I thought I saw a Tek a while back where Logan said he was an audiophile hence I am asking here. My Sennheisers are biting the bullet after 2 years and it will be time to get a new pair. For the last 4 years I have used the HD201.
I have been very pleased with them but now that they are up for replacement I would like to get something nicer. The mids are very good but the bass is weak and the highs can be tinny. Here is what I am looking for:
- Something for less than $100, $50 would be the sweet spot
- Padding on the top of the headphones(like the HD201 has)
- Good all round bass, mids, and highs
- Something for quite a large head
- Something with a long cord would be a large plus
Nope. So called "Gaming headsets" tend to have terrible sound quality. For your budget, I would recommend the Creative Aurvana Live! headphones, they are on the higher siidee of your budget, but they should fit your needs quite well.
I own the ASUS Vulcan PRO and it doesn't have a terible sound quality. it comes with an external sound card. And it is on his budget. You can remove the microphone and use it to listen music and etc. Also it comes with ANC that really works. I owned sennheiser in the past and I am very happy with it.
Great sound quality overall. Though, they are neutral, so no bass boost. Very comfortable with soft padding around the ear cups and on top. Long, coiled cord.
Even though they're on-ear, they have some powerful bass in them. Sound quality is pretty good overall. No padding on top, but they are very light to the point that you don't even notice them.
Considering your budget why not give Superlux a try? They seem to be praised on head-fi for the price/performance ratio. The one below is less than 50 dollars... In your price range however it will be hard to find something that will hit all the marks you wish it would have.
hands down somic MH 463 with HM5 pads from mp4nation. ( Pretty dark but the sound is so damn refined)
Brighter alternative : Takstar 2050. ( This is almost as good as a DT880, deeper bass, less mid-bass, sibilance )
Non-Electronic music : Fostex T50RP - These are amazing and can be upgraded
Stuff that's a bit less shady but also less good:
Superlux 681EVO
Brainwavz HM5 or any of the million variations - you can find a thread about these on HF.(and you should be looking there anyways)
IEM(!!!): Sony XBA2 - these are currently cheap for what they are. I'd recommend them if you want IEMs.
Stuff that would be good to get used :
AKG K27X - these are really great if you find a good-condition pair and hover around the 100 mark, they need an amp. Sennheiser 580/590 ( although unlikely ) - probably will need to replace pads though.
Stuff that's usually considered good but does not hold candle to any of the above : AKG k518 Sony MDR V6 Sennheiser anything up until Modded HD558 (including 518) Panasonic HTF(?)-600
I've tried tons of headphones - both premium and not, my daily driver is the AKG k550 and it's pretty sweet but not that much ahead of the somic or takstar and on par with the fostex in some genres.
I can vouch for the quality of the chinese headphones .