EPTBudget is around $200
Looking for an open set
I really love the flatness of the spectrum provided by the M40fs (eg. no colored bass, treble, or mid range) and I would really like another set that has this same response.
Headphone enthusiast thread! - Page 200
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HolyExlxF
United States256 Posts
Budget is around $200 Looking for an open set I really love the flatness of the spectrum provided by the M40fs (eg. no colored bass, treble, or mid range) and I would really like another set that has this same response. | ||
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Myrkskog
Canada481 Posts
http://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATH-AD700-Open-air-Audiophile-Headphones/dp/B000CMS0XU/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1355450638&sr=1-1&keywords=ad700 http://www.amazon.com/Technica-ATHM50-Professional-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B000ULAP4U/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1355450666&sr=1-1&keywords=ath m-50 Just a few suggestions, though I've heard the Ad700's are extremely light on bass. | ||
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Polnikov
South Africa10 Posts
Bose QC15's are worth EVERY CENT! http://www.amazon.com/Bose®-QuietComfort®-Acoustic-Cancelling®-Headphones/dp/B0054JJ0QW/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1355661788&sr=1-1&keywords=bosehttp://www.amazon.com/Bose%C2%AE-QuietComfort%C2%AE-Acoustic-Cancelling%C2%AE-Headphones/dp/B0054JJ0QW/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1355661788&sr=1-1&keywords=bose I've recently forked out $299 on Bose QC15's. If you are in the market for an upgrade from your already good headsets these are the best option from gaming to travelling to sleeping and probably wont ever break. PS noise cancelling is epic and the | ||
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Blisse
Canada3710 Posts
On December 16 2012 21:43 Polnikov wrote: @ HolyExlxF Bose QC15's are worth EVERY CENT! http://www.amazon.com/Bose®-QuietComfort®-Acoustic-Cancelling®-Headphones/dp/B0054JJ0QW/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1355661788&sr=1-1&keywords=bosehttp://www.amazon.com/Bose%C2%AE-QuietComfort%C2%AE-Acoustic-Cancelling%C2%AE-Headphones/dp/B0054JJ0QW/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1355661788&sr=1-1&keywords=bose I've recently forked out $299 on Bose QC15's. If you are in the market for an upgrade from your already good headsets these are the best option from gaming to travelling to sleeping and probably wont ever break. PS noise cancelling is epic and the Please don't post in here again if this is what you post... Bose QC15 are only good if your only priorities are only comfort and Active Noise Cancelling. Their sound quality is lacking, and they're overpriced at $300. They're horrible for gaming (lol why are you recommending closed Bose headphones for first person gaming). If you're recommending any headphones for gaming, it's only for first person gaming, and there are a limited number of closed headphones that do "gaming" well for their price, and the Bose QC15 are not one of those. They're good for travelling and sleeping if you want to use them in noisy places because they'll cancel out the noise? Bose have the best ANC so that's probably why you feel that way. They don't have the best build quality (google Bose QC15 broken) either since they're wholly thin plastic, so I don't get where you got that from, and they're not the best option since they're not even headsets so your terminology is wrong from the get-go, as is your interpretation of his wants. Furthermore, you gave him a headphone $100 over his budget, and without noting his requirements. Please do not specifically offer anecdotal, personal advice to people based on your recent headphone purchases. This is stupid advice, and confuses people who actually come in here looking for advice on what to buy. On December 14 2012 10:41 HolyExlxF wrote: So, I currently have some Audiotechnica ATH-M40fs and love them. However, after about two and a half years, the pleather cuffs are starting to rip and I've decided to use this as a weak excuse to upgrade (instead of superglueing the cuffs back ). Budget is around $200 Looking for an open set I really love the flatness of the spectrum provided by the M40fs (eg. no colored bass, treble, or mid range) and I would really like another set that has this same response. I will second Myrkskog. If you like the M40f, you should look at the M50, the next step up from Audio-Technica, if you're willing to reconsider buying closed. It can be found at $120-140 usually. The AD700 is a good choice at $100, but as Myrkskog, is slightly bass-light. The HD555/558 are also great, though I would only recommend them at around $100-140. Otherwise, you can look at the HD448 and HD449, which hover around $100-120. You can also look at the AKG K240 at $100, which is basically the same as the Superlux HD668B. If you want to spend all of your $200, then you can try to find the AKG K601 or AKG K701, which don't have the most bass, but they're generally as neutral as you can get. Or you can look at the HD595/598 if you can find them under $200. I'm not familiar enough with the M40f to know what kind of frequency response they present as it relates to other cans. If you want open and neutral, you'll do no better than the K701. I would wait until Christmas/Boxing Day before buying to see if anything goes on sale though. | ||
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Tanukki
Finland579 Posts
Don't need a mic. Don't have a discreet soundcard. Must have 3.5mm jack(s). Reading this thread there seems to be a few good candidates, I'm mostly looking for a good source. I need it shipped to Finland, but the retailers here have somewhat poor selections and prices can be high. Amazon tends to take like 10£ for shipping, but that might be acceptable. German retailers might work nicely, but I don't know about them :p | ||
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karazax
United States3737 Posts
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006NL5SM/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyerdynamic-DT770-PRO-Headset-250/dp/B0006NL5SM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355935100&sr=8-1 | ||
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AnachronisticAnarchy
United States2957 Posts
I've been looking around at some good earbuds after my apple-issued ones finally broke. Being a noob in this area, I needed to do some (read, a lot) of research. After learning that earbuds are supposedly like shoes (it pays to pay more) I decided that I would be getting something in the price range of $100 to $200. One of the brands that kept on coming up was Shure. Apparently their earbuds (or IEMs, some people evidently make a strong distinction between the two) tend to be pretty high-quality, but what really surprised me was the se535s. $500+ for a set of earbuds seems moderately outrageous, and so, after looking around at reviews, forums and such, I decided to come to TL, because when it comes down to it, few reviews are as good as one coming from a consistent, well-informed consumer, and TL tends to have good security against advertisement. So, here come the questions: 1. The se535, how fast is it going to break down or become completely obsolete? Is it really worth paying hundreds of dollars outside of my initial price range or is there barely any noticeable difference for all but the biggest audiophiles? 2. I listen to a lot of metal (pretty much all the types, from Insomnium to Blind Guardian) and very rarely some other stuff, like some kind of dubstep/techno thingy. Does this genre require me to be particularly worried about anything like bass or such, or can I just pick up most earbuds/IEMs and be fine? I'm not the type of guy who knows anything about his music except whether or not it sounds good, so I know pretty much nothing about this area. 3. Am I stupid for looking at Shure for $100-200 earbuds? Is there something way better out there? | ||
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Maluk
France987 Posts
I feel my request is not off-topic since the OP shows a picture of an amplifier. My jack port is slowly dying (making cracklings, I know it does not come from the heaphones), but I have jack headphones that I really like (Sennheiser HD449) so I don't want to just replace them with usb headphones which could sound worse to me. So I have to buy a good external USB soundcard in order to be able to connect my headphones to my computer through USB. Which one would you recommend ? I heard that some external soundcards are absolutely terrible so it seems to be an important choice. By the way, is the difference between "amplifier" and "external usb soundard" the fact that the amplifier is connected to a jack port and the sound card to an usb port, or am I completely off ? I hope you an help, thank you ! | ||
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HolyExlxF
United States256 Posts
On December 21 2012 07:57 Maluk wrote:+ Show Spoiler + Hello everyone, I feel my request is not off-topic since the OP shows a picture of an amplifier. My jack port is slowly dying (making cracklings, I know it does not come from the heaphones), but I have jack headphones that I really like (Sennheiser HD449) so I don't want to just replace them with usb headphones which could sound worse to me. So I have to buy a good external USB soundcard in order to be able to connect my headphones to my computer through USB. Which one would you recommend ? I heard that some external soundcards are absolutely terrible so it seems to be an important choice. By the way, is the difference between "amplifier" and "external usb soundard" the fact that the amplifier is connected to a jack port and the sound card to an usb port, or am I completely off ? I hope you an help, thank you ! + Show Spoiler + I could be more than totally wrong about this. I'm no expert on this stuff. The difference between an amp and a sound card is that one processes the digital signal into analog, and the other simply increases it's amplitude. Most external DACs come with an amp (not as good as dedicated, but more than sufficient for most use). Look into some of the cheaper Creative or FiiO lines. Suggestions (may be terrible; I'm no audiophile and won't claim to be): http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Sound-Blaster-System-SB1240/dp/B004275EO4/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pdT1_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2HIXLK7MCS4E5&coliid=I2FE22VATNHLZK http://www.amazon.com/Fiio-E9-Desktop-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B004M172FY/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pdT1_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2HIXLK7MCS4E5&coliid=I2NKR2740CXTAJ There are cheaper variants and brands, but these were the first to come to mind. Also, is a new internal card not an option (eg. is it a laptop)? | ||
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Aphasie
Norway474 Posts
On December 21 2012 07:40 AnachronisticAnarchy wrote: I hope this isn't out of place here, but I didn't see a "Earbud enthusiast thread", so here goes. I've been looking around at some good earbuds after my apple-issued ones finally broke. Being a noob in this area, I needed to do some (read, a lot) of research. After learning that earbuds are supposedly like shoes (it pays to pay more) I decided that I would be getting something in the price range of $100 to $200. One of the brands that kept on coming up was Shure. Apparently their earbuds (or IEMs, some people evidently make a strong distinction between the two) tend to be pretty high-quality, but what really surprised me was the se535s. $500+ for a set of earbuds seems moderately outrageous, and so, after looking around at reviews, forums and such, I decided to come to TL, because when it comes down to it, few reviews are as good as one coming from a consistent, well-informed consumer, and TL tends to have good security against advertisement. So, here come the questions: 1. The se535, how fast is it going to break down or become completely obsolete? Is it really worth paying hundreds of dollars outside of my initial price range or is there barely any noticeable difference for all but the biggest audiophiles? 2. I listen to a lot of metal (pretty much all the types, from Insomnium to Blind Guardian) and very rarely some other stuff, like some kind of dubstep/techno thingy. Does this genre require me to be particularly worried about anything like bass or such, or can I just pick up most earbuds/IEMs and be fine? I'm not the type of guy who knows anything about his music except whether or not it sounds good, so I know pretty much nothing about this area. 3. Am I stupid for looking at Shure for $100-200 earbuds? Is there something way better out there? I own a pair of se425, so i guess i can say at least something with my experience from the se-series. If youre considering going up to se535s or even down to se215s factor in the improvement or decrease in sound quality. 1. Durability; Ive had my se425s for 8 months now. There was a signal failiure pretty early on, so i had one of the earbuds replaced. Norwegian consumer rights are fucking awesome, so we have a two year unlimited warranty on any product. I intend to use it to its full extent. Shure does operate with a two year limited warranty so i guess you could get the same service in the US (although consumer rights are generally weaker - so i guess you have to be willing to take a fight). The everrecurring problem of portable sound - cable damage - hasnt occured yet. However when i bought my set, i HEAVILY factored in that i could get the cord/cable replaced for 40 bucks, it made the initial investment that much easier to swallow. So i guess you have to be willing to go for a 2 year guaranteed investmend, with the possiblity that they'll last even as long as 4 years if you replace the cord. 2. Comfort; I find them pretty comfortable. Seldom wear them more than a few hours, but never had any issues with sore ears or anything like that. One thing that they also fit really well (at least in my ears) so i dont have any problem with the falling about when im moving about, the "over-ear" design also contributes to this 3. Sound; One even before you factor in the sound, you have to factor in the sound reduction. Because these iems go far into your ear, the actually cancel out _a lot_ of sound even without active noize cancelling. Before i bought these i couldnt listen to ambient/minimal music on the bus during rush hours. I had to turn the volume up to an unconfortable level, but i dont have to anymore. Anything short of a brigade of kids, loud black women or drunks shouldnt be a nausance any more. If you're a metal guy, i guess you wont have any issues at all. In regular phones the sound seem to come from each ear in the way you hear it (logically enough). However the se425 has a diffrent feel. It feels like it centers in you brain, kinda makes it feel like the music hardwired into your brain instead of something you're listening to. (Pretty awesome actually) The clearity is great in my opinion. It has a pretty high resolution/distinction and feels pretty good overall. The bass however is its achilles heel, and a major one at that. It has very little punch to it and overall feels sloppy. Its the only reason i regret buying these IEMs. The mids and highs are great, the bass makes me go  . So there you have it. If they seem like the IEMs for you then go for it. However remember that buying cans/headphones will ALWAYS give you a better music experience. I mean you can get some sweet Sennheisers, AT, Beyer + Sennheiser CX300 for 500 bucks. So only buy se535 if youre constantly on the go or prefer using IEMs only at home. My 2 cents Peace | ||
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Brutaxilos
United States2629 Posts
I recently bought some v-moda m80s and am going to Italy tomorrow for vacation. Having numerous stories of wallets, computers, and other stuff being stolen at Italy, I am a bit scared that they might be stolen. Would you guys say it would be safe to bring them from Italy? I am generally pretty careful about my stuff and have never been robbed in America. For your information, I am Asian, so it is pretty obvious that I am a tourist. Thanks ahead of time! Edit: If you could just PM me that would be extremely helpful. Thanks! | ||
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thisisnotralph
United States101 Posts
any suggestions as to good replacement earpads for Sony MDR-V6? I was looking at the Beyerdynamic Velour pads, which seem to have great reviews. Unfortunately, they are out-of-stock and I was hoping to get a replacement relatively soon. are there any decent alternatives or should I just wait on them to restock? thanks in advance. | ||
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Targe
United Kingdom14103 Posts
Thanks to anyone who has a clue! | ||
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Djzapz
Canada10681 Posts
On December 24 2012 00:54 Targe wrote: I've just swapped from a pair of Audio Technica ATH-ES7s to some Grado SR-80is and I have no complaints over sound quality etc. however when using my phone with the SR-80is it tends to be quieter than when I use a laptop or computer. Does the phone just not have the power for the SR-80is and would a portable amp be required or should I just blame a faulty phone? Thanks to anyone who has a clue! Which phone is it out of curiosity? I don't think a phone should have any issue powering SR-80i's though, I'm not sure what that's all about. I can't imagine it being due to a faulty phone if it's fine with your other headphones. | ||
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Targe
United Kingdom14103 Posts
On December 24 2012 01:02 Djzapz wrote: Which phone is it out of curiosity? I don't think a phone should have any issue powering SR-80i's though, I'm not sure what that's all about. I can't imagine it being due to a faulty phone if it's fine with your other headphones. iPhone 4s, the difference in Volume isn't ridiculous but it's noticeable to a level where I can put the volume right up to full while using my phone and not destroy my ears. Volume was fine with the ATH-ES7s | ||
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SoniC_eu
Denmark1008 Posts
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iokke
United States1179 Posts
 What would a good solution for getting the most out of MMX300 ( 32ohm headset, mainly used for gaming) as far as dac/amps go? After reading different forums and this thread I bought Asus Xonar DG for its price, dolby feature and the build in amp. Was this a good choice? I can spend more on a sound card such as Asus Essence ST or on dac+amp combo, but not sure if it is worth it. Or should I have bought a cmss-3d card instead to get the most out of positional audio (i started to get a bit confused when reading about cmss-3d vs dolby etc.) CS:Go is the fps of choice for the moment if it matters, though this may change in the future Also a general question, for headphone simulated surround sound it doesn't really matter if card is 5.1 or 7.1 right? | ||
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zJayy962
1363 Posts
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DERPDERP
Kyrgyzstan189 Posts
On December 19 2012 20:46 Tanukki wrote: I'm looking for some all-around headphones around 150€, will use them for everything (gaming on PC, console, music, and movies) Don't need a mic. Don't have a discreet soundcard. Must have 3.5mm jack(s). Reading this thread there seems to be a few good candidates, I'm mostly looking for a good source. I need it shipped to Finland, but the retailers here have somewhat poor selections and prices can be high. Amazon tends to take like 10£ for shipping, but that might be acceptable. German retailers might work nicely, but I don't know about them :p Grado sr-60s are great headphones to start with, and you dont need a soundcard, and its 3.5mm tho you get the bigger adapter aswell. You'd prolly find them from finnish stores such as musiikin.com or mrhifi. They're especially great for rock/metal music but also for everything else. Another great choice might be akg 272s I've only tested my friends' 272s a couple of times but for the price they seem solid tho I cant recall the death of me wether he had a DAC or a soundcard | ||
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ffswowsucks
Greece2294 Posts
I have been using these and the sound that come out from them are SUPERB. The only bad that I could say they got is that if you play 1hour+ your head starts itching and stuff. I wish they were more comfy. | ||
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