Recommended headphones?

[Aleks NE]

Hi, what headphones would you guys/girls recommend? 

I like a bit of bass and prefer over-ear headphones, the budget would be around £100 but I guess I can push it to £150 at max. 

Thanks. 

 

[Dackzy]

DT 770, HD280, Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro Plus, they are all closed. If you want open then maybe some DT990s, but their treble can be harsh 

[ChalkChalkson]

Try to buy used. Headphones don't really degrade that much, so you can get pretty good headphones relatively cheap. (It is really worth waiting a few weeks and checking out ebay every once in a while if the payoff are great headphones)

I got my HD600s for about 200€ which should be around the 150 pound mark and I love them. Keep in mind though, that it all depends on what deals you get. IMO everything Sennheiser from the HD598s upwards sounds kinda similar, so if you like the "Sennheiser-sound" (highs aren't sharp, so you can listen quite a long time and bass is strong but not too dominant) you should check whether you can get the 598s or the 600s/650s go for it.

If you like open headphones but love base the choice is pretty much made for you, try to get the beyerdynamic dt990.

If you prefer heavy bass and don't care whether they are open or closed, you should go for dt770s.

You want Bluetooth and ANC? I made some excellent experience with both the Plantronics Backbeat Pro and the Bose QC ones. Keep in mind that these will be harder to get used, but the Plantronics are available for 150 at amazon.co.uk.

I never felt the need to buy propper studio headphones (I don't mean stuff like the beats studio, I mean headphones with a VERY flat frequency response curve), so I can't give you advise on these. 

All the Headphones I mentioned are, or were in my possession at one point and I personally liked them. If I had to rate them in order, on account on how good they sound, I had to split it up into 2 lists:

 

Every day listening:

600

598

990

770

(IE 80)

Backbeat Pro

Bose QC

 

Bass:

770

Backbeat Pro

990

Bose QC

(IE 80, I know they are cheated in here but I wanted to mention that they are great)

600

598

 

In terms of features the Backbeats Pro are hard to top, Bluetooth, NFC, ANC, Trackskip, Pause, Volume, Calls, Microphone (only suitable for calls), 3.5mm jack, comes with great accessories and a big battery. I still love them for travelling on busses and trains, since they cancel out everything.

 

In terms of comfort the 600s take the prize for me since I never had the feeling that I wanted to free my ears from them, and with replaceable padding and great adjustment options you can make them your own.

[ChalkChalkson]

Here are some Ebay links:

DT 990

Exact same HD 598s I own

Back Beats Pro

DT 770

 

 

I could not find "buy it now" offerings for the 600s/650s under 150 pounds, but there are auctions going on, maybe you get lucky

[Aleks NE]

7 minutes ago, ChalkChalkson said:

Here are some Ebay links:

DT 990

Exact same HD 598s I own

Back Beats Pro

DT 770

 

 

I could not find "buy it now" offerings for the 600s/650s under 150 pounds, but there are auctions going on, maybe you get lucky

 

 

24 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

DT 770, HD280, Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro Plus, they are all closed. If you want open then maybe some DT990s, but their treble can be harsh 

 

What about M40x? I'm either going for the DT 770s or M40x, I'd pay £90 for the DT 770 or £70 for the M40x. 

[ChalkChalkson]

Just now, <Aleks> said:

 

What about M40x? I'm either going for the DT 770s or M40x, I'd pay £90 for the DT 770 or £70 for the M40x. 

I never used the M40x so I can't really tell you how good they are

 

Do you want to go closed for the better bass? 

[Dackzy]

Just now, <Aleks> said:

 

What about M40x? I'm either going for the DT 770s or M40x, I'd pay £90 for the DT 770 or £70 for the M40x. 

 

the M40x has a very small soundstage, bad pads that break very fast and get rather uncomfortable for longer periods, but they do have a smaller bass boost than the DT770s which you might like or dislike and they are very portable.

[Aleks NE]

11 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

the M40x has a very small soundstage, bad pads that break very fast and get rather uncomfortable for longer periods, but they do have a smaller bass boost than the DT770s which you might like or dislike and they are very portable.

They are second hand, already have new ear pads from some 3 rd party but they are actually leather. I don't know which would you get. 

12 minutes ago, ChalkChalkson said:

I never used the M40x so I can't really tell you how good they are

 

Do you want to go closed for the better bass? 

Maybe, I don't really know, normally i just buy Razer and Sony headphones.

[ChalkChalkson]

1 minute ago, <Aleks> said:

Maybe, I don't really know, normally i just buy Razer and Sony headphones.

Ok, one last top tip: Go to a nearby tech store that has a try-it-out shelf for headphones. Make a note with all headphones you liked and also note what part of them you liked. Than look up their "frequency response graphs" and buy headphones with a good rep that have similar frequency response curves and fit your budget.

If this isn't an options, I would say go with neutral and "friendly" headphones like the 598s, they are a safe bet. Pretty much everyone likes them. Not all love 'em, but nobody would be too unhappy if they had to use them

[Dackzy]

2 minutes ago, <Aleks> said:

They are second hand, already have new ear pads from some 3 rd party but they are actually leather. I don't know which would you get. 

 

man, that is a hard question. Audio is a very personal thing, so I can't say which ones you would like the most.

 

If you are going to use them on the go sometimes then I would get the M40x, but with anything else it really just comes down to personal preference.

[Dackzy]

1 minute ago, ChalkChalkson said:

If this isn't an options, I would say go with neutral and "friendly" headphones like the 598s, they are a safe bet. Pretty much everyone likes them. Not all love 'em, but nobody would be too unhappy if they had to use them

1

m8 those are far from "neutral" or uncolored. They have a balanced sound.

[Aleks NE]

4 minutes ago, ChalkChalkson said:

Ok, one last top tip: Go to a nearby tech store that has a try-it-out shelf for headphones. Make a note with all headphones you liked and also note what part of them you liked. Than look up their "frequency response graphs" and buy headphones with a good rep that have similar frequency response curves and fit your budget.

If this isn't an options, I would say go with neutral and "friendly" headphones like the 598s, they are a safe bet. Pretty much everyone likes them. Not all love 'em, but nobody would be too unhappy if they had to use them

 

 

Just now, Dackzy said:

m8 those are far from "neutral" or uncolored. They have a balanced sound.

Thanks for the help, I'm going to try to test the:

Audio Technica M40x 
Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO
Sennheiser HD 598 

 

[Dackzy]

7 minutes ago, <Aleks> said:

 

Thanks for the help, I'm going to try to test the:

Audio Technica M40x 
Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO
Sennheiser HD 598 

 

 

just beware that the HD 598s are open headphones so they leak sound in and out

[ChalkChalkson]

17 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

m8 those are far from "neutral" or uncolored. They have a balanced sound.

I meant neutral as in balanced, since, as I said, I never felt the need to get flat headphones and do not like the sharp highs that come with that.

[ChalkChalkson]

8 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

just beware that the HD 598s are open headphones so they leak sound in and out

Jup, this can be an issue, and not only when consuming porn in a room with your parents  They are terrible if your goal is to zone out in a bus, or if you live next to the M1 and your windows are open

[Dackzy]

2 minutes ago, ChalkChalkson said:

I meant neutral as in balanced, since, as I said, I never felt the need to get flat headphones and do not like the sharp highs that come with that.

 

you do know that the HD 600s are about as uncolored "neutral" as it gets, right? They are kinda the reference point for uncolored or neutral.

 

2 minutes ago, ChalkChalkson said:

Jup, this can be an issue, and not only when consuming porn in a room with your parents  They are terrible if your goal is to zone out in a bus, or if you live next to the M1 and your windows are open

 

Why would you ever watch porn in a room where your parents are?  

[Guest Kloaked]

19 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

Why would you ever watch porn in a room where your parents are?  

<insert the usual highly upvoted dark-humor reply from Reddit that might get guilded a couple of times>

<insert someone linking /r/jesuschristreddit>

[ZothOmmog]

I enjoyed a pair of Sennheiser HD 439's a couple of years. Then I went over to a pair of Sony MDR-1A and I like them a lot, of course they get a big uncomfortable over time but that is not a flaw in the product, rather the size of my ears.  

[Aleks NE]

48 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

just beware that the HD 598s are open headphones so they leak sound in and out

Is the leak really that bad? I've never had open earphones before and i live in London so listening to music in a bus or train would be what they will be used for.

[Dackzy]

33 minutes ago, <Aleks> said:

Is the leak really that bad? I've never had open earphones before and i live in London so listening to music in a bus or train would be what they will be used for.

don't get open then. You would just end up turning the music up so much that you damage your hearing.

[Aleks NE]

3 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

don't get open then. You would just end up turning the music up so much that you damage your hearing.

 

Either way, I'm sure whatever one of them i get they'll be better than the Razer 7.1 v2s.