Hey y'all, long time no talk. Unfortunately, after a hectic and eventful first year of college, my Beats Studio headphones, aka my graduation present, died unfortunately, and ironically appropriately during dead week. They lasted fine when I actually took care of them before fraternity life kicked my ass and so I'm looking to buy a new pair. However, I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions on better headphones out there on the market from, say, personal experience. I'm kind of an audiophile and I also have the equipment to fully take advantage of another $300-$500 pair of headphones but only if they're actually worth the price tag. I enjoyed my Beats while I had them (not paying for them was quite nice) but I know a brother who had a quality pair of Audio Technica's that sounded just as good. $0.02 is greatly appreciated by anyone and everyone.
The best headphones I have ever owned were Sennheiser HD280. If you're used to the increased bass response of the Beats by Dre, I would recommend getting those again. The Sennheiser HD280s are only $99, so you'd be able to spend money on other things. (They have a better frequency response than Beats by Dre and other similar hyped headphones so if you're an audiophile, I would recommend it.) If you're looking at buying a $300-500 pair still, you could always dish out the extra money for a pair of high-end open Sennheiser models, like the Sennheiser HD 650. If you haven't noticed, I like Sennheiser... They have great customer support, sound and a two-year warranty.
HUZAH! A fellow audiophile! The first thing I would recommend to you is that you need to keep an open mind. A set of headphones will never EVER match a pair of quality speakers. That is a big downer, and may well lead you off many headphones. If you are looking to save some money, consider a pair of Bose IE3s. Bose are fast becoming the alienware of sound, but you can get them on ebay for about £40 (~$30) What I would say about them is this: - A bit bass heavy (for me at least, I use an EQ. Considering your beats heavy lifestyle, I don't think you would mind) - Gold wire, so a bit dull for my liking - REALLY compfortable. Like, REALLY! - Not quite as tight as you would want - Great clarity The step up from those would be some bose over ear ones. Get an older set if you can. They sound superior to the newer ones. My dad has a pair that we use downstairs with the hi-fi on occasion. - Superb clarity - Very tight, notes are hit dead on - Range is excellent as you expect - Older musicians (real singers, like annie lennox or even people like jools holland) are the best with them. Anything newer, like pop or more modern rock and they don't do them justice - Less bass that the IE3's. I consider them to be a tad on the low side, but still brilliant. - Around £150 (~$130) Nice The best set I have EVER heard is definatly a pair of bowers and wilkins ones. Not as good as their freestanding CM8s (superb speakers. If you have a grand to spare, buy a set. Awesome bass, awesome clarity, so easy to drive!) Give them a try if you can I had a listen to a pair at the Gadget Show Live last year. A small amount of poo came out at their awesomeness. Honestly. (Ok, I lied. But they are superb) They are more or less within your price bracket, and well worth the money. Obviously, it depends on what you want them for. If you want day to day headphones I would recommend the cheaper IE3s. most comfortable, very good noise reduction (Trust me, I use them on my school bus with 15 year 7s. Can't hear them. pure bliss ) over the others, simply beccause they are smaller, and less breakable. For fraternity life smaller really is better. Obviously you will have to compromise on the limits of quality, but a superior in ear is miles ahead of a mid-range over ear, both of which at the same price bracket. If you want to sit and enjoy sound quality at home, then the B and Ws or the Bose on ear headphones. The B and W I feel have superior clarity, but the bose handles the bass better, and is also a bit brighter. As for the last post, I would rather shoot myself then get sennhiesers. My sister just got a pair for £60. On ear. My IE3 in ears sound miles better. Theres no bass, or clarity, or build quality, or class in general about them. If you are going for small, go for Bose. They are getting worse, but my god they are good. And come in a sexy leather case. That has Bose on it. And people will look at you and think "theres somebody who is serious about audio." If you want large, go for B n W. All the way. Tracks for testing - Annie lennox Take me To The River (LOADS of Bass. iPod can't play those notes through speakers, struggles in headphones too!) - Jools Holland Mr Roberts Roost (range test at around 30 seconds in!) - Smooth criminal (first breaths are a GREAT test of clarity. Best headphones allow you to hear the wavering voice)
I bought Audio-Technica ATH-M50's a couple weeks ago and they're very clear. Could use a little more bass if you're used to Beats, but it's up to you. They're like $140, if you want to go a cheaper way, but sounds like you don't :S In other words, they're the best in that price range, as far as I know. They have very nice ratings all around.
How wedded are you to the bass of the Beats? If you're willing to try something from the other end of the spectrum, much clearer mids and tighter bass (but not lacking, I personally find Beats quite artificial in this sense) then check out some Grado models. I have SR80s, which are a bit cheaper than what you're talking about. I've heard reports that the higher end models aren't driven as well as they could be by an iPod etc. so you should try them with your device where possible, I guess when a pair comes with a 1/4" jack as standard then you should consider taking the hint. A friend who had 80's but found them a little too mid heavy (more in to his electronic music) and said he was much happier with some beyerdynamics. Other than that, try Sennheisers, always a solid option and good range, or perhaps some Crossfades. I've never felt that Beats justify their price. It's $300 for some decent headphones with artificial sounding (imo) emphasised bass, so either spend the same money on some really nice ones or save some money and get a similar level of quality.
Just for clarification, I'm not necessarily a bass freak, and the bass on even my Beats paled in comparison to some cheaper Skullcandy's. I do appreciate the consideration though. With Sennheiser, and it's not that I'm completely discrediting your opinion, Furry, but I've heard night and day reviews on these products. One of my good friends from out of town owns a pair and swears by them, but the pair I tried, albeit they were in the price range you showed, sounded just the same, if not slightly worse, than my Beats, so I'm torn there. I still have a quality pair of UE earbuds so I'm not looking for small; I'm looking to replace my on ears. I looked at the B&W's and they honestly gave me a hard on reading the specs, Oli (not really but they sound oh so nice). I'm looking dead set at the P5s most likely and, even better, there's a retailer about a 10 minute drive from my house. Obviously, bearing in mind the whole fraternity life deal, the only time I'm ever using these is in our house library/campus libraries, my room, and walks to class. The reason my Beats puttered out is because I let brother's borrow em for study tables and they constantly got left out and messed with. If I'm gonna be listening any time where durability is a concern, I'll be using my earbuds. Also with the price range: as a first year going on second year college student, I truly appreciate the value of a quality purchase at a price that won't break my bank, but now that it's summer, and I'm working full-time at Notre Dame University, I'm making anywhere from $150-$300 a week based on the amount of hours I feel like picking up, so I'm open to spending a little more than average for a quality replacement that will last. Thanks again guys, I appreciate all the suggestions! EDIT: Didn't see your response until now, Peg; again I'm not too invested in bass because I listen to a lot of different genres. I've never seen or heard of Grados and Crossfades so I'm gonna do a little research there. Again, refer to my Sennheiser comment above.
Glad to know you like the P5s. Just unbelievable. Theres a lot less bass than you will be used to, but its more of a refined, almost higher class design. So not really recommended for super modern music like electronica. And be sure to take along with you a copy of the songs I recommended. They test out the really important parts (clarity, bass, range, tightness, definition)
Yeah I got couple good songs to try as well besides the ones you put down. I guess my final question before I drive out there, is are these on ear as opposed to over ear and if so, how do they do for noise cancellation and sound leakage?
the b&w? They are on ear. They have no "active" noise cancellation. They just fit superbly. Sound leakage they are above average, from what I have read. The IE3 series is superb for noise cancellation, and give off no sound leakage even on full blast (these are the in ear ones) The bose acoustic series are the same as the IEs, just a smidge better for noise cancellation, and a smidge worse for sound leakage. I have both, so I feel better qualified to speak about the bose ones.
To be frank, you're not much of an audiophile if you've only been using Beats and Skullcandy. While it's true that a few of the higher-end Skull's are actually quality headphones, a majority of the selection from both brands is worthless, and nearly all of them are overpriced. Truthfully, I know more about entry-level offerings than I do big-budget models, but Sennheiser is solid across every price-point, while Grado has great "beginner" over-ears for budding audiophiles. Just keep looking at some of the brands we've mentioned and take reviews with a grain of salt. After all, if it were up to popular opinion, Beats would be the best, and that couldn't be further from the truth.
I've never owned a pair of skullcandy's; my friends all do though because they're cheap headphones and they think they're just fine for the price. I used to only buy earbuds. I've owned a pair of Shure 215s, Ultimate Ears 700s, and I used to bum my dad's old Phillips earbuds when I first got an mp3 player. I've tried a friend's Beats earbuds which were ok but never wanted to buy em and I've tried a few other products from Monster Cable. I'd always wanted a pair of nice over ear headphones though so my mom got me Beats for my high school graduation and I've sampled my buddies' Skullcandy's and Sennheiser's before. I settled with the Beats because free headphones are free headphones and I wasn't gonna tell my mom I didn't like her gift. Since they died though, I'm actually going to invest in something with a little quality behind it, because I do actually like my audio though.
Yeah, well I don't, but one of my brothers likes to DJ/mix/produce as a hobby and he's got a couple quality amps one of which he lets us use so long as we take care of it.
Care to say what those are? Also i would recommend a DAC for any high quality/audiophile grade headphones.
TBH, I would recommend simply walking into your local hi-fi shop, saying "I want to spend arouund $250, maybe more if its worth it." Let them show you some stuff. Then listen to more expensive headphones. 1) You can truely appreciate the sound quality 2) More money =/= better product 3) Audio preference is a matter of personal opinion.
Umm the one he lets a few of us use is I believe an HRT Headstreamer. I haven't looked at purchasing one of my own yet but I figure I'll probably do that at some point too. Any thoughts on a good model? That's what I ended up doing when I went to sample the P5s. One of the guys there saw me look at those instantly and he said they we're probably the best they carried at that price and after trying on a couple other pairs I think I'm still set on the P5s. There's another place near me that carries a couple different Grados headphones so I'm gonna see whats out there today after I get off work. Otherwise, I'm buyin some B&Ws next week when I get my paycheck. Thanks again, everyone. I love the input.