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Budget Cans; Under $50

beanz003

beanz003

Active Member
Hello, I am looking for some cheap over-ear headphones and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations. The budget is around 50 bucks. The Sennheiser HD 202's seem to be a popular budget set, does anyone have experience with them?

I have a pair of HD-555's which I really like, but these budget phones are for my girlfriend.
 
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I have experience with the HD202s. You can't go wrong with them. Nice long cable, good sound for around $30. They sound quite good, and I have some much more expensive cans to compare to like Sony V6 and AKG 702s. They have a 1/8" plug however, which may or may not be a good thing.
 
The HD 202's hurt my head and ears.
I don't know why the less expensive headphones have to be so tight fitting.

Bill
 
There are always the low budget Panasonics that have gotten "hyped". Lighter in construction than the Sonys above, but OK sounding for the 30+ price tag (MSRP 59.95).

Panasonic RP-HTF600-S

Probably not as good as a $100+ pair of cans. But for the price it's tough to complain.

Probably have more bass than the Senns maybe not quite as "clean"?

cnh2
 
cnh2 said:
There are always the low budget Panasonics that have gotten "hyped". Lighter in construction than the Sonys above, but OK sounding for the 30+ price tag (MSRP 59.95).

Panasonic RP-HTF600-S

Probably not as good as a $100+ pair of cans. But for the price it's tough to complain.

Probably have more bass than the Senns maybe not quite as "clean"?

cnh2
Click to expand...

I have a set of these and they're surprisingly good, they don't have the detail of my HD-580 or Grado 125, but pretty good and "fun" sounding. For their price, it's tough to beat.
 
I also have the Sennheiser HD202's. They are not too small/tight for me, but I have trouble getting headphones that are small enough. For what they cost, sound quality is surprising. For the price, I expected them to be cheaply made and to fall apart in a hurry. Hasn't happened yet.

The cable is way too long, but it comes with a nifty winder, so you can adjust the length. Winder clips on your belt or slips in a shirt pocket.

I use them to listen to digitized music when I'm removing clicks and pops. I rarely just sit down and listen to music with them. Not really wild about headphones, but find them necessary for some things.
 
I've heard that the Samson SR850 Headphones are incredible for the price.
I've heard similar about Superlux.

These are all semi-open around-the-ear headphones. On head-fi, they get constant praise.

I've never really used the term "cans" so I don't know how it applies to the Koss Portapro headphones. I can say that they're very very good headphones though.
 
You can find new IGrado over the ear for less than $50.00. It is a discontinued model, but it has great sound. It uses the Grado RS60 drivers. Don't know who it is for, but they can be used for home, exercise, biking, office, etc. They have an around the neck band.
 
iGrados could hold their own.

RamblinE said:
Over ear not around ear?

If so, for $50, you can't beat the Koss Portapro.
Click to expand...

iGrados could hold their own, and are the same price. Easier to drive as well, with a lower impedance, Portapros' 60-ohm impedance vs. iGrados' 32-ohm impedance.

Actually, iGrados are basically an affordable, portable behind-the-neck version of the SR60s in a way.
 
HPuser9557 said:
iGrados could hold their own, and are the same price. Easier to drive as well, with a lower impedance, Portapros' 60-ohm impedance vs. iGrados' 32-ohm impedance.

Actually, iGrados are basically an affordable, portable behind-the-neck version of the SR60s in a way.
Click to expand...

I forgot about that and I own them. Hahaha. I can't argue with you.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
 
I got a couple pairs of those Monoprice cans for the board at our church and they are surprisingly decent for (IIRC) $25.
 
I do not have experience with the HD202s, but I did own a pair of the HD203s. They were surprisingly sturdy for being all-plastic and sounded pretty nice to my ears.

The cons would be that the silver finish on the band started coming off in places after a while of use, the cord was extremely long, they were not terribly comfortable to wear for long periods of time, and that they just up and died one day without prior warning.

It's funny that this should come up - I got a new pair of PortaPros for $18 at my local Kmart yesterday, thanks to a combination of a store closing sale and a clearance price. I'm pleasantly surprised by them so far, but not completely convinced. Seems like the high end is lacking a bit on them.

Incidentally, my current favorite pair of "cans" also came from the Kmart clearance section for $15.00. That pair would be the Nakamichi 780Ms. These things are impressive for their price, which is still $20 or so online. Very nice bass in particular, a detachable cord, and they are comfortable to wear for however long. My only quibble is that the band could be a bit longer - or else my head is just larger than normal!

Gotta give the little guys some credit once in a while. The 780Ms are definitely worth trying out for the price.
 
Senn's 428 OK

I recently got a pair of Senn. HD428. I am impressed. They sound OK.
Not great but OK. I think I paid $30 or $35 for them.

Paul
 
Koss KTXPRO1 Titaniums. $11.99 on Amazon right now. I think they beat most cans under $100.00. The price now is half of what I paid for my first pair. Way more comfortable than the Grados.
 
I have hd202s which i think sound great but i think the OP probably has a set sorted by now.:-)
 
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