So what's comparable to the HD580s these days, in the $150-300 range? I'd like whatever I purchase to be very comfortable for long use, and preferably open-air, although I'm not totally against sealed.

 

[CaptainOrgasmo]

What are you going to be listening to?

For that price range, I really like Beyerdynamic. I own the 770 Pro (which are closed) and absolutely love them. Incredible headphones for the money and they're super super comfortable IMO.

For open or semi-open, check these out:

http://www.amazon.com/Beyerdynamic-O...0777450&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/beyerdynamic-D...0777450&sr=8-3

 

[apac]

What are you going to be listening to?

For that price range, I really like Beyerdynamic. I own the 770 Pro (which are closed) and absolutely love them. Incredible headphones for the money and they're super super comfortable IMO.

For open or semi-open, check these out:

http://www.amazon.com/Beyerdynamic-O...0777450&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/beyerdynamic-D...0777450&sr=8-3

These will be 100% dedicated to music. My tastes are pretty all over the place - classic rock, modern rock, hip hop, electronica, etc. I prefer detailed highs over lows, although I do like "natural" sounding bass. Too boomy and I get headaches. I love my klipsch/denon/HSU sub combination at home, and I really liked the musical qualities of the HD580s before they died.

 

[CaptainOrgasmo]

Yeah, I love boomy bass since I listen to a lot of hip-hop and electronic music....so as always with headphones it comes down to personal preference.

The 770s are known for their boomy bass, but the 990 Pros are supposed to be a lot more balanced. Considering they're open-air, in your price range, and extremely comfortable...I'd check out some reviews on them.

Edit: Something I should have asked...are you going to be amping these?

 

[mshan]

Audio-Technica A900 without amp, AKG K701 / K702 with amp (?)

I just bought absolute bottom of the line Sony (MDR-V6) because they were praised as good budget choice that has been unchanged in 20 years and find the Sony house sound interesting. Obviously at such a low price point, overall sound is slightly coarse, maybe a little boom and sizzle, but may want to also research further up the Sony headphone series.

 

[hans030390]

I recently started my new job and my manager told me to go buy myself a pair of quality headphones, as they give everyone a budget for some. I think anything under $300 is fair game. This is great because my Sennheiser HD580s quit working about a year ago, and I loved those to death (and used them to death for about 8 years).

So what's comparable to the HD580s these days, in the $150-300 range? I'd like whatever I purchase to be very comfortable for long use, and preferably open-air, although I'm not totally against sealed.

HD600 is basically the same as the HD580, but perhaps slightly nicer. I've seen them going used for $200. Or you could just look for someone selling an HD580.

 

[apac]

HD600 is basically the same as the HD580, but perhaps slightly nicer. I've seen them going used for $200. Or you could just look for someone selling an HD580.

Needs to be ordered by the company so it needs to be a product from a retail store.

 

[apac]

Yeah, I love boomy bass since I listen to a lot of hip-hop and electronic music....so as always with headphones it comes down to personal preference.

The 770s are known for their boomy bass, but the 990 Pros are supposed to be a lot more balanced. Considering they're open-air, in your price range, and extremely comfortable...I'd check out some reviews on them.

Edit: Something I should have asked...are you going to be amping these?

Oh I should have mentioned, no I'm not going to be amping. They don't need to be quite that audiophile-quality.

 

[uhohs]

990's have a v shaped freq response, extra lows and highs with meh mids.

 

[Howard]

What source and what amp?

 

[uhohs]

if you need/want something closed and portable and have a ~$300 budget, something like the beyer dt1350 might be nice.

 

[hans030390]

Needs to be ordered by the company so it needs to be a product from a retail store.

Ok, I'm still going to suggest the HD600, then. You might have to shop around to find a good price on it.

Though, you did mention you won't be amping. How about the HD598? They're fantastic for under $200. Very natural sound, great midrange, smooth but detailed treble, great soundstage.

You might also consider the Denon D2000. They measure quite well when it comes to frequency response. They definitely have more bass than the Sennheisers, but I never found it overly boomy or bloated (some do, and I would agree that it's slightly more emphasized that completely neutral). The midrange isn't quite as nice, and the soundstage isn't as good as the HD598, for example. However, they don't sound like closed headphones. They do have detailed, sparkly highs. Very fun to listen to.

 

[mshan]

I think you might want to ask around the Head-Fi forums (http://www.head-fi.org/f/4/headphones-full-size)how far up the Sony headphone line you can go, without amp, and given your source (motherboard integrated audio vs. outboard usb dac or amp / dac combo).

That, or try and find an upcoming Head-Fi meet somewhere near you and try and see if you like the Audio-Technica house sound.

 

[goobernoodles]

I picked up a pair of HD598's last month and love them.

 

[darkswordsman17]

That's pretty cool, OP. Namely that they give you a budget and let you choose instead of just making you use some Bose or something.

Audio-Technica just came out with an updated A series, although the A900X are $349 at Audiocubes so its out of your range. Not sure if the A700X would be worth it (I feel the A900 was a big enough step up to warrant the cost, haven't heard the new X ones though).

I'm a big Audio-Technica fan myself, but I'd recommend the Denon AH-D2000 over the A900. They're pretty similar, but the Denon has better bass and is more comfortable.

If you liked the Sennheisers you'd probably like the D2000, as its been compared to the HD-650 in sound (which I know is a bit different from the 580s, but not drastically so).

These days there are a lot of good headphones to choose from.

Hmm, I just checked and for some reason the D2000s are $349 and listed out of stock most places. They used to be able to be found for $200-300 easily.

Check around AudioCubes and Headroom as well.

 

[Baked]

OMG darkswordman17, thanks for bringing the A900X to my attention. I own a pair of the original A900. I'm gonna read what the geeks at head-fi forum says about this updated version.

But what caught my attention was the Audio-Technica ATH-W3000ANV 50th Anniversary L.E. Wood Headphone. Damn, $1400. That's almost a month of my mortgage payment.

 

[AKShockwave]

Audio-Technica A900 without amp, AKG K701 / K702 with amp (?)

I just bought absolute bottom of the line Sony (MDR-V6) because they were praised as good budget choice that has been unchanged in 20 years and find the Sony house sound interesting. Obviously at such a low price point, overall sound is slightly coarse, maybe a little boom and sizzle, but may want to also research further up the Sony headphone series.

I have these. Love them, such good sound quality for the price. Clean and balanced. Of course they don't compare to the higher priced ones though.

 

[darkswordsman17]

OMG darkswordman17, thanks for bringing the A900X to my attention. I own a pair of the original A900. I'm gonna read what the geeks at head-fi forum says about this updated version.

But what caught my attention was the Audio-Technica ATH-W3000ANV 50th Anniversary L.E. Wood Headphone. Damn, $1400. That's almost a month of my mortgage payment.

I'd love to hear it as well, as I really liked them. So far doesn't seem like much feedback on Head-Fi, but they did just come out.

Oh, looks like Audiocubes dropped the price to $299. I hope they're actually new drivers or they've done something more than just the new earpads, frame, and cups. The earpads were sorely needed as those on the AX00 were pretty cheap for that price range (granted they did come out a long time ago, so they weren't that bad when they first came out). While they could improve the sound a fair amount with some tweaks and the same drivers, I think they needed some better ones to compete in its price range, as there are a lot of good headphones to be found.

Yeah there's a fair amount of hope that they might live up to the L3000, which would actually make them a bargain (as the L3000 were like $3500 around 10 years ago). I'd like to hear them, but no way I could afford them, let alone with the amp.

Oh, just noticed, you can get A900 (not the A900X) for $165 from Buydig:
http://www.buydig.com/shop/product.a...&tab=descript&

Several other places including Amazon are selling it for under $200 as well.

 

[darkswordsman17]

I have these. Love them, such good sound quality for the price. Clean and balanced. Of course they don't compare to the higher priced ones though.

I believe Sony just came out with a newer version too. I'm a bit skeptical, but I saw some feedback that said that the lower model actually sounds a lot like their $700 version that looks very similar.

 

[AKShockwave]

I believe Sony just came out with a newer version too. I'm a bit skeptical, but I saw some feedback that said that the lower model actually sounds a lot like their $700 version that looks very similar.

If you are referring to the 7506 (which is basically just an upgraded version of the v6) then yeah, those were around when I bought my v6 a year ago. No Idea why I bought the older ones when the new ones were the same price and probably sounded the same if not slightly better.

 

[uhohs]

he's talking about the zx700 and z1000 most likely.

 

[Oyeve]

MDR-v700dj. Really, sound great, great bass, low amp needs.

 

[FearoftheNight]

ATH-M50 really good pair...you can get them on ebay for less than $100 sometimes...amazon has them for 160

 

[videogames101]

HD598, easy to drive, great ability to handle a variety of music, and under-budget.
Color scheme is hit and miss though!

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-.../dp/B0042A8CW2

(I LOVE mine)