Quest for Headphones!

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KASR

KASR

Full Audioholic
So as fate would have it - I purchased my first H/T and then a week later we have a newborn....go figure!

So I'm needing to find a good pair of headphones that would break the bank, while still providing good sound and preferably surround sound ability. Any suggestions? (would LOVE to keep it under $75....is that possible????)

Thanks in advance!
 
KASR

KASR

Full Audioholic
Adam said:
Do you have a preference for wired or wireless?

I was just reading a recent thread on headphones and saw where Chris (WmAx) is recommending the Sony MDR-7506 ($97 at Amazon). Those aren't surround sound, though.
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Thanks for the quick response, Adam! I have no preference for wired or wireless. I just need something that won't wake the baby when I watch a movie or play the console games....you know, that important stuff! :p
 
A

alexwakelin

Full Audioholic
While not surround, I own the sennheiser HD 485 headphones and I am very pleased with them. I often wear them for hours at a time without discomfort, amazon has them for $69, http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-485-Dimensions-Headphones/dp/B0007QN18K/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1223919405&sr=8-1.

When I was researching my headphone purchase, I considered surround headphones, but my budget was similar to yours and any surround headphones in that price range did not receive favorable reviews.
 
KASR

KASR

Full Audioholic
alexwakelin said:
While not surround, I own the sennheiser HD 485 headphones and I am very pleased with them. I often wear them for hours at a time without discomfort, amazon has them for $69, http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-485-Dimensions-Headphones/dp/B0007QN18K/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1223919405&sr=8-1.

When I was researching my headphone purchase, I considered surround headphones, but my budget was similar to yours and any surround headphones in that price range did not receive favorable reviews.
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I'll check those out. I'm also looking at these: SONY MDR DS1000

Has anyone had any experience with them?
 
Adam

Adam

Audioholic Jedi
If you're willing to up your budget just a little bit, you could get head tracking surround sound headphones.

Hee, hee. :D Just kidding. Looks like great stuff, but those are pricey.

I used a pair of Medusa 5.1 headphones for a while when I used to game more and I really liked them. The price has gone up since I bought mine, but the equipment looks a little better. The system here is similar to what I got, but the price is higher than you are looking to spend - and they have a microphone (which swings up over the head band, though). I'm just mentioning them because I thought that they were comfortable, and the surround sound was really pretty good.
 
KASR

KASR

Full Audioholic
Adam said:
If you're willing to up your budget just a little bit, you could get head tracking surround sound headphones.

Hee, hee. :D Just kidding. Looks like great stuff, but those are pricey.

I used a pair of Medusa 5.1 headphones for a while when I used to game more and I really liked them. The price has gone up since I bought mine, but the equipment looks a little better. The system here is similar to what I got, but the price is higher than you are looking to spend - and they have a microphone (which swings up over the head band, though). I'm just mentioning them because I thought that they were comfortable, and the surround sound was really pretty good.
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I'll check those out too - thanks (again) for the headsup!
 
E

Exit

Audioholic Chief
If you are worried about headphone sound waking the baby, then you would be best off with "sealed" style headphones which enclose most if not all of your ears. I don't remember exactly, but I think they provide about 20 or 30 dB sound isolation both directions. It is better than the noise reduction headphones, which sonically are inferior. I bought the lowest price Sennheiser sealed headphones and I am happy with their sound and sound isolation. I got my information looking over the headroom.com sight, as they have all price ranges and descriptions of what to expect from each headphone. I think I paid somewhere in the $60 to $80 price range. You definitely can spend a lot more than that.
 
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EYEdROP0

Audioholic
If you want audiophile quality detail, you dont want surround headphones, especially in that price range. If you want very good soundstage and imaging (good for gaming), go sennheiser HD series. If you want heaphones for critical listening, get grado SR series. I own a pair of Alessandro MS-1, which is similar to the grado sr-125. It works excellent with all genres of music and pretty good for games. They are $100 new. I highly, highly suggest you buy a pair used from www.head-fi.org. There are really good people over there and you can get a much better set for your money used instead of buying brand new. Unless the drivers are blown or it has cosmetic damage, there is almost no reason to buy headphones new in that price range.
 
A

alexwakelin

Full Audioholic
EYEdROP0 said:
If you want audiophile quality detail, you dont want surround headphones, especially in that price range. If you want very good soundstage and imaging (good for gaming), go sennheiser HD series. If you want heaphones for critical listening, get grado SR series. I own a pair of Alessandro MS-1, which is similar to the grado sr-125. It works excellent with all genres of music and pretty good for games. They are $100 new. I highly, highly suggest you buy a pair used from www.head-fi.org. There are really good people over there and you can get a much better set for your money used instead of buying brand new. Unless the drivers are blown or it has cosmetic damage, there is almost no reason to buy headphones new in that price range.
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I should have mentioned that I use my sennheisers primarily for gaming and movies, although they are not bad for music as well. In all regards, they are leaps and bounds better than my $80 creative pc speakers.
 
F

FirstReflection

AV Rant Co-Host
If you've got a newborn, I personally wouldn't feel safe recommending sealed headphones or in-ear monitors that really block out sound well. Everyone expects that they'd easily hear a baby crying - which you probably would - but babies make other sounds too that you really ought to be able to hear if they're making them. So from a pure safety aspect, I'd want to recommend open-backed headphones.

I used the Sennheiser HD555 for many years and I could easily recommend them to you for the uses you've described. They do a very good job with TV, movies and games. They may not match up with the best for music, but they are certainly not bad for music either.

I found them to be a little bit lacking for bass impact and treble extension, but I compensated for that by just using the bass and treble controls in my A/V receiver and boosting the bass 4-6dB and boosting the treble 2-4dB.

The HD555 are supremely comfortable and they sound closer to a speaker experience than most other headphones thanks to their design.
 
KASR

KASR

Full Audioholic
FirstReflection said:
If you've got a newborn, I personally wouldn't feel safe recommending sealed headphones or in-ear monitors that really block out sound well. Everyone expects that they'd easily hear a baby crying - which you probably would - but babies make other sounds too that you really ought to be able to hear if they're making them. So from a pure safety aspect, I'd want to recommend open-backed headphones.
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C'mon now....the headphones would be for me to enjoy while leaving the WIFE and baby at peace. :cool:
 
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