Sennhieser Product question

[Meeve]

Hello all,

 

First off i do hope i posted this in the right location, this is my first post onto the forums.

 

Down to business. i am looking into getting some Sennhiesers. And i am trying to decide which headphones have the best price to quality ratio. I've been looking mostly at the HD 380 Pros, but as i know next to nothing about anything audio, im wondering if anyone has any recommendations. 

 

Thanks for the help!

[LancerBG]

those 380s can be found fairly often in the about a 110 dollar range U.S. on sale. I use to have them and love the Sennheiser sound signature but my one complaint about those is that the clamp force is pretty high and never really got any lighter after a few months of use so I sold them. They are monitor phones and those tend to have a higher clamp force anyway and that isn't good for my big ol head. Like all monitors they are going to be very flat in general as they are supposed to be. . You hit the nail on the head when it comes to the sound you get for the price if a flat tone is what you are looking for. 

[Lauen]

Why Sennheiser?

[Meeve]

@Lauen :I like the company. They have a good reputation, a long history, and a large product range. 

@LancerBG : If by flat tone you mean a pretty decent balance between lows, mids, and highs then i actually tend to prefer it. And yeah, i don't know if i want something with extreme clamp force on my head. 

 

Thanks for the feedback so far. I am still looking into what pair i should get. If you know of any comparably priced with the same or better sound quality feel free to leave a comment. i do prefer more balanced sounds. i'd like to show some support to Sennheiser, but i know there are other great companies out there. so don't feel restricted to just them if there is some mythically amazing product out there that i don't know of.  

[SSL]

380 are good but have plenty of clamping force.

 

Music preferences/use case please?

[Lauen]

snip

I haven't really tested a lot of Sennheiser products myself, but the ones I have tried are not entirely my taste. I love mids, which directly reflects my music taste: metal, especially prog metal and thrash metal, where guitars and vocals are the main points, and in prog it's the guitars, in a lot of cases the keyboards too, and ambient sounds, and the PC360's I tried didn't fulfill my desires. the PC360's are almost identical to the HD558 or 518, and I've been told that a lot of Sennheiser headphones share some of the aspects of the sound, what people call a "veiled" sound, slightly understated highs and mids in my experience. This might not be everyone else's experiences though, and it might not cover all the headphones.

 

In my opinion Shure makes amazing headphones, I've got SRH440's, and my review is in my signature (right below the post). Keep in mind that these are closed, along with the HD280 and 380, which isolate noise, while open headphones don't isolate, but tend to sound a little more airy or easy to listen to. I also have a pair of Pioneer SE-A1000, which I've heard sound a lot like the Sennheiser HD650, and they've also got the "sennheiser sound" which I talked about earlier. I use them when I have a headache, which closed headphones can make worse.

[ShearMe]

For home use, 439 if you need closed, 518 if not

[SSL]

For home use, 439 if you need closed

No.

[EmoRarity]

No.

Oreallynow? I liked the 439.

[SSL]

Oreallynow? I liked the 439.

 

Could be better.

[EmoRarity]

Could be better.

Yeah, but it fills most peoples holes, which makes it worth for some.

[SSL]

Yeah, but it fills most peoples holes, which makes it worth for some.

 

True. But it has undersized earholes, not great treble, pathetic clamp force and make piano music gross. Plus the 380 folds up and comes with a carrying case.

[EmoRarity]

True. But it has undersized earholes, not great treble, pathetic clamp force and make piano music gross. Plus the 380 folds up and comes with a carrying case.

And cost x% more, but I do concur that 380 is more better.

[SSL]

And cost x% more, but I do concur that 380 is more better.

 

Plus it scales better with 1W amplification.

[EmoRarity]

Plus it scales better with 1W amplification.

wooo leek spin.

[ShearMe]

No.

Yes.

[Meeve]

As far as my music tastes I'm pretty accretion. However as a classical musician my biggest priority is to have headphones that work best with classical and jazz instrumental. I listen to some rock, sca , funk and a bit of electronic.

All suggestions are welcome as I still know very little about audio technology. But my budget is small so try and keep budget oriented suggestions. Thanks for the continued discussion it's helping a lot.

[SSL]

As far as my music tastes I'm pretty accretion. However as a classical musician my biggest priority is to have headphones that work best with classical and jazz instrumental. I listen to some rock, sca , funk and a bit of electronic.

All suggestions are welcome as I still know very little about audio technology. But my budget is small so try and keep budget oriented suggestions. Thanks for the continued discussion it's helping a lot.

 

As another classical musician and classical music listener I think you'll be happiest with a relatively neutral sound. I don't think you mentioned a budget yet, but the HD 600 or 650 would be obvious choices from Sennheiser. You should also take a look at the Beyerdynamic DT 880 and AKG K702.

[NannerBeans]

I agree with SSL. Something neutral would be better. AKG K612 or K712 would be great. If you need something cheaper then maybe Sony MDR7506? Those are closed btw. 

[jobe]

I have had HD380 Pros for a few years. They are absolutely the most comfortable headphones I have ever used, even better than my HD700's. They sound just fine unamped. The coiled cable is annoying at first, but I got used to it.

 

I've had to re-pad them once, but other than that they have held up to a lot of abuse, drops, etc.