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$500 cans on, this is how you dream right - Official Headphone Thread

H

hydragonwarrior

Member
So I have the option of returning the Beats Studio headphones for something else at Best Buy. Can anyone recommend an alternative headphone (Bose, Seinhesser) at the same price but better quality?

I'm interested in listening to music with heavy bass and good noise cancelling tech
 
V

vertical

Neo Member
hydragonwarrior said:
So I have the option of returning the Beats Studio headphones for something else at Best Buy. Can anyone recommend an alternative headphone (Bose, Seinhesser) at the same price but better quality?

I'm interested in listening to music with heavy bass and good noise cancelling tech
Click to expand...

At Best Buy:
Best pure noise canceling Bose QC25
I heard they also carry V-Moda now, so M100 for a really fun bass emphasizing can that's also closed (so fair noise isolation too).

See if you are able to give both a listen.

Good luck!
 
H

hydragonwarrior

Member
vertical said:
At Best Buy:
Best pure noise canceling Bose QC25
I heard they also carry V-Moda now, so M100 for a really fun bass emphasizing can that's also closed (so fair noise isolation too).

See if you are able to give both a listen.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thanks! I'll probably check them out tomorrow. Any opinions on Seinheisser or you think Bose comes out on top?
 
P

Phat Michael

Banned
FoxSpirit said:
Why do the speaker chassis of the left and right tower have different rims? Also, is that a rug and two heavy curtains for the room acoustics? Yeah, asking the weird questions :p
Click to expand...

i have no idea what you are talking about

The curtains are to block sunlight.

Dont know where you have seen a rug?
 
V

vertical

Neo Member
hydragonwarrior said:
Thanks! I'll probably check them out tomorrow. Any opinions on Seinheisser or you think Bose comes out on top?
Click to expand...
Sennheiser sound quality will be generally better. Since you're looking for noise canceling or isolation as well as a bit of bass you could consider the Senn Momentum over ears, but I'm not sure BB has them for demo. While the HD25s mentioned above are quite good, they're on ear I believe and that means less noise isolation.

Btw, be sure to check out the High-end headphone demo area in Best Buy's Magnolia room. That's where they have the demo section for Sennheiser, Denon, B&W, V-moda, etc. Bose will be out on the main floor with the other "popular" cans ;).

Have fun and trust your ears!
 
T

terrible

Banned
I don't even know why I did it but I just bought HD598s for $113.99+tax (amazon.ca deal, so probably Canada only). I don't even need them.
 
H

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
Friend looking for a pair of studio ish headphones closed ~$150 US. Suggestions?

Super quick I just looked at Sony MDR-1R?
 
D

Deception

Member
Hey everyone, I'm looking to buy some new headphones for myself but I have no idea what to get. Here's what I'm looking for as far as features.

-Wireless & Wired capabilities
-Over Ear
-Noise Canceling.

Stylish headphones would be a plus but isn't a deal breaker.

Oh yeah and my budget is $150-200.
Also I mainly listen to hip hop/ r&b if that helps any.

Thanks guys.
 
T

Tommy DJ

Member
Hazaro said:
Friend looking for a pair of studio ish headphones closed ~$150 US. Suggestions?

Super quick I just looked at Sony MDR-1R?
Click to expand...

For studio work? The Fostex T50RP is a really good option that needs some basic mods to fix its resonance and treble issues. Head-Fi has a very good thread that goes through many mods you can do and what they exactly do.

If you're simply talking about over the ear closed headphones and don't want to mess with it, the Sony MDR-1R you listed is probably the one of your best options if you can find it for that price. Great midrange, comfortable, aesthetically nice, has in-line controls and mic for phone usage. The bass is about what you'd expect for headphones aimed for the fashionable headphone market though...but there aren't too many better options to choose from for $150 I think.
 
H

Hazaro

relies on auto-aim
Tommy DJ said:
For studio work? The Fostex T50RP is a really good option that needs some basic mods to fix its resonance and treble issues. Head-Fi has a very good thread that goes through many mods you can do and what they exactly do.

If you're simply talking about over the ear closed headphones and don't want to mess with it, the Sony MDR-1R you listed is probably the one of your best options if you can find it for that price. Great midrange, comfortable, aesthetically nice, has in-line controls and mic for phone usage. The bass is about what you'd expect for headphones aimed for the fashionable headphone market though...but there aren't too many better options to choose from for $150 I think.
Click to expand...
Fantastic, thank you for the response. The problem with me doing headphone research is I can find justification for half the recommendations I see!

And yes for basic studio/audio work.
 
T

Tommy DJ

Member
If that is what he's using those headphones for, I'd definitely ditch the Sony MDR-1R. The bass response is completely unsuitable for the job I think. Knowing musicians and how careless they can be sometimes, they're not robust enough either.

If you don't mind spending a little more (~$50), the Beyerdynamic DT250 250 Ohm (don't get the 80 ohm) is an option that should be good out of the box if you don't want to mod the Fostex T50RP. I think it works well as an affordable reference headphone since its fairly neutral and outputs a pretty clean sound.

Since we're in the topic of studio headphones, the Sony MDR-V6s are a headphone to keep in mind if you need one specifically for monitoring. They were and still are an industry standard for a reason. They can only be used for monitoring though thanks to that crazy huge treble spike, which is intentionally there to help people pick out problems in recordings.
 
Skyfireblaze

Skyfireblaze

Member
I hope it's okay if I cross-post this here too even though it's headset related, I posted a new thread on the gaming side and got no responses so far :(

Skyfireblaze said:
I wanted to ask everyone here for some suggestions as my Tritton Kunai headset broke in half two months ago and now after Christmas expenses I finally can replace it. My budget moves between 70-80€ at most, I know I won't be able to reach any amazing quality with it but to be honest after coming from a Creative Fatal1ty Pro Series HS-800 the sound-quality of the Tritton Kunai already blew me away so I guess I'm easily pleased in that department. I just want something with the same quality and bass of the Kunai atleast :p

Another thing about the Kunai I liked was the fact that it worked with a USB soundcard and the headset itself had a single 3.5mm connector for both the headphones and microphone combined which meant that I could easily use it for my 3DS, Vita or even my phone whenever I am at my desk and got a incoming call. Something like that would be great again but not 100% necessarily. As far as usage goes I would primarily use it for listening to music, Skype and playing League of Legends and Battlefield 4 on a somewhat daily basis.

Honestly I wouldn't even mind getting another Tritton Kunai since aside from it breaking apart I was happy with it but seeing that its price rose for whatever reason I thought I might aswell ask for suggestions here to not waste my money. I already looked around Amazon and saw plenty of 5.1/7.1 headsets and even wireless headsets scraping my price-class but seemingly every decent headset has about 20 1-Star reviews full of complaints that the plastic will eventually break to pieces anywhere between 6-24 months after purchase like with my Kunai so I'm unsure :/

Some notable headsets that piqued my interest (these all have "breaks fast" complaints too):

  • Logitech G430
  • Plantronics GameCom 780
  • Plantronics GameCom 788 USB
  • Speedlink Medusa 5.1 (half of the buyers say it's absolute crap, others say the build-quality is great so I'm conflicted here :( )

I also considered the Sony Playstation headsets as I heard they are quite great for PC usage too but I'm not sure I want to make the jump to wireless, if, the battery should atleast last me 5h a day minimum as I listen to everything via my headset after nightfall to not wake people up :p

Thanks for any help and suggestions in advance, I'm seriously not that knowledgeable about audio in general and appreciate every advice :)

And just a short TL;DR:

  • Budget around 70-80€
  • Atleast the audio quality and bass like a Tritton Kunai
  • Daily usage for music (256-320kb/s MP3's not FLAC), Skype, League of Legends, ocassional BF4

Bonus-points:
  • USB/3.5mm connector combo for use with 3DS/Vita/phone
  • 5.1/7.1 shenanigans
  • Wireless? (5h of daily usage minimum)

Oh and I'm in Europe so any US-deals won't apply for me :(
Click to expand...
 
H

HiResDes

Member
Hazaro said:
Friend looking for a pair of studio ish headphones closed ~$150 US. Suggestions?

Super quick I just looked at Sony MDR-1R?
Click to expand...

Definitely not the Sony MDR-1R way too colored. Kam HP1, KRK KNS8400, Brainwavz HM5

...These are excellent suggestions especially the Kam HP1 because a good studio phone should be completely neutral, linear, and analytical in every manner


Here are some good reviews on the HP1

Battle of the Flagships
HM5 Rival
 
B

Bacon

Member
How are the v moda m100's? Reviews seem good and I tend to really like bass. Think I'm going to pick these up unless there is something vastly better in that price range.
 
H

HiResDes

Member
Bacon said:
How are the v moda m100's? Reviews seem good and I tend to really like bass. Think I'm going to pick these up unless there is something vastly better in that price range.
Click to expand...

Good choice, the ADL H119 are also really good in the range if you like bass, but you have to be able to handle a bit of clamping force and they aren't the best for overly large ears.
 
T

th3dude

Member
OK headphone GAF, I'm going to go against the grain a little here but I hope to get some honest advice.

I've been researching a pair of Bluetooth headphones for a few weeks now and I'm wanting to pull the trigger soon.

I know bluetooth is not what many recommend, but I'm looking for high enough quality with the bluetooth features.

Stores only seem to sell Bose and Beats, and from what I can tell, I like the Beats Studios much more than the Bose Bluetooth on ears. The comfort level of the Studios is wickedly good, so that's the form factor I'm looking for.

The Beats studio wireless are around 300 on amazon. I like the sound, but it lacks a few features that may or may not matter. For example, they can't be used in a pure wired mode when the battery runs dry. maybe that's an issue, maybe not.

Basically I'm looking for a somewhat bortable set that I can take and use at work, but also use around the house and ideally use for gaming too (all have mics that can be used to Skype, etc)

I've been comparing them to the Plantronics Backbeat Pro which runs $250.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MBWIL0G/?tag=neogaf0e-20

My tboughts on the differences:

I like how the revamped beats studio sounds. No stores carry anything else so its hard to compare.
The plantronics have very good reviews, but hard to find one that compares to beats or others in the class.
Plantronics boast twice the battery life and can be used purely wired.
Plantronics can be connected to two BT devices at once.
Plantronics have active noise canceling that can be toggled.

Feature-wise, the Plantronics are money. The problem is, they don't have a pedigree of making good sounding headphones, even though reviews liked them. They are also much heavier and don't fold up like others (ie beats).

Anyone have any advice for this very specific type of headphones I'm looking for? I'm certainly not limited to those 2, they are just the ones I've narrowed down to on my searches at this point.

Help me Audio GAF!
 
F

Fjordson

Member
I got some Hifiman Re-400's as a Christmas gift. Not usually a fan of IEM's, but these sound pretty damn good for their price. Will come in handy at work when I can't use my open headphones.
 
A

Antiwhippy

the holder of the trombone
Oh hey, I can make that comparison seeing that my primary portable can before I got this was the HD25.

Fit-wise it barely fits me when I first got it, but it does now that it has molded around my head enough that I'm now happy with the fit and the clamp. Definitely smaller than the HD25s though. Also I miss the split headband design of the HD25s, seeing that I have a weird skull shape with a slight depression in the middle sloping down, so most non-split bands (basically every headphone except for the HD25s) slide down if I'm not too careful.

Also isolation is definitely not as good as the HD25s, but they're not as bad as most people make it out to be.

Still, happy to replace the HD25s with the v-moda m80.

edit: oh wait, you're talking about the SP? The HD25s I have experience with is the HD251-II, which are pretty different to the SPs. From what I've heard they aren't as good.
 
D

dralla

Member
My FiiO E17 showed up and it's not recognized by Windows 8.1. I installed the drivers off the website and nothing. I open up the drivers and it says "Non-Active". It's no where in the Device Manager. What the fuck :(

edit; The USB cable that came with it was defective? Seems like other people had the same problem, a different USB cable worked,
 
H

HiResDes

Member
Duxxy3 said:
Wireless in ear beats.

I won't recommend any wireless headphones to anybody, at least not if that person cares at all about audio quality.
Click to expand...
Yeah I'd just recommend coughing up the bucks if you need such a contraption. Meelectronic makes wireless in ears, but I'm not sure they'll be any better.
 
H

hydragonwarrior

Member
So I've narrowed down to:

- SeinHD598
- Beats Studio but getting a black instead of blue
- BoseQC25

This is after trying the Bose at the Best Buy - didn't get a chance to try out the Sein but I'm up in Ottawa and the BB might have one to try out here.

I'm getting good vibes from Beats and Bose tho (sound cancelling is pretty good). But I'm trying to figure out the best bass.

I come to you guys then - best for my money if I end up liking the Sein as well? My budget is going to be 250-300 (since the trade in credit of the Beats is 250)

Thanks guys :)
 
H

HiResDes

Member
hydragonwarrior said:
So I've narrowed down to:

- SeinHD598
- Beats Studio but getting a black instead of blue
- BoseQC25

This is after trying the Bose at the Best Buy - didn't get a chance to try out the Sein but I'm up in Ottawa and the BB might have one to try out here.

I'm getting good vibes from Beats and Bose tho (sound cancelling is pretty good). But I'm trying to figure out the best bass.

I come to you guys then - best for my money if I end up liking the Sein as well? My budget is going to be 250-300 (since the trade in credit of the Beats is 250)

Thanks guys :)
Click to expand...



That's the weirdest most confused selection of headphones I've ever seen. Why the hell are the open, entirely neutral even in the discussion? The only reason you get the QC25 over any audiophile headphone is for the comfort and extreme noise cancelling. Also if you want bass just take the 598 out of the equation. There are however some better audiophile options like the V-Moda M100, ADL H118, Sony MDR-1RA, Soundmagic HP150, etc.



Anyway, I'm selling my vintage Technics receiver, and my schiit stack is finally sold. Now I'm looking for amp that can power both my headphones and passive pioneer speakers. I'm pretty set on the Audio GB NFB 11
 
D

Dreams-Visions

Member
Granadier said:
Which one did you go with?
Click to expand...

Lyr 2 based on second opinions. People on head-fi expressed concerns about the Valhalla's ability to drive my orthos and planars adequately. I then asked the manufacturer for a second opinion and they strongly recommended the Lyr 2 based on my list of cans.


If I'm not impressed, I'll send it back for a Valhalla 2. I'll be hooking the Lyr 2 into my NuForce Icon HDP which has proper analog out with support for optical, usb and analog in @ 24bit/192kHz. I don't know much about Dacs, but hopefully this one is at least as good as a midrange Schitt DAC. On the NuForce site it says,

"The Icon HDP employs the same DAC as our high-end CDP-8 (MSRP $1,450.00) and a preamp similar to that of the P-8S (MSRP $1,650.00)."

Hopefully that will mean it's sufficient for use as a pure DAC and not just marketing babble.
 
H

HiResDes

Member
Dreams-Visions said:
Lyr 2 based on second opinions. People on head-fi expressed concerns about the Valhalla's ability to drive my orthos and planars adequately. I then asked the manufacturer for a second opinion and they strongly recommended the Lyr 2 based on my list of cans.


If I'm not impressed, I'll send it back for a Valhalla 2. I'll be hooking the Lyr 2 into my NuForce Icon HDP which has proper analog out with support for optical, usb and analog in @ 24bit/192kHz. I don't know much about Dacs, but hopefully this one is at least as good as a midrange Schitt DAC. On the NuForce site it says,

"The Icon HDP employs the same DAC as our high-end CDP-8 (MSRP $1,450.00) and a preamp similar to that of the P-8S (MSRP $1,650.00)."

Hopefully that will mean it's sufficient for use as a pure DAC and not just marketing babble.
Click to expand...

The Lyr 2 is a step up from the Valhalla, but I'm surprised people think it can't drive your headphones. In my experience people on headfi and Changstar always seem to overestimate how much voltage or power a headphone needs to be driven adequately. I remember back in the day when I just had an Hifiman EF2A it seemed to power my fairly high impedance Fischer's to crazy levels.
 
G

Granadier

Is currently on Stage 1: Denial regarding the service game future
Dreams-Visions said:
Lyr 2 based on second opinions. People on head-fi expressed concerns about the Valhalla's ability to drive my orthos and planars adequately. I then asked the manufacturer for a second opinion and they strongly recommended the Lyr 2 based on my list of cans.


If I'm not impressed, I'll send it back for a Valhalla 2. I'll be hooking the Lyr 2 into my NuForce Icon HDP which has proper analog out with support for optical, usb and analog in @ 24bit/192kHz. I don't know much about Dacs, but hopefully this one is at least as good as a midrange Schitt DAC. On the NuForce site it says,

"The Icon HDP employs the same DAC as our high-end CDP-8 (MSRP $1,450.00) and a preamp similar to that of the P-8S (MSRP $1,650.00)."

Hopefully that will mean it's sufficient for use as a pure DAC and not just marketing babble.
Click to expand...

That's awesome. Some serious hardware there. Looking forward to reading your impressions once you get ahold of it.

-------

I'm treating myself this year to some nice phones. Ordered a set of DT 770 Pro 32 ohms and MEE M6's for the gym. Can't wait for them to get here.
 
D

Dreams-Visions

Member
HiResDes said:
The Lyr 2 is a step up from the Valhalla, but I'm surprised people think it can't drive your headphones. In my experience people on headfi and Changstar always seem to overestimate how much voltage or power a headphone needs to be driven adequately. I remember back in the day when I just had an Hifiman EF2A it seemed to power my fairly high impedance Fischer's to crazy levels.
Click to expand...

Yea I was hoping people would back the Valhalla 2 recommendation but they all seemed to point to the Lyr 2. Didn't help that the manufacturer site said,

"The gain of 1 is good for most sensitive headphones, including efficient on-ear models and many IEMs, while the gain of 8 is ideal for inefficient orthodynamics and high-impedance headphones."

Made me sort of feel like that really is the one they'd recommend. And my email discussion with the Schitt representative felt pretty genuine. We'll see. My understanding is that Valhalla 2 sounds warmer and I like warm sound. I'm a bit afraid of the whole "tube rolling" lifestyle. I've actively avoided it to this point because it felt like another money sink. But the head-fi thread suggests there are some tubes that will make it sound like a Valhalla 2 but with more power so if I decide to keep it, I'll be looking for those I guess. What's the lifespan of a tube anyway? I've been able to lazily keep my solid state NuForce on 24/7 for the last 3 years. Now I have something else to care for. :(

Granadier said:
That's awesome. Some serious hardware there. Looking forward to reading your impressions once you get ahold of it.

-------

I'm treating myself this year to some nice phones. Ordered a set of DT 770 Pro 32 ohms and MEE M6's for the gym. Can't wait for them to get here.
Click to expand...

ty! and you'll be well pleased with those DT 770's. They always impressed me when I listened to them locally at the music store.
 
T

Tekniqs

Member
alright guys. I think i'm gonna pick up a set of headphones soon. I already have custom IEMs so I don't think I need any closed headphones at this time...unless of course you guys recommend a really good one.
I've had the ad700 and 595 in the past. I listen to rap/r&b, rock, alternative, instrumentals (OSTs). I'll use the headphones for music/games and probably movies every now and then.

So, can you guys recommend a headphone that DOESN'T need an amp for roughly $250ish?
 
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