Headphones for rock/metal - up to 300/600$

[Cocijo]

Hi.

 

I've been watching LTT videos for years now, but only now decided to join the forum. 

 

I did because I'm in need of some help.

 

I'm somewhat of an audio-newb, but I figured, since I'm listening to music most of my free time anyway, I might as well put some money towards some nice cans.

 

Question is, what to get?

 

Now first up yes, I did try googling it. 'Twas kinda difficult though. Not only are most posts terribly outdated, all of 'em seem to contradicting each other.

(Probably to be expected, with music being subjective and what not  )

 

I listen mainly to soft- and Hardrock, as well as (power/ heavy) metal!

 

I'm currently using VB Audio's "Voice Meter", mainly for my mic, but I got to play around with the included, but rather basic, equalizer it provides.

Now, again, I don't really know what I'm doing, but I found increasing bass and highs by just a bit, made most songs sound a bit nicer to me. Dunno if that helps

 

About open vs closed, I read somewhere a wider soundstage doesn't really compliment rock or metal. Not sure if that's true or not. Probably subjective as well.

I've got a pretty short way to work (~'bout 10 mins), so I'll probably only rarely (if at all) use them outside, so leakage shouldn't be a problem I think.

Except, I tend to use teamspeak a lot, not sure whether sound might leak into my (standalone) mic or not...

 

In the past I've used exclusively Sennheiser cans, my two very first non-in-ears where some cheap "designer" on-ears, supposedly made by Sennheiser. I remember liking them at the time, but that was before I had the ones I'm using right now. 

Funny thing is, both of those designer ones cable broke within 6 months of owning (and excessively using) them, which is the reason I got a pair with a detachable cable, which I never had to replace in a little over 4 years now!

 

Anyways, right now I'm using the Sennheiser 439's. I can't find my actual invoice, but I think I paid about 60 to 80 bucks back then. 

 

Also: Despite what I had in the past, it doesn't have to be Sennheiser again! Just thought I mention that....

 

I plan on using them 10+ hours at a time on some days, so naturally they have to be comfy. 

I'm a big guy though, so even though the 439's are supposed to be over ear, on me they're much rather on ear. I never had any problems with those hurting though, so if the the clamp isn't too bad, I hope that's not an issue.

 

For my budget I heard 300$ is a sweet spot. Not sure if that's true. Could go up to 600 if you think it's worth it though!

 

I've looked at a couple that I read were pretty good for that kinda music:

 

• Grado SR325e  -  I've heard both that they're great and awful. The cushions look terribly uncomfortable though, any experiences?
• Audio-Technica ATH-M50X  -  There seems to be somewhat of a cult behind these. Always someone recommending them. Heard they're somewhat of a Jack-of-all-trades. I don't really need that though...
• Sennheiser HD600  -  Looks like these are pretty nice. Couldn't find anything about their performance in rock and metal though.....
• Shure SRH1440  -  Read good things about the brand. 
• Beyerdynamic in general  -  Heard somewhere european metal bands usually use this brand for their recordings. Not sure if there's any truth to that. Sadly they don't seem to have a product in that price category. Hard good things about the 770 though! Opinions?

Any other recommendations? I'm at an impasse. 'Specially because I don't just wanna throw money at the problem and hope it goes away. In audio that doesn't seem to work very well......

 

tl;dr

Headphones. Rock & Metal. 300-600$. What to buy?

 

Thanks :3

[Guest]

@Max_Settings!

[Max_Settings]

Definitely not the M50Xs, complete garbage. Not a fan of Grado at all. The HD600s would be probably my last pick for metal. They will do rock within reason. Not like insane rock, but like more classic rock they would do. If you want to go that route go with the HD650s, they will do better at that, but their recessed vocals might hurt them.

 

Honestly I might have to go with what I recommended @Legendarypoet the AKG K712s, I think they will do very well in metal with their detail and low end. They run about $280 but you will need a DAC and Amp for them. Take the AKG712 and Schiit Modi 2 and Magni 3. I will also give the pass to the HD650s, but they wouldn't be my first pick for what you are doing. The K712s also will be better at gaming than the HD650s if you care about that.

[Max_Settings]

@Legendarypoet I don't know if you have any metal and want to give any impressions with the K712s?

[Cocijo]

Sounds great! I'll see if my local tech store has the AKG's in stock. Might just have to order them online...

 

Thanks a LOT!

 

I'll check back here once I tried them

[Guest]

10 minutes ago, Max_Settings said:

@Legendarypoet I don't know if you have any metal and want to give any impressions with the K712s?

Yup. Listening as we speak. So nice to be able to pinpoint everything. The AKGs are really good with letting me hear the technical aspects without doing so at the cost of the drums.

[kokakolia]

I would go for planar magnetic headphones for metal. You simply cannot beat planar magnetic headphones for fast punchy bass. This makes djent music sound godly. 

 

The Hifiman He400i is around $220 on Amazon. 

 

I doubt that the AKG K712 would be a good choice for metal. They just lack "oomph" in the bass. 

[xtroria]

13 hours ago, kokakolia said:

I would go for planar magnetic headphones for metal. You simply cannot beat planar magnetic headphones for fast punchy bass. This makes djent music sound godly. 

 

The Hifiman He400i is around $220 on Amazon. 

 

I doubt that the AKG K712 would be a good choice for metal. They just lack "oomph" in the bass. 

HE-400i does have the punch in the low end but they severely lack the punch on the midbass. K712 actually produces more bass feeling since you can hear more if its mid-bass.

 

But when it comes down to metal and rock, get yourself a DT880 and be done with it. There's one thing that beyerdynamic does best and it's their treble really extends so you get a lot of the string detail but it doesnt distort or sound peaky in fact the headphone gives you this sound where the music sounds more "clean" than it actually is.

 

I find DT880 also to be really balanced in overall sound, making it a very good monitoring headphone that still can be used for leisure music listening

[Cocijo]

Update:

 

I went to 3(!) stores on thursday, but no luck. Coulda tried some beats though 

 

Anyways, I ordered the AKG's and what can I say, they sound amazing. Also: they are HUGE! At least the cups are that is, because the handband's a little short, but it's still the biggest and best fitting headphones I've ever tried.

 

Unfortunately it's not all roses and sunshine with them though.

 

There's 2 things that bother me:

1. They seem to have about the same amount of bass my old Sennheiser 439's have, which really isn't a lot. @LegendarypoetNot at the cost of the drums? I would have to respectfully disagree. 
2. What's up with the build-quality? I feel like at any moment I'm gonna break them. Especially the 2 frame arcs, or whatever that's called, as well as the elastics attached to the headband, which, to make matters worse, I have to stretch to the absolut maximum.

So I'm not really convinced tbh.

 

Yesterday a friend of mine lend me his DT990 Pro's and I gotta say, those are much more like it! Way more rigid construction, and a lot of bass. They of course come with their own set of problems though.

 

They seem to be drowning out what I liked so much in the K712 Pro's: The voices! Also, those clamp like all hell, and they are used! I don't even wanna imagine how a new pair would feel. 

Also they seem to have this buzzing sound if I don't play anything music, which get's progressively louder the more I crank the volume up! Is that just a sign of the time, as they are 2 years old? Or does it maybe have to do with the A/V receiver I'm using to power them? The AKG's don't have this, but then again they are only 62 Ohms but are significantly more silent than the 250 Ohm 990's.

@xtroria You got an idea how the DT990's compare to the 880's? I did some reading, and found out they are supposed to be more balanced. So does that mean they got less bass but cleaner highs/midrange? maybe something in-between 990 and K712 Pro?

 

And how do you guys feel about the DT1990's, are they similar in sound to the 990's? 

I'm asking because they have a detachable cable, and having seen K712 Pro's I kinda want one.. Also they're metal, and thus look a lot more rigid than the 990's even.

 

The HE-400i look interesting too. I don't really have a point of comparison though.. 

So from what I understand what you said is they have more bass in the low end but less in the mids? I don't think I got the jargon. I thought there's mid-range, as well as high- and low-end (Bass). What's mid bass?

 

 

On a completely different note:

The Shiit stack I heard so much good things about aren't in stock at ANY european vendor -.-'

 

Anyone got experience with the O2+Odac stack/ combo? I read they are quite similar in their sound.

 

 

[Guest]

What were you using to power the AKGs? That may be the issue? I can send you a FLAC file so we're on the same page.

Also going to tag @Max_Settings since I don't think he got a notification.

[Cocijo]

That might very well be the problem! 

 

I’m using a Yamaha RX-V479 because that’s what I happen to have.

 

Again, the Shiit is pretty much unobtainable for me right now. Which is a real shame. Any other recommendations?

[Max_Settings]

4 hours ago, Cocijo said:

Update:

 

I went to 3(!) stores on thursday, but no luck. Coulda tried some beats though 

 

Anyways, I ordered the AKG's and what can I say, they sound amazing. Also: they are HUGE! At least the cups are that is, because the handband's a little short, but it's still the biggest and best fitting headphones I've ever tried.

 

Unfortunately it's not all roses and sunshine with them though.

 

There's 2 things that bother me:

1. They seem to have about the same amount of bass my old Sennheiser 439's have, which really isn't a lot. @LegendarypoetNot at the cost of the drums? I would have to respectfully disagree. 
2. What's up with the build-quality? I feel like at any moment I'm gonna break them. Especially the 2 frame arcs, or whatever that's called, as well as the elastics attached to the headband, which, to make matters worse, I have to stretch to the absolut maximum.

So I'm not really convinced tbh.

 

Yesterday a friend of mine lend me his DT990 Pro's and I gotta say, those are much more like it! Way more rigid construction, and a lot of bass. They of course come with their own set of problems though.

 

They seem to be drowning out what I liked so much in the K712 Pro's: The voices! Also, those clamp like all hell, and they are used! I don't even wanna imagine how a new pair would feel. 

Also they seem to have this buzzing sound if I don't play anything music, which get's progressively louder the more I crank the volume up! Is that just a sign of the time, as they are 2 years old? Or does it maybe have to do with the A/V receiver I'm using to power them? The AKG's don't have this, but then again they are only 62 Ohms but are significantly more silent than the 250 Ohm 990's.

@xtroria You got an idea how the DT990's compare to the 880's? I did some reading, and found out they are supposed to be more balanced. So does that mean they got less bass but cleaner highs/midrange? maybe something in-between 990 and K712 Pro?

 

And how do you guys feel about the DT1990's, are they similar in sound to the 990's? 

I'm asking because they have a detachable cable, and having seen K712 Pro's I kinda want one.. Also they're metal, and thus look a lot more rigid than the 990's even.

 

The HE-400i look interesting too. I don't really have a point of comparison though.. 

So from what I understand what you said is they have more bass in the low end but less in the mids? I don't think I got the jargon. I thought there's mid-range, as well as high- and low-end (Bass). What's mid bass?

 

 

On a completely different note:

The Shiit stack I heard so much good things about aren't in stock at ANY european vendor -.-'

 

Anyone got experience with the O2+Odac stack/ combo? I read they are quite similar in their sound.

 

 

What on earth are you using to drive the K712s? They aren’t bass monsters, but that have a good amount of bass. And they clamp like crazy??? What? They don’t have much clamp at all and are uber  comfortable.

[Guest]

22 minutes ago, Cocijo said:

That might very well be the problem! 

 

I’m using a Yamaha RX-V479 because that’s what I happen to have.

 

Again, the Shiit is pretty much unobtainable for me right now. Which is a real shame. Any other recommendations?

Ok, so I plugged my AKGs into my Yamaha RX-V781. Cut the bottom right out of the headphones. So yeah, that's the issue.

I'll leave it to @Max_Settings to make suggestions. I'm merely a novice in the headphone dept.

[Cocijo]

28 minutes ago, Max_Settings said:

What on earth are you using to drive the K712s? They aren’t bass monsters, but that have a good amount of bass. And they clamp like crazy??? What? They don’t have much clamp at all and are uber  comfortable.

I think you must've misunderstood: The K712s don't clamp, they are the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn. The DT990 Pros are the ones that clamp

[Max_Settings]

11 minutes ago, Cocijo said:

I think you must've misunderstood: The K712s don't clamp, they are the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn. The DT990 Pros are the ones that clamp

Oh....got it. The K712s sounded bad because of what you were using to power them. Bass requires the most power of anything so if you have bad power you will have bad bass.

[KnightlyBackUps]

On 04/02/2018 at 12:02 PM, Cocijo said:

Also they're metal, and thus look a lot more rigid than the 990's even.

Hey there

 

I was just reading through this thread and I saw what you said there.

Lemme just say that, although I never owned an AKG (curious as to the sound of the K712 pro though), the build quality on Beyerdynamic headphones in general is considered to be about the most sturdy the industry has to offer.

 

Having DT990's and Custom Studio's I can attest to that. These things are absolute tanks.

So don't go with looks. I've watched alot of reviews of the K712 and heard alot of reviewers complain that they're almost completely made out of (brittle) plastic ?

[Cocijo]

2 hours ago, KnightlyBackUps said:

Hey there

 

I was just reading through this thread and I saw what you said there.

Lemme just say that, although I never owned an AKG (curious as to the sound of the K712 pro though), the build quality on Beyerdynamic headphones in general is considered to be about the most sturdy the industry has to offer.

 

Having DT990's and Custom Studio's I can attest to that. These things are absolute tanks.

So don't go with looks. I've watched alot of reviews of the K712 and heard alot of reviewers complain that they're almost completely made out of (brittle) plastic ?

Well I did decide to order the 990s in the premium version, which are supposed to have less clamp, to see how I like them. 

 

Maybe it's the comparison that made the AKGs feel so flimsy, but, even if, I liked the sound of the 990s and they feel like quality AND they're cheaper. 

Worst part is, I'd pay extra for more quality. If they sold the K712 Pros in metal but for a hundred bucks more, I'd probably consider it. Like this? Nah, not worth the money to me.

 

Ah well, can't have it all! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also: might as well buy from my people ( with the Beyerdynamics being build in Germany and what not :P)

[orangecat]

I own a pair of Sennheiser HD 518's and I can tell you for a fact they rock. Are they the most highest end headphones? No but they don't need to be to sound amazing. Everyone I had give them a try loves them and if you got a good enough headphone amp to power them well you'll never grow out of them. I've had mine for about 2 years now and I can't imagine I will ever find a better pair of headphones other than something else in the HD line from Sennheiser. I mostly listen to metalcore and some rock and they are really good for that type of music. I wouldn't recommend them for rap music but I made a review of them on the forum ages ago so if your interested have a look.