Best Headphones? (1 Viewer)

[Cyrus_I]

Hey everyone,

What are the best Sennheiser headphones to get within the $75 (american) range. I've got one day to decide! I would also prefer if they were wireless.

By the way, they would be connected to a Denon avr1603.

Cheers
Cyrus

 

[Cyrus_I]

Also I guess they don't have to be Sennheiser..... I just heard they're the best brand for headphones.

Cheers

 

[Alex.D]

All wireless headphones blow. Period.
The only ones that blow a little less hard are the Sennheiser IS850 (Discontinued model, Sennheiser HD580 headphones with an IR receiver and DAC strapped on, something like $600 when they were out), and the AKG Hearo 999 (Built-in DTS decoder with headphone virtualizer for movies). Those are available at www.meier-audio.com.
For $70, I'd suggest the Sony V6 (not the V600!!!). Very nice presentation of sound, unbelievable bass for the money, but they aren't muffled at all like the rest of the Sony line of Vx00 headphones. They've been around for a dozen years easy, and are a favorite of broadcast and audio engineers.

 

[Cyrus_I]

How are the Sennheiser HD 490 Live?

 

[Kendal Kirk]

I would suggest you consider the Grado SR60's. They are an outstanding value.
http://www.headphone.com/layout.php?...afeed=bizrate.

 

[Ben_wood]

The HD 497s are highly regarded.

 

[SeanDM]

A good choice in a closed headphone is the Sennheiser 280. I ordered mine here from Amazon
Add them to your cart to see the actual price. There also might be a $5 off coupon floating around and that should hit your price point.
I like these headphones for late night movie watching. Here they are at headphone.com

 

[Cyrus_I]

Thanks guys

Anyone else have comments or suggestions?

How about Sony Headphones?

cheers

 

[RobSB]

Do you want open or closed headphones?

Open - Don't block out sound, let out some sound, better sound quality

Closed - Block out some sound, keep in most sound, good but not as good sound quality

If you want open phones, the Grado SR-60's are recommended a lot and are supposedly excellent. The Sennheiser 497's are supposed to be good as well.

If you want closed, go with the Sony MDR-V6's. NOT THE V600s. You can purchase these from millionbuy.com. I recently purchased some, and they are excellent. If you're willing to spend a bit more, the Beyerdynamic 250-80's are supposedly good as well.

 

[Wayne Ernst]

If you want open phones, the Grado SR-60's are recommended a lot and are supposedly excellent. The Sennheiser 497's are supposed to be good as well.

I'm getting the Grado SR-60s for Christmas - yeah! I tried to the SR-80s, but the SR-60s were more comfortable, but lost only a slight amount of detail when compared to the SR-60 model. I can live with the very slight loss of detail because I will be enjoying the SR-60s and not trying to compare them to the SR-80s.

 

[Alex.D]

All Sony headphones blow, with the following exceptions:
MDR-E888LP / MDR-E888SP - Fantastic earbuds. Warm, full sounding, and able to be modded using the "groove" caps off cheaper earbuds for even more detailed sound without losing the rather intimate (for an earbud) warmth.

MDR-V6 - In production for 15 years and for a good reason. Fantastic treble and bass extension, but can be a little too detailed-sounding. They're used by producers/engineers a lot for that exact reason - anything that can sound wrong with a mix will sound wrong with the V6's.

MDR-7506 - V6's with a blue "Professional" sticker on the earcups instead of a red "For Digital" sticker, a gold-plated plug and an extra $30-$50 tacked onto the price. Not worth it, but they're good headphones.


MDR-CD1700 - More "bio-cellulose" wonders. Fairly inexpensive in their day, but very warm and musical. Use with detailed sources for the best experience, as they _can_ sound muffled otherwise.


MDR-CD3000 - Completely different beast. Very exciting sounding, a lot have said these are more detailed and sound better than the famed Grado SR325. My opinion, though, is that they sound like a badly constructed two-way speaker system - treble is completely disjointed from the bass, and the soundstage looks like you're looking at it through a funhouse mirror. But it enjoys enough of a following that I may be wrong.

 

[Brian Ruth]

Quoth the Alex:

If you want closed, go with the Sony MDR-V6's. NOT THE V600s.

What's wrong with the V-600s?

 

[Alex.D]

A better question would be "What isn't?"

Muffled treble, recessed, honky midrange, bass that's strong but BOOMY, undetailed, and doesn't extend much beyond the ghetto-blaster midbass.

The V6 has tighter bass that rivals the HD600 in extension, and, while the midrange is not especially warm or inviting, the V6's are a great choice for $60-$70, and are far more musical.

Incidentally, the Grado SR-80's drivers allow for a decent bass response unlike the SR-60, and can be made as comfortable (at the expense of detail) with the SR60 "comfort earpads".

 

[ThomasL]

I recently picked up a pair of Sennheiser HD497s and they are very good and are right below your price range. CompUSA and Cambridge Soundworks both carry this model. In addition, I'd recommend checking out www.headphone.com and www.head-fi.org for a lot of information on headphones. I will say though if you're thinking of also using these for portable use (i.e. walking with a MP3 player) then the HD497s may be a bit too bulky. Check out the soon to be released Sennheiser PX-100 and PX-200 for more portable headphones.
cheers,
--tom

 

[Michael St. Clair]

Sennheiser HD580 for $105 after rebate from http://www.newegg.com/
There is nothing in the price range (plus or minus 50 bucks) that can touch them...including other Sennheisers.

 

[Chris*Liberti]

To me the Grados sound the best. I have a set of the SR325's and they just have amazing sound. If I could afford them I would have gotten the RA-1's but at the time they were a ways out of my price range.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

To be fair, I do find nice warm Grados to be competitive with the Sennheisers (though I find the latter more neutral).

But unlike the circumaural Sennheisers, I do not find the Grados comfortable for lenghty (more than 1 hour) listening sessions.

 

[Matt Gordon]

Another thing about Sony headphones... they break down way too soon. When I was in a job where I wore headphones for several hours a day, I would go through a (nice) pair of Sony's in just a few weeks. Sennheisers will last you years.

Matt

 

[Dave Moritz]

IMHO Sennheiser is one of the best headphones money can buy! I do not beleive that you can get wireless for $75 though I may be mistaken. I prefer the corded headphones as IMHO they outperform the cordless and you do not need to buy batteries for the corded models, lol. I would recomend the models in the $125 - $150 range but you can get an awsum pair of Sennheisers in the $75 range as well. A good friend purchased Sennheisers from Frys Electronics for around $60 and IMHO they kill the $180 Sony digital referance headphone I used to own! My recomendation is to stay with ether Sennheiser or AKG headphones!
Merry Chrismas everyone

 

[Dave Moritz]

almost forgot my lousy Sony's feel apart and it wast not from abuse. I have to agree with Matt Gordon the quality is just not there in the Sony's. Sennheiser's are very comfortable and you can wear them for hours on end with out them becoming uncomfterable and they sound awsum!