Headphone recommendations required.

[JellySicklez]

So I've decided to go with the headphone/ separate mic setup. i've got the zalman mic and currently using it with my in ear headphones (Shure SE215) as a temporary measure. but i'm looking for a over the ear headphones for music listening and gaming. 

My music listening ranges very widely from hip hop, rock, folk, indie etc. 

I listen to bands like Alt-j, Fleet Foxes, bonobo, Mumfords and sons etc. Hip hop artists like Mos Def, Dr Dre, Eminem, Macklemore, Nas, Wu tang etc. 

My budget is about £130 for the headphones, with plans to purchase a dac like the FiiO E10 in the near future (not sure if I need to).

These headphones are not going to be used outside of my house, they're mainly for indoor listening  so open back headphones are no concern. 

I'm happy with stereo cans, no 7.1 or any type of dolby surround is required. 

 

thanks. 

[MayflowerElectronics]

How cheap can you get a pair of DT 770's?

[JellySicklez]

How cheap can you get a pair of DT 770's?

£129.99 on amazon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyerdynamic-DT770-PRO-Headset-OHM/dp/B0016MNAAI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386162257&sr=8-1&keywords=DT+770

[zxcvbnmmssdh]

What about Sennheiser 280HD

[SirRoderick]

Personally a fan of the Sennheiser HD 558, which is currently on amazon for 120 quid. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sennheiser-High-Headphones-E-A-R-Technology/dp/B004FEEY9A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386162302&sr=8-1&keywords=sennheiser+HD558&tag=pcper04-20

 

Very good sound quality with an open back design, very comfortable as well. Personally prefer them to the 280s suggested above. Another fan favourite are the Audio-Technica M-50s of course, I keep hearing good things about them but have never tried them. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50-Monitor-Professional-Headphones/dp/B000ULAP4U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386162634&sr=8-1&keywords=M-50&tag=pcper04-20

[MayflowerElectronics]

£129.99 on amazon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyerdynamic-DT770-PRO-Headset-OHM/dp/B0016MNAAI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386162257&sr=8-1&keywords=DT+770

 

Go for it. 

Personally a fan of the Sennheiser HD 558, which is currently on amazon for 120 quid. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sennheiser-High-Headphones-E-A-R-Technology/dp/B004FEEY9A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386162302&sr=8-1&keywords=sennheiser+HD558&tag=pcper04-20

 

Very good sound quality with an open back design, very comfortable as well. 

 

He'll need something with a little bit more bass for his music tastes. While great headphones, I wouldn't recommend them in this instance.

[SirRoderick]

Go for it. 

 

He'll need something with a little bit more bass for his music tastes. While great headphones, I wouldn't recommend them in this instance.

Well that's fair enough it's a very personal matter after all. Ideally he could give both of em a run before buying but that's not really a thing unfortunately.

[MayflowerElectronics]

Well that's fair enough it's a very personal matter after all. Ideally he could give both of em a run before buying but that's not really a thing unfortunately.

 

Agree'd, headphones are highly subjective! Don't know about the return policy in your country, but they might let you return them and try out both pairs for free.

[JellySicklez]

Go for it. 

 

There's a 250 ohm version and an 80 ohm version and they both cost the same? which should I go for 

[MayflowerElectronics]

There's a 250 ohm version and an 80 ohm version and they both cost the same? which should I go for 

 

80 ohm version. The 250 ohm version requires an amp and is out of your budget. There isn't much of a sound difference.

[SirRoderick]

There's a 250 ohm version and an 80 ohm version and they both cost the same? which should I go for 

 

 

80 ohm version. The 250 ohm version requires an amp and is out of your budget. There isn't much of a sound difference.

 

I'll second that, there's very little reason to go with such a high impedance anyway, but if you get that then you'd NEED that E10 to even squeeze any sound from it. My day-to-day phones are 32 ohms for a reason, I can plug them into any old thing and they'll work.

[JellySicklez]

I'll second that, there's very little reason to go with such a high impedance anyway, but if you get that then you'd NEED that E10 to even squeeze any sound from it. My day-to-day phones are 32 ohms for a reason, I can plug them into any old thing and they'll work.

If I go for the 80 Ohm version, will getting an E10 in about two months make a difference or should I scrap that just stick with onboard? My mother board is the Asus Z87 Gryphon

[MayflowerElectronics]

If I go for the 80 Ohm version, will getting an E10 in about two months make a difference or should I scrap that just stick with onboard? My mother board is the Asus Z87 Gryphon

 

Just stick with on-board. 

[SirRoderick]

If I go for the 80 Ohm version, will getting an E10 in about two months make a difference or should I scrap that just stick with onboard? My mother board is the Asus Z87 Gryphon

That board's sound is not bad at all really, not quite as good as that external DAC.I think you will notice the difference with the E10 in music provided you're using a decent music player (I suggest foobar 2000) and good audio file (320kbps MP3s or, even better, FLAC files). If all your music is in lower bitrates (usually 128kbps I think) I suspect it won't make that much of a difference.

 

So really what I'm saying is you're good with the onboard, but for high end audio files you might want to consider the E10.

[EmoRarity]

That board's sound is not bad at all really, not quite as good as that external DAC.I think you will notice the difference with the E10 in music provided you're using a decent music player (I suggest foobar 2000) and good audio file (320kbps MP3s or, even better, FLAC files). If all your music is in lower bitrates (usually 128kbps I think) I suspect it won't make that much of a difference.

 

So really what I'm saying is you're good with the onboard, but for high end audio files you might want to consider the E10.

Format/codec praise....lawls.

[JellySicklez]

That board's sound is not bad at all really, not quite as good as that external DAC.I think you will notice the difference with the E10 in music provided you're using a decent music player (I suggest foobar 2000) and good audio file (320kbps MP3s or, even better, FLAC files). If all your music is in lower bitrates (usually 128kbps I think) I suspect it won't make that much of a difference.

 

So really what I'm saying is you're good with the onboard, but for high end audio files you might want to consider the E10.

My entire music collection is mp3 320kbps, but I have FLAC versions of about 40% of my collection. I'm slowly migrating my collection to FLAC but i'm out of HDD space already. 

[SirRoderick]

My entire music collection is mp3 320kbps, but I have FLAC versions of about 40% of my collection. I'm slowly migrating my collection to FLAC but i'm out of HDD space already. 

Wow, well in that case go for it! The e10 is a pretty small investment for a really solid DAC. And I know the feeling in regards to HDD space

[Nizkus]

My entire music collection is mp3 320kbps, but I have FLAC versions of about 40% of my collection. I'm slowly migrating my collection to FLAC but i'm out of HDD space already. 

Don't worry about migrating to lossless, there really is no audible difference between 320kbps mp3 and any lossless format.