Looking for circumaural, open headphones in price range 30 - 50 USD, have some candidates, need advice

[midix]

Hi all.

 

I'm looking for a replacement of my Beyerdynamic DTX 800. I'm a programmer and I'm working from home, so I will use headphones for skype calls (but I don't need built-in mic), listening to music (mostly pop-rock, light electronic music) and also watching TV. 

 

I did a quick search and was disappointed to see that Sennheiser and Beyerdynamic do not offer much choices of open headphones in this price range. Most models are closed, but as I intend to spend much time with headphones, I'm afraid that closed headphones will make my ears too hot. BTW, filters are broken on Sennheiser's website - their page offers to select only open headphones but the results list all the models anyway, so I had to run a full search for "open" on their page and then look through all results, arghhh...

 

So, my candidates for now are:

Beyerdynamic DTX 710

Beyerdynamic DTX 910

Sennheiser HD 239 - these are not circumaural, which might be bad, but if they are at least as comfortable (having on my ears for hours) and durable as my Beyerdynamic DTX 800, then it might be an option.

Audio Technica ATH-TAD300

Samson SR850 - semi open, have heard good reviews.

 

I'm in Europe, which means that the price has additional ~20% VAT compared to USA prices, and also some models might be unavailable in Europe.

 

 

I don't need much bass, I prefer neutral sound, but I would like to have a good feeling of sound stage. I don't expect too much of HiFi in this price range, but I hope that in the years since my DTX 800 were made, there have been improvements in headphone technology and there might be a chance to feel a real upgrade in sound quality. But I might be wrong...

 

 

I'll be grateful if you share your experience with the models listed above, and I'll be glad to find if there are other options in the price range and available on Amazon DE or Amazon UK.

 

My DTX 800 have served me well for years, I like that they are open - no sweating and I can hear everything around me, which is good - I don't want to isolate myself from the world. DTX 800 are comfortable, I can sit for hours and forget to take them off. But they are really worn out through these years - the cord and the rubber on the top has stiffened (most probably, because of bodily fats reacting with the rubber and plastic) and I had to wrap some places with tape. DTX also has metal parts which started to rust and now look ugly and I'm too lazy to do some serious restoration work, if it's even worth it.

[ShadowCaptain]

 

I'm in Europe, which means that the price has additional ~20% VAT compared to USA prices, and also some models might be unavailable in Europe.

 

 

Location and budget in Euros?

 

Sennhesier 419s are like 40 Euro

[SPAS-ID]

HD 239

[midix]

Location and budget in Euros?

 

Sennhesier 419s are like 40 Euro

 

Location - Latvia, but I can buy anything from Amazon DE or UK, or from eBay, if the seller is in EU and ships to Latvia.

Budget - up to 50 EUR.

Sennhesier 419 - unfortunately these are closed back and I'm afraid that my ears will get hot during long use. But I might be wrong.

[ShadowCaptain]

Location - Latvia, but I can buy anything from Amazon DE or UK, or from eBay, if the seller is in EU and ships to Latvia.

Budget - up to 50 EUR.

Sennhesier 419 - unfortunately these are closed back and I'm afraid that my ears will get hot during long use. But I might be wrong.

 

 

Hmm I wear closed back.. I was wearing my closed back sennheisers on the beach all day on holiday (35 degrees C) and I was  and I wear my closed beyerdynamics at home and I dont have that issue

 

but that is just my own experience 

[midix]

I have experience with closed headphones using Sony MDR-V6 (which I got for £55.79) and they are great, but they feel "too closed" for long use, and also I feel too much isolated and miss some stuff happening around me. Therefore I'm using MDR-V6 only when I really want to enjoy music and be alone, and not while working or casual listening.

 

But if there are closed headphones which still let me hear much of outside world and feel comfortable, then I might give a try.

[ShearMe]

I would take a bet on the audio-technica. Owned a closed version for a while (TA500 I think) which was pretty good. It'll sound a bit more airy compared to the others, which might give you a good feeling of extra soundstage. Everyone else who reports on the forums of purchasing models in the T-series reports pretty good stuff.

[midix]

Actually now I'm leaning towards Samson SR850 - most of opinions on the Internet are that they are unbelievably good for their price. But I couldn't find any comparison to Beyerdynamic DTX800, so I'm not sure if SR850 will be an upgrade or downgrade (sound-wise and comfort-wise).

[dylan43270]

Circumaural, open.... Pioneer SE-A1000? These usually go for $60 USD but are really good, especially if you don't mind the size (and cable length). I would say they are worth the extra $10.

[midix]

Thanks dylan, I didn't know about Pioneer SE-A1000. Now I read some reviews and it has some rave forum threads going on, someone even compare it to Sennheiser HD 650. The only problem is that SE-A1000 are somewhat hard to find in Europe, but shipping from the USA adds up to $100. But I'll search harder, and maybe I'll get lucky.