$150 To Spend... Need Headphones!

[czGLoRy]

Alright. Heres the deal- I know just about nothing about headphones, except the pair i have that cost $25 at walmart just aren't that great. I have $150 left to spend, and i want to buy the best pair of headphones I can, but not necessarily spend all (or most of) my money.

 

If anyone has any suggestions, I will look into them. I just purchased Logitech z-5300E sound system based on the massive reviews and the suggestions from members of OCC.

 

thanks

[Fanatic]

http://www.xoxide.com/plantronics-dsp-500-headphones.html

 

??

[jonnoyeo111]

one word: Sennheiser

[Guest Flashstar]

Buy the Ultrasone HFI-650s they are the best headphones that you can buy now.

[bishop245]

one word: Sennheiser

469990[/snapback]

yup

[adrenalinepcs]

i haven't tried Sennheiser but i love my plantronics!

[Ghost2520]

Sennheiser all the way. I bought a pair of wireless Sennheisers and they freakin rock, nothing compares to them!

[Kash]

I would also like to support Sennheiser. I bought a pair from Amazon for like 50 or 60 bucks, haven't looked back since. GREAT decision to go with Sennheisers.

 

If I had the money, I'd upgrade to a better pair, but man, the pair I have right now are simply wonderful, especially compared to the $25 things I used to have from Sony.....

[czGLoRy]

I would also like to support Sennheiser. I bought a pair from Amazon for like 50 or 60 bucks, haven't looked back since. GREAT decision to go with Sennheisers.

 

If I had the money, I'd upgrade to a better pair, but man, the pair I have right now are simply wonderful, especially compared to the $25 things I used to have from Sony.....

470037[/snapback]

 

Those ultrasones are like $500, definetly cant afford that... but seinheissers sound good lol what kind of seinheissers would be good for mostly use in ipod / computer for$150 or less/ The headphones i would prefer to be smaller ones, but it really doesnt matter if a bigger one is a better deal.

?

Edited April 29, 2005 by czGLoRy

[Redskins36]

http://www2.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp...N82E16826106392

[czGLoRy]

http://www2.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp...N82E16826106392

470049[/snapback]

 

so far that one looks great, and i think i might get that one. Thats the type that goes over your head horizontally right?

[hardnrg]

i recently looked into buying one of the best headphones in the world... i settled on the Koss Portapro's which are somewhat cheaper $40-50, but they first came out in the eighties and they still make them today, no design change because they are THAT good!

 

anyway, on my travels around the net looking at what are the BEST headphones on the market, you need to spend a decent amount of money on Sennheisers to get decent sound quality as they've started making inferior budget models to appeal to the mass-market...

 

the Grado SR-125's look like something a sonar technician would wear in a submarine to me, but apparently they have the best sound in the world for the $150 mark and are highly rated around the world by professionals and consumers alike... apparently they aren't the most comfortable headphones though and need to be broken in (i guess like a shoe? lol) you can however get pads for them to make them comfortable

 

it's younger brother is the Grado SR-80 which is also highly respected in the audiophile community... you can get these for $95

 

the Grado's, while very well balanced, are also suited for heavy driving bass... so if that's your cup of tea (it is mine) then you might wanna check them out

 

if you want something more comfortable you could go for some Sennheiser 580's ($159) or Sennheiser 555's ($149) although these are more suited to extremely high detail music like classical, jazz, etc... the bass on Sennheiser's generally sounds better when driven from an amp rather than a computer or portable music player of w/e description... e.g. my Sennheiser HD575's sound like butt* if i listen to my mp3 or cd player directly, sound ok on the computer, and are breathtaking through my amp...

 

* relatively of course, it's not like they actually sound like butt, they just don't sound as good without an amp driving them

 

other recommendations for the ~$150 mark

 

AKG K501

Etymotic ER-6

Shure E3C

Sennheiser PXC250

 

oh oh oh, i just re-read the thread and saw you said "mostly for an iPod" in which case i'd recommend the Koss Portapro's and the Sennheiser PX100's as they are both mind-blowing sound for the price (~$40) and both fold-up!! they sound about the same, but it seems to be that the Portapro has the edge in terms of sound, while the PX100 has a much more modern aesthetic design

 

definitely check those two out as they are lightweight, folding, amazing-sounding, award-winning headphones... cheaper than $150 but MUCH more suited to portable audio, the AKG's and Sennheiser's sound best driven through an amp, so you'd need something like a $150 portable headphone amplifier ON TOP of the cost of the $150 'phones! the Shure and Etymotic's are designed to work well driven direct from the source as they are in-ear (not stupid 'buds' but actually INSIDE your ear like an ear-plug, music pros use them for monitoring on stage for example)

 

my current headphones:

 

Sony MDR-G61 (recently retired portable headphones, 5 years of use and abuse)

Sennheiser HD-575 (home headphones)

Koss Portapro (my new love)

 

 

edit: just have to say that the Koss Portapro's rival the sound of my much more expensive Sennheiser HD-575's and sound BETTER if comparing them from my iRiver iFP-899 mp3 player (which has a 5-band parametric EQ +/- 15dB on each band!!!)

 

also, i look like a tit if i wear my Senny's outside the house, unless i'm like dj-ing or something lol