Recommendation for good set of headphones?

[JaguarSavage]

I'm looking for a set of high quality headphones for $200 or less (preferably I was considering buying a new set of speakers, but I figured for the same price I could get a pair of higher quality headphones. Any recommendations on what to do or buy? Thanks

 

[vonplyr]

i just i got a pair of the grado sr80s, and they are FANTASTIC! only cost $60 on egay and wll worth every penny, BUT i have to say i still prefer listening to my logitech z560s over the headphones any day.. they cost under $200 like youre looking for and to me sounds much better and alot less constricting than the headphones.. .. just my opinion anyways..

 

[Atrail]

Grados

 

[Pariah]

Sennheiser HD-580

 

[JaguarSavage]

I was considering buying a set of Altec 641s...but I thought I'd go with a set of headphones instead. how do you think the Sennheisers or the Grados compare to them? Thanks, I'll look into those phones.

 

[flood]

if youre willing to spend $200 on headphones, make sure you have a source and amplifier you are using are up to the same level. Assuming they are, HD-580's are the way to go.

 

[Vinny N]

Curious...what will you be plugging those headphones into?

Some of those models mentioned so far have fairly high impedance and would benefit from a headphone amp.

Whenever I'm not using my BA4800s, I use a Sennheiser 495 set with the TotalAirhead amp from the site that Atrail linked to.


If you're not getting an amp and you're going to be plugging it into a low volume source like most soundcards seem to be today, you might want to consider the Grado SR-60s.

 

[JaguarSavage]

I'm probably just going to use my Sound Blaster Audigy soundcard for the source.

 

[Atrail]

I have the SR-60's they sound excellent on my Turtle Beach Santa Cruz!
For the price you can't beat them.
They are open ear headphones though.
I like'm.

If you are just going to use your soundcard don't spend $200 on headphones, you won't hear the difference from the $50-$60 ones and you will spend soo much more.

 

[JaguarSavage]

well...I'm really looking for something of high quality. It that means purchasing an amp as well, I may just do that.

 

[Lalakai]

also consider whether you want phones that will completely cover your ear, or just set on top. Different type will emphasize bass, midrange, highs, ect.. As was mentioned, even though you are planning on plugging them into your sound card, look at the impedance of the phones and what type of power your phone jack is putting out. try this site for some good info (they'll talk with you on the phone and generally try to match up your desires and system with something that will work well

The Headroom

I ended up with a pair of Beyerdynamics DT-250's and really love 'em. Even though they have low impedance, I wanted to see if a headphone amp would make a difference, and you can tell when it's turned on or off. Makes a huge difference in gaming when you can hear the direction that the bad guys are coming/going. Let some office mates try 'em for a weekend and they've ended up buying the 250's or similiar. And if you're into good music, the first time I listened to clean/pure music through these cans, I heard stuff that had always been buried in the past. If you like/expect good sound from your system, don't scrimp on the phones. good luck

 

[RamzaBeoulve]

You too can own the Sennheiser Orpheus HE-HEV90 headphones for the low low price of $11900! Comparable prices are $14000!

Clickage Me

omg these had better be as good as they are expensive :Q

 

[JaguarSavage]

so...let's see...if I buy perhaps the Grado SR225s and the Total Airhead amp, I would be good to go??(besides being out several hundred $) And what exactly do these amps do? Remove "back EMF"?? Thanks for all the help

 

[flood]

I highly recommend going into a local audio shop and auditioning the headpones before purchasing them. They might even have a pair you can take home for a few days.

Edit:
My recommendation for the most accurate setup you can get on a budget is:
Turtle Beach Santa Cruz
Sony MDR-V6

 

[JaguarSavage]

Thanks much for the info! If I need any more information, I know where to look

 

[JaguarSavage]

one additional question...does the Audigy soundcard have enough juice behind it to act as a source for a decent set of headphones? Or would an amp definately be needed?? I'm not sure where to look in the Audigy specs to be sure.

 

[flood]

your sound card should be fine in terms of loudness. getting a santa cruz would make it sound better tho.

 

[Lalakai]

the audigy should have enough power to drive the cans, but headphone jacks are notoriously shoddy and assembled more as an afterthought then a primary component; that's why you can *usually* hear a big difference when using a headphone amp (one of these days a sound card 'll come out and I won't have to use my TotalairHead, but until then......). But the amps boost the signal and clip off the higher peaks that tend to cause distortion. With more power driving the cans, they produce more music versus distortion. My main problem is keeping track of my amp cuz the wife and oldest daughter have found out how much it improves the music coming from their portables, so they're always "borrowing" it. Hmmmmmm, might be a good xmas idea

flood had an excellent recommendation about trying out different models at some of the local shops. I had to search a bit before finding stereo shops that carried the higher end cans but it was worth it. Would also recommend that you take some of your own favorite music with you, so that you can judge the sound using music that you're familiar with. good hunting

edit = and I also support flood's idea on the Santa Cruz; mine should be here tomorrow. zippadee doo dah, zippadee day, my oh my what a wonderful day hahahahahahahahahahahaha (it's the simple things in life )

 

[BD231]

I have a pair of Sony MDR-V700 headphones, they rock!! Cost a pretty penny though.

 

[BillDKiller]

Another vote for the Sennheiser hd-580. If you look hard enough you can find them packaged with a Sennheiser headphone amp with integrated surround sound decoder for $199.99. I have been using this package for about a year and it is great for watching movies and playing video games. You definitely notice a difference when you turn on the surround sound. The amp is great, really clean and no coloration, hiss, or any other problems. It plugs right into the standard output jacks of most sound cards so you don't need to worry about a separate amp or anything. I have been trying to find a link for the product, cause the place I bought mine is all sold out. It also plugs into the wall; some of the headphone amps use batteries.

 

[JaguarSavage]

Thanks for the info Lalakai, BillDKiller. I have a question...why do you think the Santa Cruz will have higher quality output than my Audigy? I know that the 24bit/96Khz thing is pretty much just hype since the chip can't actually handle it......but I've also heard that the Audigy is still the highest quality consumer card on the market besides professional boards...thanks again for the help.

 

[apoppin]

Another vote for the Grado line.

 

[TheWart]

Go here for all the headphone info one could possibly want.

 

[flood]

Originally posted by: JaguarSavage
Thanks for the info Lalakai, BillDKiller. I have a question...why do you think the Santa Cruz will have higher quality output than my Audigy? I know that the 24bit/96Khz thing is pretty much just hype since the chip can't actually handle it......but I've also heard that the Audigy is still the highest quality consumer card on the market besides professional boards...thanks again for the help.

The santa cruz has a better analog stage than the audigy. if you use good equipment on it, you can hear the difference. basically its a better amp.

 

[Pariah]

Audio preferences are a personal thing. Some people like the SC better, others the Audigy. If you own one of them, the other is certainly not significantly better than the other enough to layout $55-60 for an OEM card. Spending $55-60 more on speakers or headphones will give you a far bigger improvement in audio quality.