Headphone Selection

[pemike1973]

Hi, Im in the market for a decent pair of headphones, they are to be used for both cinema and music. I have a Yamaha rx-v650 that has pure direct output.

I´ve seen models from Sony,Sennheiser and AKG. Any comments on these manufactures. My price range is about 50-100 €.

Any comments will be grateful.

thanks

 

[furrycute]

Stretch your budget a little, get the Sennheiser HD600. A word of warning, don't use the HD600 with your portable devices, they don't put out enough power to drive this headphone.

 

[pemike1973]

They seem to be a VERY decent pair of headphones but $450, WOW thats a lot. Any idea if the Sennheiser HD 200 are any good ?

Thanks

 

[furrycute]

Amazon was selling refurbished HD600 for under $200 a couple of weeks ago. You can usually find the HD600 for under $250 if you look around a little.


I wouldn't bother with any of the lower end Sennheisers.

 

[Nick250]

Check out the Senns HD580. It's the same as the HD600 but with less expensive head band and grill material. I have them and I am very pleased. As the other poster said, neither of these can be driven by a portable device.

 

[mmmmcheese]

I think that the Beyerdynamic DT770 would work very well but it is a little above your pricerange. Maybe the Audio Technica A500. It goes for about $100 usd.

 

[Sleestack]

For around $100 you might want to check out the Sennheiser HD555. Similar to the HD595.

 

[WmAx]

Hi, Im in the market for a decent pair of headphones, they are to be used for both cinema and music. I have a Yamaha rx-v650 that has pure direct output.

I´ve seen models from Sony,Sennheiser and AKG. Any comments on these manufactures. My price range is about 50-100 €.

Any comments will be grateful.

thanks

For $100 or less range, I recommend Sony MDR-7506, Sennheiser HD280, Grado SR 60 and Grado SR80. My personal favorite for that range is the Sony MDR-7506. It's a very accurate monitor phone, and it's construction quality is very high[extreme durable].

-Chris

 

[Steve1000]

Lotsa good advice here.

The Sennheiser HD200s are pretty good and cost 20 or 30 US dollars. You can do worse for $150.

Better than the HD200s are:

Sony V6s -- classic closed monitoring headphone. Highly accurate and durable, subjectively a little bright and lean in the mid-bass, monster low-bass.

Senn HD280 -- Sennheiser's idea of an accurate closed monitoring headphone. A little low on comfort. Isolates much better than V6. Sound is more pleasing than V6, but it's less accurate, less durable, and less comfortable than the V6, IMHO. But V6 is a pretty high measuring stick. Very nice overall.

Grado SR60 -- An "open" phone -- lets in lots of sound and leaks lots of sound. Most people experience open phones as more natural sounding and less fatiguing. The SR60 is a classic low-priced (60-70 USD) phone that just won't quit. Holds its own against many much more expensive headphones. An enjoyable, punchy, slightly aggressive sound.

Grado SR80 -- Open phones. Much like the SR80 but with "bowl pads" rather than flat pads. I do not like the bowl pads, so I prefer the cheaper SR60 by a good margin.

Senn HD555 (100 USD) / HD595 (200 USD) -- Open phones. Pleasing balance, a little heavy on mid-bass, quite nice really, very comfortable.

Senn HD580 / HD600 / HD650 -- Open phones. Many like, but they are obvisouly colored, with recessed highs and excessive mid-bass, IMHO. The HD580s are the cheapest of the bunch and have these flaws to the least extent, IMHO. Unlike the others, these are hard to get to high volumes with portables.

If I had to have one and only one, I'd buy the V6. You hear the real deal with the V6. I also have the Senn HD280 and Grado SR60 and Senn HD580. They're all really nice phones, and personal taste comes into play quite a bit at this level of quality. Diminishing returns set in hard and fast above this level IMHO.

They seem to be a VERY decent pair of headphones but $450, WOW thats a lot. Any idea if the Sennheiser HD 200 are any good ?

Thanks

 

[WmAx]

Sony V6s -- classic closed monitoring headphone. Highly accurate and durable, subjectively a little bright and lean in the mid-bass, monster low-bass.

Important note to thread starter: Sony MDR-V6 is the same actual product, technically, as the MDR-7506. MDR-V6 is sold through Sony's consumer division network and MDR-7506 is sold through Sony's professional distribution network. Do not confuse MDR-V6 with MDR-V600. MDR-V600 is an inferior product, and is not the same, despite the similar name.

-Chris

 

[jaxvon]

I'll second the MDR-7506 recommendation. WmAx turned me onto them and I am ever glad he did. Great sounding headphones. They don't lie to you. They come with a nice carry bag and adapter (so you can use it with 1/4" or 1/8" ports). Durable as heck, I don't know how many times I've dropped mine on the concrete or stuffed them in a backback. And of course, they are THE reference in the professional world as far as headphones go. Go into basically any studio, or look at pictures of engineers at soundboards. Most likely, you'll see a pair of MDR-7506s laying around.