So my Sennheiser CX-300 II earphones just decided to break again, so I have to buy new headphones. But I don’t want in-ear ones anymore, since those usually last me about 3 or 4 months before they shit themselves.
I’m looking for a pair of good looking (so I can walk and wear them without looking like a retard), sturdy (so they won’t break in two weeks), good sounding (preferably with big bass) headphones, for about a hundred bucks (150$ max, I won’t go higher than that) Anyone got suggestions?
For good bass and very clear mids and highs, go for the ATH-M50. For extreme bass and good mids/highs, go Sony MDR-XB500.
Don’t look any farther than those. I’m a pretty active member on head-fi.org (check that site out, maybe make a thread, they’re very helpful), and have actually looked for headphones like the ones you’re looking for before and settled on the M50 (but even the MDR-XB500 will sound amazing to you after coming from relatively cheap IEMs like the CX300IIs).
Also, Sony XB700 are the most bassy of decent sounding cans AFAIK.
You can also look at Audio Technica or AKG or Beyerdynamic. Ultrasone’s have that surround thing that some people like. And stay away from Skullcandy.
[EDIT] ^ what ninja said.
Thanks. Is there any frequencies or stuff I should know before buying any pair of headphones?
If you’d like you can look at frequency charts and check that they don’t roll off or spike too badly, but even freq charts aren’t the most effective way of learning how a headphone will sound. Read some reviews, gather some opinions, and you should get a general idea of the sound signature.
Also, the XB700 are a good pair, but its sound signature is supposedly different than the XB500. Can’t say how different since I haven’t heard it, but the XB500 is considerably easier to drive (meaning an iPod or integrated PC sound card won’t have enough power to drive the XB700s without degrading sound quality and level of bass), cheaper and slightly smaller, i.e. more portable
What do you mean by power requirements? Real power (aka volts and amps) or information (hertz etc.)
Also, I looked on Best Buy and Future Shop’s websites, and [COLOR=‘Yellow’]the XB500 are about 70$, [COLOR=‘Red’]while the XB700 are about 180$. Is it really worth (more than )doubling the price?
When I say power requirements, I mean that the headphone jack on your standard ipod/phone/integrated PC sound card doesn’t give enough energy to the headphones for them to work as well as they should. For these kinds of headphones you need amplifiers or some other similar good power source.
You can buy a refurbished pair of XB500s for $38 and free shipping on Amazon, and the XB700 for around $70 at the same place. You can rule out the XB700 since you don’t strike me as the kind of audiophile who has an amp strong enough to drive it.
If you like rap/hip-hop/rock, try out the XB500s. If they don’t satisfy you, or you listen to a wide spectrum of genres and need to hear every detail in a song, you can always send them back (if you buy via Amazon, which is really the best place to buy them) and get a pair of M50s. You can’t go wrong with either, but I’d suggest the XB500 first since it delivers stronger bass and is considerably cheaper.
P.S. Don’t buy anything from Best Buy unless you don’t like money, just sayin
Well, I’m more of an electro/house type of guy, so would the M50S be more appropriate? And would they still sound as good with a mp3 player (A Zune, to be more specific)?
Both the M50 and XB500 are easily driven (i.e. a zune is enough to power either of them sufficiently), but that depends. Both headphones are pretty good for that genre, but you might enjoy the M50 more for all I know. Is it worth the extra ~$70? Only you can say that for yourself.
Like I said, if I were you I would try the XB500, and if they don’t satisfy me I would either return them or keep them as a spare set and get the M50s. Also, the price of the M50 has SOARED in the few months since I got mine (I bought them for $93, and made the mistake of selling them for $70 a few days ago, not bothering to look at how much they cost now, which is around $150…) and may drop, you never know.
AKG K240 Studios without a doubt.
for $100 you can’t get a better deal. circumaural, open back, and amazing sound quality. almost every professional studio has a couple pairs of these laying around.
i’ve had sennheiser cans before and they’ve been great and reliable but not good for monitoring music (or listening to music the way it was intended to be heard). the AKG’s give you that studio quality at less than half the price usually needed to get into the entry level professional stuff.
I don’t have experience with the K240, but one major difference between these and the M50s is isolation: the M50 is closed, which means it doesn’t leak as much sound or let much in, at the cost of soundstage. The K240 on the other hand is open, which means anyone you sit next to will hear what you hear, although it might give you a broader sense of immersion.
The K240S seems like a good alternative to the M50S, as the M50S are a bit out of my budget range, and I don’t really care if they’re semi-open or not. Although I still need to find if the bass still kicks in good and if they are “easily driven”.
And I’m a bit intrigued by the fact that the K240S’ cord is removable.
Have you looked into the XB500?
Note that open back phones mean that not only everyone around you can hear them but also that you can hear everything around you, meaning they’re not meant to be used on the go. Unless you’re really fond of traffic noise.
Yes, and I saw several reviews saying that the sound quality is good, but not well balanced so the bass can sometimes overwhelm the other sounds. Have you experienced this?
Hmmmm you’ve got a point there.
I haven’t experienced the XB500 personally, but if you’re concerned about the bass overpowering the other frequencies you should be very pleased with the m50 (if you can find one in your price range, that is).
What about another pair of IEMs? Are you dead-set on making a transition to one of the big 'phones, or would a set similar to the CX300IIs suit you well?
EDIT: Found the M50 on amazon for $124 shipped, is this still too much? While I bought it for $93 shipped originally, its still a great deal for $124 and seems to be exactly what you’re looking for.
As I said, I don’t want IEMs as I usually pay them about a hundred bucks each, and they last me about 2 or 3 months, sometimes less. And I’d want to keep Amazon as a last resort, since I do not have a credit card and Paypal is not accepted on Amazon. So I’d want to get them on retail, or if possible, on Ebay.
Alright, eBay is an OK place to get them too, just be careful because there are a lot of fake headphones on there (especially of popular ones like the M50). Buy ones from authorized retailers, like proaudiomart.
Founded in 2004, Leakfree.org became one of the first online communities dedicated to Valve’s Source engine development. It is more famously known for the formation of Black Mesa: Source under the 'Leakfree Modification Team' handle in September 2004.