Koss KSC75 vs Sennheiser HD 202 vs Sennheiser MX-400 vs Sony MDR-E828LP

[alimoalem]

I need a pretty cheap headset. I'm a college student and I have a laptop (not sure if it matters). I would say my max is $30 shipped but if there is something AMAZING for a few bucks more, I could use the recommendation.

I'm looking for best bang for buck. Sound quality and comfort are highest priority. I don't know if I have any preference to the in-ear, wrap around the ear, or DJ style headsets. I suppose I'd like it if it could fit in my backpack and not have me worry it would break, however, it is NOT a big concern for me.

The top 4 I've found are:

Koss KSC75
Sennheiser HD 202
Sennheiser MX-400
Sony MDR-E828LP

All got decent reviews but you don't know who's reviewing what these days, so I don't know which is best for me.

I'll be using this for music (hip hop/rap mostly, and other genres but NOT classical, punk metal, christian rock, not sure what else) and movies. I like bass but I'm not one of those guys that gets themselves deaf by blasting it.

TIA AnandTech

EDIT: any B&M's I can test these at?

 

[Deudalus]

I would very much consider some Grado SR 60's or 80's.

Most comfy pair of headphones I have ever had by a long shot and sound fantastic.

 

[alimoalem]

the cheapest i could find was $60-70. the reviews were certainly good but it's too much for me. unless you know somewhere else that's cheaper

 

[darkswordsman17]

The KSC-75s are very good for the price, although if you consider them I would also recommend finding a headband for them (there's a $5 radio at Wal-Mart that has an ok headband for that). I didn't like the comfort of the ear clips (I couldn't get a good fit so that the driver was pointed right at my ear), and the headband helped a lot there. Koss also has a great warranty policy should you need it.

I would strongly recommend that you figure out if you can deal with earbuds/IEM type phones, as if you can't it won't matter how good they are. Unless you have a local store that sells those headphones, I doubt you'll be able to test them out beforehand. They're cheap enough that most places aren't going to have demo units (especially the in ear ones). I would find a place that has a decent return policy that will allow you to return it if you don't like it. Amazon actually is pretty decent in that respect in my experience. Burn in shouldn't be much of an issue with these, so if you don't like them after a couple of days of listening then you probably just don't like them.

Chances are, if you've never really had even a decent pair of headphones (basically just used the standard headphones or cheap $2-5 ones), you'll probably like just about any of the ones you've narrowed it down to, although there's no absolute on that.

 

[alimoalem]

Circuit City has the Sennheiser HD 202, PX100, and HD-280. I'll check those out and see how they are. I know the HD-280 is way out my budget but I might be able to find something on eBay.

Anywhere else you guys know i can check headphones at, particularly the Koss KSC75?

 

[Tiamat]

Koss Portapro. They are lightweight, just the next price bracket, but have prodigious bass output which is nice for Rock, Pop, Jazz.

 

[montypythizzle]

Originally posted by: Tiamat
Koss Portapro. They are lightweight, just the next price bracket, but have prodigious bass output which is nice for Rock, Pop, Jazz.

Anywhere online I can ge those???
Or any B&Ms?

 

[darkswordsman17]

Originally posted by: montypythizzle

Originally posted by: Tiamat
Koss Portapro. They are lightweight, just the next price bracket, but have prodigious bass output which is nice for Rock, Pop, Jazz.

Anywhere online I can ge those???
Or any B&Ms?

Amazon has them for about $35 shipped + tax right now.

They're kinda different looking, they remind me of 80's headphones, so that might play a role in your decision.

 

[Nohr]

Koss SportaPro have the same drivers as the PortaPros, but are collapsible and cost less. They're $20 at Amazon and J&R

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: Nohr
Koss SportaPro have the same drivers as the PortaPros, but are collapsible and cost less. They're $20 at Amazon and J&R

The Portapro are collapsible as well, I dunno about the sq of the sportapro. Never auditioned them before...

 

[Nohr]

Originally posted by: Tiamat

Originally posted by: Nohr
Koss SportaPro have the same drivers as the PortaPros, but are collapsible and cost less. They're $20 at Amazon and J&R

The Portapro are collapsible as well, I dunno about the sq of the sportapro. Never auditioned them before...

Ah my bad. I think the difference is the SportaPro headband can be adjusted so it's behind your head. Good if you're wearing a hat or something I suppose.

The sound quality should be the same since they have the same driver.

 

[konakona]

Originally posted by: Deudalus
I would very much consider some Grado SR 60's or 80's.

Most comfy pair of headphones I have ever had by a long shot and sound fantastic.

grado 60/80? comfort? with original pads? totally does not compute


Yuin PK3 from here
http://www.head-direct.com/ind...d=13&func=detail&id=18

or ksc75