Headphones suggestions?

As my sennheiser 215's have given up on me, I'm looking for a new pair for all-round listening and making music, mixing and mastering as well. The 215's were pretty sleek but had somewhat weak bass and high end clarity which made my mixes suffer. I'm looking for a good flat response. I can stretch to upwards of 300 bucks/200 euro but more cost-effective suggestions will be highly valued.

EKTers assemble!

Ath m50.

I just got some Beyer dynamic dt990s which are really nice. Pretty even response all round, best low end reproduction from everything I tested, ie not boosted, not lacking, Really comfy as well.

Sennheiser HD-25-1 II

Best pair I've had, and love the sound!

You can't really get more flatter than AKG701s for that price (you should be able to get them for your budget if you hunt around the nets)

$300 headphones? what is the advantage? jw

  On 3/9/2011 at 4:15 PM, mcbpete said:

You can't really get more flatter than AKG701s for that price (you should be able to get them for your budget if you hunt around the nets)

I would second that. I just got a pair of k702 (the same with removable chord) for $250 new (display model, I reasoned they would have been partially warmed up already) on ebay, there were a few on there. Definitely a flat clean, precise sound. But if your looking for something on the bass heavy side this isn't what you are looking for. The bass is present, to be sure, but it is not forefront and that seems to be the consensus on these. Absolutely good for mixing/mastering but not about to wub-wub your head open.

Edit: I should mention that the design is extremely comfortable on long listening periods.

Hey there, I was wondering what you all thought about headphones in the < $100 range. Been looking around and it seems the best bang for the buck is a pair of SR-60i's? Anyone have a pair of those or the 80i's (or have a better suggestion)? Don't have an amp btw

  On 3/11/2011 at 7:49 AM, Synthacat 9 said:

Hey there, I was wondering what you all thought about headphones in the < $100 range.

Likewise! My SR-60's have just kicked the bucket.

Beyerdynamic DT250. Same answer every time :)

  On 3/9/2011 at 4:15 PM, mcbpete said:

You can't really get more flatter than AKG701s for that price (you should be able to get them for your budget if you hunt around the nets)

THIS!!!

Another vote for the AKG 702. I own a pair and they are, without any doubt, amazing. I just got them two months ago and have been hearing new things in tracks I never heard before with them. I used to use a pair of Sennheiser HD25 which are also very good, but not on the same level as the AKGs. The Sennheiser are more suitable for DJing and taking out, as they're very rugged and can survive being bounced around. Even though the AKGs are well built, I'd be scared to take them out of the house just in case.

The one problem is that when you get a pair of really great headphones then all those poorly encoded mp3s will sound even worse than normal. But you shouldn't be listening to them anyway.

i'll throw in my usual suggestion of the ultrasones. the pro 650s if you can still find a pair.

the drivers are oriented in a slightly different way to standard cans... so that the focus is aimed at the pinnae of the ear rather than jamming it all down the ear canal. i personally find that this (as is, apparently, the intention) opens up the soundstage a bit more and give the sound a bit more of a "listening through speakers" feel, rather than the slightly more claustrophobic headphone sound i typically find.

they're also shielded to cut down on 90-odd percent of the electromagnetic radiation that's being beamed into your skull. probably inconsequential, but cutting down on radiation being directly fired into your brain can't be a bad thing.

to top it all off, they're comfortable as fuck.

ok that's all.

AKG240m - batterd these for over a decade now. comfy, light, a nice deep warm sound that dont make my ears ring and they show no signs of dropping apart anytime soon

  On 3/11/2011 at 12:00 PM, Ultravisitor said:

  On 3/11/2011 at 7:49 AM, Synthacat 9 said:

Hey there, I was wondering what you all thought about headphones in the < $100 range.

Likewise! My SR-60's have just kicked the bucket.

Did you find them pleasing & how long did they last you? I'm very seriously considering a pair

I just got some Beyerdynamic DT770's off of a buddy who 'upgraded' to the DT990's and man oh man am I pleased! They definitely have a little boost in the bass but as with anything as long as you know that character of what you're listening through you're fine. As for the DT990's, we tried them right next to the 770's and both of us enjoyed the 770's more, the 990's are open though so if that's your scene go for it. Point being that you won't regret getting some 770's, outside of those I'd recommend ATH m50's or Sennheiser 280's, really there isn't much need to go above $200 for headphones in my opinion with so many good options below that.

  On 3/12/2011 at 11:52 AM, Synthacat 9 said:

  On 3/11/2011 at 12:00 PM, Ultravisitor said:

  On 3/11/2011 at 7:49 AM, Synthacat 9 said:

Hey there, I was wondering what you all thought about headphones in the < $100 range.

Likewise! My SR-60's have just kicked the bucket.

Did you find them pleasing & how long did they last you? I'm very seriously considering a pair

I really enjoyed the sound. Best headphones I've owned. Comfortable too! But they are not very durable. I took them with me whenever i was travelling anywhere or going somewhere to record so I did lug them about a bit.

They lasted maybe a year and a half.

Thanks, next purchase (:

AKG is fucking amazing, but very very neutral. Maybe a bit to neutral for certain kinds of masterings favoured with some trashy bass music ...

  On 3/15/2011 at 2:57 PM, tokn said:

AKG is fucking amazing, but very very neutral. Maybe a bit to neutral for certain kinds of masterings favoured with some trashy bass music ...

I think the trashy bass in trashy bass music would be better reviewed on a stereo system than a quality set of headphones innit.

has anyone seen reviews of he warp records or even the addict headphones

addict ones seem to have been reduced quickly , i assumed they were launched as part of the brand, the same as other brands jumping on the band wagon.

to drop in price so quickly makes me think they were not too successful in a crowded branded fashion market.

the urbanears/wesc/dr dre ones all get nice little adverts and pushed in stores, but i just dont expect any of them to sound good.

the warp ones are expensive, have lots of positive tag lines from respected artists but i dont really trust that type of stuff.

http://bleep.com/index.php?page=dynamic&module=TMA1

opinions ?

TMA-1 are good but not worth the price. You can get hd25 for that price ant they're better. At least that's what people are saying.

  Quote

I just got some Beyerdynamic DT770's off of a buddy who 'upgraded' to the DT990's and man oh man am I pleased! They definitely have a little boost in the bass but as with anything as long as you know that character of what you're listening through you're fine. As for the DT990's, we tried them right next to the 770's and both of us enjoyed the 770's more, the 990's are open though so if that's your scene go for it. Point being that you won't regret getting some 770's, outside of those I'd recommend ATH m50's or Sennheiser 280's, really there isn't much need to go above $200 for headphones in my opinion with so many good options below that.

How would you compare ath-m50 and dt770?

I give the Shure SRH840s my unwavering recommendation. Flat frequency response makes them perfect for mixing/mastering. An added bonus is that they only cost $200.

http://themacfeed.com/2009/11/review-shure-srh840/

  On 3/9/2011 at 4:17 PM, mafted said:

$300 headphones? what is the advantage? jw

i use the sennheiser hd650's with an aphex headphone amp. the were like 650 bucks, and i was every bit as skeptical about the advantage over something cheaper. my local dealers have 30 day return policies so i thought i'd try them out for kicks, fell in love with them. hard to explain really, but they definitely are worth it. they give your music depth and clarity you didn't think was possible. reverbs are more prominent, everything's more punchy i dunno. but at the same time totally flat in a good way. i live in an apartment so i figured spending a bit of change on headphones i could do decent mixes on would be worth it given the amount i spent on my mackie monitors. verdict? i can actually make better mixes in these headphones than i can with my monitors. and they translate amazingly to all other listening environments. i can not emphasize enough how amazing it is to have headphones you can trust, if it sounds good in them then it is good! i think if you are willing to get up into a high price range all that bullshit about not being able to mix in headphones goes away almost completely (always good to reference speakers though...).