Looking at a New Set of Headphones

[nvanprooyen]

It's a fun thing to shit on Beats I don't think they are awful at all honestly...especially for hip hop. I guess my problem is they position themselves price wise as a high end can, when in reality they aren't. $100 is fair, I would have probably done it too. $300 is robbery IMO.

 

[ijustposthere]

It's a fun thing to shit on Beats I don't think they are awful at all honestly...especially for hip hop. I guess my problem is they position themselves price wise as a high end can, when in reality they aren't. $100 is fair, I would have probably done it too. $300 is robbery IMO.

After having them, yeah, not worth $300. I never had buyer's remorse with them though, and I bought them mainly for mixing rap/hip hop. They were pretty good sound. Now that I want something for more than just that though, it's time to upgrade. I could always keep them if my new pair don't satisfy in regards to mixing music, but that's why I was looking for something that's gotten really good reviews like the HD 598s.

 

[Omeletpants]

Any suggestions?

Right now, I have Beats. Still in good condition, sound pretty good for mixing and listening to hip hop music, but I want to upgrade to more audiophile headphones. Something that will do well with music and video games (no mic, don't need one). I just got a PS4 and I want something that will really bring out the sound but still sound good if I want to watch movies or TV on the CPU, or just listen to music. Personally, I've narrowed it down to Audio Technica ATH-MT50s or Sennheiser HD598. Does anyone have either of these, or suggest another pair I might want to look into? I want to keep it under $200.

Over the past 3 years I have done extensive research, testing and purchasing headphones for both home and travel. I have tried probably 30 pairs from $30 to $400.

Here is what I have settled on:
-For travel I have a pair of Bowers and Wilkins P5. These blow me away every time I use them. They have a very warm tone which I love and dont need an amp to be driven to very loud level. Just fabulous. These can be found on ebay used for $200 in great shape. These are closed headphones so you wont hear outside noises but they will seem constrained

-For home I wanted a headphone that was more airy than a closed headphone and I could hear things around me like my wife calling me. I tested so many open headphones in the $200-300 range and finally settled on the Koss UR 40 at $30. Yes, $30 and these things amaze me every day. I prefer them to all those $300 headphones I have tried. Sound is so airy yet full. Best bargain ever

I have also owned the ATM50s (sound constrained, closed end). and Senheisser 598 (Sounded dead to me, these will need an amp to be driven to high levels).

 

[Crystallas]

What source? Source matters, such as are you listening from; computer, tv, mobile device, stereo. Then there is a bit of preference, as the suspension is more important to a lot of users than the drivers. And suspensions can vary a lot from every head type.

My daily headphones are franken'cans. A mix of a few brands and my own wiring plugged into a modified millet tubed/solidstate amp that I built 8 years ago with little/no intent on upgrading soon. Amps also make a big difference. Going by brand alone will leave a user confused, as most headphone brands make 4 shit cans for every 1 model worth buying(if you're look at the sub-$500 gear).

 

[beardownboilerup85]

I have a pair of klipse noise canceling ear buds and they are awesome

 

[malcore]

I have a pair of the AKG K550s. For my tastes, true bass (not over enhanced) these are the best closed back phones I have ever bought.


On sale at Amazaon. http://www.amazon.com/AKG-K550-Closed-Back-Reference-Headphones/dp/B005CNR7B0

 

[ijustposthere]

What source? Source matters, such as are you listening from; computer, tv, mobile device, stereo. Then there is a bit of preference, as the suspension is more important to a lot of users than the drivers. And suspensions can vary a lot from every head type.

My daily headphones are franken'cans. A mix of a few brands and my own wiring plugged into a modified millet tubed/solidstate amp that I built 8 years ago with little/no intent on upgrading soon. Amps also make a big difference. Going by brand alone will leave a user confused, as most headphone brands make 4 shit cans for every 1 model worth buying(if you're look at the sub-$500 gear).

Source will be mostly my iMac (27 inch, mid 2010 model), and the PS4 controller when I play games. I think the iMac should be a good source, but I'm not sure how it will sound through the PS4 controller.

 

[ijustposthere]

I have a pair of klipse noise canceling ear buds and they are awesome

Not looking for ear buds at the moment. Might purchase some down the line, but so far, I'm still satisfied with my cheap $10 sonys, since I rarely have an excuse to use them. Mostly when I'm cutting grass.

 

[Crystallas]

Source will be mostly my iMac (27 inch, mid 2010 model), and the PS4 controller when I play games. I think the iMac should be a good source, but I'm not sure how it will sound through the PS4 controller.

Even though it's my profession to deal with audio hardware engineering, I have no suggestions for anything that uses a wireless intermediary or digital-compressed to digital(as far as best bang solutions). Plus, I don't know how well trained your ears are. And you predominantly listen to a genre of music that is notorious for mixing poor samples and low quality sounds(by audiophile standards). You're likely going to be easy to please(honestly, that is not an insult, audio can become among the most expensive hobbies). Go to a store that has a line of headphones for sampling, listen, and narrow down your suspension preference, then cross-research those for reliability and range.

 

[ijustposthere]

Even though it's my profession to deal with audio hardware engineering, I have no suggestions for anything that uses a wireless intermediary or digital-compressed to digital(as far as best bang solutions). Plus, I don't know how well trained your ears are. And you predominantly listen to a genre of music that is notorious for mixing poor samples and low quality sounds(by audiophile standards). You're likely going to be easy to please(honestly, that is not an insult, audio can become among the most expensive hobbies). Go to a store that has a line of headphones for sampling, listen, and narrow down your suspension preference, then cross-research those for reliability and range.

Thanks for the advice Crys. As far as music, my tastes are pretty eclectic. Depending on my mood I can go from rap, to blues, to dj, to classic rock, to heavy metal, to r&b, to funk, etc., so I was looking for something that can make everything sound well on top of good sound for movies and games. I've never used headphones for games, so I'm not really sure what to look for in that regard. I'm mainly looking for great sound, followed by high comfort level. One of the reason's, outside of the reviews of sound quality, I was leaning towards the HD 598s is because of the velour ear cups and the padded pleather head band.

 

[Crystallas]

Thanks for the advice Crys. As far as music, my tastes are pretty eclectic. Depending on my mood I can go from rap, to blues, to dj, to classic rock, to heavy metal, to r&b, to funk, etc., so I was looking for something that can make everything sound well on top of good sound for movies and games. I've never used headphones for games, so I'm not really sure what to look for in that regard. I'm mainly looking for great sound, followed by high comfort level. One of the reason's, outside of the reviews of sound quality, I was leaning towards the HD 598s is because of the velour ear cups and the padded pleather head band.

I don't care for Sennys, even though many love them. If that's what you like, then go for it.

 

[ijustposthere]

I'm not sold on them just yet, but it seems like it's pretty hard to find a bad review of them. Still going to do some searching before making a final decision. Probably will look into Beyerdynamic brand as well, and the Audio Technicas are on my list. Plus a few of the other mentioned here. I just want to make a more informed decision instead of doing what I did last time with the Beats.

 

[Unannounced Fart]

My Bose aren't flimsy. I've had them for probably close to 10 years and the only thing that's gone is the shitty fake leather lining on the ear pads. Guess the pads might be a bit worn too, but they're still comfy. Bose are overpriced from what I understand though. I've got the QC2's.

Yeah, the black lining on those ear pads always rub off all over me whenever I use them. It looks like I have black dandruff whenever I use them. I won't buy another pair because of that.

 

[Heidenlarm]

Yeah, the black lining on those ear pads always rub off all over me whenever I use them. It looks like I have black dandruff whenever I use them. I won't buy another pair because of that.

Ahaha yeah I remember when it initially flaked off and it was all over my head, a little annoying, but once it was off it was off.

 

[Monk]

I'm looking at my phone


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ijustposthere]

I'm looking at my phone


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[video=youtube;5HxJimGgu58]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HxJimGgu58[/video]

 

[KittiesKorner]

[video=youtube;5HxJimGgu58]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HxJimGgu58[/video]

biff from bttf (not to be confused with ccs) was so great in freaks and geeks

 

[ijustposthere]

biff from bttf (not to be confused with ccs) was so great in freaks and geeks

It's weird. He was in BTTF and then, done. Didn't seem to have many big roles after that. BTTF probably ruined his likelihood of a career.

 

[malcore]

He was hilarious as a talk show guest.

 

[Urblock]

Can't use headphones. Makes it hard to hear the people coming to kill me.