Looking for headphone recommendations

[CP5670]

My Koss R-80 headphone inexplicably cracked in two last night when I went to pick it up, so it's time for a new one (it did last over a year though and sounded very good for $30). I might as well go for something more expensive that sounds better if it will also last longer. I'm looking for something in the $70-$100 range that is/has:

closed
good for games and music, will be used with a computer with an audigy 2
good isolation and bass
strong (should last for a few years)
doesn't require an amp for computer usage

I've heard the sennheiser HD280 is good, but it seems to have a burn-in requirement (which I can live with) and many people have reported the headband cracking after only a few months (which would be unacceptable at this price). Are there any other comparable choices or should I go for this one?

 

[Mr N8]

Why not go with Shure E2C Canal phones? They are less bulky, they sound incredible, and you don't have have worry about the headband or anything like that breaking.

 

[CP5670]

I personally find earbuds really uncomfortable, so I would like to stick with normal headphones.

 

[Gurck]

My 280s' sound definitely changed slowly over a lot of listening hours, I guess the burnin is rather long, as you heard. I feel they have great bass, but I'm not a basshead, and if a lot of people who are say they lack in this area, they may be right. While they might lack punch though, their bass can go very low & stays clean. My headband is fine, I feel they're very solidly constructed and have had no problems. My head is average size (7 1/4 hat), so maybe its a problem for people with wide heads *shrug*. Downsides are they sound sort of boring for rock & metal, have a tendency to be uncomfortable (either I'm used to it now or the headband has adjusted, but it took a while), and they don't let your ears breathe - though this is probably true of any closed can. They do benefit from an amp, but they don't 'need' one the way many higher end phones do, such as Sennheiser's 5x0s & 6x0s. Overall I'd certainly recommend them.

On the Shrues Mr n8 recommended; they're not typical earbuds, they're canalphones - they actually go inside your ear canal. They vary greatly from earbuds in terms of fit & feel, sound, and isolation (they provide great isolation, like closed cans). I'd like to try a pair myself, in fact I might soon order them or a pair of Grado sr60s.

 

[masteraleph]

If portability is not needed, the best $100 closed headphone, bar none, is the Audio-Technica A500.

The A500s have good isolation. Slightly below the HD280s (which are the top pair of closed circumaural in that department), but just as good as anything from Beyer, etc.
Good balanced music- the 280s have great extension, but they lack volume down there.

I have the HD280s, and they do indeed crack. I use them as a semiportable, but when I'm sitting around, it's the A900s all the way (the a500s bigger brother).

 

[CP5670]

Originally posted by: Gurck
My 280s' sound definitely changed slowly over a lot of listening hours, I guess the burnin is rather long, as you heard. I feel they have great bass, but I'm not a basshead, and if a lot of people who are say they lack in this area, they may be right. While they might lack punch though, their bass can go very low & stays clean. My headband is fine, I feel they're very solidly constructed and have had no problems. My head is average size (7 1/4 hat), so maybe its a problem for people with wide heads *shrug*. Downsides are they sound sort of boring for rock & metal, have a tendency to be uncomfortable (either I'm used to it now or the headband has adjusted, but it took a while), and they don't let your ears breathe - though this is probably true of any closed can. They do benefit from an amp, but they don't 'need' one the way many higher end phones do, such as Sennheiser's 5x0s & 6x0s. Overall I'd certainly recommend them.

On the Shrues Mr n8 recommended; they're not typical earbuds, they're canalphones - they actually go inside your ear canal. They vary greatly from earbuds in terms of fit & feel, sound, and isolation (they provide great isolation, like closed cans). I'd like to try a pair myself, in fact I might soon order them or a pair of Grado sr60s.

Thanks for the information. I read some more opinions on them and it seems they actually have good bass but you have to make sure they make they fit tightly around your ears, so I'll see if a local store carries them so I can try them out. Best Buy's website has them but I'm not sure if their stores carry them. For the burn-in, I need to just leave it playing music at a normal volume for about a day or so, right?

The canal phones are something worth looking at too if they are quite different from earbuds, although I would like to try them on first.

Originally posted by: masteraleph
If portability is not needed, the best $100 closed headphone, bar none, is the Audio-Technica A500.

The A500s have good isolation. Slightly below the HD280s (which are the top pair of closed circumaural in that department), but just as good as anything from Beyer, etc.
Good balanced music- the 280s have great extension, but they lack volume down there.

I have the HD280s, and they do indeed crack. I use them as a semiportable, but when I'm sitting around, it's the A900s all the way (the a500s bigger brother).

heh, you posted while I was typing. That's not so good to hear about the HD280; I will check out the A500 as well in that case. Portability isn't an issue as they will just be sitting on my computer table when not in use. They look a little flimsy though (just from looking at the pictures, may not necessarily mean anything) and I could only find one reseller carrying them, and they have them for $150 which is somewhat more than I would like to spend.

 

[Gurck]

They won't sound bad or anything before burnin, just different, a little less warm. You can listen to them from the start and observe how the sound changes or, as mentioned, leave them playing for a while. A day sounds a bit low, I'd say at least a few days, maybe even a week. As another poster mentioned, AudioTechnica is also known for their excellent closed cans.

 

[thelanx]

I have a large head and my 280 headbands started to crack after a few months but haven't gotten much worse since. Sennheiser will replace them for you if they crack, since they offer a two year warranty and are familiar with headband issues. However, I absolutely love the sound, I also have the grado sr-60s and the etymotic er-6s and while the grados are more fun, the 280 sound is just awesome. Granted I haven't tried any other phones, but with the blue tak mod, the bass on the 280s aren't bad at all. The bass is different from the Grados, but still great imo, and they are great for games as well as music.

 

[CP5670]

Still haven't really been able to make up my mind on this...

I've looked at a bunch of opinions around the internet and the general consensus seems to be that the HD280 is overall good for music, but is somewhat lacking in bass (which is useful for FPS games), although that may not actually be such a big deal. I'm not really comfortable with the cracking thing I have heard about though; even if there is a warranty, it's a hassle to replace them and you don't want to buy something this expensive if you know it is likely to break, although my head isn't large or anything. A detachable cord like many other headphones have would also be nice, as I have had two break in the past because the cord was accidentally pulled too hard. If I can find these locally I will just buy them and try them out.

The Sony MDR-V900 also looks like a good one; this costs a bit more than I was planning to spend ($130), but most people seem to say that the sound quality and the construction are both very good, so it might be worth it. These headphones are in fact the only ones I have found that appear to fit all my requirements, although a 1-year warranty is stingy at this price. Anyone here have this model?

Is an 80 ohm impedance too high for computer usage or will it work fine? The beyerdynamic DT250-80 looks excellent, but it is rated at that. Although I wouldn't consider them at their normal price, there happens to be a guy on ebay selling one, so it might be possible to get a much cheaper price through there.

 

[CP5670]

bump, any opinions on those sony ones?

 

[Gurck]

Originally posted by: CP5670
bump, any opinions on those sony ones?

I can't really comment on Sony without bias, their business model disgusts me greatly... Afaik only the cd3000s ($400) and r1/r10s (4 digits) are considered good, and they're still overpriced. You might want to take a look at the AudioTechnica 500s or 900s.

80ohms is pushing it without an amp, I'd think.

 

[CP5670]

I would consider the A500 but the problem is that they are very difficult to find at their normal price. I was only able to find one reseller carrying them, for $50 over MSRP, and they don't have very good ratings at the various reseller review sites either. There is also a guy on ebay selling them for double price. Audio Technica's website has no references to this model, so it might have been discontinued.

There actually don't seem to be many closed headphones in that price range in the first place; most of the ones I am seeing are open designs.

It seems that the V900 and that DT250-80 are priced similarly on ebay (for new units). I like the Sony model's low 25ohm impedance, but the Beyerdynamic ones seem to have a lot less dissenting opinions on their sound quality (opinions on the V900 are more divided) and the removable cable is a plus. Both appear to be strong as well as comfortable. Does the impedance scale linearly with volume settings? That R-80 I was using before is rated at 60 ohms and I had the windows master volume at 61% to get it to a comfortable level.

 

[Gurck]

Interesting, if they discontinued the 500s I would guess they'd have a replacement, I'll have to look into it. Also there's more to volume & power requirement than ohms.

 

[CP5670]

What else should I be looking at? Most people are saying that the DT250-80 can benefit from an amp but is still an excellent choice for portable CD players, so I am guessing it would also be okay with a computer.

 

[Gurck]

Took a look at their site, didn't see the 500s or 900s listed under discontinued models... otoh I didn't see any for sale either, not quite sure what's going on. You could try asking at head-fi.org maybe. Yeah, the 250-80s should be around where the 280s are; benefit from, but don't require, amplification.

 

[imported_thomase]

Go to www.audiocubes.com for Audio Technicha headphones. That is the only place I know of where you can buy them.

 

[CP5670]

I actually went ahead and purchased a DT250-80 just yesterday, but thanks anyway. At $147 shipped it was expensive (although cheaper than MSRP), but it apparently works very well without an amplifier and is good for both music and positional audio in games. It is also supposed to be very tough and should hold together for many years, so I figured it would be a worthwhile investment.

 

[Gurck]

Originally posted by: CP5670
I actually went ahead and purchased a DT250-80 just yesterday, but thanks anyway. At $147 shipped it was expensive (although cheaper than MSRP), but it apparently works very well without an amplifier and is good for both music and positional audio in games. It is also supposed to be very tough and should hold together for many years, so I figured it would be a worthwhile investment.

:thumbsup:, by all accounts a very solid pair of headphones. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on them once you've broken them in & listened to them for a while.