I have so far only had three sets of actual good headphones.
Grado SR60 - This was my first pair. I really liked the way the sounded, and they don’t need an amp. You can also swap earpads and mod them to change the way they sound. I personally like the flat pads the best.
Audio Technica ATH-AD700 - These were some very detailed sounding phones. A little light on the bass, but not too bad. They are also not any more expensive than the Grados, while to me being a step up in sound quality. I eventually got rid of these because they were too big for my head.
Denon AH-D2000 - My current cans. Big bass and very comfortable. I absolutely love these. Expensive, but worth it to me. Most people will tell you these have to be amped, and while they do sound better amped, they still sound really good straight from a computer jack or mp3 player.
I have also listened to the AKG K240 Studios and liked them as well.
headphone.com is a great shop, I buy all my stuff there. Don’t be afraid to check out their B-stock items.
As others have said head-fi.org is a great resource, but take much of what you read there with a grain of salt. There is a lot of snake oil there.
Yes! Someone else beat me to it but I can’t recommend the Koss PortaPro enough. The PortaPro is one of greatest headphones ever. It’s a bit of a shame that it looks a bit hideous. However, the PortaPros have lifetime warranty. If anything breaks, just send it back and they’ll give you a new one. All you have to do is pay shipping. I’ve sent it back for the dumbest reasons possible (tear in my earpads, slightly bent metal, etc) and gotten a new one back.
The Moray are great headphones too. Sennheiser PX 100/200s are great too.
Also, I’m assuming you’re on some budget and prolly looking at under 100 bucks. If you’ve got some cash to blow, look into some Grado RS1s.
Nice man, I also have a pair of HD280 Pro headphones. I bought them specifically for Call of Duty 4 for the PC when that game came out and could hear everything so easily. I love the quality of them and been using them for a few years now and they are still like new. I currently use them for xbox modern warfare 2 and they are still working nice.
My next headphones will be some audio technica ath-ad700s or some beyer dynamics for gaming.
Store demos are your best friend. My friend’s parents own an electronics shop and they had demo pairs. I tried them on and I couldn’t believe the sound. It’s one of my personal goals to get a pair.
got a pair of beyerdynamic dt770/80 pro on head-fi’s buy/sell forum for $100 a while back. they’re awesome for the bass driven music i listen to. i pair it with my onkyo stereo receiver for a much nicer, “fuller” sound.
i’ve also owned other “entry level” cans like the alessandro ms-1, grado sr-60, sr-80, sony mdr-7506 but sold them all in favor of the beyers. messed with tube amps too but thought they were hype after trying a couple of models.
If you’re on a budget, these are the best cheapest headphones I’ve ever used:
Great sound quality. Great range on them for the price.
They’re studio headphones, so you don’t get any of those pre-defined boosts and cuts like regular consumer headphones. It plays the music as naturally as possibly.
They are quite comfy, even for my big ass head. They don’t irritate your ears like some headphones.
Lol what? How can a subwoofer small enough to fit into an earphone have any direct influence on sound quality? To be even close to being an effective sub woofer you’d need a speaker dimaater size of at least 4 inches and this is because of the laws of physics. The headphones would also have to have a substantial amount of mass to generate subwoofer like sound qualities. You wouldn’t be able to wear it because it would be so heavy.
Also, I would never put a subwoofer close to my ear (even though that one is not a real one) because the vibrations would damage your ears very quickly. Subs vibrate a lot to generate their bass frequency and that is not good for your ear. Well really most pretentious douchebags usually have their headphone audio up so loud that within a radius of 1m people can hear the music so I guess it doesn’t really matter lol.
You should really go to Head-Fi and use the search button to find threads like ‘Which gaming headset?’, it will help you, definitely. FWIR, the ATH-AD700, from Audio-Technica, are pretty popular budget full size headphones.
Just seconding this recommendation for people who want a solid headset for computer/home use but don’t wanna blow the bank. I use 'em all the time in the school media lab for a/v editing and own a pair myself. And despite being cheap, they’re quite durable - mine have been going strong for 5+ years.
To be honest, I don’t really know much about headphones… I’m all for high-end speakers for both music and gaming at home, but since I find myself listening more and more on the go, I figured that I might as well pick up some decent portable headphones to replace my old in-ears… I decided to grab some Sennheiser PX100s, which was mentioned up thread, as my new portable set and they’ve been great so far. Definitely consider the collapsible Senns for an on-the-go pair.
I have to say though, this thread has made me curious… I really want to demo these Grados and various $1000+ headphones you guys are talking about, heh.
While I wouldn’t say I’ve ever had any really high end speakers, I’ve had Klipsch, Axiom, and Mirage which are all pretty decent. Since getting into headphones I will say that I’ve come to prefer them for most music listening.
They don’t produce a soundstage quit like good speakers, but the level of detail can be amazing. Plus you don’t have to worry about room acoustics.
This. A purist I met in high school (who ended up becoming a sound engineer, go figure) told me that there’s no interference to worry about between you and the sound with headphones. I figure other purists and/or zealots would think the same.
Iv’e had two skullcandys.
One broke and the other one only works in one ear. I had the Hesh and low riders but I have to say that the sound quality was pretty bad and no bass at all. Skullchrushers are the best for skullcandys. They are pretty fragile though so be careful.
I have Sennheiser ear phones and they are a billion times better than The low riders and hesh’s that I had in terms of sound quality. I highly recommend Sennheiser.
I just bought a set of PortaPros. I was browsing through “best headphones” on cnet and I saw them there and I was like, holy shit! Those are so 80s and COOL! I want a pair!
I checked the reviews and it seemed like people really liked them.
I’ve been testing them out all day and I think they’re great. Good frequency and good sound quality, but I also like the pads right above the speakers that can be adjusted from firm to soft to stay on your head. The headphones don’t budge at all on my head and it’s awesome. They’re also comfy. One complaint being they snagged on my hair just a bit, and my hair is really short right now so I was surprised.
I’d recommend PortaPros for anyone who wants to use headphones outside of the house.
Cash to blow indeed sir. I’ve always wanted to listen to a pair, but neither I, nor anyone I know has that kind of cash.