Looking for headphones up to £200

[Spartan256]

Hi

 

Looking for headphones up to the £200 mark, though have a few requirements.
I don't like velour ear cups. Leather/pu leather or a mesh fabric found on the Corsair voids is preferable
I don't want to get an amp/DAC for the headphones 
Using them for gaming, watching videos and listening to music. 
Doesn't need a mic as I have a standalone mic

Your help is much appreciated.

[Aereldor]

Sennheiser HD 58x. For a little extra they'll ship with leather earpads.

[Nate.]

18 minutes ago, Spartan256 said:

Hi

 

Looking for headphones up to the £200 mark, though have a few requirements.
I don't like velour ear cups. Leather/pu leather or a mesh fabric found on the Corsair voids is preferable
I don't want to get an amp/DAC for the headphones 
Using them for gaming, watching videos and listening to music. 
Doesn't need a mic as I have a standalone mic

Your help is much appreciated.

Has a removable mic, so...

 

Amazing headset. Has awesome features like 3d audio, superhuman hearing (footsteps in game as an example) and more.

 

Best headset out there. 

(It's wireless too!!!!)

https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/gaming/gaming-accessories/gaming-headsets/turtle-beach-elite-atlas-aero-wireless-gaming-headset-black-10198823-pdt.html

[Slottr]

80 Ohm DT 770's sound great, are easy to drive and have some very comfortable, interchangeable, ear pads

[Psittac]

As @Slottr said the dt 770 80ohm is a stellar option, a V-shaped closed back headphone with good bass.  I got them for my blind friend and loved the sound signature so much that I scoured the internet for dt 880 600 ohm and there is a huge selection of earpads to choose from for them.

 

My second recommendation would be fidelio X2HR because I've heard the X3 for a minute and drooled over them, silky and warm.  here is the zreview

 

I would also say the sennheiser 58x would be a strong choice though I am unaware of how they respond to a pad swap, I've heard the 6xx doesn't like a pad swap so I never got them for it. *I just asked in an audiophile telegram chat and in general people say it doesn't like a pad swap.

 

Another very popular and cheaper solution is the shp9500 or shp9600  though I have no experience with anything even similar, but everyone raves about them.

 

The beyerdynamic tygr is drooled over but impossible to find

 

I linked video's to reviewers that I have listened to their reviews of headphones I have and respect their opinions.  I will update this if I think of anything else.

[Aereldor]

13 minutes ago, Psittac said:

I would also say the sennheiser 58x would be a strong choice though I am unaware of how they respond to a pad swap, I've heard the 6xx doesn't like a pad swap so I never got them for it. *I just asked in an audiophile telegram chat and in general people say it doesn't like a pad swap.

Considering that the 58x were designed in collaboration with massdrop and massdrop offers the 'upgraded' pads pre-installed for a small price, I'm assuming there's no issues, though I'm not sure the pad swap concerns arise from a user pad swap or just one in general

[Psittac]

8 minutes ago, Aereldor said:

Considering that the 58x were designed in collaboration with massdrop and massdrop offers the 'upgraded' pads pre-installed for a small price, I'm assuming there's no issues, though I'm not sure the pad swap concerns arise from a user pad swap or just one in general

it's a tonality issue, pads have a huge impact on sound signature and from what I gather everyone that has tried to pad swap most Sennheisers say that it ruins them.

[Aereldor]

3 minutes ago, Psittac said:

it's a tonality issue, pads have a huge impact on sound signature and from what I gather everyone that has tried to pad swap most Sennheisers say that it ruins them.

But would 'everyone who has tried to pad swap most sennheisers' include Sennheiser themselves? Because it's my understanding Massdrop includes four options for the pads on checkout, which had to have been designed in collaboration with sennheiser, just like the headphones were.

 

It also sounds like a myth that a pad swap would affect their sound that much.

[Psittac]

8 minutes ago, Aereldor said:

But would 'everyone who has tried to pad swap most sennheisers' include Sennheiser themselves? Because it's my understanding Massdrop includes four options for the pads on checkout, which had to have been designed in collaboration with sennheiser, just like the headphones were.

 

It also sounds like a myth that a pad swap would affect their sound that much.

I honestly don't know about the massdrop pad options.  But I can say without a doubt from personal experience that a pad swap is the closest thing you can get to buying a different pair of headphones for $40-60.  It's that big of a difference.  On my Fostex T50rp I have tried 3 pads including stock and it's a different pair of cans each time.

[Aereldor]

6 minutes ago, Psittac said:

I honestly don't know about the massdrop pad options.  But I can say without a doubt from personal experience that a pad swap is the closest thing you can get to buying a different pair of headphones for $40-60.  It's that big of a difference.  On my Fostex T50rp I have tried 3 pads including stock and it's a different pair of cans each time.

The only headphones I padswapped were my Superluxes and there wasn't any difference to sound, but my ears were less hot lol. I did get to compare some AKG 240s to a pad-swapped pair and there was no difference, except the swapped pair was bright pink velour

[Spartan256]

15 hours ago, Slottr said:

80 Ohm DT 770's sound great, are easy to drive and have some very comfortable, interchangeable, ear pads

 Can I drive them without an Amp or DAC? As some reviews mention about getting one

 

 

19 hours ago, Aereldor said:

Sennheiser HD 58x. For a little extra they'll ship with leather earpads.

They seem good but not sure about dealing with internationally shipping in case I need to return them
 

[Aereldor]

43 minutes ago, Spartan256 said:

They seem good but not sure about dealing with internationally shipping in case I need to return them

Ah, good point I don't know how Massdrop is about that. In that case, here are the best-sounding headphones that don't need an amp to drive them.

 

If you want £1000 sound for £200 , then the Monoprice 1060s are the ones to get.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N32N5DD

 

All their headphones should honestly be way more expensive than they are. I'm not exaggerating, these babies compare quite well to the Audeze LCD-2, which are 5 times the price. Both have 106mm planar drivers, both have a very similar frequency response, hell they even look the same with the rosewood rings, grills, and they both have leather pads.

 

Here's a good review on them and why they're such absurdly good value. 

https://www.soundguys.com/monoprice-monolith-m1060-review-13152/

 

They're also just 50 ohms, you could power them with an ipod shuffle haha, and monoprice has a 5-year warranty

 

[Tigerleon]

6 hours ago, Spartan256 said:

 Can I drive them without an Amp or DAC? As some reviews mention about getting one

 

 

On 2/9/2021 at 7:59 PM, Aereldor said:

Sennheiser HD 58x. For a little extra they'll ship with leather earpads.

They seem good but not sure about dealing with internationally shipping in case I need to return them

Since you are okay with open back, the X2HR's are great. The velour isn't really velour. It is more like a suede more than anything. They sound amazing. The openness of them is really nice.

[Aereldor]

1 minute ago, Tigerleon said:

Since you are okay with open back, the X2HR's are great. The velour isn't really velour. It is more like a suede more than anything. They sound amazing. The openness of them is really nice.

They're pretty velour-y - looks and feels like Velour and will make your ears hot all the same, not too different from the SHP9500 in that regard. A decent cheaper option, keeping in mind they're going to sound like cheap dynamic drivers, with a significantly smaller soundstage and a lot more roll-off than planars.

[Tigerleon]

Just now, Aereldor said:

not too different from the SHP9500 in that regard. A decent cheaper option, keeping in mind they're going to sound like cheap dynamic drivers, with a significantly smaller soundstage and a lot more roll-off than planars.

I forgot about the 9500's. The velour is much less velour-y than for example the 990's or 770 pros. Although I didn't want to recommend planars since, first of all. I haven't tried a planar headphone and on the other hand they are pretty hard to drive. I've also heard that gaming with planars isn't very good? I might be wrong here but so I've heard.

[Aereldor]

2 minutes ago, Tigerleon said:

I forgot about the 9500's. The velour is much less velour-y than for example the 990's or 770 pros. Although I didn't want to recommend planars since, first of all. I haven't tried a planar headphone and on the other hand they are pretty hard to drive. I've also heard that gaming with planars isn't very good? I might be wrong here but so I've heard.

Planars aren't hard to drive, some of the highest end $4,000 audeze planars have a 15 ohm impediance. And tbh cheap planars>>>cheap dynamics. Much better soundstage, thus better stereo effect because the sound doesn't seem like it's coming out of the top of your head but is in the room around you. Less roll off in the lows and highs, and incomparably better definition in the extreme highs... If your ears are healthy enough to hear the difference.

 

The Monoprice M1060 frankly blows all these out of the water, I just didn't know they were so cheap now... Absolute steal. These really are just discounted LCD-2s. 

[rice guru]

On 2/9/2021 at 1:59 PM, Aereldor said:

Sennheiser HD 58x. For a little extra they'll ship with leather earpads.

Leather kinda fucks up their soundsig but OP might be into it.

 

26 minutes ago, Aereldor said:

 

The Monoprice M1060 frankly blows all these out of the water, I just didn't know they were so cheap now... Absolute steal. These really are just discounted LCD-2s. 

Odd comparison the 1060 has some awful ringing and LCD 2's imo sound much better than these. Personally cheaper he400i sound much better than m1060s even mainly due to the ringing in the mid to high end where it usually shows up. Dynamics can be pretty damn great in the imaging sector akg ,Phillips, audio Technica Air series and beyerdynamic being highlights for wide soundstage for relatively cheap. And just cause its a planar doesn't mean super wide either the Sendy aiva and it's clones  being a big highlight of slightly narrower sounding planar's due to the pretty aggressive nature of the sound. Also impedance is way different on planar's and do require a decent amp to get the most out of them, I find myself needing more power sometime to power my 32 ohm he 4xx vs my 250 Beyer. Now do you need a ton of it? No, but you need at least a $100 amp to properly power a majority of them and get the most out of them. Few exceptions to this rule of course like the Audeze Mobius and hifimam deva, or the drop panda but those are made to be run off Bluetooth.

[Aereldor]

12 minutes ago, rice guru said:

Leather kinda fucks up their soundsig but OP might be into it.

 

Odd comparison the 1060 has some awful ringing and LCD 2's imo sound much better than these. Personally cheaper he400i sound much better than m1060s even mainly due to the ringing in the mid to high end where it usually shows up. Dynamics can be pretty damn great in the imaging sector akg ,Phillips, audio Technica Air series and beyerdynamic being highlights for wide soundstage for relatively cheap. And just cause its a planar doesn't mean super wide either the Sendy Siva and it's clones  being abig highlight of slightly narrower sounding planar's due to the pretty aggressive nature of the sound. Also impedance is way different on planar's and do require a decent amp to get the most out of them, I find myself needing more power sometime to power my 32 ohm he 4xx vs my 250 Beyer. Now do you need a ton of it? No, but you need at least a $100 amp to properly power a majority of them and get the most out of them. Few exceptions to this rule of course like the Audeze Mobius and hifimam deva, or the drop panda but those are made to be run off Bluetooth.

I didn't listen to them back-to-back but I listened to the LCD2 off a nice amp and the M1060s off the little headphone amp inside an audio interface - they reminded me of the LCD2 instantly and people compare them favourably, but I didn't personally listen to them back-to-back. I've never heard mention of ringing in the high-end, though, that's interesting. You're sure you didn't just get a weird unit? 

 

Seconding the He400i also, I forgot about those

[rice guru]

17 minutes ago, Aereldor said:

I didn't listen to them back-to-back but I listened to the LCD2 off a nice amp and the M1060s off the little headphone amp inside an audio interface - they reminded me of the LCD2 instantly and people compare them favourably, but I didn't personally listen to them back-to-back. I've never heard mention of ringing in the high-end, though, that's interesting. You're sure you didn't just get a weird unit? 

 

Seconding the He400i also, I forgot about those

No it's a common problem with the 1060 and shows itself with many measurements. Literally the first result on google shows it. Some people are not sensitive to it ,perceive it as detail or just get good units the m570 has this issue as well just not as prominent as the m1060. most people I know who had the m1060 either sold it or returned it cause they couldn't handle the ringing the buddy who'se unit I tried returned his and I got to listen to it before he did. He swapped it for 2 .ore before he stopped trying and just spent more on a used lcd2c pre razor instead which are pretty nice. A pretty popular reviewer also had a m1060 the ringed pretty bad I believe it was metal 571. The rigging does get mitegated a bit by some modding like removing the foam but I haven't seen anyone actually fix it.

[rice guru]

On 2/9/2021 at 1:52 PM, Spartan256 said:

Hi

 

Looking for headphones up to the £200 mark, though have a few requirements.
I don't like velour ear cups. Leather/pu leather or a mesh fabric found on the Corsair voids is preferable
I don't want to get an amp/DAC for the headphones 
Using them for gaming, watching videos and listening to music. 
Doesn't need a mic as I have a standalone mic

Your help is much appreciated.

https://europe.beyerdynamic.com/tygr-300-r.html

 This would be my recc easy to drive and sounds pretty great and challenges the higher impedance Beyers in regards to value cause it doesn't need an amp.

I would pad swap to a fenestrated leather pad if you can find one within budget for the combo.if you hate velour.

[Aereldor]

2 minutes ago, rice guru said:

 

That's good to know... I should stop recommending these, seems like I got lucky and heard a good unit without any ringing. 

[rice guru]

10 minutes ago, Aereldor said:

That's good to know... I should stop recommending these, seems like I got lucky and heard a good unit without any ringing. 

The m1070 and 1570 I tried you could make a case for being close to the Audeze LCD 2 but personally I still think the Audeze just sound better. Basically more refined sound in every way but if you need dark ish sounding planar the 1570 and 1070. Though the 1070 isnt as wide and has abit more treble. The 1070 is actually pretty good and I can enjoy them I detected no to ringing with the unit I tried. The 1570 has more low end I found than LCD 2s and actually has good soundstage vs the 1070 but like I said LCD more refined and @$600 it's close enough to the price range of the LCD 2s that I might as well.

[Psittac]

m1060 is far from being generally accepted as a go to headphone, it's more of a niche thing for people who want some good bass and already have some other headphones.  I don't have them though.  Also I'm pretty certain it's a generally accepted rule that planar's are difficult to drive as they're very inefficient.  I don't have first hand experience and if I could find my single ended cable I'd test this theory and run my he400i's onboard but I'd have to dig for the cable.

 

The shp9500 can be pad swapped so don't rule them out.

[kokakolia]

I don't like the SHP 9500 at all! The sound signature is boring and grainy at the same time. The SHP 9500 only sound good with Hans Zimmer. Heaven forbid you listen to anything with bass, vocals and cymbals through the SHP 9500! The SHP 9500 are good gaming headphones however. 

 

I prefer a warm and smooth sound, so Sennheiser HD 558, 559 or what have you are my recommendation. Not only are they easy to drive, but they sound great with ALL music and are very comfortable and durable. 

[rice guru]

5 hours ago, kokakolia said:

I don't like the SHP 9500 at all! The sound signature is boring and grainy at the same time. The SHP 9500 only sound good with Hans Zimmer. Heaven forbid you listen to anything with bass, vocals and cymbals through the SHP 9500! The SHP 9500 are good gaming headphones however. 

 

I prefer a warm and smooth sound, so Sennheiser HD 558, 559 or what have you are my recommendation. Not only are they easy to drive, but they sound great with ALL music and are very comfortable and durable. 

If we are considering the 5&8/559 I would just buy a pair of 58x's I stead I think the issue we're having most is pad swapping as OP doesn't like velour pads