Headphones recommendations ( semi-audiophile )

[ubuntu-guru]

Since "gaming headphones" were where I started first; I've kept in that line when I consider new purchases. However, when I buy headphones, I don't need a mic because I have a stand-alone. Built-in mics always sounded dreadful so I keep away from them. 

 

When I researched my last set of headphones, I ended up going with the skull candy crusher, based on reviews by some people who even claimed to be as demanding on the quality of their audio than I am, but I also went with them because I am up and down a lot from the computer, so wired would have made it a pain. Obviously realizing that going with bluetooth would hurt the quality, it wasn't that bad.

 

However, my biggest things with headphones are:

- I like punchy bass. But not bass like when you were 16 and bought a giant system for your car that made car alarms in a half-mile radius go ape. I just like feeling the bass, where bass is actually going on in the song.

- I like my mids and highs to be crisp. I prefer to hear the different levels of music, and not have so much bass that it drowns everything out.

 

So with the skull candy crushers. They do offer bass, and the audio itself for mids and highs are "ok". But the bass feels very.... fake? If that's the word. Over dramatized. And I've also noticed that if you have the headphones turned down low and a song comes on with bass, it "misses" beats. Like the bass will be flat, and it just so happens that ONE will squeak by at a slightly higher volume, and when the headset detects that, it goes full-force. Then the next is flat. It's hard to explain unless you've actually owned these.

 

In short, looking for something that delivers that nice punch, but with rich quality. Doesn't have to be like PERFECT. I just want to really hear the music, and not have these "enhancements" try to make it more than it is if that makes sense.

[rice guru]

are you into open backs or closed backs headphones? 

[Donut417]

14 minutes ago, oort said:

Since "gaming headphones" were where I started first; I've kept in that line when I consider new purchases. However, when I buy headphones, I don't need a mic because I have a stand-alone. Built-in mics always sounded dreadful so I keep away from them. 

 

When I researched my last set of headphones, I ended up going with the skull candy crusher, based on reviews by some people who even claimed to be as demanding on the quality of their audio than I am, but I also went with them because I am up and down a lot from the computer, so wired would have made it a pain. Obviously realizing that going with bluetooth would hurt the quality, it wasn't that bad.

 

However, my biggest things with headphones are:

- I like punchy bass. But not bass like when you were 16 and bought a giant system for your car that made car alarms in a half-mile radius go ape. I just like feeling the bass, where bass is actually going on in the song.

- I like my mids and highs to be crisp. I prefer to hear the different levels of music, and not have so much bass that it drowns everything out.

 

So with the skull candy crushers. They do offer bass, and the audio itself for mids and highs are "ok". But the bass feels very.... fake? If that's the word. Over dramatized. And I've also noticed that if you have the headphones turned down low and a song comes on with bass, it "misses" beats. Like the bass will be flat, and it just so happens that ONE will squeak by at a slightly higher volume, and when the headset detects that, it goes full-force. Then the next is flat. It's hard to explain unless you've actually owned these.

 

In short, looking for something that delivers that nice punch, but with rich quality. Doesn't have to be like PERFECT. I just want to really hear the music, and not have these "enhancements" try to make it more than it is if that makes sense.

Check out Sennheiser. When I think audiophile I think them. I have a pair of H4.40's they are bluetooth but also can do wired play back. Im not suggesting that model directly, but I would look at their other offerings. The H4.40's do sound good, but Im not even close to being audiophile. I just choose these because I wanted decent wireless headphones that were not total crap and that worked on many devices. 

[ubuntu-guru]

Really don't have a preference yet. I haven't gotten into these more "quality" audio type of headphones. I know they effect sound differently depending on the type. But pretty much my only requirement or "need" is that they are completely over the ear. I like to block out any type of outside noise so I can actually hear without having small amounts of say the PC fans muffling, etc.

[rice guru]

54 minutes ago, oort said:

Really don't have a preference yet. I haven't gotten into these more "quality" audio type of headphones. I know they effect sound differently depending on the type. But pretty much my only requirement or "need" is that they are completely over the ear. I like to block out any type of outside noise so I can actually hear without having small amounts of say the PC fans muffling, etc.

ah ok in that case what is your budget?

[ubuntu-guru]

For a really good set that I'll keep for awhile, I have no issue hitting the $300 - $400 range. Like I said, it doesn't have to be "These had better be perfect". Just something up from this Crusher set I have that allows me to hear the depth.

[rice guru]

punchy fun closed back sets that I quite enjoy within that budget are the akg k371, mdr am2, dt 177x go, and meze 99 noire/classic. 

the akg k371 has a nice bunchy low end good build, nice luch mids. the lower treble can be a bit shouty and the treble has some nice clarity.

mdr1 am2 has a nice amount of bass nice clear headphones good mids friendly treble. 

dt 177x go has nice really deep Bass and is the focus of the headphone but it doesnt really sacrifice much of the other frequencies really easy to drive realy fun headphone. 

the mezes are just bass cannons but super fun I just recc these for the BASS

other pairs of headphone I think may be fitting are the ba nd o h6 nice warm relaxing sound with punchy but tight bass. 

the dt 770 bass that reaches deep, without sacrificing mids the treble can be  a bit hot for some. but great paired with na amp like the liquid spark

the mmx 300 IMO a nit overpriced but definitely a good headphone to consider. 

I do have other suggestions but they require more power than what an average non audiophile has 

[Lord Vile]

7 hours ago, oort said:

For a really good set that I'll keep for awhile, I have no issue hitting the $300 - $400 range. Like I said, it doesn't have to be "These had better be perfect". Just something up from this Crusher set I have that allows me to hear the depth.

For that price you’re in the HD600 series price range 

[The Flying Sloth]

12 minutes ago, Lord Vile said:

For that price you’re in the HD600 series price range 

HD6 series tend to be more analytical from my understanding, not as 'fun' as OP is looking for.

[ubuntu-guru]

6 hours ago, rice guru said:

punchy fun closed back sets that I quite enjoy within that budget are the akg k371, mdr am2, dt 177x go, and meze 99 noire/classic. 

the akg k371 has a nice bunchy low end good build, nice luch mids. the lower treble can be a bit shouty and the treble has some nice clarity.

mdr1 am2 has a nice amount of bass nice clear headphones good mids friendly treble. 

dt 177x go has nice really deep Bass and is the focus of the headphone but it doesnt really sacrifice much of the other frequencies really easy to drive realy fun headphone. 

the mezes are just bass cannons but super fun I just recc these for the BASS

other pairs of headphone I think may be fitting are the ba nd o h6 nice warm relaxing sound with punchy but tight bass. 

the dt 770 bass that reaches deep, without sacrificing mids the treble can be  a bit hot for some. but great paired with na amp like the liquid spark

the mmx 300 IMO a nit overpriced but definitely a good headphone to consider. 

I do have other suggestions but they require more power than what an average non audiophile has 

Thanks. This should give me a respectable list to pick from. I'll have to go look up videos on these for reviews just so I can narrow it down.

 

I figured with the Skull Candies I bought, it would have solved the issue of finding a decent set, but it's hard to even decide from video reviews, because a lot of them seem like they're just advertising the set even if they don't love it just because they're a partner, or getting a cut. So you're not sure which reviews are legit, or just "Company is giving me money to say nice things, so I'll say them".

 

The "fake" bass or "dramatized" bass on these just drives me nuts. Sorta hard to explain how they operate unless you've actually owned them and listened to them at different volume levels. Like I said, I like bass, but I also love charity, and want to be able to hear the different levels of instruments. Because when the "bass" kicks in, the other instruments just basically say "screw this I'm out".

[sub68]

8 hours ago, Donut417 said:

Check out Sennheiser. When I think audiophile I think them. I have a pair of H4.40's they are bluetooth but also can do wired play back. Im not suggesting that model directly, but I would look at their other offerings. The H4.40's do sound good, but Im not even close to being audiophile. I just choose these because I wanted decent wireless headphones that were not total crap and that worked on many devices. 

definitely a good closed ear sennhiser pair like 280pro (actually maybe not)

10 minutes ago, oort said:

The "fake" bass or "dramatized" bass on these just drives me nuts. Sorta hard to explain how they operate unless you've actually owned them and listened to them at different volume levels. Like I said, I like bass, but I also love charity, and want to be able to hear the different levels of instruments. Because when the "bass" kicks in, the other instruments just basically say "screw this I'm out".

that's why I don't like skull candy, I currently own a pair of sennheiser hd 206 and has a pretty tame sound the bass doesn't over take that much 

[sub68]

27 minutes ago, The Flying Sloth said:

HD6 series tend to be more analytical from my understanding, not as 'fun' as OP is looking for.

 

27 minutes ago, The Flying Sloth said:

HD6 series tend to be more analytical from my understanding, not as 'fun' as OP is looking for.

also it needs to be closed back

[Lord Vile]

26 minutes ago, The Flying Sloth said:

HD6 series tend to be more analytical from my understanding, not as 'fun' as OP is looking for.

Said they wanted it without “enhancements” figured sennheisers are pretty accurate or true to I can’t really say life but you get my point. I have the 599’s and they’re great  

[The Flying Sloth]

1 minute ago, Lord Vile said:

Said they wanted it without “enhancements” figured sennheisers are pretty accurate or true to I can’t really say life but you get my point. I have the 599’s and they’re great  

Now I mean this with the least disrespect possible to both the brand and OP but they're coming from skullcandies, strapping a subwoofer to your head would have less 'enhancements' than most skullcandy sets (and it would probably sound better too), it all comes down to perspective.

[Lord Vile]

1 minute ago, The Flying Sloth said:

Now I mean this with the least disrespect possible to both the brand and OP but they're coming from skullcandies, strapping a subwoofer to your head would have less 'enhancements' than most skullcandy sets (and it would probably sound better too), it all comes down to perspective.

I had a go with some crushers from a while back and they sound alright. There is a lot of bass especially when you press the button to amp up the bass (which requires like  AA’s in the wired model) but honestly I’d still put them solidly above beats, not a great or hard benchmark to pass I know but still they’re not utter crap. 
 

 

Bose QC could be an option too, not audiophile grade but sound nice to most people and if you’re not after something like The HD600 or whatever equivalent other brands have in that class it’s not a bad option.

[ubuntu-guru]

17 minutes ago, Lord Vile said:

I had a go with some crushers from a while back and they sound alright. There is a lot of bass especially when you press the button to amp up the bass (which requires like  AA’s in the wired model) but honestly I’d still put them solidly above beats, not a great or hard benchmark to pass I know but still they’re not utter crap. 

I mean, Crushers aren't bad. I have the wireless ones with the slider that adjusts the bass depending on how "punchy" you want it. I usually keep it about in the middle or slightly lower than the middle.

 

The complaint I have with them is the way the bass is handled. For example, the LTT intro video with the music. About 50% of the song has zero bass at all. And then it's like the headset finally "realizes" that there's bass, and then they kick in all of a sudden. So you get the first half of the intro flat as can be, and then magically bass says "Oh I'm awake now".

 

If that makes any sense. 

 

As for beats; I've been told time and time again to stay away from them. That they're over-hyped and under-perform. So I've never tried them, nor even demo'ed them, so I can't say where they line up in a comparison.

 

But as The Flying Sloth said; it's all perspective. Everyone has their preferred sound choice, and how music sounds best to them. It just starts to get expensive when you go from each one trying them out lol.

 

The skulls weren't horrible though. I think retail they were $160 at the time a year ago, but they were on sale for some reason, so I picked them up for $100. And it's not a huge loss or anything; they are still good for games, and other stuff.

[Lord Vile]

6 minutes ago, oort said:

I mean, Crushers aren't bad. I have the wireless ones with the slider that adjusts the bass depending on how "punchy" you want it. I usually keep it about in the middle or slightly lower than the middle.

 

The complaint I have with them is the way the bass is handled. For example, the LTT intro video with the music. About 50% of the song has zero bass at all. And then it's like the headset finally "realizes" that there's bass, and then they kick in all of a sudden. So you get the first half of the intro flat as can be, and then magically bass says "Oh I'm awake now".

 

If that makes any sense. 

 

As for beats; I've been told time and time again to stay away from them. That they're over-hyped and under-perform. So I've never tried them, nor even demo'ed them, so I can't say where they line up in a comparison.

 

But as The Flying Sloth said; it's all perspective. Everyone has their preferred sound choice, and how music sounds best to them. It just starts to get expensive when you go from each one trying them out lol.

 

The skulls weren't horrible though. I think retail they were $160 at the time a year ago, but they were on sale for some reason, so I picked them up for $100. And it's not a huge loss or anything; they are still good for games, and other stuff.

Could that be fixed with an EQ?

 

Lol yeah I was saying the Skuls beat beats and that they're not utter crap they're still decent headphones and don't cost £300 for a logo.

 

I'd look into Bose, they're not the best sounding headphones in the world but they're good by not audiophile standards and you can try them risk free for 30 days I think? If you get them directly from Bose.

 

https://www.bose.co.uk/en_gb/support/returns_and_exchanges.html

[rice guru]

14 hours ago, Lord Vile said:

decent

that entirely depnds on which model though Ive heard some skull candies and pretty much most of the beats and deem most for the price kinda garbage. same with bose though the qc 35's have a special place  in my hear and their TWS IEMS aren't half bad either

[Lord Vile]

5 hours ago, rice guru said:

that entirely depnds on which model though Ive heard some skull candies and pretty much most of the beats and deem most for the price kinda garbage. same with bose though the qc 35's have a special place  in my hear and their TWS IEMS aren't half bad either

Was on about the crushers, they’re decent if you like bass and they’re frequently sold for under £100. Beats are horrendous across the stack except maybe the Powerbeats pro which are decent for exercise. 
 

Bose are good if you’re not after accurate sound but for most people that’s not an issue. Plus their noise cancelling is amazing. 

[ubuntu-guru]

Pretty sure I've got just the wireless ones that went for $150. Skullcandy has like a really high-end version at roughly $300 (ANC) that has like a touch sensitive volume control and some other stuff, but I figured how they deliver bass is pretty much the same. And I didn't want to risk $300 with them if I'm not totally impressed with their $150 version.

 

Like I said, they're not horrible by any means, and the bass is decent, it's just like a software type of bass. And then when you crank the bass up pretty high, the lyrics start to bleed and mix with the bass, and it becomes hard to distinguish what they're saying. So that's why I keep the adjuster at like 45% bass on the slider.

 

Going to 100% bass just... yeah, your head will rattle but you lose a lot of quality.

[Lord Vile]

5 minutes ago, oort said:

Pretty sure I've got just the wireless ones that went for $150. Skullcandy has like a really high-end version at roughly $300 (ANC) that has like a touch sensitive volume control and some other stuff, but I figured how they deliver bass is pretty much the same. And I didn't want to risk $300 with them if I'm not totally impressed with their $150 version.

 

Like I said, they're not horrible by any means, and the bass is decent, it's just like a software type of bass. And then when you crank the bass up pretty high, the lyrics start to bleed and mix with the bass, and it becomes hard to distinguish what they're saying. So that's why I keep the adjuster at like 45% bass on the slider.

 

Going to 100% bass just... yeah, your head will rattle but you lose a lot of quality.

So are you after something audiophile grade like say the HD600 series or something more like the QC35's which sound good but have a profile reapplied so isn't neutral like audiophile stuff is aiming to be. 

[ubuntu-guru]

1 minute ago, Lord Vile said:

So are you after something audiophile grade like say the HD600 series or something more like the QC35's which sound good but have a profile reapplied so isn't neutral like audiophile stuff is aiming to be. 

Well, to put it in my terms I guess.

A lot of the more quality headphones that people have reviewed (that are not "gaming" headphones, but actual headphones for people really into music), always mention how different the clarity is once you get to a higher level / audiophile type set.  And I can tell on mine that they've sort of sacrificed some of that quality for this massive selling point, which is bass. 

 

Sure, I like bass, and the skullcandies do deliver, but my issue with the bass on these is that it isn't like true bass if that makes any sense. The best description I can give is that the headphones sometimes "miss" where bass is supposed to be. Especially if you turn the volume down a bit. So like for the LTT intro video, the first half of the video will be flat as can be, and then all of a sudden, bass kicks in, almost like software is determining where to use bass and how much.

 

I sorta wanted a mix, having pretty good quality bass, but also going to a new tier of headphones that offer quality, where I can make out instruments I maybe can't really hear with the "cheaper" headphones. I've demo'ed a few months back in an audio store, and you can definitely notice the difference between what I have, and a more "professional" type. You notice a whole new level of sound. 

 

I want to be able to hear a song, and all the instruments that were used to make it, and not have it drown out because a manufacturer had to sacrifice audio quality, over some massive selling point like "These headphones are for the bass-head".

[Lord Vile]

4 minutes ago, oort said:

Well, to put it in my terms I guess.

A lot of the more quality headphones that people have reviewed (that are not "gaming" headphones, but actual headphones for people really into music), always mention how different the clarity is once you get to a higher level / audiophile type set.  And I can tell on mine that they've sort of sacrificed some of that quality for this massive selling point, which is bass. 

 

Sure, I like bass, and the skullcandies do deliver, but my issue with the bass on these is that it isn't like true bass if that makes any sense. The best description I can give is that the headphones sometimes "miss" where bass is supposed to be. Especially if you turn the volume down a bit. So like for the LTT intro video, the first half of the video will be flat as can be, and then all of a sudden, bass kicks in, almost like software is determining where to use bass and how much.

 

I sorta wanted a mix, having pretty good quality bass, but also going to a new tier of headphones that offer quality, where I can make out instruments I maybe can't really hear with the "cheaper" headphones. I've demo'ed a few months back in an audio store, and you can definitely notice the difference between what I have, and a more "professional" type. You notice a whole new level of sound. 

 

I want to be able to hear a song, and all the instruments that were used to make it, and not have it drown out because a manufacturer had to sacrifice audio quality, over some massive selling point like "These headphones are for the bass-head".

If where you are Bose do the risk free 30 days I'd try some QC35's, if not see if you can go into a store and try them assuming lockdown where you are is relaxing. Other than that it's difficult because audiophile headphones all sound different and will sound different again depending on what you plug them into, I like Sennheiser's because I like how they sound, started off with a cheap pair on 461's, went to some BT4.50's and then recently went to the higher end 599s but I wouldn't have just jumped straight into the 599's and at your price point it'd be the 650. But just because I like them doesn't mean you wouldn't prefer some Grados for example.