What are really nice sounding headphones for a budget audiophile

[Permanent Waves]

Barring the obvious sound effects headphones what's a common example of a sound effects headphone that's often mistaken for hifi?

Any Grado's. For the "warm heads".

Again, nothing wrong with that, and they makes some fine headphones (and I enjoy my 225i's at times), but they are not very analytical/reference/accurate/resolving/transparent/etc., they are more "hi-fun" than hi-fi.

 

[RamblinE]

Any Grado's. For the "warm heads".

Again, nothing wrong with that, and they makes some fine headphones (and I enjoy my 225i's at times), but they are not very analytical/reference/accurate/resolving/transparent/etc., they are more "hi-fun" than hi-fi.

No offense taken. I've had my Grado's about 13 months now and I'm not all together satisfied with them. They're good for some genres and just plain terrible for others. I'm looking for an all around performer in the $100 range right now.. which will probably be hard to do.

 

[dalethorn]

My Sennheiser PX-200ii "EQ" review on youtube, stereophile and other places has gotten some very favorable feedback. With that EQ, this $50 headphone sounds nearly as good as $200, and in any case, very close to good hifi. Excellent bass, mids and treble.

Note that most headphones don't respond well to simple EQ's since the EQ doesn't perfectly match the deficiency. In the case of the PX-200ii it does, extremely well.

 

[ChipperJones]

The Sennheiser HD280 ! Best bang for the buck imho. But im currently in the woods with these Incipio f38 headphones....someone saveme....:tears:

 

[RamblinE]

The Sennheiser HD280 ! Best bang for the buck imho. But im currently in the woods with these Incipio f38 headphones....someone saveme....:tears:

Those Incipios are ultra cheap. They're made by the OEM Yoga. How do they sound?

 

[Permanent Waves]

No offense taken. I've had my Grado's about 13 months now and I'm not all together satisfied with them. They're good for some genres and just plain terrible for others. I'm looking for an all around performer in the $100 range right now.. which will probably be hard to do.

Good, because none meant! :thmbsp: And I totally agree; Grados for me are good for poorly recorded metal and other "fun" music but for everything else..... I still keep my 225i's around but hardly ever listen to them. Back when I got them though (before I really heard more neutral gear and certainly headphones) I really did like them. Funny how perspective changes with more experience (in general and specifically with audio gear).

At the risk of more offense to someone I'll also add the Denon can line in that category of "sound effect" cans as Dale termed them as well. Those things (to me) are all bass and treble and nothing else. Now the bass and treble are good/very good, but man I need my mids! Also Ultrasones (to me) are all bass and treble, and, unlike Denons, are not of good quality either.

My Sennheiser PX-200ii "EQ" review on youtube, stereophile and other places has gotten some very favorable feedback. With that EQ, this $50 headphone sounds nearly as good as $200, and in any case, very close to good hifi. Excellent bass, mids and treble.

Note that most headphones don't respond well to simple EQ's since the EQ doesn't perfectly match the deficiency. In the case of the PX-200ii it does, extremely well.

Very interesting. :scratch2: I'm no EQ'er myself, but I know it can change mediocre cans into great ones. I have the PX 100's I used before I got into IEM's. I used to think they were pretty good, but now find them unlistenable. My gf likes them though.


A little more research seems to show the Shure 440's are a good budget can ($75 on Amazon right now!) that punch above their price. It seems they are "mini 940's" so that would, imo, be a very good thing and make them good all-rounders. Again, never heard them though.

 

[tubeboob]

Audio Technica ATH AD700

The Audio Technica ATH AD700 were reviewed a while back in Stereophile and were given a Class "A" recommendation.

I bought a pair, and am happy to say that pretty much everyone who listened to them took them, forcing me to replace them at least 3 times.

I got them for less than $100.00 delivered.

Stunningly accurate, deep controlled bass, sweet engaging mids and defined enticing highs.

A true "no brainer".

Cheers

 

[dalethorn]

It's too bad that people rate the cheap Grados so bad for much of their music, since so many people rate them so highly.

But, and this may not be relevant here, the Grado PS-500 is a really nice sounding headphone suitable IMO for all genres. The worst case is it has a small hump around 100 hz, easily trimmed, but it's one of the best I've ever heard.

 

[dalethorn]

The ATH M50 is just slightly over $100 USD and it makes all the little portables sound like, ummm, little portables.

 

[Bubo]

The Audio Technica ATH AD700 were reviewed a while back in Stereophile and were given a Class "A" recommendation.

I bought a pair, and am happy to say that pretty much everyone who listened to them took them, forcing me to replace them at least 3 times.

I got them for less than $100.00 delivered.

Stunningly accurate, deep controlled bass, sweet engaging mids and defined enticing highs.

A true "no brainer".

Cheers

I can't comment on the Grados since I haven't done any side by sides, but my daily listeners at the PC are the AT AD-700s. If the AKG 701-2s are a 98%, these things get a 95% of perfection at 1/3 of the cost.

I purchased a second pair for my 13 year old daughter the other day, told her she had her headphones for the next 20 years.

 

[Bigerik]

I spent a good hour at a "wall of headphones" yesterday, listening to headphones priced between $75 and $1200. There were multiple models from Grado, Denon, Sennheiser, Shure, AKG, etc. All fed from a Peachtree Audio tube amp. The best, bang for the buck, was the Grado SR325i's. But I was surprised how well even the SR60i's held up. The detail was missing, but the musicality was there.

 

[cubdog]

Those Incipios are ultra cheap. They're made by the OEM Yoga. How do they sound?

The Incipios can be had for as little as $30 on Amazon. I'm really tempted to try them.

 

[dalethorn]

My problems with really cheap headphones:

1) I don't need any myself because I already have better ones to listen with.

2) I can't recommend them to anyone because of QC issues, for one thing. There's going to be a lot of variance between samples, I can't be sure what I heard is what someone else is going to get, and because of the low cost, it's near 100 percent certain the resonances (there are always resonances) are not going to be fixed, or damped well enough to make them insignificant.

 

[cubdog]

My general rule of thumb is not to buy anything unless it is significantly better or different from what I already own. I learned the hard way with speakers.

cubdog

 

[RamblinE]

If I'm looking for flat headphones in the $100 range how do the ATH-AD700 and Shure 440's hold up?

I'm looking for quality build, detailed sound and flat frequency response. Sound isolation isn't all that important. I've been discussing studio phones with people over in another thread and while the ATH-AD700s aren't studio phones I'm interested in them for the price tag, the build and how a few other people have described their sound.

I'm basically looking for an even representation of everything. My Grados are fun to listen to but they don't evenly represent everything and that's been getting me down lately.

 

[harman/kardon]

Bang & Olufsen "U 70", nice design, sturdy high quality materials, fine sounding. I payed 80 Euros for them.

 

[RamblinE]

Back on topic. I've been experimenting with EQ'ing my Superlux HD681's. They were all of $35 on Amazon and have a harsh top end. Slight treble reduction starting at 5khz. VERY slight bass bump at 60hz. Enjoying the results. Tyll on Inner Fidelity wrote about the Superlux cans and suggested something pretty similar to what I just did. AKA, I took his suggestions. Here's Tyll's article. http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/superlux-hd-668b-and-hd-681-headphones I have the pair with the red accents.

 

[Listnnthdark]

B+O Form 1 / Form 2 / U-70

Hey all
Ive owned a pair of B+O Form 1s since new 1987 . They seem to have just expired .. I had re soldered the leads a couple of times when one of the channels started to cut out . it restored them twice but I think I soldered too far this time as the right channell has died . I also owned the form 2 and they sounded excellent but were uncomfortable . Im no headphone expert . but have heard the $ 100 grados { great ! } along w several others koss akg etc and the form 1 sounds best to me . In trying to find a pair to replace them to no avail I happened upon something I did not know existed { B+O U-70 }
I just bought a pair without hearing based solely on my experience with my beloved Form 1s ... They are on the way .. I figure if they were the only headphones made by b+o at the time { and they are in the Metropolitan Museum Of Art }they are probably pretty good ..
The form 2 readily available { unlike form 1} might be good competition for the others mentioned .

 

[Permanent Waves]

But, and this may not be relevant here, the Grado PS-500 is a really nice sounding headphone suitable IMO for all genres. The worst case is it has a small hump around 100 hz, easily trimmed, but it's one of the best I've ever heard.

Gonna have to disagree with you there. :tongue: After hearing, for an extensive time (borrowed from friends/associates for weeks which is really the only way to test gear imo: over time and in different "music moods" with a lot of material in a lot of genres in one's own home on their own system away from distractions and hurried/frenzied switching which takes place at other's homes and in audio shops) the RS1i, RS2i, and PS500, I gave up on Grados (for me). Those 3 models just sounded like gloried 225i's (which I have); not substantially different, just more refined. And since the house sound of Grados "fun-fi" only works for a limited number of genres (due to their over emphasized low-mid bass hump and sometimes grainy/harsh treble) it is not what I'm personally looking for. I'd never recommend any Grado, at least, for an "all rounder" unless someone just wants a cheap (sub $100) can (which the 60's and 80's are still good choices) who doesn't care much about SQ, or at least the sound being balanced/neutral/etc. Or perhaps for someone who wants to spend more and just wants a "fun/warm" can (albeit with a lot of harsh treble too) which, of course, is fine. But never for someone looking for a good all rounder. Jmo.

If I'm looking for flat headphones in the $100 range how do the ATH-AD700 and Shure 440's hold up?

I'm looking for quality build, detailed sound and flat frequency response. Sound isolation isn't all that important. I've been discussing studio phones with people over in another thread and while the ATH-AD700s aren't studio phones I'm interested in them for the price tag, the build and how a few other people have described their sound.

I'm basically looking for an even representation of everything. My Grados are fun to listen to but they don't evenly represent everything and that's been getting me down lately.

Again, I've never heard either, but I think the Shure 440's would fit that better over the AT 700's from what I've read. Both are probably good cans in the price range. As for build quality, the 940's are at least good and I've heard the 440's are too. Don't know about the 700's. Maybe order both and return what you don't like? Really the best way to do it if you can.

 

[dalethorn]

Gonna have to disagree with you there. :tongue: After hearing, for an extensive time (borrowed from friends/associates for weeks which is really the only way to test gear imo: over time and in different "music moods" with a lot of material in a lot of genres in one's own home on their own system away from distractions and hurried/frenzied switching which takes place at other's homes and in audio shops) the RS1i, RS2i, and PS500, I gave up on Grados (for me). Those 3 models just sounded like gloried 225i's (which I have); not substantially different, just more refined. And since the house sound of Grados "fun-fi" only works for a limited number of genres (due to their over emphasized low-mid bass hump and sometimes grainy/harsh treble) it is not what I'm personally looking for. I'd never recommend any Grado, at least, for an "all rounder" unless someone just wants a cheap (sub $100) can (which the 60's and 80's are still good choices) who doesn't care much about SQ, or at least the sound being balanced/neutral/etc.

I didn't hear the lower cost Grados, but if you don't like the PS500, then you probably would not like a lot of expensive headphones like the Sennheiser 650, Shure 1440 or 1840, or even the Sennheiser HD800. My long experience with all of these tells me that the PS500 is competitive in sound with the best headphones, but again, since most people (pay attention to this) will *not* EQ-out the bass hump on a PS500, they will report that the sound isn't that great and there you have it. I know how good it can be.